In its tenth year of organisation, the Intersolar AWARD proceedings reflected a niche but high-profile sector of the downstream PV industry, floating solar. The coveted prize in the ‘Photovoltaics’ category went to project developer Ciel & Terre International, regarded as a pioneer of floating solar with around 43 projects completed.
Major PV inverter manufacturer Sungrow Power Supply Co is building a 150MW floating solar plant in China in close proximity to its recently completed 40MW floating PV project - currently the world’s largest.
China-based integrated PV module manufacturer Shanghai Aerospace Automobile Electromechanical Co (HT-SAAE) has established a 300MW solar cell and 600MW module assembly plant in Turkey to meet local demand as well as supply Europe and the US.
The US-based solar module assembly operations of China-based Seraphim Solar is ramping capacity to meet demand. Seraphim Solar USA has also been approved by residential financing firms, including Sungage Financial and Sunnova as an approved vendor.
Despite the major exhibition having a European tag, Intersolar Europe remains one of the most ‘international’ solar trade shows on the event calendar. As a result, new products launched at this show predominantly reflect trends and developments across multiple markets. On the first day of the exhibition, several new products stand-out for attention. More Day 1 updates are to follow.
News in Brief: SunPower collaborates with Michigan's largest utility for a residential pilot programme, UOSSM's Syria Solar Initiative completes a 127kWp solar system to provide electricity to hospitals, an Australian aboriginal community starts construction on a solar-diesel hybrid project backed by ARENA and Utah's Legend Solar acquires Aspire Energy.
China-based PV manufacturer GCL System Integration Technology (GCL-SI) has signed a supply deal with German-based wholesaler, Europe Solar Concept (ESC) to offer its modules across Europe that are produced by Vietnam-based OEM producer, Vina Solar Technology.