Special Edition - Sun & Wind Energy

www.sunwindenergyitaly.comThe Magazine for Renewable energies

standingLast man

ItalySpecial Edition

The support budgets for solar electricity are being cut everywhere. Italy is an exception: although the new government has pretty much caused a construction stop for ground-mounted systems, the conditions for rooftop systems up to a capacity of 1 MW are still excellent – for now.

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Sun & Wind Energy – Special Edition Italy 1/2012

The forecasts by most representatives of the Italian PV sector for the year 2012 gloomily suggest: “it will be a hard

year” and “2012 will be weaker than 2011”. These are even the more reserved versions of the basic pessimistic mood. There are good reasons for this negativity. Italy’s overall eco-nomic situation is still precarious, the financ-ing of larger projects often fails due to hesitant banks, and the new Italian government under Prime Minister Mario Monti has pretty much stopped the installation of new large ground-mounted systems as of the middle of the year.

On the other hand, we can hardly expect 2012 to deliver similarly sensational results as the previous year. In 2011, photovoltaic sys-tems with a total capacity of 9 GW were in-stalled between Sicily and South Tyrol – more than in any other country in the world and three times the total capacity which had been installed in Italy until then. Put another way: even with a relatively strong drop in new in-stallation figures, an additional 3.5 GW or so of new installations may still come about in 2012. It is a figure which some pessimistic sector experts think is in no way unrealistic for the current financial year, but which could still be called sensational – even if not at the level of the boom year 2011.

And as you, dear readers, will be able to see in this Special Edition Italy issue 1/2012, there is much that makes it possible to hope for a positive development overall, despite some factors which will make life hard for the players on the PV playing field. Take, for example, the still attractive feed-in tariff, which almost certainly will lead to a boom in rooftop systems of up to 1 MW (starts p. 18).

Bodo HöcheEditor [email protected]

Choosing your mood

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EditorialSpecial Edition Italy

The support stop for large rooftop systems only kicks in after this 1 MW mark.

The Italian PV industry also seems to be able to see the positive side of the difficult overall situation. They have mostly not gone for capacity expansions; thanks to this cau-tion, plant utilisation rates are still acceptable (starts p. 70). By having a relatively modest output when viewed internationally, they have kept a high degree of flexibility. This fits the changing conditions in Italy well, and is impor-tant in order to be able to compete successful-ly with international competitors. The latter are fighting for market shares on the Italian mar-ket with ever-tougher methods. The European manufacturers are combating the price advan-tages of the Asian competition with arguments of quality and service (starts p. 40). Europe’s industry is also discussing a legal complaint about price dumping (starts p. 62), as protec-tive measures such as the “Made-in-EU” rule are being circumvented (starts p. 68).

That an important element of this increased international competition is taking place in Italy makes one thing clear: the conditions are still lucrative – while they have worsened else-where, as in Germany. This brings us to the true reason for the sceptical basic mood of many market participants: uncertainty. So far the Monti government has left the Conto Energia IV more or less alone. But if the ex-periences of the last few years have taught the sector one lesson about legal frameworks, than it is this: nothing is certain.

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Photo: alfasolar

Rooftop systems: Small is beautifulItaly’s annual PV growth will continue to increase over the next few months, but only on the country’s rooftops. The Italian government has set out the path: rooftop PV systems with a capacity of up to 1 MW are paid out the highest feed-in tariff in the scope of Conto Energia IV. The market is turning around.

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4 Sun & Wind Energy – Special Edition Italy 1/2012

Market development: Subdued expectationsIn 2011, the sector saw a changing of the guard: the Italian market was able to overtake Germany to become the world leader in terms of new installations. PV power plants with a to-tal capacity of 9 GW were installed in Italy in the last year – an almost sensational development. But the expectations for 2012 are far more subdued.

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Training for solar installers: No fixed standards With the PV growth rapidly increasing in Italy, the “solar in-stallers” have been emerging as a new group of profes-sionals. But a unified standard for the training and qualifi-cation of solar installers is still not in sight.

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Table of conTenTs

Photo: Vocational training institute Luis Zuegg, Meran

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PHoTovolTaiCS iN iTalY 6 Market development: Subdued expectations 16 IntervIew Valerio Natalizia, GIFI: “The goal

is to be independent from subsidies” 18 Rooftop systems: Small is beautiful 24 Mounting systems: Plenty of solutions for

flat roofs 34 Training for solar installers:

No fixed standards 40 International players – strategies:

New recipes for success 44 Italian companies abroad: Going global 48 IntervIew Massimo Sarti, Bonfiglioli:

“There is just one global market” 52 Financing: Size matters 56 Sale of PV electricity: The Italian way 60 Returns for rooftop PV plants: It still pays off 62 Dumping allegations: The limits of growth 68 “Made in EU”-certificate:

Protectionism “light” 70 Italian module manufacturers: Staying flexible 76 EPC contractors: Off to the “third dimension” 80 Solarexpo Verona: Ciao, Verona 90 News 96 Solar thermal: Potential without lobby

CoMPaNY PRofileS

49 alfasolar: Improving efficiency 67 Bonfiglioli: Highest quality standards 35 Convert Italia:

EPC contractor and tracker producer 47 Danfoss: A forerunner 51 EMMVEE: A matter of trust 23 SolarWorld: SolarWorld – products with

highest quality standards 37 Soleg: Sun right from the source 43 Talesun: Breathtaking pace

italian module manufacturers: Staying flexibleItaly is currently home to about 20 domestic suppliers of PV modules whose annual production capacity has ar-rived at a total of 1,500 MW. SUN & WIND ENERGY has vis-ited three of these Italian manufacturers and spoken with them about their strate-gies in dealing with the changes in the regulatory framework.

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Translation in Germany:Europressedienst, Jeremy Heighway, Timothy Hanes

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Photo: Axitec

SUN & WIND ENERGY would like to thank GIFI – Gruppo Imprese Foto-voltaiche Italiane – for their sup-port by providing information and offering discussion.

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Dumping allegations: The limits of growthChina’s solar production surplus is sold at bargain prices on the export markets. European module manufacturers are now planning an anti-dumping proceeding against their Chinese competitors. Market participants in Italy have reacted with mixed feelings. Particularly the install-ers take out an advantage.

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Market DevelopMent


In 2011, the sector saw a changing of the guard: the Italian market was able

to overtake Germany to become the world leader in terms of new

installations. PV power plants with a total capacity of 9 GW were installed in

Italy in the last year – an almost sensational development. But the

expectations for 2012 are far more subdued.

Whether and, if necessary how, the Monti govern-ment will change Conto Energia IV is still unclear. But the first signals have been rather unsettling. Photo: Italian government

The new buzzword in Italy is now “rooftop PV plants.”

Photo: Enfinity Italia

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Subdued expectations

In the last year, PV power plants with a total capac-ity of 9 GW were installed in Italy. According to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association

(EPIA), the Italian PV market accounted for 32 % of the newly installed capacities worldwide in the year 2011 (27.7 GW). With this, Italy was able to surpass Germany (7.5 GW installed in 2011) to become the new world leader.

The distribution of PV systems varies greatly by region: southern Italy has attracted a far greater number of ground-mounted PV plants than the north. When looked at mere number of installations, the northern regions Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Venetia have taken the lead. However, Apulia, one of the southern Italian regions, takes the crown when it comes to the installed capacities. The north-south division is not only due to the regional differences in the licensing processes and the promotion measures but also to the higher average income in the north.

Boom follows standstill

Especially in the first half of 2011, the new installa-tions experienced a small boom, as the former Conto

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Market DevelopMent


Fabio Mondini de Focatiis, Managing Director Italy, Amonix: “In 2012, I expect the size of the Italian PV market to be around 2 GW, mainly rooftop installations. The best opportunities that I see are a) commercial rooftops from 200 kW to 1 MW in several regions across Italy and b) CPV projects from 1 MW to 5 MW on industrial land in southern Italy. The strong reduction in ground-mounted traditional PV plants will put serious pressure on many companies in the value chain that are focused on large-scale plants; those able to refocus their business model and withstand this year will find many opportunities in 2013 and beyond.”

Pietro Gintoli, Country Manager Italy, Bonfiglioli Italia S.p.A.: “The uncertainty connected to the FIT schemes and government decisions are in fact the biggest threat for PV business development: FIT reduction is something that the PV community must accept as part of the development of the supply chain; it is crucial to avoid sudden changes of the agreed policy and, most of all, to avoid changing rules with retroactive effect with consequent distrust of the investors. The solar industry needs a clear and reliable regulation framework to have the means to plan investments and develop mid and long-term strategies for the growth of the whole sector.”

Energia III was still in effect. Its successor Conto Energia IV then gradually reduced the feed-in tariffs paid out for solar power. Operators who still had projects in the pipeline were now scrambling to con-nect their PV plants to the grid as quickly as possible. By the second half of 2011, the tariffs were lowered on a monthly basis. As a consequence of the regula-tory adjustments, the newly installed capacity had climbed up to 6.5 GW by the end of September.

The development is even more astonishing if one takes into account that the Italian PV market had al-most come to a standstill after the review of the new-ly introduced Conto Energia III was announced. Sud-denly, the activities ceased. The uncertainties had be-come too great. Then, as the first details of the new decree Conto Energia IV came to the surface, the mar-ket slowly regained momentum. Especially, the oper-ators of utility-scale projects tried to realize their PV plants as rapidly as possible to benefit from the much higher feed-in tariffs offered until the end of June.

However, what had caused the sudden boom on the market also triggered some of the pessimistic forecasts for the year 2012: one is that the conditions for utility-scale PV projects have already drastically worsened. The other one is based on two announce-ments made by the Monti government at the begin-ning of the year, which suggest that the boom for large-scale PV plants has come to an end in Italy: the first announcement concerned the promotion of

What the market thinks

ground-mounted PV systems on agricultural land. The second concerned the funding for PV large-scale plants in the second half of 2012. Both will be discontinued.

Apart from this news, Italy’s new Prime Minister Mario Monti has remained rather ambiguous about the future promotion of PV. On more than one occa-sion, Environmental Minister Corrado Clini promised that the solar incentive would be kept alive – but there has been no clear signal.

Market shift

Against this backdrop, it seems almost impossible to say anything definite about the future market development in Italy. Katja Meyer, a solar expert for Germany Trade & Invest, agrees: “The feed-in tariffs have been cut steeply. But the falling module prices continue to make investments lucrative”, says Meyer. “The rates of return remain fairly high. However, whether the number of new installations will stay on the same level, remains to be seen.” The market structure is expected to shift. “Italy’s current Conto Energia favours rooftop systems with a capacity of up to 1 MW. This suggests that the trend will go into the direction of large-scale rooftop PV on commercial buildings over the next few years – perhaps we will even see new operating models.” It’s not the first time that the Italian market is

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Market DevelopMent


reshuffling. “At the beginning of 2010, the seg-ment for small-scale PV systems still dominated the market with a share of 50 % while large-scale plants accounted for only 15 %.”

By the end of the year 2011, the overall picture had radically changed: according to data by the Italian energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE), the segment for PV plants with a capacity of less than 20 kW had accounted for 13.2 % of the total installed capacities in Italy at the time. PV systems with a ca-pacity of between 20 and 50 kW had contributed 3.6 % while the share of PV plants with a capacity ex-ceeding 50 kW had increased to 83.2 % of the total installed capacities in the country. In other words: the Italian market has seen a clear shift in the last year away from small-scale PV plants and towards instal-lations with capacities of more than 50 kW.

New impetus through grid parity

Many market participants view Italy’s Conto Energia IV, which was initiated and put into effect under the former Berlusconi government, as a political effort to scale back growth in the segment for utility-scale PV. Roberto Pera, an attorney of the law company Rödl & Partner and an expert for the Italian solar market, comments the new conditions: “In practice, Italy’s Conto Energia IV has put a freeze on the segment for utility-scale PV systems.” Since May 2011 there have

Bruno Lombardi, CEO, Phoenix Solar Italia: “The general trend is to lower the incentive for large solar PP as much as possible and to raise the incentive for the ‘third dimension’, which is installations on rooftops, carports or greenhouses. Another buzzword is self-consumption. Consequently, the market is increasingly oriented towards small and medium-sized installations and value-added distribution such as technical, administrative, financial, after-sales services. The solar modules are becoming ‘commodities’, so the commodity market rules are the winners right now. Last but not least, the severe financial situation is freezing the investments. The banks are not financing investments with a ratio equity/debt less than 30 to 40 % and the interest rate is not less than 9 to 10 %.”

Fabio Patti, Managing Director, Yingli Green Energy Italia: “In addition to the legislative chaos coming from the uncertain framework conditions, the 10 % FIT regulation worsened an already difficult situation. Many non-EU players succeeded in obtaining this tariff thanks to the acquisition, for instance, of European suppliers. This regulation was introduced to protect the European manufacturers. But, at the end of the day, it has produced only a really misleading and unclear situation, which for sure has not helped the European PV manufacturers.”

barely been any new projects initiated and many that were in the pipeline have been abandoned. “The tar-iff situation has become very uncertain”, says Pera. A similar perspective is offered by Jury Mancinelli, Business Development Director of Solarig. Until recently, his company had focussed exclusively on the installation of ground-mounted PV systems. “Conto Energia IV has been a shock for us. It means that we had to suspend our plans for the develop-ment of large-scale projects for now. Fortunately, we had also become active in the segment for rooftop PV systems a while ago, which will now be our focus.”

Katja Meyer is not quite as pessimistic. She be-lieves that the conditions for utility-scale PV plants will become better in Italy provided that the module prices continue to fall on the global PV markets. “The prospects for ground-mounted PV will begin to im-prove again as the generation costs for solar power continue to drop to the level of the regular electricity price. This development will particularly affect the southern Italian regions.” One of the reasons for this is that the electricity prices in Italy are still among the highest in all of Europe. “Private households current-ly pay 22 €-ct per kWh. Commercial customers face costs of 18 €-ct and major companies pay around 12 €-ct per kWh”, says Paolo Muti, CEO of the Italy-based solar company Solsonica.

EPIA backs up the prognosis of solar expert Meyer. The association has compared the expected

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Market DevelopMent


generation costs for solar power in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain over the next ten years with the generation costs from other energy sources. The results suggest that the Italian end consumer will be the first to benefit from grid parity – which might be achieved as soon as 2013. “And the moment when investments into solar power become as attractive as investments into conventional forms of electricity generation, that is, the generation value competitiveness, will come by 2014 in the segment for utility-scale PV in Italy”, says EPIA President Ingmar Wilhelm.

Pessimism prevails

However, at least for the time being, the majority of the market participants have remained sceptical.

Christopher Seng, International Sales Manager, DEGERenergie: “We believe that the Italian market for small-scale PV systems will continue to grow at a steady rate in the medium term. Our expectations for the long term are that grid parity will probably be reached in Italy by the end of the year, which is when the electricity sold by the utilities will be on the same level as the costs for solar

power and even become more expensive. The time for Power Purchase Agreements, as we know them from the United States, will then come: operators of local solar parks will close supply contracts with industry players or other local consumers that buy their electricity. It’s a development we also expect to take place in Italy within the next few years.”

Lorenzo Colombo, Country Manager, Italy Danfoss Solar Inverters: “2011 was characterized by an extraordinary high number of PV installations, in particular, large-scale PV plants, which reached the same level as in Germany. Moreover, the banks played an important role in Italy throughout 2011, influencing the PV market with limited PV project financing. Considering that the PV market in Italy is constantly evolving, it is not easy to make a forecast. No doubt, the stop for large ground-mounted

PV systems for the second half of 2012 will affect the market on a quality level as well as the probable decree regarding large PV systems on agricultural lands.”

Especially in the area of large-scale PV systems, it is expected that the market will come to a near stand-still in 2012. The problems already begin with the definition of what is considered to be “large-scale” under the terms of the new decree. In the case of rooftop systems, for example, the category starts with a capacity of 1,000 kW. Ground-mounted sys-tems already fall into this class starting with a ca-pacity of 200 kW. Operators of utility-scale PV sys-tems can only claim the feed-in tariff, if their project has been registered for the corresponding term. However, there was only a very short timescale giv-en to submit applications. For the first half of 2012, the participants were required to file their applica-tions between November 1st and 30th 2011. The en-ergy agency will then use fixed criteria for the alloca-tion of subsidies, such as adequate financing and choice of location.

But even given all these impediments, the seg-ment for utility-scale PV systems would in theory be able to survive. The final blow came from another reg-ulation imposed by Conto Energia IV, which made further growth in the segment virtually impossible: while the Berlusconi government had not limited the number of new installations in a direct way, it had capped the budget available for the promotion of utility-scale projects. For large-scale PV systems in-stalled between June 1st 2011 and December 31st 2012, the incentive was limited to a total of € 580 million per year. According to calculations by the Italian government, the funds would be enough to promote a newly installed capacity in the range of 2.69 GW. For the four years 2013-2016, the decree will provide an additional € 1.3 billion, which is expected to lead to new installations in the range of 9.77 GW.

Shortly after these figures had been public, the market participants expressed serious doubt. “We do not think that the budget plan will allow for another round of tenders in the second half of 2012”, com-mented Gennaro Sposato, an attorney for the legal company Rödl & Partner. If the costs for the promo-tion in the first round are added to the costs for the promotion of large-scale projects that will be connected by August 31st 2011 under the terms of Conto Energia III, it becomes obvious that the budget as envisaged will not be enough, says Sposato.

His suspicion was not far-fetched. At the begin-ning of the year, GSE announced that Italy would not offer an incentive for large-scale PV plants with a ca-pacity above 200 kW in the second half of 2012, as the budget had already been used up. And it didn’t take long until the sector received more bad news: the promotion of PV systems on agricultural surfaces would be discontinued, announced the Monti government. The news affected also PV plants that had previously received subsidies under the Decreto Romani. Named after and initiated by former Minister for Economic Development Paolo Romani in March 2011, the decree has restricted the subsidies paid out for PV on farmland to installations with a nominal capacity below 1 MW. They must be located at least

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Market DevelopMent


Averaldo Farri, CEO, Power-One Italy: “The situation in Italy is highly uncertain at the moment – for the country as a whole as well as for our industry. There continues to be a demand for PV installations on the market. But severe difficulties with the financing from banks and the continued uncertainty regarding the legislative framework represent a major hurdle to the progression and development of our industry. We are working very hard with the Italian authorities, both as a company and as a representative of GIFI, to make sure this impasse is overcome as quickly and as far as possible.”

Dr. Stefan Wiebach, Deputy European Product Line Manager, Kyocera: “The expectations for our project business on the Italian market were not really met in 2011. But we are still pleased about the new sales office in Milan, which will continue to be our backbone for the expansion of our activities in Italy in 2012. Similar to other European countries, we see the trend go away from the segment for large-scale PV and towards rooftop systems, particularly in the residential area where Kyocera traditionally has a strong foothold. We will be working with our sales partners to further strengthen our position. Improving customer services always offers opportunities as well.”

Jury Mancinelli, Business Development Director, Solarig: “Italy is and is going to be a profitable country to invest in, although the legislative framework for the PV sector is still affected by great uncertainty. Nevertheless, we expect a positive trend starting from the second half of 2012 and that grid parity will probably be reached in course of 2013.”

Matteo Neri, Commercial Director Italy, Biosar: “The recent financial crisis is posing new challenges for the operators, but Italy continues to be a very attractive market. In order to survive in the current rough waters, companies need to be flexible enough and quick. Solar has no rivals in a future world supplied by clean energy, and grid parity is on the horizon, behind the waves.”

Sun & Wind Energy – Special Edition Italy 1/2012 15

Gehrlicher Solar Italia S.r.l., a subsidiary of the Germany-based Gehrlicher Solar AG, has realized five solar parks in northern Italy. Sole investor is White Owl Capital. Photo: Gehrlicher Solar

2 km away from the next large-scale system owned by the same operator. In addition, the installation may not cover more than 10 % of the property. Farmland that has not been cultivated for longer than five years has been excluded from the restriction.

Key market despite drop in 2012

In practice, the changes imposed by the Monti gov-ernment have led to the following consequences: PV plants that did not fall under the regulations of the Decreto Romani had to be put into operation by March 28th 2012, if the operator had obtained a license and not begun with the construction. If the terms of the Decreto Romani did apply to the project, the PV plant had to be put into operation by the date of January 24th 2013, if licensed and not yet constructed.

Since the measures of the Monti government have significantly scaled back the growth in the seg-ment for utility-scale PV projects for the current year and cut the promotion of PV on farmland, the market structure has again been shifting. “The segment for private and commercial rooftop PV power plants is at-tracting investors with comparatively high feed-in tar-iffs and a multitude of suitable rooftops available in attractive locations”, says Daniel Christian Quack, Solar Analyst for EuPD Research and an expert for the Italian PV market. The importance of regional install-er companies with main focus on small rooftop sys-tems will now be growing considerably, says Quack.

Italy is not going to shine with new installation records in 2012. This would require that the promo-tion of utility-scale PV systems is continued. Market analysts expect that the capacities will be far below the mark of 9 GW, which sent Italy to the top in 2011. Nevertheless, the Italian solar market will again be one of the key sales markets for many global and do-mestic manufacturers. On the one hand, the number of new installations in Europe’s second biggest PV market Germany is expected to drop sharply as a re-sult of the massive cuts in the incentive. On the other hand, the framework conditions in Italy are still much better than in many other countries around the world.

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GIFI


In an interview with SUN & WIND

ENERGY, Valerio Natalizia, President

of the Italian PV Industry

Association (GIFI), talks

about the effects of the

change of government

on the solar market,

the importance of

incentives for the

Italian PV sector for the

near future and the need of

the market participants to

continuously adjust to unexpected

changes.

16

S&WE: Mr. Natalizia, what do you think of the interim government’s plans? What effects will they have on the Italian energy policy?Valerio Natalizia: From the beginning, I have had a positive impression of the way the Italian interim government dealt with energy policy and the PV sector in general, even though there are no specific measures at the time.

S&WE: What happens if the incentive is used up, and not replaced?Natalizia: The goal of the Italian PV sector is to be successful without the need for government incentives in the medium term. I don’t view the regulation as a problem, but rather as a challenge. Our top priority is to make the Italian PV sector independent from subsidies.

S&WE: How likely is another change or an extension of the PV incentive?Natalizia: As I said, we welcome any form of funding that will make the Italian PV sector more independent. It is really important to approach this issue with all the PV stakeholders.

“The goal is to beindependent from subsidies”

At the end of 2010, Valerio Natalizia was elected President of the Italian PV Industry Association GIFI. GIFI is the most representative Italian PV association with about 170 partner companies and growing. GIFI was established within the ANIE Federation–Confindustria (Italian Electrical and Electronic Industry Federation). Photo: Europressedienst


Verona9-11 May

Paris 3-5 April

Stand n° H102

Solarexpo Stand C4.1 Pad. 3 Solarch Stand D4.1 Pad.1

S&WE: In case that the incentive is eliminated, how are you going to convince the Italian end customers to buy PV products?Natalizia: At present, the Italian PV sector still cannot survive without government support. In the future, we will have to show to the Italian end customers that PV is a clean and renewable energy form that creates value for everybody in Italy in the long term.

S&WE: What could be alternatives to the incentives? Which would you consider for your company?Natalizia: There are different avenues open that could lead to “PV independence”. It is difficult to make a case for one particular incentive programme. We should go on with what we currently have. However, I have welcomed the Kyoto Fund with its € 600 million of facilitated rate funding (0.5 %); the second is the 36 % tax credit available from January 1st, 2013.

S&WE: Which market segments and applications of PV products that still live a niche existence will gain in importance in the future? Where do you see a potential for innovation in Italy?Natalizia: In the future, we will certainly see rooftop plants as well as small and mediumsized PV systems gain in importance. In my opinion there is a source of development potential in the electronics segment for PV as a whole and in everything linked to aftersale services. I want to add that these fields of innovation have created and nowadays still create many new jobs.

S&WE: In view of the fiercer competition, how do you assess the situation of small and medium-sized companies in Italy in the medium and in the long term?Natalizia: I believe that small and mediumsized companies play a fundamental role in the development of the Italian PV industry. But I also think that only companies, which are able to adjust to the current changes on the market, will survive.

S&WE: What impact will the 10 % bonus paid out on top of the feed-in tariff for PV plants with 60 % EU content have on the Italian market and beyond?Natalizia: Unfortunately, this regulation did not help the Italian companies. In fact, the rule made the 10 % bonus available to all EU manufacturers. It would be far better to see a regulation supporting companies that create local value in Italy.

S&WE: How do you assess the current situation for market entries and start-ups?Natalizia: We are not facing the same market situation we saw a few years ago. You cannot simply enter the PV sector and start a business. As I said before, the industry players have to adjust continuously to the new and challenging situation while maintaining an innovative approach.

www.sunergsolar.com


Rooftop systems

Small is beautifulItaly’s annual PV growth will continue to increase over the next few months,

but only on the country’s rooftops. The Italian government has set out the

path: rooftop PV systems with a capacity of up to 1 MW are paid out the

highest feed-in tariff in the scope of Conto Energia IV. The market is turning

around.

18

With the regulatory adjustments in the scope of Conto Energia IV, the Italian government has made the path clear for the solar sector:

the trend will now be away from large-scale open space systems and towards small or medium-sized rooftop PV plants. Amplio, a private equity group, has been active in the Italian PV sector for several years. Recently, the company was even able to obtain a loan worth € 16 million from an Italian bank for the realiza-tion of several ground-mounted PV systems – despite the current financing bottlenecks for solar projects.

“Drumming up financing for such projects in Italy has become extremely challenging”, says Alberto Dalla Rosa, CEO of Amplio Solar. “The Italian market is due to shrink massively after seeing a record- shattering 9 GW of new PV capacity connected to the grid in 2011.” The loan will allow Amplio Solar to realize projects with a total capacity of 7 MW in Latina, Lazio. With this, the company says its portfolio of fully-operational PV parks has grown to a total of more than 30 MW in Italy. Most of this capacity will be installed in the form of ground-mounted PV plants (20 MW).

“But then that will be it”, says Dalla Rosa. The company has announced that it will now massively expand its investments in the area of rooftop PV. In the course of the year, Amplio Solar plans to install rooftop plants with a total capacity of 30 MW on Sicily. The capacity will be realized in form of several small-scale PV plants, which makes it easier to obtain loans, says Amplio. The company already operates solar parks in Lazio and large-scale PV plants in Apulia, on Sicily and in the Abruzzo. Most of the mod-ules are supplied by Fluitecnik. The radical shift to-wards rooftop arrays may be abrupt and is certainly less difficult for a private equity group than for project developers. Nevertheless, Amplio is not the only market participant that has decided on a strategic new orientation.

Smart partnership

Italy-based TerniEnergia is an example. The company recently announced that it will completely revise its business strategy by 2013 and put its exclusive focus

Italy’s most lucrative market segment for the foreseeable future: rooftop systems. Photo: alfasolar

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Rooftop systems


on the segment of rooftop PV arrays. TerniEnergia al-so plans to intensify its collaboration with electric utilities and search for new partners in the area of energy-efficient building. That step was already made by Enfinity Italy. The company, which is owned by Belgium-based Enfinity, develops, constructs and op-erates PV power plants. Enfinity Italy has announced that it signed a contract with Mabo Group, a leader in industrial building construction based in Tuscany with several years of experience. Under the terms of the agreement, Mabo Group will contribute its exper-tise in rooftops.

Enfinity Italy and Mabo Group will co-develop and construct PV plants on commercial and industri-al rooftops throughout Italy. “We believe this agree-ment will bring great results in the future; Enfinity is investing heavily in Italy with a particular focus on building integration”, says Francesco Zorgno, CEO of Enfinity Italy. “Rooftop PV construction is in Enfinity’s DNA, born out of our long experience in Belgium. We

have used that experience to grow in a planned and sustain-able manner in Italy, and we will continue to do so”. Between 2011 and 2012, Enfinity and Mabo Group plan to develop 100 MW of rooftop PV installa-tions with a total value of ap-proximately € 300 million.

Mabo Group will identify suit-able areas for the development of the projects, conduct feasibility studies and perform all the necessary site acquisition tasks. “Since 2000, Mabo Group has been designing and constructing

buildings that can produce energy independently and direct any excess energy generated into the grid. Our target is to develop and deliver more ambitious and innovative projects – in Enfinity we have found a stra-tegic partner with real synergy and we intend to grow together in the Italian renewable energy industry”, says Mabo Group Chairman Robert Falsini. Mabo Group’s experts have already selected 10 million m2 of suitable rooftop space from the 20 million m2 of covered areas it has built since the company was formed. Enfinity will undertake the construction of the PV plants as well as the subsequent operations and maintenance services.

Trade fair Parma trusts in Conergy

One of the companies that had begun to focus on rooftop PV in Italy at an early stage is the Germany-based solar panel manufacturer Conergy. In 2009, Conergy had already installed a 1.7 MW PV plant on a hall of the exhibition centre in Parma. Conergy Italy now announced a follow-up order. The project will be one of Italy’s biggest rooftop PV plants and installed on behalf of the Italian fairground operator Fiere di Parma. The solar panels will cover three exhibition halls in Parma.

“Our first Conergy plant has already far exceed-ed our expectations,” says Franco Boni, President of the Parma Exhibition Centre. “It was therefore clear to us that we would also go for quality with our second plant and continue our successful part-nership with Conergy. The new plant is part of our comprehensive modernization programme for the halls and at the same time an ecological showcase in exhibition construction, of which we are very proud.” The system underlines the sustainability efforts of the exhibition centre in Parma. Besides the positive experiences made with the first instal-lation, the fairground operator in Parma will be able to benefit from the 10 % bonus paid out on top the feed-in tariff for projects using component parts made in the EU. “Conergy’s modules, invert-ers and mounting systems fulfil all the require-ments laid down in detail by the Italian energy agency in their guidelines”, says Giuseppe Sofia, CEO of Conergy Italy. “They have already received

Conergy has realized a number of rooftop and carport PV projects in Italy, e. g. this carport system for the Italian hotel group BluSerena.

