PV Industry Forum 2007

[Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany]

Solar Systems Victorian Project presented last but still best of Forum

There were about 300 participants at the PV Industry Forum 2007 on June 20, 2007, in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, organized by Solar Promotion GmbH and PSE GmbH. As I mentioned before, this year’s program emphasized Thin films and Concentrating PhotoVoltaics (CPV). The Forum was a bit dry this year since the interactive peanut gallery comments of Prof. Dr. Peter Woditsch, Deutsche Solar AG CEO, were absent.

As I did last year (PV Industry Forum 2006 in Freiburg Part 1), I want to highlight the most compelling presentation first. Mr. Dave Holland, Solar Systems’ Managing Director and CEO, presented Experience in concentrator technology.

After reviewing the Solar Systems mainstay solution, the CS500 dish concentrator PV unit, Mr. Holland discussed how Solar Systems partnered with the Australian Federal and Victorian governments to accelerate HCPV (Heliostat Concentrator Photovoltaic) Getting to mainstream by subsidizing the 154MW Victorian Project as announced in World-leading mega scale solar power station for Victoria. Maybe it is better to let Mr. Holland speak for himself in this video clip:

The 154MW Victorian Project will use heliostats or sun tracking mirror collectors to reflect sunlight onto solar modules mounted atop fixed receiver towers about 40 meters in height. An active water (even high salinity water) cooling system will be used to keep the multi-junction III-V photovoltaic cells operating at 60ºC in order to optimize energy output and generate 270,000 MWh (MegaWatt-hours) of electricity per annum upon project completion.

The Victorian Project has grant funding totaling $125 million AUD (about €80 million Euros). $75 million AUD was provided by the Australian Federal Government under the Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund (LETDF) while the Victorian Government provided $50 million AUD. Project financing for the remaining $295 million AUD will be sourced from the private sector.

In numbers, the Victorian Project requires: 19,250 Heliostats, 246 Receivers, 62,976 PV Modules, and 600 to 800 hectares of land. The project will be constructed over six and a half years in three phases: 2MW Phase 1, 100MW Phase 2, and 50MW Phase 3.

In the following video clip, Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, Applied Materials GmbH & Co. KG, asks how HCPV stacks up versus large scale Solar Thermal plants, and Mr. Holland tips plans to split the heated water to create hydrogen for energy storage.

And for those folks who believe the PV Industry can be covered from a cramped desk on Wall Street, Jesse W. Pichel, Sr. Research Analyst, PiperJaffray, attended this year’s PV Industry Forum although his name was absent from the attendee roster.

As you can see, the PV Industry Forum 2008 will be held on June 10-11, 2008, at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre.