Hanwha Q CELLS has launched a 100kWp ‘all-in-one’ PV system kit in France, with one of the company’s sales managers for the region stating that Q CELLS expects next year to be a “promising” one in the French market.
The module manufacturer officially announced the launch of the kit on Friday. It is aimed at the commercial and small industrial market. It will be marketed directly to installers, with the first kits already sold from October, according to Hanwha Q CELLS' head of sales for France, Philippe Pflieger.
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The company had originally announced its intention to bring the kits to the French market back in June, but Pflieger said Q CELLS had already entered into “long-term partnerships” with “medium-sized and large-scale installers” across France since spring. Hanwha Q CELLS opened its first French office at the beginning of the year, when the company also received “Made in EU” certification for its manufacturing processes.
In summer, it also received the necessary environmental accreditation to participate in France’s public tender process for PV projects, with the production of cells and modules having a CO2 consumption of below 400kg per kilowatt hour peak.
The 100kWp kits come with an unspecified number of modules, although Hanwha Q CELLS said it is “more than 360” per kit of modules in power classes of up to 280Wp. The modules utilise Q CELLS’ Q.ANTAM technology, which according to academic publisher John Wiley & Sons’ “Progress in Photovoltaics” reports hold world efficiency records for polycrystalline cells of 19.5% and for 60 cell modules, at 18.5%.
The kits also include inverters and mounting systems, as well as monitoring, a main AC switch and other essential equipment including grounding cable and connectors. Q CELLS claims that on an average day in France, the system will produce 325kWh of electricity, equivalent to an output of 118,000kWh.
Of the company's focus on France, Philippe Pflieger said Hanwha Q CELLS expected a strong performance in the final quarter of this year, as well as looking ahead to next year with good expectations.
“France is one of Hanwha Q CELLS’ focus markets in Europe. We see a good Q4 business in country’s market segments and assume a promising business in the French PV market, especially for the year to come,” Pflieger said.
Feed-in tariffs (FiTs) were awarded earlier this month in France to 217 ‘medium-sized’ PV projects of between 100kWp and 250kWp generation capacity, totalling 40.7MWp. On a related note, a tender for 400MW of larger projects has been launched this week.
The French energy industry is currently undergoing something of a process of reformation. A national target of 32% renewable energy by 2030 has been set, revised upward from a previous “23% by 2030” target. Meanwhile, the third quarter of this year yielded 286.3MW of new PV installations, up 32% on the same period of last year.