Photo: Conergy

The trend towards rooftop PV plants offers many op-portunities: there is still a lot of room on Italian rooftops.

Photo: Enfinity

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Rooftop systems


the required ‘Made in EU’ certifications and are marked with the corresponding TÜV logos.”

Part of the electricity will directly be used by the exhibition centre. 16 Conergy IPG C central inverters will feed the excess electricity into the local grid. The project uses a total of around 22,000 Conergy PowerPlus modules installed on an area of 44,000 m². Financing has come from the bank Cariparma Crédit Agricole, which had already been on board for the first project in Parma.

Experience pays off

Aleo solar, a Bosch subsidiary, is also pleased that its modules will again be used on rooftops in Italy. The company has received an order for its aleo S_18 and S_19 modules from the Azienda Agricola Il Bor-ro farm; Energy Toscana Servizi and Il Borro Srl have installed the modules on an industrial shed in Loro Ciuffenna (365 kW) as well as on other buildings. Aleo solar had already gained previous experience with rooftop PV in Italy. More than 13,000 S_18 modules were supplied for a 3 MW rooftop plant in Cuneo, Italy, says Hermann Iding, Head of Corporate Communications at aleo solar. The order was received from the companies Eurostock and Verde Energia, both of which are part of the Lannutti Group, one of the largest logistics corpora-tions in Italy.

After Payom Solar AG had already been able to generate considerable sales in Italy in the last year, its affiliate Solen Energy GmbH announced the es-tablishment of an own branch in Italy. The newly founded company Solen Energy Italia SAS has its main office in Turbigo, North of Milan and was able to make its debut on the market with a large-scale order. Solen Energy Italia announced that it had signed an agreement with a Danish investor group for roof projects with a total capacity of 4 MW. The total contract value amounts to more than € 13 million.

Opportunities for newcomers

The news of small and medium-sized rooftop projects will continue to make the headlines in the future. On the one hand, the freeze on the segment for utility-scale systems has shifted the focus of the entire Italian PV sector towards rooftop plants. On the other hand, the feed-in tariffs offered for rooftop systems are still generous and the large amount of “unused” rooftop spaces offers a lot of potential. Newcomers will also find attractive opportunities in Italy. A recent example is the Czech company Photon Energy whose subsidiary Photon Engineering s.r.l was able to sell its first rooftop PV system on the Italian market. The plant was put into service in Verderio Inferiore, in the province of Lecco, and has a capacity of 261 kW. “It’s one of four rooftop systems with a total capacity of 2.7 MW that we have in our portfolio in Italy”, says Filippo Lambert, CEO of Photon Energy. Another project currently under planning by Photon Energy is a 1 MW rooftop system in Biella.

Meanwhile, thin-film modules have also found their way onto the Italian rooftops. Xunlight Corpora-tion, a company that is headquartered in the United States and manufacturers its modules in China, recent-ly reported that it received certification under the re-quirements of the IEC 61646 and 61730 standards for its XR36 291W thin-film modules. With the certifica-tion granted by TÜV InterCert Group, Xunlight has be-come eligible to sell its solar modules on the European market. Only a short time following the news, Xunlight sold 360 solar modules into a 104 kW rooftop PV project in Spilimbergo. In addition, Xunlight received an order for a similar project in Slovakia. “We are pleased that Xunlight modules have been selected for these projects,” says Dr. Xunming Deng, CEO of Xunlight. “We are seeing increasing demand for our products. Xunlight modules can be easily integrated into roofing systems and are classified as innovative, which means that projects utilizing our modules will qualify for the highest feed-in tariff in many markets.”

Aleo solar supplied more than 13,000 solar modules of the type aleo S_18 for a 3 MW rooftop system in Cuneo, Italy. Photo: aleo solar

Company profile


>SolarWorld produces quality modules made in Germany. And the high quality standard is SolarWorld’s brand. Each product is manufac-

tured to the highest level of quality along the whole value chain, from the silicon right up to the finished module. Every photovoltaic plant that SolarWorld delivers is optimised and designed to ensure the highest yields.

SolarWorld in Italy

SolarWorld has continually intensified its sales and marketing activities in Italy over the past few years. These activities have ranged from a constant expan-sion of its product palette, to upping the marketing and communication efforts, developing a wholesaler network, and increasing personal contact to local customers. SolarWorld maintains a strong dialogue with solar power experts in the Italian market – from distributors, to planners and installers – to ensure that its offering is optimally tailored to the require-ments of the customers. The market launch of the SolarWorld Sunkit is a milestone in this effort.

Custom tailored system kits

SolarWorld’s Sunkit system kit is the perfect solution for sloped or flat roofs. The kits are configured individ-ually for each situation and the components are ideal-ly matched to one another. The Sunkit system kits

contain well-known quality brand-name products: German-made Sunmodule Plus modules, inverters that are system-optimised to the SolarWorld standard configuration, DC cables, and the SolarWorld mount-ing system. SolarWorld’s individual system-kit plan-ning support makes planning a solar power system a snap. To take advantage of this service, installers sim-ply fill out a form and let the experts at SolarWorld do the rest. SolarWorld delivers an optimally planned and designed solar power system. Another benefit of SolarWorld’s Sunkits is guaranteed quick and easy installation. That saves installers time and money.

SolarWorld also offers the perfect solar power de-sign solution as a system kit. The Sundeck is a state-of-the-art product that sets the standard for roof- integrated systems. It enables a harmonic integration of the solar power system into the roof, making it the perfect design solution for discerning customers. The support of the company in the planning process and optimally matched components ensure quick and easy installation, even for installers without experience with roof integrated systems. The key component of the roof integration kit is the Sundeck drainage flash-ing. The flashing is secured directly to the horizontal roof battens, forming a superstructure for the solar modules. On new roofs or roof renovations the system eliminates the cost of conventional roofing materials.

Solar power solutions from SolarWorld stand for quality made in Germany and aesthetic solar power applications for any roof and any situation.

Company profile

The best photovoltaic system is also the best investment. A solar power

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SolarWorld’s solar power solutions stand for aesthetics and quality “Made in Germany”. Photos: SolarWorld

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Mounting SySteMS

Plenty of solutions for flat roofsFor the time being, it will be the market segment in Italy where most of the

money is made: small and medium-sized rooftop systems. But operators

who want to see their PV plants last on their rooftops will have to look for

adequate mounting solutions. S&WE has compiled a list of over 200 flat

roof solutions offered by around 90 manufacturers. The complete list is

freely available on: www.sunwindenergyitaly.com

24

Getting an overview of the market for mounting systems in Italy is not easy. According to in-dustry representatives, about 100 manufac-

turers are currently trying to sell their mounting solu-tions on the market. Some of the well-known Italian companies are Albasolar, Duco, Hold Pipe, Orbis, Teknomega or Tecnosistemi. Besides this, the market for mounting systems is dominated by “manufactur-ers based in Germany or in other parts of the world”, says Helge Tost, Director Sales and Marketing of Mounting Systems. Many of them come from other sectors that have little or nothing to do with PV and view mounting systems for solar panels as a niche product. Besides this, there is also a broad range of Italy-based manufacturers that supply mostly individ-ual component parts for mounting solutions. In the

past, many Italian PV installers used to prefer compil-ing the mounting systems themselves. “The install-ers have made their own experiences. They use com-ponents by suppliers they know and whose products they trust”, says Bruno Lombardi, CEO of Phoenix Solar Italia. But using products by different manufac-turers can also have negative consequences if the in-staller chooses only cheap components: if the cus-tomer is not satisfied, a warranty claim can become tricky.

Trends for flat roof solutions

In contrast, all-in-one mounting systems, which are offered by the majority of foreign companies active in Italy, have a lot of advantages. They are complete so-

More and more market participants are calling for lower prices in the segment for mounting so-lutions, as the costs for a classic mounting system with triangular support structure are even in-creasing when compared to other PV products. Photo: Clenergy



Plenty of solutions for flat roofs

Many roofs have a limited load bearing capacity. Additional loads have to be carefully calculated. This means that the mounting system has to be light or the amount of ballast minimized... Photos (2): SE-Consulting

... but light systems may not be able to resist strong winds or storms and tip over or even be carried off the roof. For that reason the manufacturers try to improve the aerodynamics of their mounting systems.

Photo: AmbiVolt

The complete figures – of over 200 flat roof solu-

tions offered by around 90 manufacturers – will

be published on www.sunwindenergyitaly.com

lutions ready to install and with component parts that fit together properly. Nev-ertheless there remain traps for the installer. The mounting system has to be carefully selected. The structural strength of large rooftops does not always allow for additional loads such as a PV system. Many roofs have a limited capac-ity, which means that additional loads have to be ac-curately calculated. The mounting system therefore has to be light and the ballast kept as low as possi-ble. On the other hand, the mounting system de-pends on a sufficient amount of ballast. If the ballast is too low, the PV arrays may not be able to resist strong winds or storms and tip over or even be carried off the roof. To prevent this from happening, the mounting systems are usually glued, riveted, screwed or otherwise attached to the roof. However, depend-ing on the type of roof covering, the problems con-tinue: if the systems are not professionally or improp-erly installed, the parts of the roof covering that have to be penetrated may be damaged and allow for water

www.sunex.pl





Mounting SySteMS

ManufacturerCountry Product Product description Type of rooftop Connection to rooftop Type of module /

module orientationMaximum module size: width [mm] x length [mm]

Inclination angle [°]

Assem-bly time [h/kW]

Material of construction system and equipment

Price per m² of module area [¤]

Altec Solartechnik AG D Flamont pre-assembled triangular mounting system, modular instal-lation possible

bitumen, foil / industrial halls with lightweight construction flat roofs

adhesive fixing without roof penetration, no extra ballast required

framed diverse 15 / 20 / 25 n/a aluminium, steel n/a

Alubel SpA I EnerAl mounting structure composed of extruded aluminium profiles for photovoltaic modules

metal connection to rooftop with screws every format n/a n/a n/a aluminium n/a

Aluk Group Spa I Aluk SPV system system support structure for PV panels, every type of rooftop bitumen, concrete, metal n/a framed / horizontal, vertical 1,200 x 2,200 3-35 n/a aluminuim, stainless steel, steel screws

on request

Alumero Systematic Solutions GmbH

A EasyFlex pre-assembled, aerodynamic aluminium triangular mounting system, protection pads with barrier to prevent diffusion of plastic softener

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, without ballast, ballast-ing possible

framed / horizontal / orientation south

770-1,020 x 1,570-1,675 15-25 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Alusic Srl I Kit triangolio una fila 084.106.303

aluminum triangular mounting system for flat roofs, modular construction system, modules in one row

n/a n/a framed / vertical n/a x 982 30 n/a aluminium n/a

Alutitan Spa I Triangolo sostegno tetto piano

flat roof angle bracket, modular construction system n/a n/a n/a n/a 30 n/a n/a n/a

AmbiVolt Energie-technik GmbH

D Ambilight aluminium base and cross rail system with module clamps, east-west alignment

bitumen, concrete, gravel, metal, foil no roof penetration, only low ballast required

framed or frameless / horizontal

1,020 x 2,000 7.5-10 n/a aluminium n/a

Ari Metal Srl I Sistemi tetto piani -centina cod. 9103

pre-assembled triangular aluminium mounting system, modules screwed to cross rails

n/a no roof penetration, ballasting with pre-cast concrete elements

framed / vertical, modules in two rows

n/a 30 n/a aluminium n/a

Centrosolar AG D Ceniq aerodynamic mounting system, modular mounting brackets with elevation of 15°, aluminium module mounting rails

foil flat roofs, with roof pitch up to 3° / with limited or without load reserves

no roof penetration, combination of ballast-ing and welding with the roof membrane

framed with module height 35-50 mm

990-1,002 x 1,660 15 n/a aluminium, recycling plastic, stainless steel

n/a

Clenergy Germany GmbH

D PV-ez Rack Solar-Tripod

pre-assembled triangle frame bitumen, concrete, metal penetration of rooftop framed / horizontal, vertical n/a up to 30 n/a aluminium n/a

ClickCon GmbH & Co. KG

D ClickCon combination of insertion and screwless click system for mod-ules, combined with assembly and maintenance trolley

flat, inclined, trapezoidal or sandwich roofs with a slope of up to 20° fastening with screws, concrete blocks, hangar bolts, or clamps to standing seam metal roofs

framed with module height 36-50 mm; or on request / horizontal, vertical

n/a parallel to rooftop

n/a aluminium and other n/a

Colexon Energy AG D Colexon C+Z rectangular profiles on special protection quilt as support brackets, Z- and C-profiles screwed on each support, modules fixed with clamps

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil / industrial roofs with limited load reserves

mechanical connection to rooftop with screws, welding, or only ballasting of system

First Solar modules n/a 0-30 n/a aluminium, plastics, stainless steel, galvanized steel

n/a

Conergy AG D SolarFamulus Air aerodynamic, light-ballasted mounting system bitumen, concrete, foil / rooftops with limited load reserves no roof penetration framed / horizontal, installation in connected rows min. 10 m²

all widths x 1,000 15 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Contecta GmbH D Diconal pre-assembled, aerodynamic mounting system for flat or pitched roofs or façades, flexible installations

bitumen, concrete, foil, standing seam, trapezoidal metal sheet roofs, shingles, slate and corrugated metal roofs

roof hooks, hangar bolts, standing seam clamps etc., installation with or without roof penetration

framed modules and laminates / horizontal, vertical

optional 0-60 n/a aluminium, stainless steel depending on project (>45 ¤/kW)

Creotecc GmbH D Ventecc aerodynamic flat roof mounting system, pre-assembled triangular mounting racks on base rails

bitumen, concrete, foil / hall roofs featuring lightweight construction no roof penetration, integrated brackets for ballasting

every module type / horizontal 1,060 x variable 10 / 15 / 20 n/a aluminium, stainless steel, EPDM rubber mats

n/a

to enter. The trend is therefore to build mounting sys-tems for flat roofs and apply the design concepts of aerodynamics. These solutions need less ballast and make the whole construction more resistant against uplifts. An additional benefit: the PV system can be mounted without having to penetrate the roof mem-brane and are kept stable thanks to their aerodynam-ic design. Most of these systems have already been tested in wind tunnels and can be set up quickly and easily.

Of course, quality has a price. The costs for an in-novative mounting system that has an aerodynamic design and fulfils high standards range between

If mounting solutions are not professionally or improperly installed, the parts of the roof covering that have to be pen-etrated may be damaged and allow for water to enter.

26

€ 230 and 240 per kilowatt effective output. The cheapest mounting kits cost 154 €/kW. In view of the falling module prices, the market participants are in-creasingly calling for cost reduction in the segment for mounting systems. But the trend is partly even in the opposite direction. For example, the costs for a classic mounting system with triangular support are even getting higher. Then again “it is almost impossi-ble for the suppliers”, says Bruno Lombardi, to lower the costs. “Mounting solutions have been produced for over 200 years for all kinds of applications and the costs are connected to the prices for raw materials such as aluminium. Metals are increasingly expen-sive, which leaves the manufacturers with few op-tions. There is also little room left for innovation”, the expert continues. Claudio Liciotti, Project Manager at Brandoni Solare Spa, disagrees: “There will be two options for lowering the costs in the segment of mounting systems: one is to use alternative and more cost-efficient materials, the other one is to simply use less.” Over the last few years, a new trend has there-fore become visible. Increasingly, the mounting sys-tems are made from recycled plastics. Their image is still not the best. But in times of fiercer competition, the market could soon turn around and plastics or other materials become more popular. In the end, the rising raw material costs and the pressure on the market give manufacturers who want to lower their costs or at least keep them at current level no other option.

Sun & Wind Energy – Special Edition Italy 1/2012 27Sun & Wind Energy – Special Edition Italy 2011 27

ManufacturerCountry Product Product description Type of rooftop Connection to rooftop Type of module /

module orientationMaximum module size: width [mm] x length [mm]





Altec Solartechnik AG D Flamont pre-assembled triangular mounting system, modular instal-lation possible

bitumen, foil / industrial halls with lightweight construction flat roofs

adhesive fixing without roof penetration, no extra ballast required

framed diverse 15 / 20 / 25 n/a aluminium, steel n/a

Alubel SpA I EnerAl mounting structure composed of extruded aluminium profiles for photovoltaic modules

metal connection to rooftop with screws every format n/a n/a n/a aluminium n/a

Aluk Group Spa I Aluk SPV system system support structure for PV panels, every type of rooftop bitumen, concrete, metal n/a framed / horizontal, vertical 1,200 x 2,200 3-35 n/a aluminuim, stainless steel, steel screws

on request

Alumero Systematic Solutions GmbH

A EasyFlex pre-assembled, aerodynamic aluminium triangular mounting system, protection pads with barrier to prevent diffusion of plastic softener

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, without ballast, ballast-ing possible

framed / horizontal / orientation south

770-1,020 x 1,570-1,675 15-25 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Alusic Srl I Kit triangolio una fila 084.106.303

aluminum triangular mounting system for flat roofs, modular construction system, modules in one row

n/a n/a framed / vertical n/a x 982 30 n/a aluminium n/a

Alutitan Spa I Triangolo sostegno tetto piano

flat roof angle bracket, modular construction system n/a n/a n/a n/a 30 n/a n/a n/a

AmbiVolt Energie-technik GmbH

D Ambilight aluminium base and cross rail system with module clamps, east-west alignment

bitumen, concrete, gravel, metal, foil no roof penetration, only low ballast required

framed or frameless / horizontal

1,020 x 2,000 7.5-10 n/a aluminium n/a

Ari Metal Srl I Sistemi tetto piani -centina cod. 9103

pre-assembled triangular aluminium mounting system, modules screwed to cross rails

n/a no roof penetration, ballasting with pre-cast concrete elements

framed / vertical, modules in two rows

n/a 30 n/a aluminium n/a

Centrosolar AG D Ceniq aerodynamic mounting system, modular mounting brackets with elevation of 15°, aluminium module mounting rails

foil flat roofs, with roof pitch up to 3° / with limited or without load reserves

no roof penetration, combination of ballast-ing and welding with the roof membrane

framed with module height 35-50 mm

990-1,002 x 1,660 15 n/a aluminium, recycling plastic, stainless steel

n/a

Clenergy Germany GmbH

D PV-ez Rack Solar-Tripod

pre-assembled triangle frame bitumen, concrete, metal penetration of rooftop framed / horizontal, vertical n/a up to 30 n/a aluminium n/a

ClickCon GmbH & Co. KG

D ClickCon combination of insertion and screwless click system for mod-ules, combined with assembly and maintenance trolley

flat, inclined, trapezoidal or sandwich roofs with a slope of up to 20° fastening with screws, concrete blocks, hangar bolts, or clamps to standing seam metal roofs

framed with module height 36-50 mm; or on request / horizontal, vertical

n/a parallel to rooftop

n/a aluminium and other n/a

Colexon Energy AG D Colexon C+Z rectangular profiles on special protection quilt as support brackets, Z- and C-profiles screwed on each support, modules fixed with clamps

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil / industrial roofs with limited load reserves

mechanical connection to rooftop with screws, welding, or only ballasting of system

First Solar modules n/a 0-30 n/a aluminium, plastics, stainless steel, galvanized steel

n/a

Conergy AG D SolarFamulus Air aerodynamic, light-ballasted mounting system bitumen, concrete, foil / rooftops with limited load reserves no roof penetration framed / horizontal, installation in connected rows min. 10 m²

all widths x 1,000 15 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Contecta GmbH D Diconal pre-assembled, aerodynamic mounting system for flat or pitched roofs or façades, flexible installations

bitumen, concrete, foil, standing seam, trapezoidal metal sheet roofs, shingles, slate and corrugated metal roofs

roof hooks, hangar bolts, standing seam clamps etc., installation with or without roof penetration

framed modules and laminates / horizontal, vertical

optional 0-60 n/a aluminium, stainless steel depending on project (>45 ¤/kW)

Creotecc GmbH D Ventecc aerodynamic flat roof mounting system, pre-assembled triangular mounting racks on base rails

bitumen, concrete, foil / hall roofs featuring lightweight construction no roof penetration, integrated brackets for ballasting

every module type / horizontal 1,060 x variable 10 / 15 / 20 n/a aluminium, stainless steel, EPDM rubber mats

n/a

MORE TECHNOLOGYMORE EXPERIENCEMORE ENERGY PRODUCTIONMORE PROFITABILITYEEI. Power electronics since 1978

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Mounting SySteMS

Manufacturer Country Product Product description Type of rooftop Connection to rooftop Type of module / module orientation

Maximum module size: width [mm] x length [mm]





DPG Profilati Srl I Sunbuster system steel anchorage systems (pre-mounted), steel profiles, easy to use, versatile, cheap and available in kit or customized

flat roof, pitched roof, corrugated metal sheet brackets, stud screws, hooks, triangles with footplates

framed and laminated modules / horizontal, vertical

n/a 0-90 n/a continuous galvanized steel (special material), hot galvanized steel, stainless steel

n/a

Donauer Solartechnik Vertriebs GmbH

D Intersol - Flachdach flexible, triangular mounting system, modules mounted on cross rails, modular construction system, modular installa-tion or in rows

bitumen, concrete,gravel, foil fixation on plastic base plates, ballasting with concrete elements required for flat roofs without gravel surface

framed, frameless crystalline and thin-film / horizontal, vertical

n/a 20-35 n/a aluminium n/a

Duco Srl I DucoSystem diverse flat roof solutions diverse rooftops all types of rooftop on request n/a depending on project

n/a aluminium n/a

Ecojoule Srl I Easy Picco triangular aluminium mounting system all types of rooftop mechanical connection to rooftop, screws or clamps

framed / horizontal, vertical n/a 5-50 n/a aluminium, steel, recycling plastic

n/a

Energiebau Solarstromsysteme GmbH

D LORENZaero 10 complete aerodynamic mounting system, with crosswise in-stallation of base and mounting rails, height of system 50 cm

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil / rooftops with slope up to 5° no roof penetration, ballasted framed / horizontal n/a 10 n/a aluminium n/a

Enfinity Italia Srl B Flat Roof E ballasted aluminium triangle mounting system bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, metal, other ballasted with concrete tile framed / horizontal, vertical 1,000 x 1,670 10 / 15 / 30 1.2 aluminium, concrete 19

Esdec B.V. NL Flatfix foldable al-triangle system, standard al-profiles can be clicked into the specially formed recess

flat or slightly tilted roofs and areas secured through screws or ballast fits all solar panel sizes 1,100 x 2,000 13 / 15 / 20 / 30 other angles optional

2 aluminium, stainless steel, roof protection through EPDM rubber

20

Eurosol GmbH D Solarfix - Profil mounting system consisting of base rails, triangular brackets and module mounting rails

all types of rooftop / slightly tilted roofs, flat roofs, façades clamped to standing seam and trapezoidal metal roofs, fixation with screws, ballastable

framed / horizontal, vertical n/a variable n/a aluminium n/a

Fischer Licht & Metall Gmbh & Co. KG

D FDGlight Flach-dachsystem

aerodynamic mounting system, modular construction system bitumen, gravel, foil / all flat roofs up to 5° no roof penetration, no or only little ballast required

framed crystalline modules / horizontal, vertical

750-1,080 x optional 12 / 20 other angles on request

1 aluminium, stainless steel, polyurethane protection mats

n/a

Gehrlicher Solar AG D Gehrtec Aero aerodynamic mounting system, fast and easy assembling bitumen, foil no roof penetration, no ballasting required framed / horizontal 1,000 x 2,000 15 / 17 / 19 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

green factory GmbH D TB-Vario n/a sheet metal roofs with bulbs crystalline 1,000 x variable up to 25 n/a aluminium n/a

Hankofer-Emsland-solar GmbH & Co. KG

D Flachdachsystem 41/41

triangular aluminium mounting system bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration framed, crystalline / horizontal, vertical

n/a x 1,700 0-30 n/a galvanized steel n/a

hb Solar Handels GmbH

D Scirocco low-ballast, aerodynamic flat roof system, modules fixed with ground and upper profiles, system fixing cross-bars

suitable for almost all types of flat roofs no roof penetration suitable for 1,700 different standard modules

variable 15 / 20 / 25 / 30

n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Hilti Corporation FL MSP-Al versatile mounting system for various undergrounds – ideal also for small-sized projects

commercial metal sheet decks, concrete roofs and corrugated cement decks

connected with rooftop through screws and trapezoidal shoes

framed and laminates in up-right and horizontal orientation

n/a x 2,000 10-45 depend-ing on project

aluminum, stainless steel, galvanized steel

depending on project

Hold Pipe Srl I strutture fotovoltai-che

tilted mounting structure for flat or pitched roofs n/a mechanical connection to rooftop, ballastable

diverse module types 200 x 2,000 0-60 0.5 - 2 aluminium, galvanized steel, stainless steel

5-70

IBC Solar AG D IBC TopFix Standardstütze 1000/1450

standard mounting brackets for flat roofs, available for diverse inclination angles and module heights

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs

hangar bolts, fixation to concrete blocks, ballasted

framed, frameless crystalline and thin-film / vertical

n/a diverse n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Ilzhöfer GmbH D Ilzofix lightweighted, app. 10kg per m² incl. module, fast instal-lation

all, system comes with rubber pads for foil roofs no penetration of roof, ballasted with concrete system stones which are delivered with the system

framed modules only / horizontal

1,010 x 1,660 11-20 1 aluminium, stainless steel and rubber

> 48

Inventux Technologies AG

D Fixflat stackable trays, made of recycling plastic, tool-free assem-bling, click-system, simplex- or duplex-mounting

flat roofs with limited load reserves, up to 5° inclination no roof penetration, assembling without ballast possible

frameless thin-film and with backrail modules / vertical

n/a 10 n/a polypropylene n/a

K2 Systems GmbH D Ost-West System pre-assembled lightweight system on LevelRails, flat, double-sided east-west alignment

flat roofs with limited load reserves, up to 5° inclination hangar bolts, clamps, fixation to concrete blocks, ballasted

every module type / horizontal n/a 10 n/a aluminium, galvanized steel

n/a

Knubix GmbH D Knubix 80 aluminium mounting click-system, wind deflector sheets on side and backside, bitumen-free protection mats

bitumen, foil no roof penetration, little ballasting possible framed / horizontal 830 x 1,660

20 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Lattonedil S.p.A. I Solarpan Plus 3-point aluminium mounting system, installation with cross-bars and long profiles possible

sandwich, standing seam, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs

no bolting, only clamped diverse n/a n/a n/a aluminium n/a

Mage Solar AG D Mage Safetec mit Aufständerung

triangular module mounting brackets on base rails flat roof, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs with or without roof penetration, ballasting if required

framed modules / horizontal 1,069 x 1,580 5 -60 depend-ing on project

aluminium, stainless steel, plastic

n/a

MHH Solartechnik GmbH

D Mhhnovotegra für Flachdach, Aufständerung geschlossen

lightweight mounting system on crossed base and long rails, modules mounted on wind deflecting back sheets

bitumen, foil / roofs with limited load reserves no roof penetration, little ballasting possible framed / horizontal n/a 13 n/a aluminium n/a

montavent ag CH Aerorack Ost-West-Blechdächer, alle Sickenabstände

pre-assembled, aerodynamic mounting system, without screws

sandwich, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs / roofs with limited load reserves

no roof penetration, little ballasting possible framed, module height 30-55mm / horizontal (or on request)

950-1,010 x 1,630-1,690 10-15 n/a aluminium, stainless steel, plastic

n/a

Mounting Systems GmbH

D Lambda triangular aluminium mounting system, variable tilt angle and several foot options for both ballasted solutions and roof penetration

all types of rooftop fixation with clamps, screws, hangar bolts, or on concrete or steel blocks, or ballasted

every module type / all formates

n/a 10-60 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

mp-tec GmbH & Co. KG

D Snowflake pre-assembled, low-ballast, aerodynamic flat roof mounting system

bitumen, concrete, foil, standing seam, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs

no rooftop penetration framed, laminates / horizontal 800-900 / 901-1,030x variable

10 / 15 1.7 aluminium, stainless steel depending on project

MX Group S.p.A. I MS Line Serie G structure for 20 vertical modules, it doesn’t require concrete foundations

ground installation poles in the ground vertical 1,005 x 1,665 30 n/a aluminum and galvanized steel

n/a

Neuenhauser Maschinenbau GmbH

D Sunpack aerodynamic, triangular, pre-assembled mounting system, backsheets, open configuration of installation units

bitumen, concrete, gravel, plastic membrane no roof penetration, ballastable framed / horizontal 991 x 1,665 10-25 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Optigrün inter-national AG

D Sun-Root plastic mounting brackets with drainage system for green roofs, with aluminium module mounting rails

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, green roofs no roof penetration, ballasting with plantation and soil

framed / horizontal n/a 30 n/a aluminium, plastic n/a








DPG Profilati Srl I Sunbuster system steel anchorage systems (pre-mounted), steel profiles, easy to use, versatile, cheap and available in kit or customized

flat roof, pitched roof, corrugated metal sheet brackets, stud screws, hooks, triangles with footplates

framed and laminated modules / horizontal, vertical

n/a 0-90 n/a continuous galvanized steel (special material), hot galvanized steel, stainless steel

n/a

Donauer Solartechnik Vertriebs GmbH

D Intersol - Flachdach flexible, triangular mounting system, modules mounted on cross rails, modular construction system, modular installa-tion or in rows

bitumen, concrete,gravel, foil fixation on plastic base plates, ballasting with concrete elements required for flat roofs without gravel surface

framed, frameless crystalline and thin-film / horizontal, vertical

n/a 20-35 n/a aluminium n/a

Duco Srl I DucoSystem diverse flat roof solutions diverse rooftops all types of rooftop on request n/a depending on project

n/a aluminium n/a

Ecojoule Srl I Easy Picco triangular aluminium mounting system all types of rooftop mechanical connection to rooftop, screws or clamps

framed / horizontal, vertical n/a 5-50 n/a aluminium, steel, recycling plastic

n/a

Energiebau Solarstromsysteme GmbH

D LORENZaero 10 complete aerodynamic mounting system, with crosswise in-stallation of base and mounting rails, height of system 50 cm

