PV Taiwan Shines with Solar Innovations
PV Taiwan brought together the industry's leading solar cell designers and manufacturers in Taipei, celebrating the industry's continuing growth while addressing the need for improvement in product quality and long-term durability.
The exhibition and conference (14-16 October) is in its 9th year. More than 120 exhibiting companies in 365 booth at the Nangang Exhibition Centre saw more than 9,300 visitors. Most attendees came from Taiwan and neighboring China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, Germany and other countries across Europe and Asia.
Taiwan's Bureau of Energy and Ministry of Economic Affairs take the needs of its industrial base very seriously. To that end they have established product assessment criteria and certification for PV products, with awards for cells and modules that not only meet standards of the IEC, but also 13 separate safety requirements and 18 performance tests and do so while maintaining high efficiency: 20 percent or more for monocrystalline cells and at least 18.5 percent for multicrystalline devices. Companies winning 2015 "˜Taiwan Excellent PV Awards' included AU Optronics, Neo Solar Power Corporation, TSEC Corporation and WINAICO.
Taiwan's photovoltaic industry is expected to report NT$184.8 billion in 2015 sales revenue (about $6.1 billion USD) according to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and SEMI. Even though the market has slowed in some parts of the world where subsidies have been cut, the overall solar market continues to grow at double-digit rates. This expansion is envied by the wider semiconductor industry where growth is expected to remain flat or increase about 1 percent in 2015.
A survey conducted by Solar Power Europe (formerly EPIA) shows that in 2014, solar installations increased significantly in Japan, China and the U.S. Global PV installations exceeded 40GW last year, and are expected to reach 58 GW in 2015 (about 30 percent growth), followed by further expansion to 85 GW generating capacity per year by 2020.
Solar's growth spurt is what brought many suppliers and manufacturers to the PV Taiwan marketplace including Heraeus Photovoltaics that announced it was expanding its presence in the Republic of China (ROC) by adding local manufacture of front-side metallization pastes to its existing product line.
Making the announcement in a ribbon cutting ceremony on the tradeshow floor was a delegation of senior executives including Andreas Liebheit, President of Heraeus Photovoltaics Global Business Unit; Dr. P. H. Chang, CEO of Motech Industries, Inc., Chairman of the SEMI Taiwan PV Committee and the TPVIA; and Dr. Sam Hong, CEO of Neo Solar Power Corp. Heraeus expects manufacture of front-side pastes to begin in its expanded Taiwanese facility by the end of 2015.
Liebheit met with Solar + Power Management magazine prior to the official ceremony to discuss the company's history in Taiwan and operations across Asia. Liebheit said the manufacture of high quality solar cells and modules as well as new research and development work was driving his company's expansion in Taiwan.
"In order for us to offer customization and shorten lead times for customers, it is vital to have a strong operational presence where our customers are, and Taiwan has grown to become an important market for us," Liebheit said.
Quality, shorter lead times, increased ruggedness and longer in-service lifetimes were recurring themes expressed by companies at the event. Major Taiwanese manufacturers acknowledged that long-term market success meant delivering quality, not just low costs. More manufacturers are working towards end-to-end supply chain management strategies as well as relationships with installers and trade groups to encourage feedback and continual product improvement.
PV Taiwan exhibitors included a wide range manufacturers and suppliers. While many had new product announcements, most device details pointed toward continuing advances towards greater efficiency and serviceable lifetimes.
GinTung Energy Corporation, founded as Apollo Solar Energy Co. in 2005, offers a wide range of mono- and multicrystalline cells. Module efficiency is on par with industry averages between 15 and 18 percent. Its existing product line is popular across local and international markets. But what caught many visitors' attention were plans to release its new "˜Lightwave' panel line early in 2016, with full production expected in third quarter.
GinTung Sales and Marketing Division Manager Cyrus Wong said that the new Lightwave panels will be 50 percent lighter than current models (glass sealed cells in aluminum frames) that average about 19 KG per module. Lightwave modules will tip the scale at only 9 KG. Wong said the company believes that this revolutionary leap in weight reduction will impact future residential installation the most since residences tend to have more weight-related concerns than commercial structures. But no matter the location, cutting weight in half while maintaining performance will give both end-use customers and retailers a new product worthy of consideration.
