Key market and innovation centre

On the third and final day of the trade show and conference, the halls of the sixth Intersolar North America in San Francisco, California, were very quiet. But this hadn’t been the case throughout the show and it would be untrue to say that the mood had been downbeat. While there were mixed reports about the volume and quality of traffic at what is one of North America’s biggest solar events, there was a considerable amount of positivity and some innovative startups and established players introducing new products to the market.
Some 17,000 people from 70 countries attended the exhibition and around 600 people participated in the conference. This was down on the 19,000 expected and exhibitor numbers were down also about 20%, with 576 companies attending. The solar event opened to the positive news that 10 GW of PV capacity has been added in the U.S. The result, according to NPD Solarbuzz data, means that the U.S. has become the fourth largest PV market in terms of cumulative capacity, only behind Germany, Italy and China. The report also noted that PV has been one of the fastest growing energy sources in the country, with a compound annual growth rate of over 50% since 2007.
While this was music to the ears of the Intersolar North America trade show and conference attendees, as tends to be the case in PV of late, some less positive news also emerged. Vertically integrated Conergy and project developer Gehrlicher Solar both announced that they are filing for insolvency in the face of market difficulties, throwing doubt over the former’s significant U.S. operations. Fully-owned Conergy subsidiary Mounting Systems told pv magazine at the Intersolar show that its U.S. operations would not be affected by the insolvency of its parent, but time will surely tell.

Jerry Brown steps out

In the face of this less-than-good news, Californian Governor Jerry Brown delivered an impromptu and rousing address to the attendees, both praising the good work of the solar industry and offering his support for the industry. The veteran politician received spontaneous applause at various parts throughout his speech and a standing ovation on its completion. Brown set out how important it was that U.S. states and countries around the world respond to climate change. “There is a complete disproportion of the knowledge about and the magnitude of climate change and what it’s going to do to our way of life and our response,” said Brown. “Our response is feeble compared to the challenge of climate change, so we’ve got to step up to the plate.” Brown cited some of the ways governments can support industries that are “stepping up to the plate,” such as PV, and provide leadership in the fight against climate change. The role of government, he said, can include providing economic incentives and also removing obstacles to the implementation of solar. Brown said that in some counties in California, permitting for a residential solar array can be as high as US$1,800 – a ridiculously high figure. “We have 130,000 solar installations in the state and we’re going to get several hundreds of thousands more and as Governor of the state of California I can guarantee that we’re going to get there,” roared Brown, building to a crescendo, “I’m going to move aside all the obstacles. Whoever and whatever they are, get out of the way because the sun is shining brightly in the state of California!”

Californian flavor

The show had a decidedly Californian flavor in other ways as well. Early stage and startup companies had a strong presence with a number of Silicon Valley solar startups emerging from “stealth mode.” Large-format CdTe developer RSI Energy was one such startup, introducing not only a new approach to the manufacture of CdTe thin film modules, but also a new business model.
RSI has developed proprietary processes for CdTe deposition, which allows larger modules to be produced. The startup unveiled its large-format CdTe module at the show, although it did not itself have a booth. The module is roughly double the size of CdTe giant First Solar’s. “This allows RSI to produce a 280 W module,” said Paul Fox, RSI’s VP Corporate Development. “Going bigger also allows us to reduce costs,” Fox claimed.
RSI employs a lower-temperature deposition process, at roughly 60 °C, which is the primary reason why RSI can produce the large modules. “With higher temperatures during deposition, manufacturers can experience warping or glass breakages,” said Fox. RSI met with companies at Intersolar North America, with a view to license its deposition technology on a regional basis. “It’s a hybrid licensing model,” said Fox. RSI hopes to be able to supply its deposition equipment to firms interested in entering solar or manufacturing its panels, and under a license agreement charges a small amount for each panel produced. In what Fox described as a “virtual turnkey” model, the rest of the equipment is standard and can be purchased from established tool suppliers.