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil / rooftops with slope up to 5° no roof penetration, ballasted framed / horizontal n/a 10 n/a aluminium n/a

Enfinity Italia Srl B Flat Roof E ballasted aluminium triangle mounting system bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, metal, other ballasted with concrete tile framed / horizontal, vertical 1,000 x 1,670 10 / 15 / 30 1.2 aluminium, concrete 19

Esdec B.V. NL Flatfix foldable al-triangle system, standard al-profiles can be clicked into the specially formed recess

flat or slightly tilted roofs and areas secured through screws or ballast fits all solar panel sizes 1,100 x 2,000 13 / 15 / 20 / 30 other angles optional

2 aluminium, stainless steel, roof protection through EPDM rubber

20

Eurosol GmbH D Solarfix - Profil mounting system consisting of base rails, triangular brackets and module mounting rails

all types of rooftop / slightly tilted roofs, flat roofs, façades clamped to standing seam and trapezoidal metal roofs, fixation with screws, ballastable

framed / horizontal, vertical n/a variable n/a aluminium n/a

Fischer Licht & Metall Gmbh & Co. KG

D FDGlight Flach-dachsystem

aerodynamic mounting system, modular construction system bitumen, gravel, foil / all flat roofs up to 5° no roof penetration, no or only little ballast required

framed crystalline modules / horizontal, vertical

750-1,080 x optional 12 / 20 other angles on request

1 aluminium, stainless steel, polyurethane protection mats

n/a

Gehrlicher Solar AG D Gehrtec Aero aerodynamic mounting system, fast and easy assembling bitumen, foil no roof penetration, no ballasting required framed / horizontal 1,000 x 2,000 15 / 17 / 19 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

green factory GmbH D TB-Vario n/a sheet metal roofs with bulbs crystalline 1,000 x variable up to 25 n/a aluminium n/a

Hankofer-Emsland-solar GmbH & Co. KG

D Flachdachsystem 41/41

triangular aluminium mounting system bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration framed, crystalline / horizontal, vertical

n/a x 1,700 0-30 n/a galvanized steel n/a

hb Solar Handels GmbH

D Scirocco low-ballast, aerodynamic flat roof system, modules fixed with ground and upper profiles, system fixing cross-bars

suitable for almost all types of flat roofs no roof penetration suitable for 1,700 different standard modules

variable 15 / 20 / 25 / 30


Hilti Corporation FL MSP-Al versatile mounting system for various undergrounds – ideal also for small-sized projects

commercial metal sheet decks, concrete roofs and corrugated cement decks

connected with rooftop through screws and trapezoidal shoes

framed and laminates in up-right and horizontal orientation

n/a x 2,000 10-45 depend-ing on project

aluminum, stainless steel, galvanized steel

depending on project

Hold Pipe Srl I strutture fotovoltai-che

tilted mounting structure for flat or pitched roofs n/a mechanical connection to rooftop, ballastable

diverse module types 200 x 2,000 0-60 0.5 - 2 aluminium, galvanized steel, stainless steel

5-70

IBC Solar AG D IBC TopFix Standardstütze 1000/1450

standard mounting brackets for flat roofs, available for diverse inclination angles and module heights

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs

hangar bolts, fixation to concrete blocks, ballasted

framed, frameless crystalline and thin-film / vertical

n/a diverse n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Ilzhöfer GmbH D Ilzofix lightweighted, app. 10kg per m² incl. module, fast instal-lation

all, system comes with rubber pads for foil roofs no penetration of roof, ballasted with concrete system stones which are delivered with the system

framed modules only / horizontal

1,010 x 1,660 11-20 1 aluminium, stainless steel and rubber

> 48

Inventux Technologies AG

D Fixflat stackable trays, made of recycling plastic, tool-free assem-bling, click-system, simplex- or duplex-mounting

flat roofs with limited load reserves, up to 5° inclination no roof penetration, assembling without ballast possible

frameless thin-film and with backrail modules / vertical

n/a 10 n/a polypropylene n/a

K2 Systems GmbH D Ost-West System pre-assembled lightweight system on LevelRails, flat, double-sided east-west alignment

flat roofs with limited load reserves, up to 5° inclination hangar bolts, clamps, fixation to concrete blocks, ballasted

every module type / horizontal n/a 10 n/a aluminium, galvanized steel

n/a

Knubix GmbH D Knubix 80 aluminium mounting click-system, wind deflector sheets on side and backside, bitumen-free protection mats

bitumen, foil no roof penetration, little ballasting possible framed / horizontal 830 x 1,660

20 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Lattonedil S.p.A. I Solarpan Plus 3-point aluminium mounting system, installation with cross-bars and long profiles possible

sandwich, standing seam, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs

no bolting, only clamped diverse n/a n/a n/a aluminium n/a

Mage Solar AG D Mage Safetec mit Aufständerung

triangular module mounting brackets on base rails flat roof, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs with or without roof penetration, ballasting if required

framed modules / horizontal 1,069 x 1,580 5 -60 depend-ing on project

aluminium, stainless steel, plastic

n/a

MHH Solartechnik GmbH

D Mhhnovotegra für Flachdach, Aufständerung geschlossen

lightweight mounting system on crossed base and long rails, modules mounted on wind deflecting back sheets

bitumen, foil / roofs with limited load reserves no roof penetration, little ballasting possible framed / horizontal n/a 13 n/a aluminium n/a

montavent ag CH Aerorack Ost-West-Blechdächer, alle Sickenabstände

pre-assembled, aerodynamic mounting system, without screws

sandwich, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs / roofs with limited load reserves

no roof penetration, little ballasting possible framed, module height 30-55mm / horizontal (or on request)

950-1,010 x 1,630-1,690 10-15 n/a aluminium, stainless steel, plastic

n/a

Mounting Systems GmbH

D Lambda triangular aluminium mounting system, variable tilt angle and several foot options for both ballasted solutions and roof penetration

all types of rooftop fixation with clamps, screws, hangar bolts, or on concrete or steel blocks, or ballasted


n/a 10-60 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

mp-tec GmbH & Co. KG

D Snowflake pre-assembled, low-ballast, aerodynamic flat roof mounting system

bitumen, concrete, foil, standing seam, trapezoidal metal sheet and corrugated metal roofs

no rooftop penetration framed, laminates / horizontal 800-900 / 901-1,030x variable

10 / 15 1.7 aluminium, stainless steel depending on project

MX Group S.p.A. I MS Line Serie G structure for 20 vertical modules, it doesn’t require concrete foundations

ground installation poles in the ground vertical 1,005 x 1,665 30 n/a aluminum and galvanized steel

n/a

Neuenhauser Maschinenbau GmbH

D Sunpack aerodynamic, triangular, pre-assembled mounting system, backsheets, open configuration of installation units

bitumen, concrete, gravel, plastic membrane no roof penetration, ballastable framed / horizontal 991 x 1,665 10-25 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

Optigrün inter-national AG

D Sun-Root plastic mounting brackets with drainage system for green roofs, with aluminium module mounting rails

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, green roofs no roof penetration, ballasting with plantation and soil

framed / horizontal n/a 30 n/a aluminium, plastic n/a


Mounting SySteMS







Orbis Italia S.p.A. I ST System pre-assembled aluminum triangles, vertical tilt which allows fixing of PV modules with profiles and clamps

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, other connection with screws, ballast or base layers

chassis panels or frameless panels

1,500 x 2,000 5-35 0.25 aluminium n/a

Phoenix Solar AG D Tectoflat triangular pre-assembled mounting system with plastic ground joints, wind deflector sheets

concrete, membranes, bitumen, gravel, trapezodial sheet, inverted roofs, module tilt angle 12-29°

no roof penetration (except with profiled metal sheet roofs), ballastable

framed, laminates 1,050 x 2,000 15-29 n/a magnesium-aluminium-zinc coated steel

n/a

R B B Aluminium Profiltechnik AG

D Quickfix pre-assembled, aerodynamic mounting system, wind deflect-ing side and backside sheets

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration framed / horizontal n/a 15 / 20 or on request


RegTec GmbH D ReJect triangular aluminium mounting system, mounted on base rails, optional inclination angles and sizes

all types of rooftop, especially trapezoidal metal sheet roofs no roof penetration when ballasted with gravel or pre-cast concrete elements, fixa-tion with hangar bolts or rivets


n/a n/a n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

REM Regenerative Energie- u. Montage-systeme GmbH

D Delta Wing aerodynamic triangular aluminium mounting system, modules mounted on double-sided substructure, east-west alignment, for almost all standard framed modules

bitumen, foil, gravel, standing seam, trapezoidal and corrugated metal roofs / every alignment

no roof penetration, partially ballasted with pre-cast concrete elements

framed / horizontal, vertical n/a 15 0.5 aluminium, stainless steel 0.10 – 0.15

Renolit SE B Alkorsolar aluminium triangular mounting system, screwed to plastic profiles with aluminium insert

PVC-P roofing membranes without extra ballast and without any perfo-ration of the roofing membrane


n/a n/a n/a aluminium, stainless steel, plastic profiles

n/a

Renusol GmbH D Console + stackable recycling plastic trays, aluminium module mount-ing rails, slots for air circulation, boreholes for drainage

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasted framed 1,100 x 1,730 15 0.5 100 % recycled chlorine-free polyethylene (HDPE)

21-26

Rodigas Srl I LSTE 1400 triangular fixing system flat rooftops ballastable n/a n/a 20-25 / 30-35

n/a aluminium n/a

Saem Srl I Kit triangolo pre-assembled modular construction system for triangle mounting systems

flat rooftops n/a framed / horizontal, vertical, horizontal in two rows

n/a x 1,220-1,640 20 / 30 / 35 n/a aluminium n/a

Schletter GmbH D Alugrid weight-optimized flat roof system, south-alignment, clamped modules

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballastable framed / horizontal 1,100 x 2,000 10-15 n/a aluminium n/a

Schüco International KG

D MSE 210 Aero Flachdach

aerodynamic flat roof system, variable in its configuration, minimal surface load, wind deflector plates on the rear of the PV modules

bitumen, concrete, foil / roofs with limited load reserves no roof penetration, no need for ballasting in the centre of the roof

framed / horizontal 983 x 1,639 15 (recom-mended) or on request

n/a aluminium n/a

SE-Consulting GmbH & Co. KG

D SE- Aufständerung variable triangular mounting system, certified profiles, ex-tremely large-scale contact area, protected roof membrane, also for solar thermal

all types of rooftops no roof penetration, ballasted every module type/ horizontal, in several rows

n/a variable n/a stainless steel n/a

SEN Solare Ener-giesysteme Nord Vertriebs GmbH

D Sol-50 Duoflex triangular mounting system, north-south or east-west alignment

large roofs with limited load reserves up to 3° no roof penetration, ballasted with concrete elements

framed, up to module height 50 mm, laminates / horizontal, vertical

variable variable n/a aluminium, plastic, stainless steel

n/a

The trend is to build mounting systems for flat roofs and apply the design concepts of aerodynamics. These solutions like the one above by Phoenix Solar need less ballast and make the whole construction more resistant against uplifts. An additional benefit: the PV system can be mounted without having to penetrate the roof membrane and are kept stable thanks to their aerodynamic design. Most of these systems have already been tested in wind tunnels and can be set up quickly and easily.

Photo: Phoenix Solar








Orbis Italia S.p.A. I ST System pre-assembled aluminum triangles, vertical tilt which allows fixing of PV modules with profiles and clamps

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, other connection with screws, ballast or base layers

chassis panels or frameless panels

1,500 x 2,000 5-35 0.25 aluminium n/a

Phoenix Solar AG D Tectoflat triangular pre-assembled mounting system with plastic ground joints, wind deflector sheets

concrete, membranes, bitumen, gravel, trapezodial sheet, inverted roofs, module tilt angle 12-29°

no roof penetration (except with profiled metal sheet roofs), ballastable

framed, laminates 1,050 x 2,000 15-29 n/a magnesium-aluminium-zinc coated steel

n/a

R B B Aluminium Profiltechnik AG

D Quickfix pre-assembled, aerodynamic mounting system, wind deflect-ing side and backside sheets

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration framed / horizontal n/a 15 / 20 or on request


RegTec GmbH D ReJect triangular aluminium mounting system, mounted on base rails, optional inclination angles and sizes

all types of rooftop, especially trapezoidal metal sheet roofs no roof penetration when ballasted with gravel or pre-cast concrete elements, fixa-tion with hangar bolts or rivets


n/a n/a n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

REM Regenerative Energie- u. Montage-systeme GmbH

D Delta Wing aerodynamic triangular aluminium mounting system, modules mounted on double-sided substructure, east-west alignment, for almost all standard framed modules

bitumen, foil, gravel, standing seam, trapezoidal and corrugated metal roofs / every alignment

no roof penetration, partially ballasted with pre-cast concrete elements

framed / horizontal, vertical n/a 15 0.5 aluminium, stainless steel 0.10 – 0.15

Renolit SE B Alkorsolar aluminium triangular mounting system, screwed to plastic profiles with aluminium insert

PVC-P roofing membranes without extra ballast and without any perfo-ration of the roofing membrane


n/a n/a n/a aluminium, stainless steel, plastic profiles

n/a

Renusol GmbH D Console + stackable recycling plastic trays, aluminium module mount-ing rails, slots for air circulation, boreholes for drainage

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasted framed 1,100 x 1,730 15 0.5 100 % recycled chlorine-free polyethylene (HDPE)

21-26

Rodigas Srl I LSTE 1400 triangular fixing system flat rooftops ballastable n/a n/a 20-25 / 30-35

n/a aluminium n/a

Saem Srl I Kit triangolo pre-assembled modular construction system for triangle mounting systems

flat rooftops n/a framed / horizontal, vertical, horizontal in two rows

n/a x 1,220-1,640 20 / 30 / 35 n/a aluminium n/a

Schletter GmbH D Alugrid weight-optimized flat roof system, south-alignment, clamped modules

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballastable framed / horizontal 1,100 x 2,000 10-15 n/a aluminium n/a

Schüco International KG

D MSE 210 Aero Flachdach

aerodynamic flat roof system, variable in its configuration, minimal surface load, wind deflector plates on the rear of the PV modules

bitumen, concrete, foil / roofs with limited load reserves no roof penetration, no need for ballasting in the centre of the roof

framed / horizontal 983 x 1,639 15 (recom-mended) or on request

n/a aluminium n/a

SE-Consulting GmbH & Co. KG

D SE- Aufständerung variable triangular mounting system, certified profiles, ex-tremely large-scale contact area, protected roof membrane, also for solar thermal

all types of rooftops no roof penetration, ballasted every module type/ horizontal, in several rows

n/a variable n/a stainless steel n/a

SEN Solare Ener-giesysteme Nord Vertriebs GmbH

D Sol-50 Duoflex triangular mounting system, north-south or east-west alignment

large roofs with limited load reserves up to 3° no roof penetration, ballasted with concrete elements

framed, up to module height 50 mm, laminates / horizontal, vertical

variable variable n/a aluminium, plastic, stainless steel

n/a

ENG-PV-ad-210x144-0312.pdf 3/6/12 8:15:05 AM

www.nordsonefd.com


Mounting SySteMS







Siliken SA E Eco Roof triangular light weight mounting system flat and slightly pitched roofs up to 15° mechanical connection with roof membrane or with concrete blocks, ballasted

framed / horizontal n/a 15 / 20 / 25 / 30

n/a galvanized steel, stainless steel

n/a

Solar First Energy Technology Co.,Ltd

CN Flat roof mounting system

triangular mounting system flat rooftops n/a framed or frameless, horizontal and vertical order in combina-tion

n/a 15-45, adjustable

n/a stainless steel and ano-dised aluminium

n/a

Solardis F Soprasolar Fix roof-parallel mounting system, modules are clipped into a structure on feet, that is fastened to waterproof panels sealed to the substrate

bitumen, up to 20° no roof penetration, adhesive fixation with roof membrane

framed or frameless n/a parallel to rooftop

n/a aluminium or steel n/a

solarSTEP Vertriebs GmbH

D solarSTEP light GM / LS

triangular aluminium mounting system, kit construction system

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil, green roofs no roof penetration framed / horizontal 800-830 / 980-995x 1,350-1,650 / 1,350-1,990

5-20 n/a aluminium, stainless steel, aluzinc coated steel sheets (optional powder-coated)

n/a

SolarWorld AG D Sunfix aero aerodynamic mounting system bitumen, concrete, foil no roof penetration framed / vertical 1,001 x 1,675 15-25 n/a aluminium, galvanized steel

n/a

Soleos Solar GmbH D Relight flat roof mounting system for east-west alignment all types of rooftop ballasted with pre-cast concrete elements or trapezoidal metal sheets for ballasting with gravel

thin-film / horizontal n/a 10 n/a n/a n/a

Solion Ltd. UK Universal Sunmount

very easy & fast to install with very low ballast applied to array corners & edges only

all types of rooftop, apart from corrugated metal no rooftop penetration/ 20-40 kg ballasted applied to array corners & edges only (no ballast in the middle)

framed/ horizontal (land scape) 960-1,060 x all lengths 10 0.13 aluminium clamps, plastics

26

Solon Energy GmbH D Solfixx plastic plug-and-play mounting system, no tools required, module and substructure form a single unit

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel / industry halls featuring lightweight roof construction

substructure ballasted, on bitumen and polastic roofs "welding" by heat treatment is possible without ballasting

frameless / horizontal 993 x 1,973 10 0.35 recyclable polypropylene n/a

Soltech GmbH für ökologische Techniken

D PV-TEC 2004 Flachdach-Light

triangular lightweight mounting system on cross base rails and long rails, modular installation possible

bitumen, trapezoidal metal sheet, standing seam and corrugated metal roofs, tiles

no roof penetration when ballasted, or fixa-tion with screws and clamps

framed / horizontal, vertical n/a 5-40 n/a aluminium n/a

Soltecture GmbH D Tectum Flach-dachsystem

complete pre-assembled aluminium mounting system, 1 element for laminate modules Linion L, without the need of tools

bitumen, concrete, foil no roof penetration, ballastable glass-glass CIGS laminate Linion L / horizontal

1,250 (fully pre-assembled, only for Soltecture modules)x 650 (fully pre-assembled, only for Soltecture modules)

10 0.04 (8h for 50 kW with 4 install-ers)

aluminium 0.84(incl. module)

Sonnenzeit GmbH D WindcutterPlus (*1) innovative, functional, easy assembling: pre-assembled wind deflectors, lightweight 7.2 - 8.5 kg/m² (*1), base rails EPDM-coated, load capacity 5,400 PA, TÜV/CETECOM

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, shingles, slate, corrugated metal roofs

no roof penetration, ballast only in excep-tional cases required

complete system: base con-struction incl. module (mono-crystalline) with factory-made frame (*1) / horizontal

808 (*1) x 1,580 (*1) 20 / 25 (*2) 1 aluminium, stainless steel 20 (*2)

Sunerg Solar Srl I ALUFIX P aluminium triangle system bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, metal roofs, other connection to rooftop with clamps or threaded screws / ballasted with concrete balance weight

framed / horizontal, vertical all widths x 2,000 5-70 0.33 aluminium, stainless steel 60

Sunova AG D MCG 1.1 roof-parallel module installation, stable mounting system for foil roofs, without roof penetration

FPO or PVC membrane flat roofs with roofs with 1-10° slope direct, non-penetrating roof connection to roof membrane, fixing with Sunova rail fastener

framed, frameless / horizontal, vertical

optional 0 1.7 aluminium n/a

SunPower Corporation

USA T5-Flachdach PV System

aerodynamic self-supporting plastic mounting system bitumen, concrete, foil no connection to rooftop framed / horizontal, vertical n/a 5 n/a polymers n/a

Tecnofix Srl I staffa triangolo ST 24 - ST 26 - ST 28C

triangular mounting system, installation with 4 different profile product series

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil mechanical connection to rooftop n/a / horizontal, vertical n/a x 1,200 20 / 25 / 30 n/a aluminium n/a

TecnoSun Solar Systems AG

D EcoChamp Air pre-assembled lightweight, aerodynamic PV flat roof system, modular installation, delivered with high-quality building protection mats

all types of rooftop / roofs with limited load reserves, up to 15° no roof penetration all standard modules with side clamping

variable 10 / 15 0.16 aluminium, stainless steel > 33

Tecnosistemi S.p.A. I HTR Triangoli triangular mounting system, different installations possible bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasting with pre-cast concrete elements

framed / horizontal n/a x 800-2,000 20-40 n/a aluminium, stainless steel, concrete

n/a

Teknomega Srl I Triangoli FVT 1511 triangular mounting system, fixed with concrete blocks or ballasted trays

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasted framed / horizontal 990 x 1,400 30-45 n/a aluminium, concrete n/a

Tritec International AG

CH TRI-STAND Aero aerodynamic mounting system for large flat roofs with limited load reserves, wind deflectors

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasting with pre-cast concrete elements

framed / horizontal 790-810, 990-1,010x variable

20 1.5-2 aluminium approx. 30

Ubbink Ltd NL FRS60 flat roof mounting system gravel or other types of rooftop no roof penetration, ballasting with pre-cast concrete elements

horizontal 1,000 x 1,700 15 approx. 0.25

polyethylene PE 40

VM Edelstahltechnik GmbH

D Air-Fix System aerodynamic triangular mounting system on rails, wind deflectors (backside and at each end of row)

all types of rooftop no roof penetration, ballasted framed / horizontal variable 15-30 0.5 aluminium n/a

VP Solar Srl I Triangoli triangular aluminium mounting system, several installations possible

all types of rooftop mechanical connection with rooftop framed / vertical variable x 700-1,000 30 or onrequest

n/a aluminium n/a

Wagner & Co / Frankensolar

D Tric Aero mounted modules with ballasted wind deflecting back sheet on rails

bitumen, concrete, foil / roofs with limited load reserves no roof penetration, ballastable framed / horizontal 790-810 / 990-1,010x n/a

20 n/a aluminium n/a

Wiemann GmbH D Wiema Sol Plus triangular aluminium mounting system, pre-assembled mechanical components, no tools required, no bolted con-nections

bitumen, foil mechanical fixation with rooftop framed / horizontal 808 x 1,580 24 0.25 aluminium n/a

Wiosun GmbH & Co.KG / Solarzentrum

D Wiolift flat roof mounting system bitumen, foil, metal roofs (trapezoidal metal sheet, standing seam and corrugated metal roofs)

riveted, screwed with roof, or fixation with-out roof penetration and ballast

framed / horizontal, vertical 990-996 or on requestx 1,640-1,316 or on request

10 / 20 / 30 0.5 (2 pers.)

aluminium, stainless steel 26

Würth Solar GmbH & Co. KG

D Starfix IV installation in single or connected rows, for less ballasting use of wind deflectors

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil ballasted with concrete elements or gravel framed (horizontal, vertical), frameless (vertical)

1,000 x 1,600 20 / 25 / 30 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

ZinCo GmbH D ZinCo Solarbasis SB 200 + Solar-Grund-rahmen SGR

fortified plastic solar basis boards with water storage and drainage elements, aluminum solar base frames, mounting profiles

bitumen, foil, gravel, or green roofs no roof penetration, ballasted with planta-tion and soil / pitched and flat roofs roof under 15°


variable 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 40 or on request

n/a aluminium, recycling plastics, stainless steel

n/a

ZSD GmbH - zentral-solar deutschland

D Vario-Light plastic trays with module mounting rails bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasted with gravel in plastic trays


variable x 1,700 10-45 0.5 aluminium, plastics, stainless steel

on request

All information is without guarantee and with no claim to completeness. Product details are provided by the manufacturers.








Siliken SA E Eco Roof triangular light weight mounting system flat and slightly pitched roofs up to 15° mechanical connection with roof membrane or with concrete blocks, ballasted

framed / horizontal n/a 15 / 20 / 25 / 30

n/a galvanized steel, stainless steel

n/a

Solar First Energy Technology Co.,Ltd

CN Flat roof mounting system

triangular mounting system flat rooftops n/a framed or frameless, horizontal and vertical order in combina-tion

n/a 15-45, adjustable

n/a stainless steel and ano-dised aluminium

n/a

Solardis F Soprasolar Fix roof-parallel mounting system, modules are clipped into a structure on feet, that is fastened to waterproof panels sealed to the substrate

bitumen, up to 20° no roof penetration, adhesive fixation with roof membrane

framed or frameless n/a parallel to rooftop

n/a aluminium or steel n/a

solarSTEP Vertriebs GmbH

D solarSTEP light GM / LS

triangular aluminium mounting system, kit construction system

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil, green roofs no roof penetration framed / horizontal 800-830 / 980-995x 1,350-1,650 / 1,350-1,990

5-20 n/a aluminium, stainless steel, aluzinc coated steel sheets (optional powder-coated)

n/a

SolarWorld AG D Sunfix aero aerodynamic mounting system bitumen, concrete, foil no roof penetration framed / vertical 1,001 x 1,675 15-25 n/a aluminium, galvanized steel

n/a

Soleos Solar GmbH D Relight flat roof mounting system for east-west alignment all types of rooftop ballasted with pre-cast concrete elements or trapezoidal metal sheets for ballasting with gravel

thin-film / horizontal n/a 10 n/a n/a n/a

Solion Ltd. UK Universal Sunmount

very easy & fast to install with very low ballast applied to array corners & edges only

all types of rooftop, apart from corrugated metal no rooftop penetration/ 20-40 kg ballasted applied to array corners & edges only (no ballast in the middle)

framed/ horizontal (land scape) 960-1,060 x all lengths 10 0.13 aluminium clamps, plastics

26

Solon Energy GmbH D Solfixx plastic plug-and-play mounting system, no tools required, module and substructure form a single unit

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel / industry halls featuring lightweight roof construction

substructure ballasted, on bitumen and polastic roofs "welding" by heat treatment is possible without ballasting

frameless / horizontal 993 x 1,973 10 0.35 recyclable polypropylene n/a

Soltech GmbH für ökologische Techniken

D PV-TEC 2004 Flachdach-Light

triangular lightweight mounting system on cross base rails and long rails, modular installation possible

bitumen, trapezoidal metal sheet, standing seam and corrugated metal roofs, tiles

no roof penetration when ballasted, or fixa-tion with screws and clamps

framed / horizontal, vertical n/a 5-40 n/a aluminium n/a

Soltecture GmbH D Tectum Flach-dachsystem

complete pre-assembled aluminium mounting system, 1 element for laminate modules Linion L, without the need of tools

bitumen, concrete, foil no roof penetration, ballastable glass-glass CIGS laminate Linion L / horizontal

1,250 (fully pre-assembled, only for Soltecture modules)x 650 (fully pre-assembled, only for Soltecture modules)

10 0.04 (8h for 50 kW with 4 install-ers)

aluminium 0.84(incl. module)

Sonnenzeit GmbH D WindcutterPlus (*1) innovative, functional, easy assembling: pre-assembled wind deflectors, lightweight 7.2 - 8.5 kg/m² (*1), base rails EPDM-coated, load capacity 5,400 PA, TÜV/CETECOM

bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, shingles, slate, corrugated metal roofs

no roof penetration, ballast only in excep-tional cases required

complete system: base con-struction incl. module (mono-crystalline) with factory-made frame (*1) / horizontal

808 (*1) x 1,580 (*1) 20 / 25 (*2) 1 aluminium, stainless steel 20 (*2)

Sunerg Solar Srl I ALUFIX P aluminium triangle system bitumen, concrete, foil, gravel, metal roofs, other connection to rooftop with clamps or threaded screws / ballasted with concrete balance weight

framed / horizontal, vertical all widths x 2,000 5-70 0.33 aluminium, stainless steel 60

Sunova AG D MCG 1.1 roof-parallel module installation, stable mounting system for foil roofs, without roof penetration

FPO or PVC membrane flat roofs with roofs with 1-10° slope direct, non-penetrating roof connection to roof membrane, fixing with Sunova rail fastener


optional 0 1.7 aluminium n/a

SunPower Corporation

USA T5-Flachdach PV System

aerodynamic self-supporting plastic mounting system bitumen, concrete, foil no connection to rooftop framed / horizontal, vertical n/a 5 n/a polymers n/a

Tecnofix Srl I staffa triangolo ST 24 - ST 26 - ST 28C

triangular mounting system, installation with 4 different profile product series

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil mechanical connection to rooftop n/a / horizontal, vertical n/a x 1,200 20 / 25 / 30 n/a aluminium n/a

TecnoSun Solar Systems AG

D EcoChamp Air pre-assembled lightweight, aerodynamic PV flat roof system, modular installation, delivered with high-quality building protection mats

all types of rooftop / roofs with limited load reserves, up to 15° no roof penetration all standard modules with side clamping

variable 10 / 15 0.16 aluminium, stainless steel > 33

Tecnosistemi S.p.A. I HTR Triangoli triangular mounting system, different installations possible bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasting with pre-cast concrete elements

framed / horizontal n/a x 800-2,000 20-40 n/a aluminium, stainless steel, concrete

n/a

Teknomega Srl I Triangoli FVT 1511 triangular mounting system, fixed with concrete blocks or ballasted trays

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasted framed / horizontal 990 x 1,400 30-45 n/a aluminium, concrete n/a

Tritec International AG

CH TRI-STAND Aero aerodynamic mounting system for large flat roofs with limited load reserves, wind deflectors

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasting with pre-cast concrete elements

framed / horizontal 790-810, 990-1,010x variable

20 1.5-2 aluminium approx. 30

Ubbink Ltd NL FRS60 flat roof mounting system gravel or other types of rooftop no roof penetration, ballasting with pre-cast concrete elements

horizontal 1,000 x 1,700 15 approx. 0.25

polyethylene PE 40

VM Edelstahltechnik GmbH

D Air-Fix System aerodynamic triangular mounting system on rails, wind deflectors (backside and at each end of row)

all types of rooftop no roof penetration, ballasted framed / horizontal variable 15-30 0.5 aluminium n/a

VP Solar Srl I Triangoli triangular aluminium mounting system, several installations possible

all types of rooftop mechanical connection with rooftop framed / vertical variable x 700-1,000 30 or onrequest

n/a aluminium n/a

Wagner & Co / Frankensolar

D Tric Aero mounted modules with ballasted wind deflecting back sheet on rails

bitumen, concrete, foil / roofs with limited load reserves no roof penetration, ballastable framed / horizontal 790-810 / 990-1,010x n/a

20 n/a aluminium n/a

Wiemann GmbH D Wiema Sol Plus triangular aluminium mounting system, pre-assembled mechanical components, no tools required, no bolted con-nections

bitumen, foil mechanical fixation with rooftop framed / horizontal 808 x 1,580 24 0.25 aluminium n/a

Wiosun GmbH & Co.KG / Solarzentrum

D Wiolift flat roof mounting system bitumen, foil, metal roofs (trapezoidal metal sheet, standing seam and corrugated metal roofs)

riveted, screwed with roof, or fixation with-out roof penetration and ballast

framed / horizontal, vertical 990-996 or on requestx 1,640-1,316 or on request

10 / 20 / 30 0.5 (2 pers.)

aluminium, stainless steel 26

Würth Solar GmbH & Co. KG

D Starfix IV installation in single or connected rows, for less ballasting use of wind deflectors

bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil ballasted with concrete elements or gravel framed (horizontal, vertical), frameless (vertical)

1,000 x 1,600 20 / 25 / 30 n/a aluminium, stainless steel n/a

ZinCo GmbH D ZinCo Solarbasis SB 200 + Solar-Grund-rahmen SGR

fortified plastic solar basis boards with water storage and drainage elements, aluminum solar base frames, mounting profiles

bitumen, foil, gravel, or green roofs no roof penetration, ballasted with planta-tion and soil / pitched and flat roofs roof under 15°


variable 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 40 or on request

n/a aluminium, recycling plastics, stainless steel

n/a

ZSD GmbH - zentral-solar deutschland

D Vario-Light plastic trays with module mounting rails bitumen, concrete, gravel, foil no roof penetration, ballasted with gravel in plastic trays


variable x 1,700 10-45 0.5 aluminium, plastics, stainless steel

on request

(*1) PV system kit: Mounting system with solar module. Module type: Sunowe SF-125*125-72-M 190 W (Zhejiang Sunflower Light Energy Science & Technology Limited Liability Company)(*2) Price for mounting system (solar module not included)

Source: Europressedienst


Training for solar insTallers

No fixed standardsWith the PV growth rapidly increasing in Italy, the “solar installers” have

been emerging as a new group of professionals. But a unified standard for

the training and qualification of solar installers is still not in sight.

