Case Study: The Suntech Weinbourg Farm project, France

The Weinbourg Farm solar project, utilizing the Just Roof system from Suntech is one for the world's largest BIPV solar systems. The project, which was completed in 2009, spreads out over five agricultural warehouses in France.

The system, designed and developed by Jean-Luc Westphal and la société Créaelec and owned by Hanau Energies is 4.5MW, consists of 26,470 panels over an area of 36,000m2 and saves an estimated 4,500,000kWh annually.

While Hanau Energies owns the project, their buildings are also located on site including central offices, showroom, amphitheater and a parking lot. "For me, Just Roof is the best BIPV solution available. The system is quick to install, has an excellent aesthetic finish, and offers the best combination of value and quality. Suntech is the only company with a truly integrated BIPV system that is able to supply in the necessary quantities." Jean-Luc Westphal president, Hanau Energies.

Suntech's solar roof system was originally released in 1994 and has already been installed on over 4,000 homes and commercial buildings on a global scale. The roofing system features interlocking panels mounted on specially designed rails to give a highly aesthetic weatherproof building skin that can be installed quickly and with ease. 

France's BIPV feed-in tariff has been revised in order to promote the growth of this type of integration. The FiT is now set at €0.60/kWh, which is the highest in the world.  Suntech is just one company that has taken advantage of this tariff with its aggressive range of BIPV products.

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  • Photovoltaics International 14th Edition

    Photovoltaics International 14th Edition

    Published in November 2011, the 14th edition of Photovoltaics International provides a variety of technical papers from some of the industry’s stalwarts. Features include: TÜV Rheinland on junction box testing; Laser Zentrum Hannover on laser edge isolation of mc-Si cells; Calisolar on the importance of traceability; Fraunhofer ISE on EWT cells; and EPIA on Europe’s LCOE.

  • Photovoltaics International Lite, Volume 05 - 2011

    Photovoltaics International Lite, Volume 05 - 2011

    This digital interactive Lite sees Tom Cheyney follow Agua Caliente’s progress on becoming one of first truly utility-scale PV power farms, where 40–50MW (AC) will be commissioned by the end of the year. We also feature one of the world’s largest silicon thin-film PV power plants, Avenal; a report on warnings of the collapse of module prices from Solarbuzz and PI-Berlin presents tips on PV module testing. A print version of this edition will be distributed at Solar Power International 2011 in Dallas, Texas.

  • Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2011 Production Annual

    Manufacturing The Solar Future: The 2011 Production Annual

    Manufacturing the Solar Future is the primary source guide for detailed information on the PV production process. This annual provides technical details on how the leading companies and research organizations worldwide are addressing this need by dramatically improving their manufacturing processes.

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