Kerfless wafer

Wafer technology startup Scifiniti attended the trade show with a small team in talks with PV industry players – to move towards establishing a production facility for its gas-to-wafer technology. The Silicon Valley-based startup came out of stealth mode only 10 days before the show opened and is looking for commercial partners for its technology, which involves the deposition of a silicon semiconductor layer onto a substrate from a gas source that is crystallized in a following step. Scinfiniti Chairman and CEO Sharone Zehavi said that a major advantage to the company’s wafer technology is that the wafers can be employed in standard module production processes. This can be done without additional equipment or a change in processes for module and cell manufacturers, claimed Zehavi. He added, “at the same time we are driving the cost of wafers lower.” Scifiniti says that it can reduce the silicon used in wafer production to 0.5 g/W from an industry standard of 5 g/W. In terms of costs, Scifiniti says that the CAPEX required to build and equip a 100 MW fab to produce its SmartWafer technology is $14 million.
CEO Zehavi said that the startup would be looking to establish a wafer manufacturing base either in East Asia or somewhere – outside of California – in the U.S. “We have meeting after meeting here,” said Zehavi, “and this show is great in terms of the new stuff that is being exposed here.” Scifiniti has an R&D facility in San Jose, California, with a team of 20 engineers and a small management team.

Robotic installer

Also emerging from “stealth” was Alion Energy. Alion is introducing a robotic photovoltaic power plant installation system and cleaning technology. The startup claims that its installation robot, the Rover, is able to complete solar installations twice as fast as manual processes and at half the labor cost. To allow the Rover to work effectively, Alion has designed a non-penetrating concrete rail system for the Rover to move across, which then becomes the base for the mounting system structure.
Alion Energy’s President and CEO was formerly with Trina Solar, with other members of the management team hailing from established players such as SunPower, First Solar and Conergy. The Alion Energy team had previously been working on introducing a CdTe module onto the market, before shifting to develop and release its Rover robotic installation solution.
Robotics were also on display from further afield. Japan’s Protrust K.K. unveiled its Cell Sweeper module cleaning solution for the first time in San Francisco this year. Protrust said its Cell Sweeper can remove accumulated dust, volcanic ash, leaves and sand from “mega solar” installations. It uses water, a selection of six different brush types and a wiper to remove the soiling from modules, ensuring more stable production from the installation.

Trina and Tigo team up

In keeping with the startup theme, Trina Solar chose Intersolar North America as the location to release the results of its collaboration with Silicon Valley startup Tigo Energy. The Trinasmart modules, which will be rolled out worldwide, were unveiled at the show. Tigo’s optimizer technology is incorporated into the Trinasmart modules, which the firms claim deliver a host of advantages in terms of module output, optimization and installation advantages.
The addition of the Tigo optimizer technology into the Trinasmart modules comes at a cost of approximately US$0.20/W on the module level, said Mark Mendenhall, the President Americas from Trina Solar, but delivers a host of savings in that it allows installers to employ more modules in a string and also on one roof. The Trinasmart solution is best suited to residential and commercial rooftops, the firms report. “It opens a whole different mindset to installations,” said Mendenhall. The launch of the Trinasmart modules at the trade show is significant also in that it comes three years after Tigo and Trina first spoke about collaborating at the same trade show. Trina says that it initially aims for the Tigo technology to be incorporated in approximately one third of its modules in North America in 2013, with that number increasing over time. “I have to convince Mark (Mendenhall) to go to 100%,” said Tigo’s James Bickford optimistically.

Financial innovation

New models for financing solar installations were also on display at the Intersolar North America. The U.S. has been a center for financial innovation in the PV industry and this year there were calls from a number of players for new models to emerge for the more wide-scale adoption of PV.
At Intersolar’s opening ceremony, NREL laboratory director Dan Arvizu described the growth of the renewable energy industry as being both rapid and unstoppable. “The genie is out of the bottle and it’s not going back,” said Arvizu. The silver-haired researcher set out one of the obstacles facing the mass expansion of the photovoltaics industry in North America as being access to large-scale capital. Drawing on research from NREL, Arvizu described how technologies face two “valleys of death” on their path to large-scale realization. The first such valley is in the early stages of technology development, where angel and VC investors can generally take up the slack. The second such hurdle – or “death valley” – lies in the commercialization of renewable technologies where large institutional investors will have to get involved, according to Arvizu. In this stage trillions of dollars are required, not billions, the NREL executive said.
These remarks were echoed by Recurrent Energy’s COO Sheldon Kimber in a presentation he gave on the second morning of the trade show. He said that while the rapid decline in PV system costs had driven application of the technology, an increased access to capital was required if the industry was to continue to grow. Kimber said that as PPA’s become less prevalent, new financing models must emerge to finance projects. “We have to change the business model by taking advantage of existing tools,” said Kimber. “We know how to finance power plants, and it’s not just through a 20 year PPA.”