“We took a glance across the border of South Tyrol and adopted a dual training system that we have been offering since 1957. In 2001, we also launched a certified Master Craftsman train-ing for solar installers”, says Edwin Daniel, the initiator of the training courses in Meran.

Photos (2): Vocational training institute Luis Zuegg, Meran

34

Edwin Daniel, an instructor at the vocational training institute “Luis Zuegg” in Meran, South Tyrol, knows what’s missing: “A unified stan

dard for the training of solar installers does not exist in Italy.” Italy also lacks a dual training system to combine the classroom theory with the practical experiences gained on the job. “When students finish school at the age of 15, they usually begin to work at a company and are then considered craftsmen after three years.” There is a problem with this: “Many of them are given a small handbook with some theory on the first day, but most of it is learning by doing.”

The consequences have been felt in the Italian PV sector over the last few years. Every craftsman who thought he had enough training to install a PV system did. This led to a whole series of constructional defects and complaints, which damaged the reputation of the installers. Meanwhile, the consumers are quite aware that solar installers require adequate training and expertise. They expect, after all, that their PV system will work troublefree for at least 20 years. The demand for qualified solar installers therefore exists

in Italy. Many market participants have recognized the need and come up with a range of concepts aimed at improving the training of the installers.

Trained by the product makers

Most manufacturers bind installer training directly into their company routines. They need qualified staff and have the best knowledge of their own products. They also benefit from the contact to the installers by gaining direct access to the market. On the other hand, the installers prefer to use products they are familiar with and are kept up to date about new technologies. Meanwhile, the training is no longer offered exclusively by the domestic manufacturers but also by a number of foreign companies in Italian language: “It’s difficult to find experts on such a fastgrowing market as Italy, which has only just emerged”, says Sven Höpfner, Sales Manager for the Italian market at the Germanybased company Schletter GmbH. “Five or six years ago, it was almost impossible to find anyone who had experience with the installation of PV

No fixed standards

ConverT iTalia Company profile

With headquarters in Rome, Convert Italia is a provider

of highly profitable and reliable renewable energy

solutions. One focus is the design, engineering and

construction of PV systems. In addition, the company

is engaged in the production of static UPSs, power

stations and single axis trackers.

EPC contractor and tracker producer

Convert Italia’s production facility at Pomezia, south-east of Rome

Company founder Giuseppe Moro Photos: Convert Italia

Convert Italia S.p.A.Sede centraleVia Paolo di Dono, 3/A00142 RomaItalyTel: +39 06 510 611Fax: +39 06 51 061 200 [email protected]

>When Convert Italia’s story began over 30 years ago, company founder Giuseppe Moro, born in 1947, was moved by the finding that fossil re

sources are finite. “All the energies will finish, while the sun will last another 5 billion years,” he said. In those days, however, renewable energies were seen as a future option only. Thus, Convert Italia was brought up as a plant engineering company with efforts concentrated on electricity generation and particular focus on the production of uninterrupted power supplies (UPS), power stations, low and mediumvoltage substations.

In the 1990s, Convert Italia adapted to the boom in the telecommunications market by developing and producing electricity supply systems for the equipment. However, after the turn of the millennium, the gradual decline of the telecoms market grew out to a real crisis – and Convert Italia phased out of the sector, returning to the design and construction of larger scale energy systems and solutions. Since 2004, the company, step by step, has become one of the major players in the Italian renewable energy sector. It is a well known EPC contractor for solar power plants and, at the same time, an innovative producer of single axis trackers and remote control systems.

The singleaxis trackers for PV plants are currently the company’s best sold products. The reason according to Convert Italia is that their MX1 types “are more simple than the other ones in the market – and they are very efficient.” The technology promises a 26 % higher yield compared to a fixed installation, providing a backtracking system as well as real time remote monitoring features. Maximum capacity per tracker is 8.6 kW – when using 240 W modules. The system structure includes solid poles on top of which revolving module holders with a single string series of PV components are fitted. The driving gear is linear, whereas the engine is controlled by an astronomic software system able to track the sun all day long.

The tracker can be combined with any kind of PV modules including frameless and any foundation selections that fit to its dimensions. A “Land” and a “Park” version are available that basically differ with regard to the architecture of their control system: while the Park version includes one central board con

nected to a maximum of 210 trackers (1.8 MW), the Land version contains a control board master with wireless LAN connection to 20 tracker slave PCs, i.e. up to a total of 4,200 single trackers.

Although the MX1 tracker can be used independently from modules, Convert Italia offers a system solution together with the US CPV module manufacturer Solaria. The MX1 CPV uses 270 W Solaria modules, reaching a maximum capacity of up to 8.6 kW per tracker, and a total of 36 MW per plant. With regard to MX1, the company can already boast on a number of reference projects on the 1 MW level. This applies e.g. to a PV plant installed for Produzioni Fotovoltaiche M1 in Galatina, Italian province of Lecce, and also to a solar park implemented for Ld Vert S.r.l. in Erchie, in the province of Brindisi. (Further projects at http://www.convertitalia.com/attivita/progettirealizzati/)

“Our customers are big companies and foreign investors,” says Moro who still serves as President and Managing Director. Aiming at becoming less dependent on the Italian market, the company is currently starting exports to the US, Brazil, India and China. The company employs 60 people, who in 2011 generated a turnover of € 40 million. The course for further growth is set. In 2012, revenues are planned to reach a level of € 50 million. According to Moro, the next step of the expansion is the establishment of subsidiaries in other countries. Concretely, Convert Italia aims at setting agencies in Brazil and China with industrial local construction facilities. Within five years, Moro sees Convert Italia well established in the world market of renewable energy.

Convert Italia has continuously invested in research & development maintaining close relationships with the relevant universities and research institutes in Italy. Says Moro: “Our goal is to be better able to address the needs for advanced system designs and solutions in the renewable energy field.”


http://www.convertitalia.com

http://www

Training for solar insTallers


systems in Italy. Without participation in professional trainings, the installers are very likely to make mistakes.” Schletter has been inviting solar installers to participate in its training courses in Ripatransone in the Province of Ascoli for six years now. They usually run for several days: “Our basic training includes an introduction to mounting systems for different types of rooftops, carports and groundmounted PV systems.” Renusol, a manufacturer of mounting solutions for PV systems, is following a similar strategy. We offer far more than just product trainings, says Stefan Ast, Marketing and Public Relations. Renusol provides its customers with assistance for the installation right from the start: “This way our distributors gain practical experience directly on the roof”, says Ast.

Other manufacturers that cannot offer inhouse training courses usually collaborate with wholesalers and project developers to make the solar installers familiar with their products. One of them is the Italybased wholesaler Enerpoint. The company offers training for solar newcomers as well as for professionals. More than 2,500 participants have already been trained in Enerpoint’s “solar school” over the past eleven years, says the company. Similar to other training courses offered on the market, Enerpoint usually begins with a presentation of the company and an introduction to the technology form. In a next step, the participants are made familiar with the component parts, the different options for mounting systems, trouble shooting and the design of PV plants. Besides this, the training addresses also aspects of the grid connection, the maintenance as well as the

control and monitoring of PV plants. It is rounded off with a discussion of ways to cooperate.

Professionalizing vocational education

Because of the high time pressure involved with their jobs, the solar installers are often only able to participate in one of the trainings organized by the manufacturers, which normally take no more than two or a maximum of three days. These types of “crash courses” seldom arrive at a lot of depth. “If we want to raise the level of professionalism in the area of solar technologies in Italy, we will have to cross the borders between individual disciplines and professions and establish unified standards”, says Edwin Daniel. He is not alone with this opinion. Vocational education centres throughout Italy have been trying to fill the gap with longer indepth training. One of the pioneers in this respect is the vocational training institute Luis Zuegg in the Meran province.

Luis Zuegg is the first and only institute to offer a certified Master Craftsman training for solar installers in Italy with a course load of 730 full hours. “We took a glance across the border of South Tyrol and adopted a dual training system that we have been offering since 1957. A twoyear inservice training for solar installers was added in the year 2000”, explains Daniel, the initiator of the courses. The training in Meran addresses not only aspects of “PV and heat pump technology up to solar cooling and fuel cell technology” but also related topics such as building physics, electronics and refrigeration techniques. The students are also given some competence in psychology and communication, which can be of advantage in customer counselling, for example. Other classes teach time and business management to provide the students with additional entrepreneurial knowhow.

Another example is the professional centre Eurosatellite, which has been offering training for installers and technicians since 1989. Similar to other vocational institutes in Italy, the training courses were expanded to include PV technologies rather late in the last year. “In our weekly intensive PV and monitoring systems courses, the participants at first learn all the theory required for solar energy technologies. Then they are introduced to aspects of the practical work in our fullyequipped laboratories”, says Sofia Borchiellini, Communication Officer for Eurosatellite. Various types of PV systems, including inverters and a solar tracker, have been installed on the institute’s roof to give the students an idea of how the technology works. “Later, the participants are guided through the bureaucracy required for the presentation of projects and learn how to use special design software. Finally, the installers and technicians are prepared to meet any market requests from domestic PV systems up to production power plants”, Borchiellini continues.

Meanwhile, the number of vocational centres offering training classes for solar installers has been increasing in Italy. What is still missing is a unified

The training in Meran ad-dresses not only aspects of “PV and heat pump technology up to solar cooling and fuel cell tech-nology” but also related topics such as building physics, electronics and refrigeration techniques.

standard for course materials, examinations and degrees. The fact that such a standard does not exist can be seen as a reason for the confusing range of classroom and online seminars currently on offer and the different prices charged.

University to replace vocational training

A new approach has now been taken in Milan. As an alternative to the training in vocational institutes, the university Politecnico di Milano has launched a new Master Degree in the area of PV, which has been offered to students since March 2012. The programme was initiated as a joint venture between the university and the industry association ANIEGIFI. The fullyear course of study, says the university, aims at giving solar installers professional training and expertise to become engineers with 360° training. The courses teach not only theoretical knowhow but also the practical skills needed to design and install PV plants in line with customer expectations. Other aspects of the degree, which is offered at a total of € 6,000, are safety at work, maintenance and the monitoring and operation of PV plants. Students will also have an opportunity to establish contacts to public and financial institutions and learn about building integration or financial economics.

EU Directive in sight

In the future, a binding and nationwide standard for the training of solar installers can also be expected from ENEA (Italy’s national agency for new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development), as, by December 31st 2012, the EU Directive 2009/28/EG requires all EU members to establish a unified certification and qualification scheme for installers in the area of renewable energy. Until such a regulation is in place in Italy, however, the installers will have to choose between the different programmes on offer. Leitner Solar, a company based in South Tyrol that designs and installs PV plants with a capacity of between 1 kW and 3 MW, relies on several methods to keep its staff up to date: “Besides the specific product training offered by the manufacturers, we also invite industry experts who have several years of experience in the area of solar technology”, says Andreas Leitner, Vice President of Leitner Solar AG. “In addition, we train our technology and development staff in external seminars and pass new knowledge on within the company.” In a nutshell: Leitner Solar AG is ambitious to attract as much expertise to the company as possible. Not a bad idea, if one takes into account that the quality of the broad range of trainings on offer is not always clear.


Sun right from the source SunEye® 210), and offers PV services for manufac-turers of inverters and PV modules and operators of PV plants.

For large PV installations, soleg acts as interna-tional project developer, main contractor (EPC) and supplier to main contractors (EP). The headquarters’ proximity to the University of Applied Sciences at Technologiecampus in Teisnach enables close coop-erations in the area of research and development.

It is also an expression of the future-oriented and innovative corporate structure. soleg was

founded in 1994 and currently has 70 employees at its head-quarters in Teisnach (Germa-ny), Pilsen (Czech Republic), Arezzo und Verona (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Austria, Greece and the UK.

>„Energy from the sun“ – a clear goal stands be-hind this phrase for soleg: the international company with roots in Germany wants to make

a decisive contribution to a total conversion of the en-ergy supply to renewable resources. Since 1994 so-leg has been planning and selling plants for the us-age of solar energy. Originating from an initiative for the collective buying of solar plants, soleg has devel-oped into a competent and reliable partner for• installers, roofers and company technicians,• planners and architects,• private builders,• operators of regenerative systems,• investment companies,• private equity investors• and utilities.

soleg group AG is an inter-national distributor for photo-voltaics, solar heating, wood fi red heating and Sonnenhaus technology. The company also sells professional PV equip-ment for installers and planners of PV installations (like the

SOLEG COMPANY PROFILEAdvertorial

soleg s.r.l.Via Ca’ Nova Zampieri, 4e37057 San Giovanni Lupatoto (VR)ItalyPhone: +39/045/8750870Fax: +39/045/8751009Email: [email protected]

Since 1994 soleg is working on a clear goal: the company wants to make a decisive con-tribution to a total conversion of our energy supply to renew-able energies. Photos: soleg


http://www.soleg-italia.it


www.converitalia.com


InternatIonal Players – strategIes

40

Even though the Italian solar companies have had a rocky start into the year, Italy continues to be one of the most attractive markets in the

world. This is supported by the fact that foreign com-panies are still expanding their activities in Italy – es-pecially the major ones. Axitec, a Germany-based module manufacturer that recently invested into its operations in Italy, is an example. In December last year, the company was ready to announce its new sales office in Bologna. “It has been worth the efforts. The office helps to enhance the trust of our custom-ers”, says Egon Seelaus, a sales representative for Axitec Italy. Greater proximity to the customers – most of the foreign manufacturers are now directing their efforts into that direction to still get a piece of the already diminishing cake. It’s an approach that’s becoming visible not only in the sales segment but al-so as regards the products: innovations and extend-ed warranties are now used to stand out from the competitors.

The benefits of innovations

Besides the obvious branding effect, innovative products can lead to a broad range of benefits in Italy. Italy’s Conto Energia IV offers a premium tariff for different types of solar plants. Among the PV plants that qualify for the higher tariff are those of the category “Integrated Photovoltaic Systems with Innovative Characteristics”, which is meant to give an additional incentive to building- integrated PV systems (BIPV). In the first term of 2012, the operators of BIPV

plants can claim the highest feed-in tariff of 0.418 €-ct/kWh for systems with a capacity below 20 kW and 0.352 €-ct/kWh for systems above 200 kW. “Conto Energia IV makes a higher feed-in tariff avail-able for PV plants with capacities between 1 kW and 5 MW, if the component parts used are specifically de-signed to integrate the PV system into the building en-velope and fully replace architectonical parts”, says Andreas Lutz of New Energy Projects, a project devel-oper based in Munich. Rooftop PV plants, for example, must fully replace the roof tiles to be recognized as “sistema innovativo”. In addition, the PV plant must have similar load characteristics and meet current thermal insulation and sealing standards.

Uni-Solar, a US-based module manufacturer, is one of the companies ambitious to benefit from the extra bonus. To qualify its products, the company has come up with a special strategy: its so-called “Open Solar” initiative puts the focus on the development and commercialization of the company’s thin-film PV cells through collaboration with third parties. Uni-Solar recently announced that it will supply solar cells for the metal producing company Marcegaglia. The partners will combine Uni-Solar’s flexible thin-film PV laminates with Marcegaglia’s metal products for the manufacturing of insulated BIPV metal roofing panels. “We have found that Uni-Solar’s lightweight product is ideal to be integrated with our rooftop PV products. Uni-Solar has provided excellent technical and operational support in establishing our PV facili-ty in Italy,” says Marcegaglia Buildtech SRL President Enzo Poggi. Besides the higher feed-in tariff paid out

Since December 2011, Italian customers who want to buy modules made by Axitec like the ones above have a place to go: the German mod-ule manufacturer opened a sales office in Bologna. Photo: Axitec

Foreign market participants have developed different strategies to survive on the Italian market

where competition has become fiercer and the prospects seem to get worse: those without a price

advantage focus on innovation, warranties and services.

New recipes for success


for innovate products, the team-up will also lead to another advantage for Uni-Solar and Marcegaglia: the production location in Taranto makes other mod-ules without innovative characteristics eligible for the certification as EU products, which qualifies these products for the additionally 10 % bonus paid out on top of the feed-in tariffs.

Fath Solar is another company that can look forward to the certification of its products as “innovative”. Its in-roof solution “S2plus” already fulfils the criteria. “We are pleased that GSE has de-fined our product concept as standard for Italy and plan to massively expand our foothold in Italy”, ex-plains CEO Mirko Jan Fath. The fact that foreign com-panies have taken this road has not gone unnoticed by the Italian competitors. A number of Italy-based manufacturers have already reacted and strength-ened their efforts as well. One of them is Ferrania Solis: “We are working to introduce several new items in the area of BIPV and the innovative PV module field as we think that these will be the future of PV in Ita-ly”, says Diego Brignone, Management Representa-tive for Ferrania Solis.

The customer comes first

Closing the gap between the warranties offered in the PV sector and what is actually done in the event of a justified claim opens further opportunities on the market, says Conergy, a module manufacturer based in Germany. Consumer protection groups have criti-cised that the warranties offered by the companies are often too complex and difficult to understand. In the event of a claim, the customers are often left standing in the rain because of the small print. “Gen-erally, the warranty conditions are not very customer-friendly, which is a problem“, says Antje Stephan, Director Corporate Communications, Conergy. “Fre-quently, the follow-up costs even exceed the original costs of the investment.” And there is yet another problem: if the operator has invested into Asian PV modules, the applicable law is not always European law, which increases the risk additionally.

Conergy has recognized the need for higher trans-parency and updated its product and performance warranties with an added-value warranty for its

PremiumPlus solar modules at the beginning of the year. What’s innovative about the new warranty is that it is customer-friendly and easy to understand, says the company. Besides the extension of the prod-uct warranty period from ten to twelve years, the “PremiumPlus warranty conditions” give the custom-er four additional benefits: Conergy will bear the costs associated with the output measurement up to a maximum amount of € 200 per module in the event of a justified warranty claim. Besides this, the cus-tomer can claim a maximum of € 130 per PV system and warranty claim plus another € 20 for each solar module affected.

In addition to this, Conergy will either carry out a professional repair of the parts in question for justi-fied claims or exchange the modules with identical products of the same performance category during the warranty period. The option to have paid out the estimated fair value or residual value of the product is not offered by Conergy: “Imagine the owner of a sports car. In the case of a warranty claim, the driver will not want to have his car replaced by a smaller one. It’s the same with the owner of a solar plant”, says Project Manager Martin Bambach. The company will also accept the verdict of an independent expert or testing institute in the event of dispute.

Customer-friendly warranties like the ones introduced by Conergy used to be rather the ex-ception in the PV sector. Photo: Conergy

www.eko-eu.com


InternatIonal Players – strategIes

Conergy’s new warranty offers the customers al-so further benefits as regards the transferability rights. Under the previous conditions, the owner of a house would have lost the warranty rights leading to a considerable loss if the PV plant was sold along with the property. With the upgrade of the warranty, Conergy has made the rights fully transferable in case that the solar energy system or even the entire build-ing is sold to a new owner. Under the new conditions, the new warranty also continues to exist if the com-plete solar generator is professionally disassembled, transported and reassembled for roof refurbishments or if the customer moves to another place.

In addition to the extension of its product warran-ty, Conergy has also changed its former multi-stage performance warranty into a linear performance war-ranty. The new warranty conditions guarantee the operator 25 years of linear performance of the PV s ystem, which means that the yields of the modules will not fall by more than 3.5 % in the first year of op-eration. From the second year until 25 years of operation, Conergy warrants that the performance loss will be below 0.6 %/year. This means that the modules must maintain at least 82 % performance after 25 years.

Jump on the bandwagon

Even though similar efforts have been made by other manufacturers, Conergy was the first to be as rigor-ous. In July 2011, the China-based module manufac-turer Suntech upgraded its product warranty for de-fects in material and workmanship from five to ten years and extended its performance warranty up to 25 years. Andrew Beebe, Suntech’s Chief Commercial Officer, says about the decision: “Solar panels are a long-term investment and our customers want to work with a bankable partner that stands behind its products.” Canadian Solar, a solar company based in Canada and China, followed the same path with the

announcement that its product and performance war-ranty had been upgraded as well. One of the pioneers was the Germany-based company Solon, which had already extended its warranty to five stages over 25 years by spring 2010. “Higher ROIs and greater yields – those are two advantages of the extended perfor-mance guarantee,” says Stefan Säuberlich, CEO of Solon SE. Unfortunately, the new warranty service did not help to save the company. Following the closure of its Italian subsidiary, Solon was forced to file bank-ruptcy last year. Meanwhile, Microsol, an Indian- Arabic company, has submitted an offer to buy Solon Group’s business operations.

With the extension of its product and perform-ance warranties, Conergy has set a new standard in the PV sector. In the battle for market shares, the ma-jority of competitors will now have no other choice than to improve their warranty conditions as well. But not everybody is now under the same pressure: some manufacturers, particularly from Asia, have been able to secure their competitiveness with low-er prices and have nothing to fear of Conergy’s pio-neering role. One of the companies that are still un-disturbed is Yingli: “We have always been focused to deliver cutting-edge PV technologies to offer new and improved limited warranties for our product line in order to further secure the investments of our cus-tomers”, says Fabio Patti, Managing Director of Ying-li Green Energy Italia.

In view of the fierce price war led by the competi-tors from Asia, the decision to make after-sales serv-ices more customer-friendly or to enter the niche for innovative products could open new avenues for the global market participants to gain additional or se-cure existing market shares in Italy. On the other hand, the measures that are now being taken also demonstrate how much fiercer the battle has become on the lucrative PV markets that remain. It’s a level of competition that might even become challenging for one or the other global player active today.

Andrew Beebe, Chief Commercial Officer for Suntech, is not disturbed by the new warranties offered by several other companies. The China-based company has recently upgraded its product warranty as well. Photo: Suntech

Company profile


> It was quite sensational news when Talesun re-vealed the plans for its manufacturing plant: a capacity of 1 GW to start with, 2 GW by 2013

and 3 GW by 2014 on 200,000 m². Since October 2011 the state of the art production facility is running with the intended capacity of 1 GW for cells and mod-ules each. These impressive figures make Talesun’s plant one of the largest single solar cell and module plant to date. And the ISO 9000 certified, fully auto-mated manufacturing plant ensures consistent, high quality production and on-time delivery.

It didn’t take Talesun long to reach the first row of global players in the PV business: in 2010 the manage-ment of the Zhongli Sci-Tech Group, a leading compa-ny in China with more than 65 % market share in the cable industry, realized that the continuously growing global electricity demand was the perfect opening pitch for their company: Zhongli had the know-how and the resources to start a big time investment into renewable energy. And that’s what they did: they founded Talesun and funded it with US$ 730 million. Just a little more than a year later, Talesun employs more than 2,900 people worldwide.

Zhongli timed its expansion into the renewable energy sector perfectly: the customers in the core PV markets in Europe such as Italy and Germany are long-ing for affordable and high quality solar cells and modules to match the reductions of the feed-in tariffs. The US market offers interesting opportunities. And at the same time the domestic market in China promises to be a serious alternative to the international markets soon: by the year 2015, the Chinese government aims at installing PV plants with a total capacity of 15 GW.

Talesun stands for premium quality with photo-voltaic solar cells and modules, for outstanding deliv-ery reliability and competitive prices. Its crystalline 5’’ and 6’’ solar modules range from 170 to 310 W.

Their plus only tolerance is between 0 and +3 %. The China-based company offers a linear power output warranty of 25 years and has this insurance backed by a non cancellable 3rd party warranty to secure larger PV projects (insurance valid for claims exceed-ing an amount of US$ 100,000 per case). Talesun’s bestsellers are the TP 660M and P and 572M. These are very robust modules with a high mechanical load strength which withstand high wind (2,400 Pa) and snow loads up to 5,400 Pa. Due to its fully auto mated production lines, Talesun is capable of using a state of the art soldering and achieving a better cell spac-ing tolerance of ± 0.3 mm, as well as a better and more consistent product quality.

Talesun is one of only a few international manu-facturers having a fully automated factory with a spe-cial test centre at their disposal that guarantees the flawless delivery of the products. Moreover, Talesun offers a broad range of services to all its partners and customers: its international team of professionals gives support in technical issues, marketing or sales relevant topics as well as in financial and legal ques-tions. The market has shown great interest in the products of this new and fast-growing player. And Talesun currently expands its sales pipeline to adjust to the increasing demand. And with its warehouses in Europe and the US Talesun is able to deliver its prod-ucts timely to its customers.

With its European headquarters in Munich, re-sponsible for the whole business in Europe, and sites in San Jose and Shanghai, Talesun is able to gather best knowledge about the regional markets and build a far-reaching network. To offer its Italian customers the best service possible Talesun employs native-speaking sales personnel. This way Talesun meets the most important ingredient for sustainable suc-cess: being close to customers and partners.

Company profile

Talesun started its business in September 2010. But being a newcomer to the

PV industry didn’t prevent the China-based company from setting ambitious

goals. And achieving them: by 2013 the capacity of its production plant for

photovoltaic solar cells and modules will reach a capacity of 2 GW.

Breathtaking pace

TalesunAdvertorial

Talesun Solar Germany GmbHEuropean Head OfficeCenter Tower MunichLandsberger Strasse 11080339 MunichGermanyPhone: +49/89/189 177 0Fax: +49/89/189 177 499Email: [email protected]

Talesun’s headquarters in Changshu Photos: Talesun


http://www.talesun.com


Until recently, many Italy-based PV players used to focus

exclusively on the domestic market. A risky strategy: if the Italian

market collapses, it’s “Game over”. Meanwhile, the companies

are increasingly searching for new sales markets. Some of them

have already made the first steps across the border.

44

FVG Energy, an Italy-based module man-ufacturer, has been using the slogan “Italian style”. This might still be

100 % true for the style of the products but not so much for the company itself. By 2008, FVG Energy had already launched a produc-tion location in China with a capacity of 60 MW – and achieved what many Italian companies are not hoping to do. “Our main motivation was to stay competitive”, says Silvia Zentilin, Sales Manager. Competitive-ness was probably also an important factor for the strategic alignment that followed. In 2010, FVG Energy turned its Italy-based pro-duction location into a research and devel-opment lab for new types of modules and doubled its production capacities in China. In 2011, the company’s entire production equipment – meanwhile with a capacity of 180 MW – was relocated to a new factory near Shanghai. From the start, the reloca-tion of the production was paired with a stronger international orientation of the company’s sales activities. Today, FVG

Going global

Energy has supply and trade relations to the largest countries of the European Union, among them Germany, France and Spain, but also to the United Arab Emirates, India, Cameroon and China. The company also established a sales office in Australia.

Onegiga project

However, it does not always take a long-term strategy to get around disadvantageous regulations on the domestic market. Some-times a single stroke is enough: a real coup on the international markets was recently landed by the Italy-based module manufac-turer MX Group. At the end of February, the company made the headlines with the news that it had signed an agreement to act as ex-clusive EPC contractor for a mega solar park in Serbia. And, in this case, the contents cor-respond to that stated on the packaging. Ac-cording to MX Group, the solar park under planning will be the largest in the world. PV arrays on a total surface of 3,000 hectares.