Like many larger manufacturers at PV Taiwan, Neo Solar Power Corp. has been in the PV cell and module business since 2005. Starting with PV cells, they grew capabilities to embrace all aspects of manufacturing end-use products; they now also partner with installers so they have contact with the product from start to finish. They also support community, grid-scale projects around the world including the largest airport installation to date (32 MW), that was completed recently in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). They also supported a 42 MW plant in Manchester, England"”their largest project so far. The Manchester plant will produce enough electricity for about 17,000 homes.
Vendors supplying manufacturers with wide selections of process tools included Symtek Automation Asia (SAA), a European automation expert that has extended its product line to include machinery for handling PV wafers and cells. Tobias Rapp, PV Division Vice President, said the company sees great opportunity for the future growth across Asia.
Rapp indicated that one of the interesting transitions he is seeing across the industry is the move from manually handling PV cells throughout various processing steps to fully-automated systems. When the PV industry was just gaining traction in Taiwan and China, transferring cells from one machine to another was often done by hand. The workers were highly skilled and rarely broke cells. The problem his company noticed was that this highly skilled and careful work force saw opportunity as the industry grew, and a sizeable percentage of the workforce might move from plant to plant seeking higher wages. Rapp said his sales pitch is to empower plant operators with a process tool solution that won't move up the street, doesn't take time off and is ready whenever the plant operator needs to change production parameters.
Sino Green Energy (SGE) was one exhibitor that had more of a challenge displaying its product than most because unlike others, SGE doesn't manufacture PV products, it builds solar-based distributed electric cooperatives in Taiwan. Although currently operating 230 sites across the island nation, it doesn't plan to export its management technology outside the ROC"”at least for now. What is does bring to the market is a savvy efficiency enhancement approach that delivers results it claims are better than any other generating company.
SGE President Eric Wang explained that his company found that programs to monitor and affect solar generating efficiency was lacking. SGE hired the engineering expertise to create its own software that now maximizes efficiency. During the summer of 2015, Wang said SGE's capacity was 3.91 kWp while other solar plants in the same area were averaging 3.19 kWp. While Wang did not speculate about his company's plans to export their management software, achieving an 18 percent increase in usable generating capacity is no small feat in an industry that gets excited about even single point efficiency gains.
AU Optronics (BenQ Group subsidiary) was another stand-out company that combined PV cell and module manufacturing with a line of storage solutions that scale from residential needs up to commercial and micro-grid applications. AUO was also one of the few companies also involved in smelting polysilicon ingots. They offer a wide range of module choices, from 16 to 20 percent efficiency, and a company history dating to 1996. AUO is also listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and was the first Taiwanese manufacturer to receive a LEED Platinum Certification.
Taking solar in another direction entirely was Aplus Energy Company that manufactures crystalline solar modules laminated to coated steel roofing panels to eliminate the need for rack systems. Their panels can be installed with no penetration of existing roof structures. Roof panels can also be constructed of polycarbonate, further reducing weight loads. The panels have obvious weight advantages, require little to no racking, and provide unusually high wind and precipitation resistance due to their flush-mount characteristics. PV cell efficiency is currently rated at 17.6 percent, and panels are guaranteed to perform at 90 percent capacity for 10 years and 20 years at 80 percent capacity.
Industry analysts, financers and investors anticipate further worldwide growth of solar generating capacity. By mid-century, renewable energy will dominate electric power generation. Innovation continues to push photovoltaic cells to greater levels of reliability and long-term quality.
Taiwanese PV companies are bringing products to every major solar market, and continue to grow either through direct connections with retailers or wholesalers. While the competitiveness of Taiwanese and Chinese solar manufacturers has led to "˜anti-dumping' regulations, manufacturers have responded by creating local assembly and testing facilities in large markets, which also brought them into closer connection with end users and retailers.
Solar energy is truly an international industry. Design and manufacturing can be found in Taiwan, China, Japan, Singapore, the Americas and Europe; expansion further into Africa, India, the Middle East and Oceania is expected as well. Although fossil-fueled electricity generation still provides most of the world's power, more than 70 percent of new generating capacity added in the last year came through renewable energy. Taiwanese manufacturers continue to play a leadership role in this rapidly evolving industry and will offer exciting new products in 2016 and beyond.