New crowdfunding

Bay Area-based solar crowdfunder Solar Mosaic was also present at Intersolar North America, with the startup introducing a new funding model. Previously Mosaic had funded installations with a set return, say 5%, for investors participating in crowdfunding a solar installation, generally to be located on a social business or community building. At Intersolar, Mosaic’s new CFO David Goldman said that loan participation is set to be an area of growth for the startup. The development will mean that Mosaic will now take a part in funding larger installations, with the first being a US$500,000 chunk of a larger US$30 million project at a military base in New Jersey. While SEC rules mean that Solar Mosaic isn’t allowed to “promote” the funding scheme – which explains the lack of details – it does allow crowdfunding investors to receive floating returns on their investment, in all likelihood higher than the standard return around 5%.
This genuinely unique development also opens up a new revenue stream for Solar Mosaic, with the startup able to charge a fee for providing the finance and also collect a payment from the loan originator. At present Solar Mosaic charges a small transaction fee on funding deals.

Quality in focus

Quality was an issue that material supplier DuPont was keen to emphasize in San Francisco during the show. DuPont arranged a tour of its enhanced Silicon Valley innovation centre on the day of the official exhibition opening, and attendees were invited to see how DuPont is able to test its materials on production lines that are identical to those used in scale production. DuPont’s Conrad Burke told pv magazine that the company has invested many millions of dollars in the facility.
DuPont was also one of the hosts of a PV Reliability Reception during the show, in partnership with SEMI and PV Group. DuPont’s Burke said that as module prices have fallen dramatically over the past two years, he has observed quality slipping. “I’ve noticed a deviation in the standards, reliability and durability of products,” said Burke. He said that he had been speaking to downstream companies about quality during Intersolar to communicate that not all modules are the same, and that it’s important for companies “to know what’s in their modules.” Chinese manufacturer Talesun was also keen to engage in the quality debate. Talesun’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing Frank Qi emphasized that module quality was paramount in today’s market. “A strong commitment to quality is a great asset to our sales team,” said Qi. “Customers need confidence and proof of quality and Talesun has brought onboard new quality assurance leadership to ensure quality,” he said. Talesun maintains an office of approximately 20 staff in San Jose, California, on top of a sales presence throughout the country.

Important market

The North American market remains an important one for Talesun, reported Frank Qi, saying that the firm hopes to realize sales in North America of more than 100 MW in 2013. On top of that, the diversified Chinese company also intends to realize a project pipeline in the U.S. of approximately 100 MW by the end of the year.
Hanwha Q Cells said that it too is remaining active in North America as both a module supplier and a product developer. Mark Bronez, president of Hanwha Q Cells USA, told pv magazine that when the Hanwha Group acquired the insolvent Q Cells that it also acquired its project pipeline in North America. “Q Cells in North America did have a lot of good business already,” said Bronez, “In North America they had three projects totaling 110 MW and they are significant projects with experience on the ground amongst the team.” Bronez said that the history of Q Cells in North America has delivered Hanwha Q Cells significant project development capabilities. This is evident, said Bronez, in the recent announcement of the firm’s 42 MW OSPVF project (Ontario Solar Photovoltaic Farm) in Canada. “It’s a really bad name,” joked Bronez.
On the lighter side of the Intersolar North America, on the middle night of the show, the PV industry’s Battle of the Bands was held.
Solar luminaries across all ages and sectors were spotted at the event, which revealed that working in the solar sector and musical greatness are not mutually exclusive. Hanwha Q Cells’ Bronez was a conspicuous participant, performing the 1980’s hit “Walking on the Moon” by The Police. Oakland-based solar lease provider and installer Sungevity made the most of the home town advantage taking out the band competition.