“This would make the solar plant twice as large as the currently biggest installation in California”, says Valentina Colombo, Corpo-rate Communications, MX Group. The project is developed under the name “Onegiga”. “The solar park will consists of 100 individ-ual PV systems, each with a capacity of 10 MW”, says Colombo. “The PV plants will be built between 2013 and 2015 in direct proximity to transmission lines.” Finding sufficient grid connection points for the projects will therefore not be a problem. The region where the mega park will be installed enjoys some of the highest solar irradiation levels in Serbia with 1,400 to 1,700 kWh per m². The project site was carefully chosen and impacts almost no agricultural lands.

The total investment costs for Onegiga arrive at about € 1.755 billion plus VAT. The project was commissioned by the com-pany Luxembourg Securum Equity Partners Europe SA, which had arranged for the con-struction of the project with the government of Serbia in February. MX Group has made clear that it is excited about the order. Carmelito Denaro, President and Managing Director of MX Group Spa, says: “We are very proud to have been entrusted with this prestigious task, enormous in size, which will also lead to the opening on the spot of a solar panel factory and an EPC contractor company. This project brings MX Group and the best technologies of the solar sector into

Silfab’s module production in Ontario. The company plans to expand the capacity of the plant up to 180 MW. Photo: Silfab

ItalIan CompanIes abroad

June 13–15, 2012

The World’s Largest

Exhibition for the Solar Industry

New Munich Trade Fair Centre, Germany

www.intersolar.de

2,200 Exhibitors

170,000 sqm Exhibition Space

80,000+ Visitors

AZISE2012_Master 1.1._end:v1 24.02.12 16:31 Seite 2

www.intersolar.de

ItalIan CompanIes abroad


a European area of great economic and stra-tegic interest. It is also an extraordinary im-petus to our productive capacity.” The legal firm Legale Dubini served as legal counsel to MX Group. While the modules for the PV project will be supplied by MX Group, the in-verters will come from an Italy-based manu-facturer. Fimer and MX Group plan to

produce the inverters as a joint venture in a new factory that will support the develop-ment of the mega-project in Serbia. Accord-ing to Denaro, the project will also be flanked by a new module factory on site, which will have a capacity of 80 to 120 MW and is ex-pected to lead to an annual turnover of be-tween € 40 and 70 million.

Onegiga is not the first project realized by MX Group outside of Italy. The company has also already started activities on the US market. Its subsidiary MX Solar USA launched a new solar panel production in New Jersey with an initial capacity of 65 MW one year ago. Meanwhile, the capacities have been further expanded to 130 MW. “For the factory in the United States, we de-cided on a fully-automated production line, which was supplied by the Switzerland-based company 3S”, says Denaro. In Italy, MX Group SpA owns a total nominal produc-tion capacity of 180 MW.

Another Italy-based company that has gained a foothold on markets outside of Italy is TerniEnergia. The EPC contractor recently established its new subsidiary

products in Italy in the long term. In 2010, the company decided to establish a factory in Ontario, Canada. A smart move from to-day’s perspective: “We are very pleased to already have a second foothold in Ontario”, says Luciano Munaretto, Director and Gener-al Manager at Silfab. “The market will con-tinue to offer opportunities for large-scale

systems in the long term – in contrast to Europe and Italy.” Silfab had already been ready to launch its new module production in Canada last year. “The initial production capacity of the factory was 60 MW”, says Franco Traverso, CEO of Silfab. “Meanwhile, the capacities have been expanded to 90 MW and they will be further raised to 180 MW in the short term.” In North Ameri-ca, the company now has its order books sufficiently filled. In Europe, Silfab, whose headquarters are based in Padua, has relo-cated its module factory to Croatia. Its sub-sidiary Solaris now ships most of the mod-ule production to Italy. “So far, the majority of our solar panels have been sold directly into large-scale projects”, says Franco Traverso. “But the most recent develop-ments have shown us that our European op-erations cannot focus exclusively on Italy. This is why we also plan to become active in other European countries such as Greece or Bulgaria.” In 2010, the factory in Novigrad, Croatia, had fully utilized its capacity of 90 MW. In 2011, Silfab decided to scale back the production to 45 MW.

TerniEnergia Hellas M.e.p.e. in Athens. “Our mission is to develop, build and operate utility-scale PV plants in Greece”, says Paolo Ricci, engineer and Managing Director re-sponsible for development and interna tional projects. TerniEnergia Hellas also announced that it currently has two PV plants with a nominal capacity of about 5 MW each under

planning in Greece. But this is just the be-ginning, says the company: TerniEnergia Hellas plans to establish itself as a supplier of turnkey solutions on the Greek market.

And not only on the Greek market: “The establishment of TerniEnergia Hellas repre-sents an important confirmation of the inter-nationalization strategies of our EPC PV business, as provided by the business plan 2011-2013, which was presented at the end of last September. TerniEnergia aims to achieve this goal both with the opening of other branches abroad, for example, in South Africa, and through important indus-trial partnership projects with international utilities.”

Early debut on the global stage

Similar to its competitor FVG Energy, the module producer Silfab had begun to look for alternatives on the international markets at a much earlier stage than many other Italy-based companies. Silfab had recog-nized that it would not be enough to sell its

Many solar experts believe that the US market still offers a lot of opportunities for large-scale plants. Photo: First Solar


Danfoss Company profileAdvertorial Company profile

A forerunner

>Danfoss was established by Mads Clausen in 1933 and became rapidly one of the primary valves suppliers in Denmark. In the following

period the company developed considerably, expanded all over Europe and abroad and a long list of new products were introduced in the company’s portfolio. Today Danfoss is a global company with 23,000 employees and 100 sales companies all over the world.

With over 40 years of experience in power electronics, the department “Danfoss Solar Inverters” develops and manufactures a comprehensive range of grid connectable, photovoltaic inverters for all PV applications, and is represented in more than 20 countries worldwide.

Smart features

Danfoss has always supported the string inverters solution rather than the central one. Now more and more investors, project managers, EPC contractors and installers are considering the benefits of this technology even for large PV power plants. The company can offer several references by reliable companies which successfully choose the Danish technology for their PV systems.

The Danfoss inverter provides the smart solutions needed to develop any PV set up:

• ULXseries:singlephaseinverter,transformerbased; range: 1.8, 3.0, 3.6, 4.0 and 5.4 kW for residential solutions;

• TLX series: three phase, transformer-less inverter; range: 6, 8,10,12.5 and 15 kW for commercial solutions and large PV plants.

All inverters by Danfoss obtained the Factory Inspection Certificate by TÜV, which certifies that the production and assembling are made in Europe. On the technical side they are characterized by a 1,000 VDC

input and high efficiency. Thanks to their set up for 23 countries and the language selection from the display, Danfoss’ inverters may be installed almost everywhere. With a new suite of tools, including EnergySmart, DesignSmart, TrackSmart and ControlSmart, yield from the solar plant can be maximised.

With a single MPP tracker on each PV input (up to 3MPPTsintheTLX12.5k,TLX15kandULX5.4kversions), Danfoss’ inverters allow more modules in a series and longer strings, while providing greater flexibility in the PV setup and optimizing yield. Moreover, the string solution removes the need of additional equipment like string boxes and cabinets, reducing the installation costs.

TheTLXProseriesincludesmasterinvertertechnology capable of controlling up to 100 inverters from a single inverter. The integrated web server allows to control, monitor and adjust the PV system fromanycomputer.Furthermore,theTLX+andTLXPro+seriesarealreadysetupforthereactivepowercontrol, mandatory in Germany since July 2011 and forecasted in Italy from July 2012 on.

Looking at the future

The number of sales companies all over Europe, the USAandChinaallowsDanfosstogivetechnicalandcommercial support to its customers. Furthermore, it permits Danfoss to increase its market share in those countries where photovoltaics is a strong reality (like Germany or Italy), but also to introduce its technology in those markets where this sector is still growing up.

The technicians and engineers of Danfoss R&D are working on optimizing the existing products, while creating new ones, which will be launched on the occasion of the next international exhibitions Danfoss will be present at, offering clean and efficient solar energy solutions for all applications.

Danfoss Solar Inverters A/SUlsnæs 16300 GråstenDenmark Phone: +45/7488/1300Fax: +45/7488/1301Email: [email protected]/solar

The string solution removes the need of additional equipment like string boxes or cabinets and reduces the installation costs. Photos: Danfoss

Danfoss is one of the

largest industrial

companies in

Denmark. The company

was one of the first

inverter manufacturers

who agitated to realise

even large PV power

plants with string

inverters.

www.solar-inverters.danfoss.com


http://www.danfoss.com/solar

ItalIan CompanIes abroad – bonfIGlIolI


Massimo Sarti, General

Manager Business Unit

Regenerative & Photovoltaic

for Bonfiglioli, talks about the

importance of being present

in international markets in

general and for his company,

the need for a stable political

framework and explains the

concept of localizing its global

business.

Massimo Sarti is General Man-ager Business Unit Regenerative & Photovoltaic for Bonfiglioli, an international group that has been producing complete solutions for industry and renewable energy for over 50 years. Since 2008 the com-pany has been very active in the PV market producing inverters and other PV components. All PV products are developed and made 100 % by the Bonfiglioli Vectron GmbH in Germany.

Photo: Bonfiglioli

48

S&WE: Mr. Sarti, Bonfiglioli has been a well-known manufacturer of gear motors, drive systems and planetary gearboxes for a long time but is a relatively young player in the field of photovoltaics. When and why did Bonfiglioli start to develop and produce inverters and other components for PV systems?Massimo Sarti: The opportunity to enter the PV market emerged in 2001 when Bonfiglioli took over Vectron Elektronik GmbH, a German company specialized in designing and producing inverters and drives for industrial automation applications.

Bonfiglioli has always been paying close attention to environmentally friendly business developments, and this aspect has played a not unimportant role in the decision to enter this sector. In fact Bonfiglioli has gained thirty years of expe-rience in wind applications and a multi-year experience in biogas solutions, in the production of methanol from sugar cane and in recycling.

The decision of operating in the PV sec-tor has complemented this background and strengthened this point of view. We also reorganized and boosted our eco-sensitivi-ty in 2011, to better highlight this position

“There is just one global market”

by creating a business unit focused on renew able energies, and a restyling of our logo, which now aims to give the public a better perception of Bonfiglioli’s “green thinking”.

Against this backdrop, Bonfiglioli in-stalled its first PV systems in Germany in the early 2000s. The first significant instal-lations and the structured business devel-opment, however, date back to 2008.

S&WE: Could you tell our readers how Bonfiglioli’s revenues in the photovoltaics

segment have developed in the past years? How important is the photovoltaics seg-ment compared to the other business seg-ments Bonfiglioli is active in?Sarti: As said, PV represents an important value for Bonfiglioli not only in an econom-ic sense. The importance of the PV market within the group’s revenue has grown suddenly and notably, from around € 10 million in 2009 to almost € 60 million in 2011, and its contribution to the group’s revenue is now around 10 %.

S&WE: Could you please specify how Bonfiglioli’s revenues are spread over the different market segments – like rooftop, medium and large-scale systems?Sarti: With the characteristics of Bon-figlioli’s portfolio and its specific compe-tence in the sector, the group started with large-scale systems, operating as a partner for very important international EPCs and investors. Inverters by Bonfiglioli have been installed at the Puertollano solar pow-er plant in Spain, which in 2009 was one of the biggest in the world with its 46 MW, and at the SunEdison solar park in Rovigo, which in 2010 was the largest single solar farm in Europe with its 70 MW.

Today the company is active not only in this segment but also in medium and small commercial installations and rooftop sys-tems, with the exception of the residential market. Big projects still have a very big impact on Bonfiglioli’s PV revenue, around 70 % versus 30 % for small and medium commercial installations, which are mainly rooftop systems.

S&WE: Many Italian PV companies have just started to set their eyes on the export of their products. Bonfiglioli has been op-erating worldwide in many fields for a long time. What kind of advantages do you think this implies for your company in the field of photovoltaics?Sarti: Bonfiglioli is an Italian company that in the early 80s, thanks to the intui-tion and the vision of its founder and

management, realized that the only way to keep competing at the highest level was to establish itself at the international level. So nowadays we are a multinational company with production facilities in Ita-ly, Germany, Slovakia, India, Vietnam and soon in China and the United States. And to that we must add our 16 branch offices worldwide.

If we focus on the PV segment we can see that in 2011 the international market covered around 55 % of our total business, a share that makes Bon-figlioli’s vision in this sector very clear: there is no multitude of local-ized markets anymore but just one global market, covered locally thanks to our international dimen-sion. The projects we have devel-oped this past year in countries such as Germany, Bulgaria, Greece, India and China are factual examples.

Our approach implies a clear strategy of staying close to the local market: our core competences involving the develop-ment and the application of the technology that is crucial to our products remain in

Germany, where the R&D functions for the PV business are located; but the produc-tion, the assembly and the personalization required due to local regulations and certi-fications, installations etc. are all matters of local relevancy. We believe that this ap-proach allows us to guarantee a very func-tional TTM (time to market), and at the same time to save time and resources: all values that we can easily forward to our customers.

The main advantages, provided by our strategic decision to localize our busi-ness, can easily be summed up in two points: for us it is very easy to be availa-ble for and close to our client during the entire value chain: the availability of com-petent local structures, which have been operating for many years in our custom-

ers’ markets, allows us to continually guarantee efficient pre-sales services, thanks to the coordination with (and com-ing from) the headquarters. This way we can assist our customer through the en-tire sales process and subsequently guar-antee an efficient presence for all after-sales services, which are, clearly, abso-lutely crucial in this sector.

Our model of internationalization with this networking between “local” and “glo-

bal” also represents a warranty for our customer and for the investor: being physically and regularly present is a proof that Bonfiglioli is not just another speculator attract-ed by very interesting tariffs and incentives, but intends to become a stable, reliable and efficient play-

er, constantly providing the services that must be available to every client. Being present with our other business areas is further proof of stability for our client, who can peacefully count on the fact that Bon figlioli will always be on the market, no matter what will specifically happen to the PV market.

“Bonfiglioli is not just another speculator

attracted by very interesting tariffs and

incentives, but intends to become a stable,

reliable and efficient player.”

Improving effi ciencyThe excellent performance under oblique radia-

tion gives the opportunity to produce energy from the early morning to dusk and to improve the yield even with unfavorable alignments.

The advantages of alfasolar Pyramid modules are confi rmed by studies on pyramid structured glass conducted by the Photovoltaic Institute of Berlin.This year the product portfolio is updated:• Hightech series: Pyramid 60 mono from 250 Wp to 260 Wp, maximum effi ciency of 16.3 %

• Premium series: Pyramid poly 54, 60 and 80 cells, performance range from 200 Wp to 325 Wp • Industrial + series: polycrystalline modules with 60 cells-230 Wp and 80 cells-300 Wp, the economical alterna-tive with AR-glass.

All alfasolar modules include 10-year workmanship warranty and a 25-year linear performance guarantee. Furthermore you have the advantages of a product “Made in Germany”.

>Since 1993 alfasolar GmbH deals with photo-voltaics and its core work is the production of high-performance modules. alfasolar has its

headquarters in Hanover, Germany, and two branches in Italy and in France.

The production plant is located in Germany and ensures a total output of 40 MW in 2012. Moreover, alfasolar is a distributor of inverters and manufactur-er of mounting systems.Since 2006 the German brand produces the Pyramid series, characterized by pyrami-dal glass and polycrystalline cells with highest effi ciency. The pyramid structured glass en-hances the Pyramid series per-formance:• up to 5 % more yield com-pared to standard smooth glass;• 3.5 % more performance from perpendicular irradiance;• 20 % more performance from oblique irradiance (80°);• excellent response in case of low irradiance;• self-cleaning effect.

ALFASOLAR COMPANY PROFILEAdvertorial

alfasolar GmbHAhrensburger Strasse 4-630659 HannoverGermanyMobile: +39/349/708 56 10Phone: +49/511/261 44 718Fax: +49/511/261 447-50Email: [email protected]

®

The production capacity of alfasolar amounts to 40 MW. Photos: alfasolar



http://www.alfasolar.de

ItalIan CompanIes abroad – bonfIGlIolI


S&WE: Which PV markets are of particular interest to Bonfiglioli? On which markets will Bonfiglioli focus in the future?Sarti: The European markets are the ones Bonfiglioli is looking at with the greatest interest, especially Italy and Germany. Apart from that: India – where we can brag about a very high market share in 2011, which makes us a top two player in terms of delivered MW – China, the United States and Canada. The South African market is also becoming very promising. Accordingly we are arranging our capillary presence in terms of PV.

S&WE: How important is the Italian market to Bonfiglioli?Sarti: The Italian market is definitely important for Bonfiglioli, not only in terms of revenue (45 % of 2011 revenue was earned in Italy), but also because it represents its home market, where it is easier to operate in and where it is possible to benefit from a well-established tradition of our brand and the subsequent higher brand awareness in every sector.

S&WE: With the incentives especially for large-scale systems being cut down in im-

portant markets will Bonfiglioli concentrate on components for medium size and small rooftop systems?Sarti: The regulation currently in force in Europe is certainly disadvantageous for us when purely considering the investment level, as it is favouring the small plants rather than those large parks which allowed us to play an important role in this sector. However, this does not mean that only rooftop plants will survive, even though we are pretty sure they will gain a growing im-portance among PV installations in Italy. For this reason we are focusing on the product offering in this particular segment, expand-ing our product range and elaborating new solutions able to meet not only the require-

ments of the large commercial roofs, but al-so those of small rooftop plants.

S&WE: There are just a few major inverter manufacturers which don’t have produc-tion facilities in Europe. How important is the “made in EU” rule for Bonfiglioli?

Sarti: The possibility of obtaining the ad-ditional incentives thanks to the “Made in EU” rule is definitely an important recog-nition for our manufacturing chain and our product planning division. We still be-lieve that the “German school” process our products possess can teach a lesson to the market in this field in terms of toughness, reliability, but above all tech-nological innovation and productivity. This aspect allowed us to emphasize the added market value at an economic level as well. Germany is our second home and it will keep on being so, since we are well aware of the important economic value this adds.

S&WE: What do you expect from the new Italian government in the field of photo-voltaics?Sarti: The PV industry’s goal is to reach grid parity. When grid parity is reached, photovoltaics will be able to maintain it-self without any kind of incentives, and this must be the goal of all of us who oper-ate in this field. However, until that mo-ment, it is necessary to support the pro-duction using proper measures that are able to guarantee a clear, steady and reli-able playing field. Uncertainty is the worst nightmare for those who intend to invest their money in any form, especially today, when it is so difficult to get access to cred-it; incentives are the means our industry needs to achieve its goal of self-sustain-ability. So, let’s define and debate their forms, contents and duration. But once we have set the rules, we will have to keep them steady over time! Unfortunately, for the past two years Italy and most of the other European countries did not provide an example to follow as regards this as-pect.

S&WE: How do you think the Italian PV market will develop in 2012?Sarti: Unfortunately, if we were to say that the PV market in Italy wouldn’t feel any re-percussion it wouldn’t be true: 2012 will be weaker than 2011.

S&WE: What are Bonfiglioli’s expectations for 2012?Sarti: Our expectations for 2012 are very high. Our primary aim is the base of in-stalled systems: we can say that up to the end of 2011 we had installed over 1.2 GW around the world, and we expect to increase this value by a further 700 to 800 MW in 2012. Those are ambitious aims, but we know we can reach these targets.

“Uncertainty is the worst nightmare for

those who intend to invest their money in

any form, especially today, when it is so

difficult to get access to credit”

Besides other large projects Bonfiglioli provided the inverters for the SunEdison solar park in Rovigo, which with its 70 MW was the largest single solar farm in Europe in 2010. Photo: Bonfiglioli


Company profileAdvertorial emmVee

>Solar Power Tech is an installation company with the highest requirements. For years it has worked together with renowned companies

such as EMMVEE, Bosch, Enerprogetti and Power-One. The company’s headquarter is in T eramo, and the experienced employees there plan and de-sign PV installations for systems in all of Italy and across Europe: for both rooftop and freestanding systems. Solar Power Tech is a PV installation company with the highest requirements for service and quality. EMMVEE Photovoltaics GmbH supplies poly- and monocrystalline modules, while the thin-film modules come from Bosch. Inverters and moni-toring solutions come from Power-One and the Enerprogetti Group is responsible for assembly sys-tems and engineering services.

Umberto Falone has led the company since 2010. He stresses: “We always concentrate on quality. We work together with the manufacturers of the best products and with the best installers, and thus get exceptional results. We put a high value on having tailored systems that fit well on your roof, and not on your roof having to fit our systems.”

For these reasons the Italian company chose EMMVEE Photovoltaics GmbH as a partner. Solar Power Tech has been working together with the German- Indian manufacturer of photovoltaic mod-ules since it was set up. “Our customer satisfaction shows that we are right,” says Falone: “The modules, inverters and mounting frames go together superbly and the results achieved speak for themselves.”

Quality writ large

EMMVEE Photovoltaics GmbH has been systematical-ly going for the best quality since 1997. German brand name products are used, as quality is the best

guarantor of good returns. EMMVEE modules use cells from German manufacturing – from Bosch for example – and the connector boxes are from Spelsberg or Lumberg.

EMMVEE was the first module manufacturer to systematically go for the yield-raising glass Albarino P. This front glass has been proven to have properties that catch more light. The yields are thus higher via simple means. Independent scientific studies have shown this to be the case. The glass is especially suit-able for Mediterranean roofs, as the roof angle is usu-ally lower on these.

After the Italian energy agency GSE once again changed the criteria for receiving full support, it is im-portant that companies use European components. “That’s no problem for EMMVEE,” says company spokesperson Frank Hilgenfeld: “EMMVEE has always worked together with European manufacturers of quality components. Our top modules consist to 90 % of German components, as they have done since 1997.” The TÜV Rheinland makes checks on the vol-umes and origins of the components; EMMVEE is Made in Europe!

Salvatore Cammilleri, Head of EMMVEE Photovoltaics GmbH, adds: “We support the GSE and consider the adjustment of the criteria to be very sensible. Quality and transparency are our watchwords and we are even going a step further. We don’t just publish the makeup of our modules in specification sheets, but are also going to put the cell manufactur-ing site in the nomenclature of our modules.”

The combination of the front glass, the other com-ponents and the personal and reliable service provid-ed by the manufacturer’s service department, which also has its new headquarters in Teramo, makes EMMVEE a strong partner. And when quality and the best service meet, then solar power is child’s play.

EMMVEE Photovoltaics GmbH Franz-Jacob-Straße 4a 10369 BerlinGermanyPhone: +49/30/914 26 89 - 0 Fax: +49/30/914 26 89 - [email protected] www.EMMVEEphotovoltaics.com

Solar Power TechVia Prospero Celli, sncZona Industriale Sant’Atto 64100 TeramoItaly Phone: +39/0861/1855680 Fax +39/0861/1850381 www.solarpowertech.it

Company profile

When installing a PV system, the interplay of the components is very

important, as is choosing the right partner.

A matter of trust

The EMMVEE modules with Albarino P front glass are predestined for rooftops in southern countries, with their often lower roofing angles. Photos: EMMVEE


http://www.EMMVEEphotovoltaics.com

http://www.solarpowertech.it


UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank, is an important capital provider in the segment for small and medium-sized PV projects. Photo: dpa

52

What is particularly striking are the chang-es in the financing of smaller PV plants with a capacity of up to 30 kW, says

Andreas Leitner, Vice President of Leitner Solar, a company based in South Tyrol: “The trend is now to-wards equity capital financing. The customers have discovered PV as a lucrative investment form. Con-sider that a PV plant with a capacity of 3 kW costs about € 10,000 – it’s an amount many people can afford.” Due to the lower interest rates, the profits from traditional low-risk investments are not very high. In other words: the investment into a PV system is attractive.

The same applies for PV plants financed on the basis of loans. According to Leitner, the interest rates for smaller loans currently range around 8 %: “However, if the investor can find a bank that offers a product specifically tailored to renewable energy projects, the interest rates will often be in the range of between 5 and 6 %.” But where do investors have to look?

Terms and conditions

One of these banks is the Italian Banco Popolare. With its product “Fotovoltaico”, the bank offers a fi-nancing solution for enterprises, freelancers, crafts-men, traders and self-employed professionals. Cus-tomers have an option to choose between a fixed and a variable interest rate. The variable interest rate is linked to the EURIBOR (Euro InterBank Offered Rate), a reference rate based on the average interest at which 57 European banks (so-called “panel banks”) offer to lend euro funds to other banks. “Lately, vari-able interest rate loans have dominated. The prime rate has been low (ECB), but the rise in bank spreads since the financial crisis have driven up interest rates, which means that there is not much to lose by having a variable rate,” says Leitner. Owners of a PV system can obtain financing for up to 80 % of the investment costs with a credit period of up to ten years. How ever, the investment costs have to be in the range of at least € 25,000 and a maximum of € 500,000.

Size mattersFinancing

The drastically lower system costs have had a strong impact on the

financing of PV systems and the lending policies in the last year: there are

plenty of options to obtain a loan for a small-scale and medium-sized PV

plant.


Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena addresses private individuals who want to invest into energy efficiency measures with its product “Tuttofare Natura”. Photo: Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena

UniCredit is another important capital provider in the segment for small and medium-sized PV projects. “We demonstrate our commitment to sustainability through our environmentally sound business prac-tices and initiatives”, says the company is a press re-lease. UniCredit offers two different product lines: one is tailored to the needs of private individuals and families. The other one addresses small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with an annual turnover of up to € 50 million. The loan for private individuals and families who want to install a non-commercial PV system on their homes is available to property own-ers eligible for the feed-in tariff offered in the scope of Conto Energia. UniCredit provides its customers with financing in the range of € 10,000 to € 70,000 over a credit period of 60 to 120 months. Part of the financing plan is a grace period, in which the borrow-er will only be charged the interest rate. The first pay-ment to the bank has to be made one month after the loan has been released and then includes also the previous charges.

If the customer, for example, applies for a loan in the range of € 50,000 with fixed interest rates and a credit period of 120 months, the monthly repayments will be € 558. An interest rate of 6.15 %, for instance, is based on a 10-year euro interest rate swap (euro IRS) as of April 21, 2011, which is rounded to 0.05. The euro IRS is a fixed interest rate agreed upon by banks for money with a maturity date of greater than one year. To this must be added the credit spread of the bank in the range of 2.50 %, which compensates the risk involved for the financial institution. In this example, the customer will have to repay a total of about € 67,000 to the bank including fixed costs over ten years. This corresponds to an annual percentage rate of charge of 6.42 %. The loan can be obtained without putting up collateral but is offered only to pri-vate customers with very good credit rating.

The monthly payment on a loan with the same terms but with a variable interest rate would be € 503 at 3.90 % interest. The 2.50 % credit spread of the bank is added to the EURIBOR reference value as of

www.otto-solar.com

Stabilisation of frames

Bonding of back rails

Bonding and potting of junction boxes

Bonding of frames

Sealants, adhesives and encapsulants are only a minimal expense factor in photovoltaic modules. But they have a considerable influ-ence on the life time and on the durability of the photovoltaic module against climatic influences. Applying the premium products of OTTO ensures you to benefit from more than 40 years of expert knowledge in research, development and production. Put us to the test!

OTTO – always a good connection!

Hermann Otto GmbHKrankenhausstr. 14 • 83413 Fridolfing • Germanyphone: +49-8684-908-0 • fax: +49-8684-1260e-mail: [email protected] • Internet: www.otto-solar.com

High-quality connectionsfor PV modules

OTTO_Anz_PV_102x297_engl_111017_final.indd 1 17.10.11 13:15

www.otto-solar.com

Financing


April 21, 2011 for three months, which is also round-ed to 0.05, resulting in an effective interest rate of 4.01 %. Compared to the fixed interest rate, the cus-tomer would have to repay a total of € 60,400 to the bank, which means about € 7,000 less – provided that the variable interest rate does not change.

Another bank that has special loans for solar projects in the segment for small and medium-sized PV systems on offer is Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Its product “Tuttofare Natura” addresses pri-vate individuals who want to invest into energy effi-ciency measures. This means the loan is not only of-fered for rooftop PV projects but also for PV façades, electric cars and comparable projects. Under the terms of the product, the customer can apply for a loan in the range of at least € 3,000 and a maximum of € 60,000 over a period of 12 to 156 months. The size of the re-payments can be arranged in line with the customer needs. Unscheduled repayments are free of charge during the credit period. At these terms, a € 20,000 loan with a maturity of five years would have an effec-tive interest rate of some 3.59 % with a variable inter-est rate and 4.99 % with a fixed rate of interest.

Difficult conditions for large-scale projects

There are many options to finance a small or medium-sized PV plant. Loans for large-scale plants are far more complicated though. According to Andreas Leitner, the financing of PV plants with capacities be-tween 100 kW and 1 MW on the basis of loans or leas-ing has become increasingly difficult over the last one and a half years. “The financial crisis has widened the gap. On the one hand, the banks have less money and are now more selective. On the other hand, the credit rating of many companies has gone down”, says Leitner. Simona Carini of Cariparma, an Italy-based branch of Crédit Agricole in France, believes that the particular circumstances explain the reluc-tance on the part of the banks: “The Italian govern-ment has just changed and the economy has been in a difficult situation”, she says. Nevertheless, Cariparma continues to grant loans in the Italian renewable energy sector: “The renewable sector is still good and will remain so in the long term.”

In France, the investment climate has worsened as a consequence of the lower subsidies as well. Many major banks therefore prefer to invest in solar projects in Italy. One example is the bank BNP Paribas. In a joint venture, BNP’s subsidiary BNP Leasing Solutions, UniCredit Leasing and Leasint fi-nanced a 24.2 MW system by REC in the Italian region of Lazio in the last year.

