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.
Chilean mining company Antofagasta Minerals announced Tuesday that it has sold off its 40% stake in a PV power plant in northern Chile to Atlas Renewable Energy — a Latin American-based solar company launched in March by private equity fund Actis.
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.
Kipp & Zonen is launching a completely new technology and product to monitor PV panel soiling at Intersolar Europe 2017 in Munich, Germany. Based on Kipp & Zonen’s unique optical technology, ‘DustIQ’ measures the soiling ratio (SR) and can be easily added to new or existing solar arrays and integrated into plant management systems.
Imec and EnergyVille are introducing new simulation software that accurately predicts the daily energy yield of solar cells and solar modules under varying meteorological and irradiation conditions at Intersolar Europe. Imec’s model combines optical, thermal and electrical parameters to provide detailed insight on thermal gradients in the solar module.
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.
