Sol3g inaugurates High Concentration PhotoVoltaics factory

New 5 MWp factory in Terrassa (Barcelona) Spain
8 kWp pilot plant installed at Enel in Catania (Sicily) Italy

Sol3g, S.L. today announced the inauguration of their new 800 square meter (8611 square feet) production plant with an annual capacity of five (5) MWp (MegaWatt-peak). The factory will produce HCPV (High Concentration PhotoVoltaic) M40 Modules. Here is the M40 Datasheet (Español).

Employing up to 80 workers, Sol3g could increase production capacity to 10 MWp by year end 2008. Sol3g also claims to have developed a model factory and production process with Terrassa that can be duplicated on an international basis to address local demand.

Here is the pair of press releases: Sol3g inaugurates a new factory in Terrassa and Pilot installation for Enel in Sicily.

Sol3g’s original plan was to ramp production in the first half of 2007 per Sol3g talks M40 HCPV Solar Modules and Systems at Intersolar. In the supporting materials, Sol3g also said:

Besides, Sol3g plans to install over 800 kW in several significant projects, among which include 400 kW awarded by ISFOC (Instituto de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos de Concentración) in Castilla La Mancha.

In November 2007, Sol3g installed the first of two HCPV pilot plant systems for Enel S.p.A. (BIT:ENEL) in Catania, Italy. This was Sol3g’s first deployment using terrestrial III-V Triple Junction solar cells which I presume were supplied by AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH. Please see Sol3g secures Triple Junction Solar Cells from Azur Space for further details.

Sol3g worked with Italian partner company SGS Future to install the M40 modules on a FEiNA SCP SC16 two-axis tracker.

Per this Enel strategy for zero emission power generation presentation (see slides 20-23) from the Embassy of Italy in Budapest website, Enel is evaluating two HCPV prototypes from Sol3g and perhaps Sharp at their Catania PV laboratories and the following solar technologies:

150kW Si-based concentrating technology
420kW Multi-junction concentrating technology
300 kW Flat modules on tracking system

at their Adrano PV demonstration site located near Catania.

The Enel presentation also discusses The Archimede project (slides 16-19). This is an innovative solar thermodynamic plant with net power of 4.7 MWe (Megawatt electric) to be built in Priolo Gargallo near Siracusa (Syracuse), Italy, next to and integrated with an existing Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) plant.

Enel details the reasons they selected this particular site for The Archimede project unlike some companies.