Global offer

“The debt crisis and, as a consequence, the banking crisis are a threat to the energy turnaround”, says Dr. Ulrich Schröder, Chairman of the Executive Board of the German KfW Banking Group. The state-owned development bank KfW offers financing to private

KfW’s headquarters in Frankfurt. The German development bank is already on board for the energy turnover. Photo: KfW


individuals, self-employed professionals and farmers as well as not-for-profit organizations, and domestic and foreign enterprises for their solar power plants in the scope of its “Renewable Energies” programme. To apply for the loan, the customers have to file an ap-plication at their house bank and agree on an ade-quate type and size of collateral. If the customer has a credit rating of category 1, for example, and choos-es fixed interest rates over 5 years plus a repayment-free start-up period of one year, the annual percent-age rate will be 2.07 %. If the customer is rated in category 5 and chooses a period of 20 years with fixed interest for 10 years and three years without payments, the rate will be 4.32 %.

The financing through KfW is not limited to projects in Germany. Through its wholly-owned subsidi-ary KfW IPEX-Bank, the banking group finances also German and European projects in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energies in Italy and other parts of the world. “If German or European stakeholders are involved, the fi-nancing is possible for projects around the world”, says Thomas Krick at KfW IPEX-Bank. The bank provides financing for up to 100 % of the investment costs (VAT ex-cluded). The maximum amount for a loan is € 25 million. If required, the customer can apply for up to three repayment-free years at the bank. Investments with an eco-nomic and technical lifecycle of more than ten years can be fi-nanced over a credit period of up to 20 years.

Clearly, the falling system costs have made it easier to obtain loans for the realization of small and medium-sized PV plants. It’s a form of financing that does not re-ally correspond to the loan policies of the banks”, says Andreas Leitner. “But it’s a type of project financing in which the investment pays for itself and is accepted as collateral. The economic success or failure of the company is not a risk factor for the bank.” Neverthe-less, the lenders seem to have doubts about the collateral partic-ularly in the segment of large-scale projects. Something even more es-sential is missed by the custom-ers: transparency. It is still much more difficult to obtain an over-view of the different financing options in the area of renewable energy than in other segments such as construction.

There are many options to finance a small or medium-sized PV plant. Loans for large-scale plants like this 1 MW plant in Vittorio Veneto are far more complicated, though. Photo: aleo solar

www.istarsolar.com


Sale of PV electricity

As long as grid parity is not achieved, the falling feed-in tariffs mean also

lower returns for the operators of PV plants. Under these conditions, it is

not easy to arouse enthusiasm for solar power and attract new customers.

But Conto Energia offers a number of options to earn extra money with the

sale of electricity.

Making use of “Ritiro dedicato” and selling the electricity produced by large-scale PV plants like the 200 kW one shown in the picture can be lucra-tive.

Photo: Ferrania Solis

56

D iego Brignone, Project Manager at Ferrania Solis, knows that 2012 will not be easy for the PV sector: “Pure PV companies will still be

able to exist but there will be a strong selection of market players.” The reduction of the feed-in tariffs and the freeze on large-scale open space systems has shown the industry that it will soon have to learn to stand on its own feet. But in the transition period un-til grid parity is reached, i.e. until solar power will be able to compete with household electricity, the sup-pliers and distributors of PV plants will have to con-vince the customers that a lot of solar plants con tinue to be a lucrative investment. This is ensured by vari-ous regulations in Conto Energia IV: in addition to the basic feed-in tariff, the operators of PV plants can earn extra money on the basis of self-consumption as well as by indirectly and directly selling their electric-ity.

“Scambio sul posto” pays off for small PV plants

Besides the revenues from the feed-in tariff paid out for all of the electricity generated by the PV plant, the operator can save extra money by using part of the electricity for own consumption. Net metering, which is called “power exchange on-site” (“Scambio sul posto”) in Italy, allows the electricity producer to with-draw from the grid part all of the electricity needed and consume the electrical energy generated by the PV plant at a different time. The electricity grid acts as large and infinite energy storage, as it were. In Italy, the “Scambio sul posto” works as follows: the PV op-erator supplies the surplus production that is not self-consumed to Gestore dei Servizi Elettrici (GSE). GSE sells this electricity on the market. The operator buys additional amounts needed from the local utility.

The Italian way


Grid parity is impatiently awaited. Photo: DEGERenergie

At the end of the year, the operator then receives a financial contribution from GSE that takes into ac-count the electricity required and the electricity fed into the grid. The purchase price for each kWh is set higher than the compensation from GSE, which means that the surplus has to exceed the electricity bought from GSE to make money. If the revenues for the PV electricity fed into the grid are higher than the costs for the electricity needed, the revenues can ei-ther be credited to the account of the operator for the next years or be paid out (payment of surplus). The price per kWh that GSE pays for surplus electricity is set every hour in the market zones where the plant is located.

“The option is open for operators whose PV sys-tems have a capacity of less than 20 kW or less than 200 kW if the PV systems were connected to the grid before December 31st 2007”, says Hannes Reichhalter of TIS Innovation Park in South Tyrol. The operators have to be contract partners for the electrical energy bought from the energy provider at the so-called “ex-change point”. In addition, the grid connection point for supplying and consuming the electricity must be identical to allow for the technical implementation of the “Scambio sul posto”. Reichhalter explains how the payments are made by GSE: up to one month af-ter the end of the first quarter, in which the agree-ment was closed, GSE will make a payment of € 50 for every kW installed. Every four months, GSE will make a payment based on the amount of energy supplied and consumed if a minimum of € 100 is reached. Once a year, GSE will then calculate the exact com-pensation from the meter measurements of the pre-vious year and make a final payment. “If the PV plant has produced a surplus, the operator can either ob-tain a credit for a maximum of three years or opt for a direct payment”, says Reichhalter.

“Net metering is considered a simplified use of the grid and not an incentive”, the engineer from northern Italy explains. “For this reason, the option can be combined with all other promotional instru-ments currently offered except for the all-inclusive feed-in tariff ‘tariffa omnicomprensiva’.” It is particu-larly attractive for private home owners as well as small businesses and agricultural enterprises to use

net metering, says Norbert Klammsteiner of the Italy-based energy company energytech: “PV plants with a capacity of up to 20 kW do not have to be registered at the customs office. The operator therefore gets around a lot of bureaucracy.” Farmers have another advantage as they do not have to pay taxes for the re-turns from PV systems with a peak output of 20 kW.

The “indirect sale”

For large-scale PV plants with a surplus of more than 30 %, it’s more lucrative to sell the electricity, says Klammsteiner. In addition to the feed-in tariff ob-tained for the electricity produced by the PV plant, the operator can claim an annually determined min-imum tariff for surplus electricity supplied to the grid up to a capacity of 2 GWh. According to PV Invest Italia, the minimum tariff currently ranges at 10.34 €-ct/kWh for a surplus of up to 500 MWh and 7.62 €-ct/kWh for up to 2 GWh. If the operator feeds a surplus of more than 2 GWh into the grid, GSE will buy the electricity exceeding 2 GWh at the current market price. Varying with the location and moment, the regular market price had ranged between 5.3 €-ct and 11.8 €-ct/kWh in the last year, says the energy agency. Selling electricity this way is called “Ritiro dedicato” in Italy.

www.alfasolar.de


The grid operator is compensated for the differ-ence between the minimum tariff and the price achieved on the market by the “Fund for systems that generate renewable and assimilated energy” (Conto per nuovi impianti da fonti rinnovabili ed assimilate), which is financed through an extra charge on the electricity bill of the end consumer. The aim of the in-direct sale is to simplify the access to the renewable energy market. Whether the net metering or the indi-rect sale is the more attractive option for the operator depends on the size of the PV plant and the level of self-consumption. Net metering mainly compensates the operator for the electricity costs. Especially oper-ators who (can) consume most of the electricity them-selves and have a surplus below 30 % will find the option more attractive than the “Retiro dedicato”. Particularly private operators also benefit from the re-duced bureaucracy. Sale of electricity and net meter-ing cannot be combined. According to Norbert Klammsteiner, the use of both options is quite bal-anced at least in South Tyrol: “About 50% of the PV operators make use of the ‘Scambio sul posto’. The others use the ‘Ritiro dedicato’, which means that they sell their electricity to GSE.” The only systems types that cannot benefit from the incentives, which both require a grid connection, are off-grid solutions. In the future, the choice between “Ritiro dedicato” and “Scambio sul posto” will no longer exist: from 2013 on there will be a unified tariff.

Only for large plants: the Power Exchange

“Operators of large-scale PV plants can also sell their electricity at the Power Exchange”, says Hannes Reichhalter of TIS Innovation Park. The Gestore dei Mercati Energetici (GME) controls and manages the Italian electricity market and the Italian Power Ex-change (IPEX). IPEX has the mission of organising and economically managing the electricity market under the principles of neutrality and transparency and en-courages competition between the producers. It en-ables operators of generation plants as well as con-sumers and wholesale customers to enter into hour-ly electricity purchase and sale contracts. The market participants connect to an electronic platform through the Internet and enter into online contracts based on digital certificates.

The Italian Power Exchange is the electricity spot and futures market for Italy. The spot electricity mar-ket comprises the Day-Ahead Market (MGP) where producers, wholesalers and eligible end customers sell or purchase electricity for the next day, the Intra-Day Market (MI) where contracts are signed to bal-ance deviations and losses in the short-term after MGP has closed, and the Ancillary Services Market (MSD) where the Italian grid operator Terna S.p.A. procures the dispatching services needed to manage, operate, monitor and control power systems. Besides this, the market participants have an option to trade selling and buying obligations for electricity at the fu-tures market.

www.solarexpo.com


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Access to the Electricity Market is subject to an access fee of € 7,500 on a one-time basis as well as a yearly fixed fee of € 10,000. In addition to this there are variable fees defined for individual markets, which are charged by MWh. “The Power Exchange makes sense only for PV plants with a capacity of more than 1 MW”, says Hannes Reichhalter. “The market price is usually below the minimum tariff of the Ritiro dedicato.” But also the time and effort needed are too great. He believes that the Power Exchange will not dominate the market in the next few years.

“As the feed-in tariffs continue to fall, the impor-tance of alternative marketing strategies will in-crease”, says energy consultant Norbert Klammstein-er. PV energy is produced at peak hours, which is an advantage towards other renewable energy forms. “The industry needs most of its electricity around noon, which is when PV plants generate their highest yields”, says Klammsteiner. Nevertheless, the focus remains on grid parity. New market opportunities are expected to open up. Morena Aranzulla of DEGERenergie sees a lot of potential: “Italy will probably reach grid parity by the end of the year. Power Purchase Agreements will then become inter-esting: operators of local solar parks will close supply contracts with industry players or other local consum-ers for their electricity. We expect to see a similar de-velopment in Italy over the next few years.”

Enel’s subsidiary Terna is the central grid operator for extra high voltage and high voltage lines in Italy. Photo:Terna

www.solarexpo.com


RetuRns foR Rooftop pV plants

Even though the feed-in tariffs are falling, the returns for solar power plants

continue to be attractive – thanks to the lower costs for component parts.

Rooftop PV plants continue to be profitable. Depending on the size of the PV plant and the quality of the modules, the payback time for the invest-ment is two to eight years.

Photo: Europressedienst Under the terms of Conto Energia IV, the feed-in tariffs will be continuously reduced depend-ing on the size and the location of the PV

plant. At the same time, the costs for PV modules and system kits are plummeting at different rates depend-ing on where the modules were made. The following calculations (compare table) have been developed together with installers and demonstrate that the investment into a PV plant continues to pay off this year – particularly in the growing segment for rooftop PV plants.

In what follows, the returns and yields that can be expected from a 5 kW and a 30 kW rooftop PV plant (both frequently installed on private homes or businesses) are compared. The calculation takes in-to account a performance loss of the PV modules in the range of 0.4 % and annually rising operating costs. These costs include the insurances needed for the PV installation as well as the rental fee for meters and additional expenses for repairs or the replace-ment of the inverter. The example looks at the return after 20 years of operation, the amortization time needed for the investment to pay for itself and the return on invested capital. Norbert Klammsteiner of the Italian energy company energytech believes that the parameters used in the calculations are conser-vative and in favour of a secure investment. Besides the basic feed-in tariff for rooftop PV plants current-ly offered under Conto Energia IV, the calculation al-so takes into account the two options that operators

can use to receive an additional incentive, which is net metering (Scambio sul posto) and selling the electricity (Ritiro dedicato) (see article on page 56). The calculation with “Scambio sul posto” is based on the assumption that an amount of 20 % of the whole energy production of the system is yielding an addi-tional return of 14 €-ct/kWh. When selling the elec-tricity, the tariff depends on the electricity price set by the energy provider. The example is based on a surplus of 40 % and 10.34 €-ct per kWh produced.

Based on acquisition costs of 2,500 € per kW (for a complete system with solar panels, inverters and the installation) and a specific yield per year in the range of 1,200 kWh per kW, the 5 kW plant will gen-erate a return of € 14,111.79 after 20 years, if the op-erator makes use of the “Scambio sul posto” (com-pare example 2 in table). This would be equivalent to a return on equity of 8.83 % and an amortization pe-riod of 9.35 years. To this must be added further re-turns if the system is still in operation after 20 years. If the example is based on higher acquisition costs of 3,000 €/kW instead of the previous € 2,500 (e.g. if the operator uses premium modules or if the installa-tion is particularly difficult), the return is reduced to 6.37 %. If the operator installs low-cost imports or mounting system with costs of 2,000 €/kW, on the other hand, the return is increased to 12.26 %. In the same example, the returns can be even further in-creased, if the operator makes use of the “Ritiro dedicato” option and sells 40 % of the electricity. Ex-

It still pays off


GPRS

ternal financing also has a positive effect on the re-turn on equity. If 50 % of the investment is financed on the basis of a loan from UniCredit with an annual interest rate of 6.42 %, for example, the return is raised to 10.11 % at acquisition costs in the range of € 2,500/kW, and to a full 15.39 % at costs of € 2,000/kW – provided that the operator uses the “Scambio sul posto”.

Compared to the 5 kW system, the plant with 30 kW requires a higher investment volume but achieves the necessary economies of scale. Based on the previous example and investment costs of

2,000 €/kW, the return on equity arrives at 11.45 % if the operator makes use of the “Scambio sul posto”. Again, the return can be further raised to 13.20 % if the investment costs are lowered to 1,800 €/kW, and are even further increased if the operator makes use of the “Ritiro dedicato”. Record returns of about 18 % can be achieved if 50 % of the investment is financed on the basis of a loan.

A look at the feed-in tariffs for the second half of 2012 shows that a reduction of the basic tariff will lead to only 1 % or a maximum of 4 % lower returns if the installation costs remain the same.

Model calculation for PV investments

Due to economies of scale, the 30 kW PV system generates higher returns on equity and pays for itself more quickly than a 5 kW system. Source: EuPD

The calculations should be considered as forecasts and are without guarantee. All prices are net prices, excluding value added tax. Depreciation and tax effects are not considered. Deviations may result from the different yields in kWh of the modules as well as the self-consumption rate and the electricity prices that have to be paid.

On roof with Conto Energia IV + Scambio On roof with Conto Energia IV + Ritiro On roof with Conto Energia IV + Scambio On roof with Conto Energia IV + Ritiro

Entered operation 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year 1 half-year

Type rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

rooftop plant

Capacity [kW] 5 5 5 5 5 5 30 30 30 30 30 30

Total system costs (2012) [€] 10,000 12,500 15,000 10,000 12,500 15,000 54,000 60,000 66,000 54,000 60,000 66,000

System costs per kW (installation and inverters included) [€]

2,000 2,500 3,000 2,000 2,500 3,000 1,800 2,000 2,200 1,800 2,000 2,200

Specific yield p. a. [kWh/kW] 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200 1,200

Performance loss of modules p.a. [%]

0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40

Conto Energia IV (CE 4) [€-ct] 24.7 24.7 24.7 24.7 24.7 24.7 23.3 23.3 23.3 23.3 23.3 23.3

Scambio sul posto (net metering) 20 % Ø per kWh 14 €-ct

14 14 14 - - - 14 14 14 - - -

Ritiro dedicato (sale of electricity) 40 % Ø per kWh 10.34 €-ct

- - - 10.34 10.34 10.34 - - - 10.34 10.34 10.34

Equity share 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Operating costs p.a. plus meter rental [€]

130.00 130.00 130.00 130.00 130.00 130.00 780.00 780.00 780.00 780.00 780.00 780.00

Increase operating costs p.a. [%] 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Operating costs after 20 years 3,158.66 3,158.66 3,158.66 3,158.66 3,158.66 3,158.66 18,951.95 18,951.95 18,951.95 18,951.95 18,951.95 18,951.95

Reserve for increasing costs and repairs p.a. [€]

40.00 40.00 40.00 40.00 40.00 40.00 240.00 240.00 240.00 240.00 240.00 240.00

Reserve for increasing costs and repairs after 20 years

800.00 800.00 800.00 800.00 800.00 800.00 4,800.00 4,800.00 4,800.00 4,800.00 4,800.00 4,800.00

Return on equity [%] 12.26 8.83 6.37 12.69 9.21 6.72 13.20 11.45 9.98 13.88 12.09 10.58

Amortization time in years 7.46 9.35 11.23 5 7.16 9.32 7.05 7.84 8.64 4.32 5.22 6.12

Return after 20 years [€] 16,611.79 14,111.79 11,611.79 17,373.26 14,873.26 12,373.26 97,905.91 91,905.91 85,905.91 104,415.95 98,415.95 92,415.95

www.solar-log.com


Dumping AllegAtions

China’s solar production surplus is sold at bargain prices on the export

markets. European module manufacturers are now planning an anti-

dumping proceeding against their Chinese competitors. Market participants

in Italy have reacted with mixed feelings. Particularly the installers take out

an advantage.

The production capacities of the China-based PV companies are growing at a similar pace as the skyscrapers in the mega city Shanghai – despite the lack of a domestic market.

Photo: dpa

62

Hans-Jörg Sinner of trendtec GmbH has not heard of plans by the European manufactur-ers to file a complaint against Chinese price

dumping in Europe. But he has a clear opinion, should the case take on shape: Sinner does not want to lose the price advantage provided by Chinese modules. “We use solar panels from China and Europe. I don’t have much interest in a complaint”, says Sinner. In his opinion, the measure would not make much sense on a globalized market. Many products, such as iPhones or toys, are made in China after all. “What would be the benefit? One could argue that it sup-ports the domestic industry. But what about their profits? They will certainly not be re-invested into the development of the domestic market. I believe in a free market and competition”, says the installer from

The limits of growth

Bruneck. Many installers in Italy think that way. Chinese modules enjoy a high acceptance. Mean-while, the China-based manufacturers have achieved a market penetration of 70 % with their strategy to provide acceptable quality at significantly lower pric-es. The pressure on the European industry is rising.

Fierce battle for market shares

Each time a country introduces unexpected cuts to the feed-in tariffs or imposes a cap on the market growth, the battle for market shares gets fiercer, the prices drop and the profits get smaller. It’s getting harder for the European manufacturers. While com-panies such as Photowatt, Solon and Solar Millennium had to file for insolvency and are now hoping for new

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Dumping AllegAtions

investors, others such as Conergy or Q-Cells could only be saved on the basis of debt relieves. As the im-port of low-cost solar modules from China continues uninterrupted, an end of the development is not in sight. The effects for the end customer, investors, wholesalers and installers may be positive. But man-ufacturers with significantly higher production costs, when compared to their Chinese competitors, do not all feel the same. Many Italy-based manufacturers can still compensate the disadvantage and secure their sales through customer proximity. Others in Europe are feeling increasingly threatened. Following similar claims in the United States, SolarWorld, a Germany-based solar manufacturer, is now pioneer-ing with a proceeding at the European Commission’s competition agency to force penal duties on Chinese module and solar cell imports and reinstall fair competition.

The point in question: SolarWorld claims that un-fair subsidies by the Chinese government have en abled the Chinese manufacturers to undercut European and Japanese manufacturers in the last three years with costs drastically below the market price. There is talk of multi-billion interest-free loans, free property and low-cost silicon from state-owned production facilities available to the China-based solar players have caused serious losses on the part of the European manufacturers. In fact, a glance at the statistics reveals that the prices achieved by the Chinese manufacturers are not a direct result of drastic cost-cutting on upstream production stages such as in the silicon industry or a consequence of the tariff cuts – as one might expect.

Slower growth rates

The rapid expansion of the Chinese solar industry is the result of a political agenda – laid out in the five-year road map of the Chinese government. According

to data by SUN & WIND ENERGY, a total of 100 Chinese companies of market relevance had been active in the module and solar cell segment in 2007. By 2011, their number had already increased to about 500 companies along the value-added chain. The ten larg-est manufacturers of crystalline modules are based in China as well. But the solar upswing is also a problem for the Chinese manufacturers. In the last year, the module production capacities arrived at about 46 GW in China and significantly exceeded the entire world demand in 2011. At the same time, Solarbuzz has shown that the growth rates in the global PV sector had dropped from 153 % in 2010 down to 22 % in 2011. “Excess global solar cell capacity and output could not keep pace with the massive slowdown in demand from the end markets,” Craig Stevens, President of NPD Solarbuzz, comments.

In view of the massive capacity building, the ques-tion arises who is going to buy the production surplus that can be expected from the Chinese module manu-facturers. More than 70 % of the solar products made in China are currently exported. The export rates for solar panels are probably even higher. With the changes in the regulatory frameworks, the formerly leading European markets are already cooling down. This means that the European markets will be unable to absorb the Chinese production output in the short-term. And the domestic market will certainly not solve the problem either: “Though domestic deployment of solar power in China has started to take off, it alone cannot account for the huge manufacturing capabili-ty,” says Zhu Junsheng, President of the Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association. The profits are already falling, he says. China’s National Energy Administration has also recognized the problem and will change its plans. By the year 2015, the Chinese government aims at installing PV plants with a total capacity of 15 GW. However, at the end of 2011, the installed capacities had reached only 3 GW.

Suntech’s Spokesman Björn Emde believes that the problems of the European manufacturers are mostly due to missing investments into research and development.

Customer proximity continues to provide the Italy-based manufacturers with a competitive edge against the competition from China. Photos (3): Europressedienst

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Dumping AllegAtions

High capital needs and full warehouses

The strategy of many Chinese companies that entered the Italian market with aggressive ads and mailings was not generally supported by the Chinese industry. “Clearly some competitors from China advertised their European modules the wrong way, although possibly in line with the WTO”, says Björn Emde, Spokesman of world market leader Suntech. But Emde also emphasizes that people tend to pay too much attention to the modules and forget about the other upstream stages of the value chain. “We have always tried to illustrate the complexity of the global value chain, which includes also production equip-ment and inverters from Italy.” Suntech was one of the first companies to buy equipment from Baccini in Treviso. “Over the years, we have probably invested more into the cooperation with Baccini than any other company in the world”, says Emde. But Suntech is not the only one. The majority of the Chinese manufactur-ers use production equipment made in Europe. If one takes a closer look at the wafer segment, the situa-tion is similar: the prices have massively declined and, as the production costs significantly exceeded the acquisition costs, the integrated solar cell and wafer manufacturers from Europe began to buy their wafers in China.

The complexity of the global production processes explains why the proceedings against the Chinese manufacturers and the imposition of penal duties will not be easy. Comparable efforts in the EU have been in vain in the past. Frank Asbeck, CEO of the Germany-based company SolarWorld, still wants to fight it out. After SolarWorld has made some first successes with a trade complaint filed by the company in the United States, the manufacturer now follows a similar path in the European Union. “We were successful in the first instance in the United States and are confident that fair competition will be restored in Europe, too.” After all, the situation in Europe is comparable to the United States, says Asbeck. “Chinese players are flooding

the market with below-market prices and with mas-sive support from their government as regards pro-duction and export. We cannot just sit and wait. This affects all manufacturers in Europe.”

Suntech and other China-based competitors have not been too worried about these announcements. The arguments are not sound, says Emde. There are many other explanations why the European manufac-turers have higher production costs: “Take a look at the write-offs for outdated production equipment of some of the manufacturers in the last quarters and it becomes clear what has led to the gap in the compe-tition. We have always reinvested part of our profits into state-of-the-art equipment from Europe, as well as into our research and development. And now we take out the advantage”, says Emde.

Italy’s manufacturers trust their own strengths

So far, the twenty-three Italy-based manufacturers that had built up at a total production capacity of 1.5 GW by the end of the last year have had mixed feelings about the possible trade complaint against the Chinese competitors. Italy’s low capacities when compared to other countries were often seen as a dis-advantage. But the smaller size, flexibility and cus-tomer proximity have become a competitive edge in the times of crisis. “The Italy-based players can react quicker and more efficiently to customer requests”, says Claudio Liciotti of the manufacturer Brandoni Solare. Italy’s PV industry contributed 700 MW to the total market volume of 9.5 GW in 2011. Modules in the range of almost 9 GW had to be imported.

So far, the measure chosen by the Berlusconi government to protect the domestic PV industry against Chinese imports has had little effect. In the opinion of Fabio Patti, Managing Director of Yingli Green Energy Italia, the 60 % EU content rule to re-strict the higher feed-in tariff has been challenging. But Yingli’s sales figures on the Italian market also continue to be convincing: “Despite this scenario, Yingli keeps its great performance by increasing its market share up to about 4.5 %. It is important to underline that in such a difficult market situation, Yingli is still currently one of the top tier of the world market,” says the Manager. “In addition to the legis-lative chaos coming from the uncertain normative sit-uation, the 10 % FIT regulation has worsened an already difficult situation. Many non-EU players suc-ceeded in obtaining this tariff thanks to the acquisi-tion, for instance, of European suppliers. This regulation was introduced to protect the European manufacturers but, at the end of the day, it has pro-duced only a really misleading and unclear situation which, for sure, hasn’t helped the European PV man-ufacturing.” A similar perspective is held by Valerio Natalizia. On occasion of a solar panel discussion in Rome, the President of the Italian PV Industry Association GIFI cut it short and confirmed that the 10 % FIT regulation had simply failed.

Frank Asbeck, the CEO of the Germany-based solar manufac-turer SolarWorld, encourages the industry to join forces in the anti-dumping proceeding against Chinese competitors in Europe.

In the long term and without a domestic market, the China-based PV manufacturers will have difficulties to find cus-tomers for the capacities that have been built up. Photo: Suntech


Company profile

>Bonfiglioli is an international group that has been producing complete solutions for indus-try and renewable energy for over 50 years.

Bonfiglioli inverters and PV components are devel-oped and made 100% by the Bonfiglioli Vectron center of excellence in Germany. All products are carefully assembled and tested to deliver superior quality and lasting efficiency.

Thanks to Bonfiglioli’s global network and excel-lent solutions, prestigious EPCs and IPPs have trust-ed the group to supply inverters for large PV fields in Europe, Asia and the U.S.

Bonfiglioli supplied inverters for the world’s then largest photovoltaic field (51 MW) in 2008 in Spain and for Europe’s largest field (70 MW) in 2010 in Italy. Its long history and international presence (covering India, China and the U.S. as well as Europe) make Bonfiglioli a reliable and bankable investor. In 2011, Bonfiglioli contributed to the diffusion of solar ener-gy in emerging markets, led by India and China, with its supplies for major PV plants.

Inverters for all applications

Bonfiglioli’s products for the PV sector include invert-ers for all applications, from compact, 30 kW devices to modular, turnkey, 1.6 MW solutions for indoor and outdoor installation.

The latest addition to the range, the RPS TL Modular Outdoor Series, offers superb weather re-sistance and flexible installability. Its all-new, modu-lar design and the availability of 440 kWp, 660 kWp,

880 kWp and 1110 kWp transformer cabins allow Bonfiglioli to meet every installation need.

Bonfiglioli inverters come with a warranty of up to 20 years, and can be controlled via the web from any-where in the world. Worldwide service ensures that customers enjoy rapid assistance by specialist per-sonnel and means that Bonfiglioli solutions are spe-cific, effective and long lasting.

Company profile

Highest quality standards

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A Bonfiglioli RPS TL Modular Outdoor Series inverter

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»Made in eU«-CertifiCate


In the scope of Conto Energia IV, the Italian government

awards a premium feed-in tariff for different types of PV

systems. The highest tariff is paid out if at least 60 % of

the component parts are made in the European Union.

TÜV Rheinland and other testing institutes issue all the certificates to fulfill the 60 % EU content role. Photo: TÜV Rheinland

68

Conto Energia IV has introduced a pre-mium feed-in tariff for integrated rooftop PV power plants with “inno-

vate characteristics” as well as for four types of conventional PV plants: a 5 % bonus is paid out for PV plants on conversion areas or in municipalities with less than 5,000 resi-dents when entering into operation. The tariff is increased by 5 €-ct/kWh, if the rooftop PV system replaces eternit (cement) or asbestos covers. The highest tariff (10 % bonus) is paid out if at least 60 % of the component parts are made in the EU. All bonuses are mutually exclusive.

High standards

To qualify for one of the higher feed-in tar-iffs, the operators of PV systems that were

Protectionism “light”

put into operation after the date of June 30th

2012 have to demonstrate to Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) that their installa-tion fulfills the criteria for the premium. One of them is that the manufacturer must be a member of a European association (e.g. PV Cycle), which guarantees that end-of-life PV modules can be recycled by the company. “In addition, the operator must be able to provide a proof that the module manufactur-er has obtained the certification of three im-portant industry standards”, says Jörg Althaus of TÜV Rheinland. The ISO 9001 standard describes the minimal require-ments that are made towards the quality assurance of the company. It takes into account aspects of customer orientation, leadership responsibility and continuous improvement.

“ISO 14000 is a standard that relates to aspects of environmental management. It provides a general framework for the control of environmental and climate protection as well as energy efficiency measures”, says Althaus. OHSAS 18001 is related to occupa-tional health and safety assessment and closely linked to the other two standards. Besides safety at work, the standard also takes into account the motivation, customer satisfaction and legal compliance of the company. An independent testing institute (national or European) has to inspect the factory where the module or the inverter was made and confirm that the criteria of the standards are fulfilled.

To become eligible for the 10 % bonus, the operator of the PV plant has to demon-strate that at least 60 % of the component

A list of more than 100 companies

who received the “Made in EU”-

certificate will be published on

www.sunwindenergyitaly.com





parts are products of the European Union. “A ‘Made in Europe’ certificate covers the factory inspection of the manufacturer. The ‘Factory Inspection Certificate’ must be issued by a National Certification Body (NCB) that is notified and a member of the International IECEE”, says Leendert van der Marel from Kiwa, a global certification insti-tute that offers the inspection.

GSE lowers the bar

The higher feed-in tariff paid out for EU prod-ucts in Italy has attracted a lot of criticism in the past and it still does. European manufac-turers from countries outside of the European Union (e.g. Norway) tried to obtain the certi-fication as well and achieved that products from all parts of Europe were included. Other, Asia-based manufacturers criticised that the 60 % EU content rule was a form of protectionism. To respond to the complaints and to prevent counter-measures, GSE decided to lower the bar for the certificate of origin. “The criteria for obtaining the higher feed-in tariff have been made less strict now”, says a representative of another certification institute. “They are considered to be fulfilled if the product was stringed, laminated and electronically checked in the European Union – or if the solar cell, wafer or the crystalline silicon have been made in the European Union.”

“If the product itself has not been made in the EU, it must at least be possible to trace back the origin of the component parts to the countries in the European Union”, says Jörg Althaus at TÜV Rheinland. Solar cells have a serial number that allows tracing back their origin. Crystalline silicon, which can only be measured in tons, makes such a demonstration already more difficult. “During their inspections, the testing institutes take into account different systems for the identification of the serial numbers”, says Althaus. However, in his opinion, the expanded 60 % content rule will be of little practical use: “GSE has lowered the bar. But the new regulation makes it easier to obtain a certification for products that would other-wise not have qualified.”

Leendert van der Marel, the representa-tive from Kiwa, remains sceptical. His com-pany has been opposed to the last expan-sion. “This second option means that mod-ules produced anywhere in the world but us-ing wafers made in the EU can be considered as ‘Made in Europe’. Kiwa does not issue cer-tification according to the second option. We think that the environmental, quality and

economic meanings of the regulations are not taken into consideration then.” Ferrania Solis, an Italy-based module manufacturer, agrees that the criteria have become too easy to meet: “The principle of this prescrip-tion was correct but its implementation has not been effective. The technical rules issued by GSE in August 2011 widened too much the possibility to get this 10 % increase of the feed-in tariffs”, says Diego Brignone, a Management Representative. Chiara Genovese of ICIM, an accredited Italian test-ing institute, has a more positive view on the 10 % bonus: “It’s a rule that has certainly fa-voured the transparency of procedures and market and strengthened the competitive position of Italian companies in the photo-voltaic supply chain.”

Only a quick breather

For European companies, the 60 % EU con-tent rule is usually not a significant hurdle. “Our thin-film modules are produced in Berlin. This means that we had no difficulty in meeting the requirements. Our company is a frequent customer of the German TÜV. The costs and efforts for the certification were therefore acceptable”, explains Franciska Obermeyer of the Germany-based module manufacturer Inventux. The company obtained the certification for its PV modules on July 27th and communicated the news to the customers shortly later on August 1st.

Nevertheless, the requirements of the 60 % rule have left loopholes for the non- European competitors. This was recently demonstrated by the example of Trina Solar. “We are very pleased to announce that we have successfully passed all inspections and we have received the certificate from ICIM”, said Ben Hill, Head of Europe for the major Chinese company in February. Since September last year, Trina Solar had been eagerly awaiting the certification. According to the China-based company, the multi- crystalline modules are manufactured from wafers made in the European Union. This means that Trina Solar’s PV modules fulfill the requirements of GSE – and are therefore considered “Made in EU”. Italian operators who choose to use Trina Solar’s solar panel for their PV systems will now be able to claim the 10 % bonus on top of the feed-in tariff. Trina Solar’s example illustrates: the EU con-tent rule is a hurdle for the activities of the mostly Asia-based competitors in the short term. But, in the end, it has provided the domestic PV industry with only a short breather.

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ItalIan Module Manufacturers

Italy is currently home to about 20 domestic suppliers of PV modules whose

annual production capacity has arrived at a total of 1,500 MW. SUN & WIND

ENERGY has visited three of these Italian manufacturers and spoken with

them about their strategies in dealing with the changes in the regulatory

framework.

70

The first visit takes us to Cittaducale, a suburb of the City of Rieti, located about 100 km north-east of Rome. On a small hill above the Viale

delle Scienze at the outskirts of a small industrial area, the Italian solar company Solsonica has estab-lished its headquarters. “It’s where Texas Instruments used to have its first Italian production facility before it was later acquired to set up Solsonica”, says Francesco Bertoni, Quality Manager at Solsonica. He has reason to be proud. The company has carried the

tradition of Texas Instruments into the future, says Bertoni. “Monitoring and control are still extremely important for us. Each step during the module pro-duction process can be traced back and the produc-tion as a whole is subject to constant in-process inspections.”

Solsonica is currently the largest solar company in Italy. “Our production capacity ranges at 140 MW”, says Paolo Gianese, Corporate Communication Director. “In addition, we have a solar cell manufac-

The Italian module manufacturers were sup-posed to be too small to be competitive. But this seeming weakness turns out to be a strength: they adjust quickly to legisla-tive changes. Photos (2): Renergies Italia

Staying flexible


turing unit with a production capacity of 40 MW.” Not so long ago, Solsonica had planned to double its solar cell production capacities up to 80 MW. But in view of the current situation on the Italian PV markets and in other countries around the world, the idea was aban-doned. It had already been approved by the manage-ment board, but then the plans disappeared in the drawers again. Expanding the capacities does not make any sense at the moment, explains Gianese. “Even though a capacity of 1.5 GW has been built up by the Italian PV sector, the actual production arrives at 700 MW at most”. Like everybody else, Solsonica has felt the recent changes on the market. “Right now, we produce modules with a capacity of 85 MW per year. Only our solar cell production is running at full swing.” Most of the solar cells that cannot be produced by Solsonica in-house are bought from Deutsche Solar AG and partly from a Taiwan-based company.

All along the value chain

Solsonica is not only active as a producer of PV mod-ules and solar cells. “For some time now, we have al-so been active as EPC contractor and IPP or Independent Power Producer on different stages of the value chain”, says Gianese. In an effort to deal with the changes on the market, Solsonica decided to expand its portfolio and establish an additional foot-hold. “Together with ESPE Group, one of the largest system integrators in Italy, we have launched the joint venture Kopernico.” Kopernico is active as EPC contractor on the Italian market and focuses on projects with a capacity of at least 1,000 kW. For the realization of smaller projects, Solsonica established a subsidiary under the name Solsonica Energia, which offers turnkey solutions for small, medium-sized and residential PV systems. To support the ac-tivities of its new subsidiary, Solsonica has devel-oped a new system kit tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized installations, says Gianese.

“Last but not least, we are also active as IPP in Italy.” This step was made possible on the basis of a joint venture with Sinergia Sistemi. “Sinergia Sistemi is supported by Fondamenta SGR, a large investor group.” Thanks to the expansion of its portfolio, Solsonica has achieved comparatively satisfying fig-ures in spite of the difficult market environment. “In 2009, our turnover reached € 37 million and even € 110 million in 2010. At the end of the third quarter of 2011, the turnover had arrived at € 80 million, which means that we will probably hit € 110 million again for the whole of 2011”, Gianese estimates. “We are still waiting for the results of the fourth quarter of 2011.” The falling module prices have left their mark on the balance sheet, says Gianese.

Solsonica now plans to enhance its sales struc-ture and grow more international. “We used to sell 93 % of our products in Italy and only 7 % on other markets around the world. It’s now time for this to change”, Gianese explains. To make a start, Solsonica recently introduced a new sales team. Francesco Zippo has been appointed new Sales

Staying flexible

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“We plan to get a new product for BIPV patented in the near future”, says Claudio Liciotti, Project Manager at Brandoni Solare. Photo: Europressedienst

Renergies Italia recently relocated from Urbisaglia to Corridonia.

Director International. Previously, he had served as Sales Manager for Italy. Four sales representatives will now try and raise the company’s sales on the international markets. From Solsonica’s perspec-tive, the markets in Eastern Europe, South America, France and the Middle East currently offer the best opportunities.

Order books still filled

In comparison to its competitors, Solsonica is fairly well-positioned, says Francesco Bertoni who is re-sponsible for the production processes of the Italy-based company. The order books are still filled, the production is running in three shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, says Bertoni. While on his way to the three module production lines and the solar cell manufacturing unit, which is the heart of Solsonica’s operations, he continues: “Our premises cover a total of 120,000 m² of which 6,100 m² are used for the module production and 1,420 m² for solar cell manufacturing. Besides this, Solsonica owns 3,200 m² of warehouse and storage space.” The company’s latest investment has been a fully- automated module production line with a capacity of 80 MW supplied by Reis.

During the automated process, each of the compo-nent parts is given an identifier, which can be recog-nized by a computer and allows tracing back each item. In the first stage, the system takes pictures of the sur-face of the solar cells and estimates their expected out-put. This way, the flasher measurements can later take into account the lower and upper capacity limit for the product. The same applies to the strings. “In each step, the ambient temperature is raised to avoid ther-mal pressure and forming during the production pro-cess. The lamination of the modules takes place at 170 ˚C, which means that the temperature of each of the parts has to be correspondingly”, says Bertoni. Before the flasher measurements, the PV modules are cooled down again to 25 ˚C in order to keep the lab conditions as authentic as possible.

Solsonica’s two other module production lines were supplied by Reis and 2BG. “They are

semi- automated and partly operated by our staff. We are very pleased to have these units, which can be easily adjusted to different types of modules”, says Bertoni. It allows the company to quickly react to varying customer requests. The high degree of flexibility turned out to be a great benefit particular-ly in the last year. For its mono and polycrystalline modules, Solsonica uses mainly solar glass by AGC and junction boxes by Compel, a company based in Milan.

R&D is key

For Bertoni, the second most important component in the production process – right behind the solar cells – is the EVA foils, which contain and insulate the strings inside the PV module. “We are always looking for ways to improve in this area. Generally, we believe that research and development is crucial for the entire production process.” In its laboratories, which cover an area of 500 m², Solsonica puts the focus on alter-native materials in the area of backsheets, EVA foils, solar glass and frames. “We are currently testing the qualities of polyurethane. It’s a plastic-like mass developed by BASF that is used by us to design new types of frames.” Soon, Solsonica also plans to replace the 2-ribbon-bars with 3-ribbon-bars in order to enhance the average performance of the PV modules.

Brandoni Solare, a PV manufacturer based in Castelfidardo, 200 km north-east, in the port city of Ancona, also believes that research and development are key. “R&D is a top priority for us. We take it very seriously”, says Claudio Liciotti, Production & Plant Manager at Brandoni Solare. According to informa-tion by the company, Brandoni Solare invests at least € 200,000 annually in this field. “Our research labs put their main focus on laminating and encapsulating


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Brandoni Solare has also felt the effects of Italy’s new regulatory framework. “We are now approached by an increasing number of customers who are devel-oping projects in the area of commercial and industri-al rooftop systems”, says Liciotti about the new situ-ation. Generally, there are fewer orders and this has consequences: “We already had planned an expan-sion of our production capacities. Even the financing had been arranged. But the step has now been post-poned.” Brandoni is expecting a growing demand for modules in the area of BIPV as well. “We already offer this type of module with an output of about 145 W. That’s relative though. Each project has its own char-acteristics and the components have to be produced according to the individual requirements”, Liciotti ex-plains. However, adjusting the semi-automated pro-duction lines to specific customer needs is not a prob-lem. Brandoni has reacted to the changes on the mar-ket. “We have plans to get a new product for building-integrated PV patented in the near future.” Details are not revealed by Liciotti though.

Cutting costs on all levels

Brandoni currently employs 70 people of which 35 work in the company’s production area. Every step is important when it comes to the production costs. “In the past, we used to buy the backsheets for our modules on a roll, which were then cut to size in-house. Meanwhile, we receive our backsheets exact-ly as we need them. This saves material costs.” The company has also made some adjustments to the production lines, which were supplied by Schmid Group. “This way we were able to speed up the con-nection process of the strings for the modules from 240 to 120 seconds.”

In an effort to adjust to the new market condi-tions, Brandoni also decided to expand its sales team. “This has been necessary, as the market is in-creasingly driven by projects with smaller order vol-umes. We had to react to these changes. We are al-so putting a stronger focus on the installation pro-cess.” Brandoni has begun to offer trainings and qualification courses for solar installers and techni-cians. The company has also strengthened its after sales services. However, solar kits for private rooftop systems will not be offered, says Brandoni, even though the segment has a lot of potential. “We used to offer products for this segment in the past, but with very little success. The solar installers prefer to select the components for their PV projects themselves.”

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The focus in Italy has been shifting away from large systems towards other project forms: for example installations on parking lots like this one in Rome. Photo: Europressedienst

When it comes to cost-cutting, Liciotti knows that there is a limit: quality assurance. “We have made negative experiences with solar glass in the past. We then decided to bend the individual panels first and check for cracks and unevenness. After switching to our new supplier AGC we have had no more prob-lems. We also decided to use two flashers. One was developed by Parsan. The other one, for the second measurement, comes from NDS.” Liciotti believes that the freeze on large-scale projects and the expect-ed growth in the segment for small-scale plants has not only brought problems for the Italian PV industry but also new opportunities: “Many of the Chinese companies are specialized on large-scale plants and have no foothold on the market. This is a disadvan-tage in the segment for small-scale PV. It’s a compet-itive edge for us, as we are inside the market.”

Demand for BIPV solutions

Renergies Italia, a company based only a few kilome-tres south, has remained optimistic as well. “We relo-cated from Urbisaglia to Corridonia last year”, says Alice Cecarelli, Corporate Communications. The com-pany took the move as an opportunity to set up three new production lines. “Even though the relocation took only 2 weeks, we had to wait 3 months until the new production lines were installed.” Renergies’ fa-cilities have a total production capacity of 45 MW. “They were supplied by Ecoprogetti, a company based in Padua. It’s important for us to have the man-

ufacturer close by. This way we can consult an expert in case problems occur”, says Cecarelli.

According to Renergies, the new production lines have cost the company a total of about € 2 million. Presently, the company employs 60 people. Twenty of them work in the production area. Renergies Italia has recognized the changes on the market and reacted. “We continue to produce mono as well as polycrystalline modules with outputs of between 190 and 240 W. We have also developed a module to meet the specific requirements of building-integrated PV systems”, says Corrado Mariotti, Operations Manager at Renergies. “More and more customers request rooftop solutions.” This is why Renergies continues to offer convention-al solar panels besides its new BIPV module. These modules can be combined with the Solrif system for seamless rooftop installation.

The solar glass used for Renergies’ module pro-duction is supplied by the companies Saint-Gobain and AGC. The junction boxes are bought from Yamaichi E or Compel and the strings from Comax. “We expect that the module prices will continue to drop in the near future”, says Mariotti. Renergies is a rather small company and cannot put the suppliers under a lot of pressure. Nevertheless, Mariotti re-mains optimistic. The company has found a strong in-vestor in Avin Group and the order volumes are al-ready increasing again. “We recently had to scale down our production hours to one shift per day. Mean-while, we have been able to return to two shifts.”

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EPC ContraCtorS

Off to the “third dimension”EPC contractors have to adjust. Conto Energia IV, the near end for ground-

mounted plants on agricultural land, followed by the news that Italy will not

grant any funding for large-scale PV systems in the second half of 2012: it’s

game over for mega projects.

Gehrlicher Solar planned and installed this 800 kW open space system in the region of Abruzzo in 2011. As the market for large-scale PV systems is shrinking, the German company is looking for new ways to generate profit, for example as an “Independent Power Producer”. Photo: Gehrlicher Solar

76

Phoenix Solar s.r.l., the Italian subsidiary of Germany-based Phoenix Solar, has been successful as an EPC contractor in Italy for

many years. And Bruno Lombardi, CEO of the Ital-ian subsidiary, is well aware of the difficult situa-tion: “There is now a change of direction taking place in Italy, away from ground-mounted PV plants and towards the ‘third dimension’, which is the rooftops on industrial halls and residential build-ings, carports and installations on greenhouses.” Phoenix Solar additionally plans to strengthen its technical and administrative services as well as its after sales.

The fact that the Italian government is shifting the focus towards small and decentralized rooftop solutions is seen positively by Lombardi. “It means that PV systems, including modules, will become mass products even sooner.” It will give an impetus to the market development, says Lombardi, whose optimism is not dragged down by the dark forecasts for 2012. He wouldn’t be surprised, he says, if the

conditions for the Italian PV sector would soon change again.

Adjust to the conditions

Giuseppe Sofia, Managing Director of Conergy Italy, has a similar perspective on the current trends. Con-ergy has been active as EPC contractor in Italy since 2009. That year, the company realized two open space systems with a capacity of 1 MW each for dif-ferent investors. “Italy is, just as the solar pioneer Germany, a very mature PV market and so are many other markets around Europe”, says Sofia. “The trend in the European markets is increasingly mov-ing towards the segment for residential and com-mercial rooftop installations. And here, we still see a lot of potential as Italy provides a large amount of rooftop surfaces, which are technically accessible, too.” The framework conditions in Italy are also fa-vourable in other respects: high irradiation levels are paired with a solid expertise of the industry and


Off to the “third dimension”

Antonio Siano, President of Sedna Group, knows that Sedna Power Plants will have to address the changes in the market. He intends to put a much stronger focus on the segment for commercial rooftop PV plants.

Photos (2): Sedna

adequate infrastructures. Next to this, the highly im-proved infrastructure on the part of the end consum-er makes changing the strategy towards the rooftop segment easier as well. “The infrastructure is ready for supporting a widely distributed power genera-tion as all energy users are now provided with elec-tronic counters, which allow remote control and monitoring.”

With the target of grid parity in reach, Conergy continues to pin its hopes on the Italian market. One of the prerequisites will be the right product portfolio and a very close-knit sales network that allows access to small private and medium-sized commercial roofs, says the company. “Conergy possesses both of that: our partner installers are located everywhere in the

country. And our systems perfectly fit the require-ments of rooftop installations.”

Tight sales network is key

Italy’s EPC contractors still have their order books filled and enough projects in the pipeline for the first half of 2012. But different from Lombardi and Sofia, a number of market participants already see difficul-ties arising for them and other EPC contractors by mid-year. One of them is Antonio Siano, President of the Italy-based Sedna Group. The group has been ac-tive in the Italian solar sector since 2006. EPC con-tractor Sedna Power Plants, which is owned by Sedna Group, has been very successful in Italy in the past,

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EPC ContraCtorS


Sedna Power Plants expects that ground-mounted PV systems will account for 90 % of the com-pany’s activities in the first half of 2012.

says Siano. The company has been able to realize projects with a total capacity of 24 MW, he says – mostly ground-mounted systems. Siano believes that the reasons why his company has done so well are its good knowledge of the Italian market and its broad network: “We are an Italy-based company that does most of its business in Italy. And we have built up an excellent network in our country.” In Italy, that’s the key to success, says Siano.

Siano expects that ground-mounted PV systems will account for 90 % of the company’s activities in the first half of 2012. In his experience, the project development usually follows the same pattern. “The customers or investors approach us with a very clear idea and often they have already secured a construc-tion site for their project.” Some customers even re-quire a particular type of module. “We always try to meet these individual needs. If a customer already has a particular type of solar panel in mind, we will use this module”, says Siano. “At the heart of every PV power plant are the inverters, and that’s what we tell our customers.” In the past, Sedna has regularly used Power-One inverters. The 4.8 MW PV power plant installed by Sedna on the roof of a greenhouse in Calabria is an example. Helios Technology, an Italy-based module manufacturer, and Solarfun, a company based in Germany, supplied the solar pan-els. When it comes to the mounting systems, Sedna relies exclusively on Italian products. The cables are usually supplied by Prysmian, a company originally founded by the tyre manufacturer Pirelli Group, or Nexans, which is France-based.

By the second half of 2012, a lot will change for Sedna Power Plants – this much is certain: “The future is still unclear and it is difficult to make predictions. The fact is: the system costs will continue to drop”, says Antonio Siano. Sedna will now put a stronger fo-cus on the segment for commercial rooftop PV plants. Some experience has already been gained. But, again, the economic success rises and falls with the regula-tory framework. “We now hope that the Monti govern-

ment will not introduce further cuts to the feed-in tar-iffs or at least not in any significant way”, says Siano.

In its final hour

Another company that still focuses on utility-scale PV in Italy is the Germany-based S.A.G. Solarstrom. At the beginning of the year, the company sold its 48 MW PV power plant Serenissima in Northern Italy to an institutional investor. Serenissima has been the largest project in the corporate history of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG to date. “The project is an important milestone for S.A.G. Solarstrom AG, both from a tech-nical and a sales-oriented point of view”, says Dr. Karl Kuhlmann, CEO of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG. “We have connected our – to date largest – project to the grid almost four months ahead of the originally planned date and are feeding directly into the high-voltage network via a transformer substation we constructed ourselves. Our technical team worked tirelessly up until completion and until the PV system was con-nected to the electricity grid. And our sales and fi-nancing team forged ahead with the project, ignoring Sundays and public holidays in 2011.”

The construction of Serenissima took more than a year. “We decided to found a new special purpose entity (SPE) in Italy, which bought the property need-ed for the project”, says Jutta Lorberg, Investor and Public Relations, S.A.G. Solarstrom. This allowed the company to unify the process and made the project easier to handle. “The SPE has been sold to the inves-tor along with the project.”

Solarstrom’s Italian subsidiary has mostly relied on local partners for the realization of Serenissima. “We have a permanent team of solar experts in Italy. Con-struction steps that did not require any solar expertise, for example, the excavation work, were contracted to local companies”, says Lorberg. This created new jobs and contributed to the acceptance of the large-scale plant in the region. “There were sometimes more than 200 workers on site during the construction.”


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Yingli supplied modules with a total capacity of 12 MW and Trina Solar another 36 MW during the first construction phase. The inverters used in the project were supplied by Kaco. “The new transformer substa-tion that we established for the project was needed as the electricity is fed directly into the high-voltage grid. Italy’s medium voltage grid does not provide the capacity needed for projects of this size. It’s one of the greatest bottlenecks in Italy”, says Lorberg.

Difficult financial prospects

Serenissima has been an investment in the triple- digit million euro range. Interim financing in the range of € 80 million was provided by the Deutsche Bank and S.A.G. Solarstrom itself. “The financ-ing conditions, in particular for projects of this size, have increasing-ly deteriorated in the course of the year”, says Christoph Koch, Financial Director of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG. “The commitment by the Deutsche Bank to interim financing in the amount of € 80 million in the middle of the financial crisis and the emerg-ing bank crisis was really a major achievement. It was a mark of confi-dence even though the financing costs were high and unfortunately in-creased considerably due to the Eu-ropean debt crisis and resulting bank crisis over the year”, explains Koch.

Even though the sales agree-ment has been signed, S.A.G. So-larstrom has not revealed the name of the investor behind the project. “We spent a very long time in inten-sive negotiations with various pro-spective customers regarding the project, and even decided against certain offers”, explains Oliver Günther, Sales Director of S.A.G. Solarstrom AG. “The new Conto En-ergia, in particular, and the increas-ingly difficult general conditions in the solar industry dragged out ne-gotiations. However, Serenissima is an extremely attractive project, so we deliberately took the time to ne-gotiate a suitable price with the right investor”, Günther continues.

IPP as way out

With the money tap turned off for open space systems in Italy, the path for most EPC contractors is now clear: the majority plan to change over to commercial rooftop PV plants. But the market leaves also other op-portunities or at least additional ave-nues open. One of the companies

adjusting to the new situation is the France-based EPC contractor Solairedirect, which recently became active as Independent Power Producer (IPP). Solaire now op-erates its own solar parks and has also bought PV projects from other developers. Gehrlicher Solar, an in-ternationally operating PV company with headquarters in Germany, has glanced into the same direction. “The IPP segment is gaining in importance around the world”, explains Sarah Wulle, Public Relations Manag-er for Gehrlicher Solar AG. “We adjusted to this trend from early on and have already realized the first IPP projects. Gerhlicher has sub mitted offers for several tenders, including for projects in Spain, South Ameri-ca and South Africa.” In Italy, where grid parity will soon be a reality, IPP could be a way (out).

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Solarexpo Verona


Solarexpo is the third-largest renewable ener-gy trade fair globally. The exhibitions and con-ferences cover a total area of 100,000 m2 and

attract visitors from over 30 different countries. This year, the organizers are expecting more than 1,200 exhibitors and over 70,000 visitors – an ideal oppor-tunity for industry representatives to present their companies and innovations.

Solar panels

The Germany-based company alfasolar GmbH will present its new monocrystalline module “Made in Germany”. The PV module consists of 60 monocrys-talline cells and is offered in the power classes 250 W, 255 W and 260 W. The pyramid structure and the self-cleaning surface of the front glass allow for efficien-cies of 16.3 %. The special pyramid-shaped glass structure absorbs the light at an angle of 80 ° allow-ing for a yield increase of 20 %. The output is raised even under unfavourable alignments, e.g. on roofs facing west or east or façades.

Hall 7, Booth B 3.5

The module manufactur-er Axitec GmbH, based in Germany, has recently launched its new black PV module “AXIblack-premium”. The mono-crystalline module has an output of 250 Wp and achieves an efficiency of 15.37 %. The dark solar cells, black backsheet

Pyramid solar module: the special structure of the front glass has a positive influence on the light path.

Photo: alfasolar

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and black aluminium soft-grip frame make the mod-ule particularly suitable for buildings where appear-ance is important. Axitec offers a linear performance warranty of 15 years for its AXIblackpremium solar module plus an additional service: customers can choose between Europe and Asia as the place of man-ufacture. Hall 8, Booth C 11.4

The new module EOS156M72FVT of the Italian mod-ule producer Eosolare srl is a high efficiency and per-formance innovative module that produces thermal and electric energy. It is the ideal product for roofs and a modern solution for architectural integration, meeting the requirements of innovative PV plants. This product has a continuous system of natural cool-ing that increases the electrical efficiency. The module is made of monocrystalline cells, that allow to reach a performance of 15.33 % (1 kWp in 7 m2), and of a cool-ing plate with 940 watt peak power. EOS156M72FVT as well as an exceptional perfor mance (1,240 W), gives the opportunity to access to the highest incen-tives and to the 55 % tax allowance of solar thermal energy. The module has the UNI EN 12975, IEC 61245 and IEC 61730 certifications and have had a special mention at 11th “Premio Inno vazione Amica dell’Ambiente” sponsored by Legambiente, Con-findustria and the Lombardy Region. Hall 6, Booth B 4.2

Eurener, a Spain-based manufacturer of PV modules, will present its new module Black Panel MEPV. The black solar panel is composed of 60 monocrystalline silicon cells and suitable for architectural integration. The module is of-fered in the power classes 220 Wp and 250 Wp. All modules have a positive tolerance of 3 %. The front glass of the products “Made in Europe” is clear, textured and with low iron content. Customers are offered a product warranty over 10 years for the Black Panel MEPV as well as a performance warranty of 80 % over 25 years. Represented Company

The Italy-based module manufacturer Renergies Italia S.p.A. will take Vero-na as an opportunity to present its solar module REN 130 P. The 156x156 mm PV module is made from monocrystalline silicon cells and has an output of up to 150 Wp with an efficiency of 15.5 % to 17.5 %. It is specifically recom-mended for off-grid installations such as PV streetlights, moun-tain huts or motor homes. Tem-pered prismatic glass, a sturdy frame made from anodized alumini-um, high-quality and monitoring of materials make the module efficient and reliable. Hall 11, Booth B 2.2

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Inverters

The Italian company Valenia S.p.A. will present its single-phase inverter product Aurus. The inverter includes a high efficiency transformer and is compatible with any type of solar module on the market. The prod-ucts are easy to install, allow for a high degree of flexibility and offer the customers quality and de-sign “Made in Italy”. Hall 7, Booth C 3.2

The Spain-based component parts manufacturer Zigor Corporación S.A. will intro-duce its two newest inverter product lines during Solar-expo. The Sunzet SP series consists of single-phase string inverters in the power class from 2 to 6.6 kW. The Sunzet XTR series is com-posed of three-phase in-verters in the power class

from 10 to 18 kW. The products achieve high efficiencies of more than

97 %. An integrated webserver interface provides the customer with full access to the inverter data and module strings through different options: RS485, Ethernet, TCP/IP. Hall 6, Booth D 7.9

Transformers

GBE S.p.A., which offers a wide range of special trans-formers have added to their manufacturing pro-gramme not only many transformers for special appli-cations, but also new special accessories. In collabo-ration with their special cast resin transformers

department, GBE has recently designed and de livered special protection enclosures for transformers. These IP boxes have been developed in order to guarantee protection against harmful deposits of dust and water splashes at 350 °C. The new IP boxes are greatly de-manded in many countries with particularly difficult weather conditions. The current range of products is specifically designed and developed for solar power plants, wind parks, hydroelectric, geothermal and biogas plants and includes cast resin transformers from 10 kVA to 30 MVA and up to a voltage of 52 kV as well as oil immersed transformers from 50 kVA to 40 MVA up to 145 kV (BIL650kV), resin and oil shunt, limiting, filter and short circuit reactors up to 5,000 A. Hall 6, Booth B 7.2

Controllers

The Belgium-based renewable energy specialist Enfinity Italia will present two innovations: the Gateway and the E-meter with Smart-Enfinity-App.

Enfinity’s Gateway allows for a permanent monitoring of the solar plant’s yields and collects continuous da-ta of all inverters connected. The device is fully com-patible with the majority of inverters on the market and user-friendly thanks to a simple “Plug & Play”

The Sunzet SP is available in power classes from 2 to 6.6 kW.

Photo: Zigor

Gateway: collects data on the PV plant that can be accessed online.

Photo: Enfinity

These IP boxes have been developed in order to guarantee protection against harmful depos-its of dust and water splashes at 350 °C.

Photo: GBE

Aurus82: inverter “Made in Italy” by Valenia.

Photo: Valenia

E-meter: The E-meter allows collecting even data on the gas and water consumption.

Photo: Enfinity


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Solarexpo Verona

Mounting systems for solar technology functionality. Users can monitor the performance of

the solar plant from anywhere in the world and imme-diately identify possible system defects or malfunc-tion. The E-meter takes the monitoring platform to another level, enabling the user to register both solar generation and total energy consumption, including other services such as gas and water. The complete energy monitoring solution is designed to help users achieve a more efficient consumption and to save money. They benefit from real-time performance data to manage energy production and consumption. Hall 6, Booth E 2.1

The Italy-based company Connet S.r.l. will introduce its

web-connected controller Energy Manager Clever for the

monitoring and control of small-scale PV systems.

“Clever” is a control and moni-toring tool for energy produc-tion, consumption and power

supply that allows the customers to optimize their energy con-

sumption. The controller continu-ously monitors the performance of the PV plant while taking into ac-

count local solar irradiation levels. In the event of defects, malfunctions

or performance loss, the user is no-tified via an interface and by e-mail.

Hall 8, Booth B 11.2

The eSentinel srl based in Italy will present three in-novations in Verona. With eSense, the company has launched a new monitoring tool that allows even new-comers to fully control their PV plants. Current data on the status of the plant is available through notification by SMS at any time. A multifunctional sensor and integrated software pro-vide data on the current levels of the electricity pro-duction and consumption. Data on the solar irradia-tion levels and current temperature is made available as well. On request, eSentinel will provide additional features and meet individual customer needs. eS-ense is recommended for PV systems with a nominal capacity of up to 6 kW. Operators of medium and large-scale PV plants are recommended to use the new eWatch. The integrated SCADA system allows monitoring and controlling the PV plant and to in-stantly view the data collected every 5 minutes to pro-vide the user with an overview of the system with graphical analysis. eAlert is a monitoring device that notifies the user about defects via the operation cen-tre. Hall 11, Booth B3.2

The Energy Manager Clever allows optimizing the energy consumption of the PV plant.

Photo: Connet

www.k2-systems.it


T. +39 0444 774334F. +39 0444 775294

[email protected]

GBE SpAVia Teonghio n. 4436040 Orgiano VICENZA ITALY

Your Partnerfor Power Generation

cogeneration wind farms solar plants

The German monitoring specialist Solare Datensys-teme GmbH will present innovations from the Solar-Log product line. Easy Installation, Solar-Log Sensor basic and Solar-Log GPRS are three of the newest de-velopments. Solar-Log is not just a monitoring sys-tem: it helps to prevent financial loss due to defects or malfunctioning of the PV plant and allows the us-er to calculate the current energy yields. Customers benefit from overviews of the daily, monthly and an-nual yields as well as the total production since the first day of operation. Other features are the calcula-tion of the production in local currency and the over-view of the CO2 reduction achieved when compared to conventional energy sources. Represented Company

The new eSense allows new comers to receive data on their PV plants by SMS at any time.

Photo: eSentinel

Solar-Log: a comprehensive monitoring solution for electricity producers

Photo: Solare Datensysteme

www.gbonline.com


Solarexpo Verona

PV5_SSW-Engl_71x297_120312_final.indd 1 12.03.12 10:46

Mounting systems

Conergy Italia will present its new mounting solution for flat roofs in Verona. SolarFamulus Air works with-out roof penetration and manages with only minimal ballast. It is designed in a way that the airflow creates a vacuum, which holds the frame down without need for screws. With this, the mounting solution requires only little ballast at the edge of the roof. It can be in-stalled on roofs with low load bearing capacity but al-

so on film roofs. The system has a flat tilt angle of 15° that can be adjusted to 30° quickly and easily. The collapsible design allows for simple transport and space-saving storage of SolarFamulus. Hall 4, Booth C 5.1

The Germany-based manufacturer Mounting Systems GmbH will present its on-roof mounting systems Tau in Verona. The product has been developed for different types of trapezoidal rooftops and load situ-

ations. The simple clip-in principle of the rail fixa-tion allows for a fast as-

sembly of the PV modules on the complete rooftop. The

standard components allow for module installation in portrait as

well as in landscape. All structural supporting components are made

from aluminium and stainless steel. Tau is sold with the company’s Quickconfigu-

rator, a software provided by Mounting Sys-tems to help customers plan their PV system in

advance. Hall 7b, Booth M 4.1

Renusol GmbH based in Germany will present its mounting solution Console+ for flat roofs and open space systems. The ballast weight has been opti-mized in tests to reduce the amount needed for indi-vidual projects and to make the mounting system lighter while broadening the application range. The supports of the Console+ have been strengthened and rain channels added in the base parts. Renusol’s project configurator gives customers an opportunity to assemble the complete mounting system in ac-cordance with their individual project needs. Console Clips and self-drilling screws make the installation fast and easy. Hall 7, Booth D 9.3

The new mounting solution for flat roofs works without roof penetration.

Photo: Conergy

Tau-3D-por-4c-M-1106: Tau allows for the installation of PV modules in portrait and landscape.

Photo: Mounting Systems

www.pv5.de


Visit us

at Solarexpo,

hall 7

booth C 10.1

Dealing

a strong hand

Scoring as a teamWith AS Solar you always have the clear advantage because reliable brand quality and first-class service are an asset for you and your customers. We support you with know-how such as expert planning, technical support, financing or qualifications.

We are always on your side!

The Germany-based solar manufacturer Schletter GmbH will present its load optimized flat roof system “AluLight” in Verona. The product is available in an “Italian version” with a construction height of less than 300 mm, which means the customer can benefit from the feed-in tariffs offered under Conto Energia.

The AluLight system can be used for the fastening of PV arrays on flat roofs with minimum superimposed loads in completely closed arrays and at a fixed ele-vation angle of 12 degrees. The solar panels are fixed to the trays with normal module clamps. The special design concept requires only very few component parts and makes installation quick and simple. Hall 8, Booth D 9.2

The flat roof system is available in an “Italian version” with a construction height of less than 300 mm, which means the customer can benefit from the feed-in tariffs. Photo: Schletter

Console Clips make the installation even easier. Photo: Renusol

www.as-italia.com

Solarexpo Verona


Your advertising ticket to the GERMAN market

Germany is one of the most important markets in the sector of renewable energies. Whether photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind or bioenergy – Germany has a lot of potential to offer in each field.

The most important data at a glance:Circulation: 30,000 copiesLanguage: GermanFrequency of publication: 18 x per yearDistribution: Germany, Austria and Switzerland (in unique core target group shipping)

You will receive a 5 % discount for the combination of adverts in SUN & WIND ENERGY and SONNE WIND & WÄRME!

Ask for the media data now: Katharina Müller Stefanie [email protected] [email protected]+49/521/595-581 +49/521/595-575

www.sonnewindwaerme.de

SONNE WIND & WÄRME, THE GERMAN TRADE MAGAZINE for all areas of renewable energies is just the right advertising medium for this.

Present your products and services to

the German industry’s decision-makers.

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AE_Italia_1_3_2012_2 13.03.2012 14:35 Uhr Seite 1

Probedruck

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

I n v e st i n t h eF u t u r e To day

www.ae-photonics.com

Our Strength- Your Profit

Photovoltaic power plantsand solar parks

in the megawatt range

Wholesaler for modules andcomplete photovoltaic systems

Individual consultingand professional processing

Miscellaneous

The Luxembourg-based company Enlog Europe SA will present an innovation in the area of packaging technologies: Eckpack is a re-usable packaging so-

lution for finished PV modules. The plastic corners are a simple solution and directly replace the regu-lar cardboard or wooden packages. The corners fit exactly into the aluminium frame, taking the load off of the module and preventing transport damag-es. In a stack of modules packaged with Eckpack corners, the vertical load is carried by the corners alone. The lower modules do not have to sustain the ones on top. The packaging density can be in-creased with up to 32 modules stacked on a single pallet. Hall 6, Booth C 5.3

The Germany-based enwi-etec GmbH will present two new products: an emergency shut off switch with UPS controller and the Offgrid Box. The PV emergency shut off switch has an UPS controller to discon-nect devices from the power lines. This reduces the risk for fire fighters. The emergency shut off switch is placed either at the entrance of the building or directly next to the PV array. Enwi’s Offgrid Boxes are ready-for-use solutions that include everything needed from the charge controller and mainte-nance-free batteries up to the inverters. Pre-installed power sockets allow for a fast instal-lation. Spare parts are avail-able even in less developed regions. Hall 7, Booth E 5.4

Offgrid Boxes include maintenance-free batteries.

Photo: enwi-etec

Eckpack prevents transport damages and improves the efficiency. Photo: Enlog

Your advertising ticket to the GERMAN market

Germany is one of the most important markets in the sector of renewable energies. Whether photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind or bioenergy – Germany has a lot of potential to offer in each field.

The most important data at a glance:Circulation: 30,000 copiesLanguage: GermanFrequency of publication: 18 x per yearDistribution: Germany, Austria and Switzerland (in unique core target group shipping)

You will receive a 5 % discount for the combination of adverts in SUN & WIND ENERGY and SONNE WIND & WÄRME!

Ask for the media data now: Katharina Müller Stefanie [email protected] [email protected]+49/521/595-581 +49/521/595-575

www.sonnewindwaerme.de

SONNE WIND & WÄRME, THE GERMAN TRADE MAGAZINE for all areas of renewable energies is just the right advertising medium for this.

Present your products and services to

the German industry’s decision-makers.

Make new contacts and win Germany as

a key market for your growth.h.

www.ae-photonics.com

http://www.sonnewindwaerme.de

NEWS


The Italian grid operator Terna S.p.a has released preliminary data on the electricity production in Italy in 2011. According to the report, Italy produced a total of 9,258 GWh of electricity from PV generation in the last year with a 394 % increase as against the year 2010. The contribution of PV is equivalent to a share of 3.2 % of the entire electricity production in Italy.

Terna reports that the production was strongest in the south of Italy, which totalled 2,313 GWh, followed by the regions

surrounding and including Rome with a capacity of 1,726 GWh. With this, Italy’s electricity production from PV power plants in 2011 was almost equal to its wind production with 9,260 GWh and higher than its geothermal generation. In addition, Italy had imported 45,700 GWh of electricity. At the beginning of 2012, the European PV Industry Association reported that Italy had been the largest PV market at the end of the year by accounting for a share of 33 % of the global growth.

4 GW of newly installed PV expected for 2012Accordng to a recent report by the news agency Reuters, which was developed in cooperation with Enel Green Power, the PV growth in Italy will reach 3,000 to 4,000 MW in 2012. This is a strong decline when compared to the previous year when 9 GW were newly connected to the grid, comments the report. “We do not see 2012 even getting close to the record year of 2011”, says Francesco Starace, Chief Executive Officer of Italy’s biggest renewable energy group Enel Green Power.

The report continues that Italy will still be one of the fastest growing solar markets globally. In view of cuts in the incentive and the expected limitations in the solar sector in Germany, Italy could climb to the top this year at least in the European context.

Kyocera: Sunny future in ItalyThe Japanese technology company Kyocera is optimistic about the development of the PV market in Italy. A favourable regulatory framework and high solar irradiation levels will continue to attract investors, so the opinion of the European Product Line Manager at Kyocera Fineceramics GmbH, Stefan Wiebach. Kyocera recently supplied its solar modules for a 6 MW installation in Cigliano near Torino. Wiebach is looking forward to the prospects on the Italian solar market: “Italy has a sunny future lying ahead. If the proposal by Gruppo Imprese Fotovoltaiche Italiane for a moderate reduction of the solar incentive is accepted and implemented by the Italian government, I am sure that the majority of the PV projects will be realized by the end of September.”

According to the Terna data, Italy produced a total of 9,258 GWh of electricity from PV gen-eration in 2011. Photo: Terna

The European Product Line Manager Stefan Wiebach is looking forward to the prospects on the Italian solar market.

Photo: Kyocera

The solar company AE Photonics GmbH based in Dresden has sold six of its PV systems in Italy to the German solar fund Leonidas. It is five smaller power plants near the city of Castellaneta in Apulia and one larger plant in the region of Region Molise, which are now owend by issuing house Leonidas. The solar plants are expected to feed more than 10 million kWh of electricity per year into the Italian electricity grid,

which would be enough to provide up to 3,500 household with energy.

AE plans to begin the construction work for further PV plants with a total capacity of 12 MW in Italy before the end of the year. CEO AE Photonic Marco Lamsouguer: “The Italian market has been difficult in 2011. But AE Photonics Italia SRL and Managing Director Giovanni Migliore have achieved very good results.”

AE Photonics sells PV plants in Italy to German solar funds

Terna: PV on the rise in Italy

ENERGY IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO HAVE 29 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN DEALING WITH IT.

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natural disasters and plant breakdowns can compromise the continuity and quality of the supply. The solution is SIEL, a leading

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varied forms of applications. UPS by SIEL: when and where the need arises for a safe supply of electricity.

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NEWS


Operators of PV systems that were put into operation after June 2012 have to demonstrate to GSE that the module manufacturer will take care of the recycling of endoflife modules. If the operator is unable to provide such proof, the PV plant will not be eligible for the higher feedin tariff. The manufacturer must be a member in a European association or a consortium such as PV Cycle. At the beginning of the year, the association announced that its collection network had been expanded to over 205 collection points. Module owners in all of Europe can dispose of their products free of charge for dismantling and recycling. Furthermore, PV Cycle announced that it had already reached more than 240 members from across the world, representing nearly 90 % of the European solar market. “The steady increase in our membership is a clear sign for the success of our business model”, says Jan Clyncke, Managing Director of PV Cycle.

Need for consistent environmental responsibility

LG Solar obtains “Made in EU” certificationThe solar panels of the “Multi X Module” series by the Chinabased manufacturer LG Solar have obtained the “Made in the EU” certification for Italy. All operators using the module will now be eligible for the 10 % bonus on top of the feedin tariff.

According to the regulation in Italy’s Conto Energia, the installations that use component parts with at least 60 % EU content can claim a higher feedin tariff. “The Certificate of Origin for Italy demonstrates that our products live up to the high European standards”, says Michael Harre, Vice President of LG EU Solar Business Group.

End-of-life modules can be brought to collection points for recycling. Photo: PV Cycle

Microsol acquires SolonIn March, Microsol, a United Arab Emirates and India based solar cell manufacturer, acquired essential components of Solon’s insolvent companies together with two foreign subsidiaries. Microsol now plans to establish an integrated PV provider that will be wellpositioned on the global markets. In the runup to the acquisition, Microsol had already presented its plans: The main sites in Berlin (Germany), Carmignano di Brenta (Italy) and Tucson (USA) with a total of 600 employees will be maintained.

Solon is a producer of solar power modules and solar systems for rooftop and groundmounted installations. The company is also active in the development, construction, and maintenance of commercial rooftop and utilityscale power plants worldwide. In 2010, Solon still had an annual capacity of 100 MW. At the beginning of the year, however, the company announced that it would have to close down its module production in Italy.

In the future, the Italian subsidiary will be repositioning itself as a systems integrator. The focus of Solon S.p.A. will be on the design, development and realization of PV systems. Solon says it will search for “socially acceptable solution” for its 70 employees in the module production. Microsol produces solar cells with around 325

employees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and enjoys favourable prospects for further growth in its core Arab and Asian markets, with special emphasis on India.

India will be a key growth market for the new Solon Group: “Because of the favourable political and economic circumstances, there is great potential for the power plant businesses. Microsol’s market access and the module and power plant expertise of Solon provide us with excellent prospects in India,” says Anjan Turlapati, Chairman of Microsol. The acquisition of Solon by Microsol provides a broad positioning of the joint corporation in the solar market as well as access to the European and North American markets. In the past, Microsol used to produce its modules in Europe with solar cells made in India.

Kiran Turlapati (Manage-ment Board of Solon), Stefan Säuberlich (Chief Executive Officer of Solon), Anjan Turlapati (Microsol International Ltd.) and Dr. Lars Podlowski (Chief Technical Officer).

Photo: Solon

Italy says „no“ to nuclear energy…


In June 2011 a clear majority of Italians voted in favour of abandoning nuclear power.

NEWS


Stadtwerke Mainz AG and the module manufacturer Schott Solar AG have founded the new company Mainz Solar GmbH. In a joint venture with Schott Italvetro Spa, the companies installed a solar power plant with a capacity of 200 kWp on the roof of Schott Italvetro in Borgo a Mozzano, Tuscany. The

installation went online at the beginning of January 2012.

The solar power plant will generate around 240,000 kWh of electricity each year with the help of 851 Schott Solar modules. The companies replaced the former asbestos roof covers with a metal construction and PV modules. The solar plant will be expanded by an additional 600 to 700 kW by the end of the year.

Francesco Poggi, the mayor of the community of Borgo a Mozzano says: “By going ahead with this plant, Schott Italvetro has demonstrated a strong sense of environmental consciousness and sent a signal for renewable energy. The project is of a pilot nature for Borgo a Mozzano and serves as a role model for future initiatives”.

2BG doubles Cappello’s outputItalian PV equipment supplier 2BG has helped to double the production output of the Italybased module and inverter manufacturer Cappello for solar modules. The installation of a new IC200AR robotized station has increased the capacity from 20 to 40 MW annually. The fullyautomatic system allows for string interconnection soldering with consistent quality and precision.

The cooperation between the companies is the result of years of joint efforts in research and development. While 2BG has provided all the engineering support, Cappello contributes its production lines for the industry testing of the IC200AR under realistic conditions as well as for technology and process optimization.

Both firms have agreed to integrate the system in the current production processes. With this step, Cappello is poised to become one of the leading players in the Italian PV industry and technological evolution despite the current market weakness.

Solar project in Italy realized by Mainz Solar AG

Schott Solar installed a solar power system with 200 kW on the roof of Schott Italvetro in Borgo a Mozzano, Tuskany.

Photo: Stadtwerke Mainz

The Dresdenbased company Solarwatt can count on its innovative rooftop integration system for Italy. Its inroof solution has been recognized by the Italian energy services agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) as an “innovative system”. According to a regulation in Conto Energia, the tariff for integrated PV systems with innovative characteristics is significantly higher.

“Conto Energia IV makes a premium tariff available for PV plants with a capacity of 1 kW to 5 MW if they include component parts that have been specifically developed to integrate the plant into the building and replace architectonical parts”, says Andreas Lutz of New Energy Projects, a Munichbased project developer. Customers in Italy who install the system can now enjoy between 50 and 70 % higher feedin tariffs – irrespective of whether the inroof system is installed on a residential property or a commercial building, says Detlef Neuhaus, Sales and Marketing Director.

» www.solarwatt.de

IDEEN WERDEN WIRKLICHKEIT

Das SOLARWATT Easy-In System ersetzt als wetterfeste Dachein-deckung herkömmliche Dachziegel. Es ist gleichzeitig leistungs-fähige Solarstromanlage und sich refi nanzierendes Dach. SOLARWATT Easy-In System überzeugt durch einfache Montage, hervorragende optische Eigenschaften und gewohnt hohe SOLARWATT Qualität.

SOLARWATT Easy-In System ist für Schrägdächer ausgelegt und basiert auf den Standardmodulen SOLARWATT Easy-In M oder SOLARWATT Easy-In Black. Die Module werden als montagefertiges System mit allen Befesti-gungsmaterialien inklusive Einblechung geliefert.Es entsteht – mit wenig Materialaufwand und nur einem Werkzeug – eine wetterfeste, gut hinterlüftete Dacheindeckung in sensationell kurzer Zeit.

Ihre Vorteile:

» Ideal bei Dachsanierung und Neubau

» Module ersetzen die Dachziegel: Befestigung erfolgt direkt an der Dachlattung

» Kein zusätzliches Montagesystem notwendig: diese Funktion übernimmt der Modulrahmen » Überschaubare Anzahl an Einzelteilen: geringer Aufwand bei der Installation

» Leichte Montage: Module werden in die Dachkonstruktion eingehängt und über Nut-Feder Verbindung ineinander geschoben.

» Hohe Stromerträge durch sehr gute Hinterlüftung

» Zertifizierte Modulqualität

» Sichere Geldanlage: über Jahre hinweg attraktive Erträge

DEUTSCH

SOLARWATT REFERENZENeASy-in SySTeM

Weitere Informationen fi nden Sie auf www.solarwatt.de/easy-in

Referenzen

» SOLARWATT eASy-in bLAck, AnLAGenLeiSTunG: 10,32 kWp, einfAMiLienhAuS hASSLAu, deuTSchLAnd

» SOLARWATT eASy-in bLAck, AnLAGenLeiSTunG: 19,20 kWp, bAueRnhOf SüdTiROL, iTALien

Solarwatt solution recognized as “innovative PV roof integration system” in Italy

In-roof-installation in South Tyrol. The tariff for integrated PV systems with innovative characteristics is significantly higher. Photo: Solarwatt

…but „yes“ to photovoltaics.

Italy needs to close an enormous energy gap.Photovoltaics has the potential to make a decisive contribution.

Advertising deadline:18th September 2012

Publication date:2nd November 2012

Contact:Katharina Müller Phone: +49 (0) 521 595 – [email protected]

Trends, market overviews and potentials

Background information on the politics and support conditions

Advertorials (product and company portraits)

Total circulation: 40.000 l Italian circulation: 15.000


8 GW of newly installed photovoltaic capacity in 2011 is an impressive proof.

Detailedmedia data at:


Solar Thermal


Most Italians think of PV when it comes to solar energy. However, Italy is

home to a strong solar thermal sector that was able to overtake Spain in

terms of new installations in 2010 to become the second largest market in

Europe behind Germany. But the technology form still has a lot more

potential in Italy – what is still missing is political support.

Riello Group supplied a total solar thermal collec-tor surface of 3,000 m² for an installation on the roof of the Rome-based company Metro Cash & Carry Italy. Photo: Metro

96

I taly’s solar thermal market used to attract little attention. But this is now changing. “Meanwhile, the new installations in the Italian solar thermal

sector account for 13 % of the total new installations in Europe”, says Pedro Dias, Deputy Secretary General of the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF). A solar thermal collector surface of more than 3 million m² has already been installed. Following the National Renewable Energy Action Plan of the Italian government, the solar thermal segment is expected to reach a total surface of about 26 million m² by the year 2020. In order to meet the target, the annual av-erage growth would have to be in the range of 2.5 million m² by 2020. In the opinion of the Italian solar thermal industry association Assolterm, the plans are ambitious. Industry representatives have been strengthening their efforts to adopt the British model with an incentive paid out for heat generated from regenerative energies. However, so far, the Italian government has not responded.

Potential without lobby

Dependent on imports

“Glass-covered solar thermal collectors dominate the market”, says Dias. According to information by Assolterm, 87 % of the solar thermal systems cur-rently installed use flat plate and 13 % vacuum tube collectors. More than 90 % of the installations are used for domestic hot water generation. Only 10 % are combined systems for heating support. However, data by Assolterm indicates that the use of combined plants is already increasing. Three quarters of the installed capacities come from forced circulation systems and one quarter from systems with natural circulation.

Italy’s solar thermal sector is still largely driven by foreign companies. “Italy’s import dependency in the area of solar thermal technologies continues to be very high”, says Sergio D’Alessandris, President of Assolterm. The domestic suppliers often lack the ex-pertise and experience needed for the development


Solar thermal seems to be on the rise south of the Alps. Photo: ESTIF

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and realization of medium-sized or large-scale sys-tems. A lack of awareness for the different application areas of solar technologies on the level of the con-sumer is also still a problem. About 35 % of the solar thermal systems sold in Italy are products by domes-tic manufacturers, says Assolterm. About 50 % are made in Europe. The remaining 15 % are imported from elsewhere.

Lack of political support

Even though the growth targets set out in Italy’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan are ambi-tious, the Italian politicians have so far paid little at-tention to the development of solar thermal. Similar to other countries, the focus is clearly on the produc-tion of solar electricity, says D’Alessandris. But Italy’s new government has at least given some positive sig-nals in the recent past. Since January 2011, private operators of solar thermal systems can deduct 55 % of their investment costs from their income tax over a period of ten years. Originally, the regulation had been scheduled to phase out by the end of 2011. Shortly before the deadline, however, the Italian gov-ernment had announced that the tax incentive would be prolonged until the end of the year 2012.

Many market participants also put their hopes on a new quota, which requires that at least 50 % of the hot water generation in all new and renovated build-ings be based on regenerative energies. In part, the relevant decree (No. 28/2011) had already come into force in the last year. Since October 1st 2011, all new and renovated buildings must now use renewable en-ergies or district heating to cover a minimum of 50 % of their hot water demand. Since the beginning of the year, the rule additionally requires that all new or ren-ovated buildings use renewable energies or district heating to cover 20 % of their heat demand. The pol-icy applies to all of Italy but can be further amended by the regional authorities.

In the opinion of Assolterm, the policy is “not very appealing to the solar thermal market unless the re-gions broaden the scope or reduce the number of al-lowed energy sources.” There are obvious reasons for the doubts on the part of the association: the decree does not explicitly mention solar thermal as a heat source. Biomass or heat pumps are therefore equally permitted. Furthermore, the regulation applies only to new and renovated buildings, which account only for a small portion of the Italian construction indus-try, says Assolterm.

“White certificates” to come?

Besides the measures just described, the Italian g overnment has not released any further details re-garding the future promotion of solar thermal in the country. Information by the “Solar District Heating in Europe” project, a joint venture between industry as-sociations, enterprises and institutions in the area of

district heating and solar thermal technologies, sug-gests that Italy will introduce a combination of “White Certificates” and incentives. “White Certificates” are documents certifying that a certain reduction of ener-gy consumption has been attained by the energy pro-ducer. In the case of solar thermal, the lower con-sumption is achieved on the basis of energy efficien-cy measures. White Certificates are tradable and can be sold. They will be used for large-scale plants. The operators of smaller solar thermal systems will be

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Solar Thermal


offered a tariff paid out over a period of ten years. Such an incentive is already mentioned in decree No. 28/2011. But concrete steps for its implementation have not been taken yet. And this will probably still take a while, says Bruno Lombardi, Managing Director of Phoenix Italy. “The Italian Parliament is currently focusing on a reform of the labour market. Once these debates are over, the parliamentarians will be able to deal with energy policy.”

Many market experts still believe that solar ther-mal has a lot of potential in Italy. One of them is Katja Meyer of German Trade and Invest: “Next to hot water generation in residential housing, the use of solar thermal has also potential in public buildings or ho-tels. Another option is solar cooling. Opportunities also exist in the segment for industrial application. Solar thermal is still barely used there.” ESTIF also believes in the Italian market. “By 2020, Italy will probably be the largest solar thermal market in Europe”, says Pedro Dias. The example of Riello Group, an Italy-based manufacturer of air condition-ing and heating systems with a long history in the

country, shows that the domestic companies have discovered the potential of solar thermal as well. Riello has already increased its annual production ca-pacity for solar thermal collectors up to 32,000 m². One of its customers is Metro Cash & Carry Italy, a Rome-based company, which ordered a collector sur-face of 3,000 m² from Riello.

Starting signal for CSP?

Contrary to Spain, the development of CSP (Concentrating Solar Power) continues to be in its in-fancy in Italy. Up until now, the only important CSP project in the country is the “Archimede” power plant, a joint venture between Enel Green Power and the sci-entific and technological state-owned Italian institu-tion ENEA. The parabolic trough plant in Priolo Gargallo on Sicily uses molten salts to capture the heat generated. The solar park, which was installed on a total surface of 30,000 m², produces steam to drive the turbines of the nearby combined-cycle plant by the Italian energy provider Enel. The solar power capacity (5 MW) additionally increases the efficiency of the CSP plant.

In view of the exceptional solar irradiation levels, the potential for solar thermal electricity production is slowly being recognized in Italy: two other CSP projects were recently announced by Enel. One of them will be realized in Sicily. “The parabolic trough plant in Sicily is expected to have a capacity of 30 MW”, says Sauro Pasini, the Head of Engineering and Innovation Research at Enel. The other CSP plant will have a capacity of 25 MW and be constructed in an as-yet-unidentified Mediterranean country.

Solergy, another CSP developer, recently an-nounced that it has closed an agreement with the Italian Civil Aviation Authority to jointly install a CSP power plant at Pantelleria airport in Sicily. The instal-lation will generate solar electricity and heat at an air-port facility and serve as a collaborative test site for the use of other CPV projects. Around the same time, SkyFuel, a US-based parabolic trough manufacturer, announced that it had reached an agreement with the Italy-based EPC contractor Termoindustriale. Termoindustriale wants to sell turnkey CSP solutions in Italy. The company puts its focus on smaller CSP power plants using SkyFuel technologies. The two companies have agreed to install CSP projects with a total capacity of 50 MW in Italy. “SkyFuel’s parabolic trough fits perfectly into the design of cogeneration plants that make up a growing part of our business”, says Walter Brovia, Termoindusriale’s General Executive Manager. SkyFuel is pleased to have found a competent partner for its activities on the Italian market. “Termoindustriale knows the market, the technology and the culture,” says Andrew McMahan, SkyFuel’s Vice President of Product Management. He believes that a firm knowledge of the market is the key to success in Italy. Chances are that the Italy’s south could soon undergo a growth as rapid as in Spain where a number of impressive CSP power plants have already been installed.

In a joint venture, Enel Green Power and the scientific and technologi-cal state-owned Italian institution ENEA installed the “Archimede” power plant in Sicily, a 5 MW CSP system that uses molten salts to capture the heat generated. Photo: Enel

Similar to this installation in Spain, CSP power plants could soon make an impor-tant contribution to the electricity production in Italy. Photo: Gemasolar

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