Are you looking for a new partner or a specific product, employee, customer or solution? And do you want to get in touch with 15,000 people in the solar industry without incurring upfront costs? SolarPlaza provides solutions based on a no-cure no-pay broker service. We arrange the promotion and do the search and work. You pay a 1% fee if a deal follows from our presented results.
Practically anything that is related to the solar business:
Job offers
Partner/distributor searches
Product offers and requests
Quotation requests
Specific solutions
Examples: Are you looking for a distributor in Italy or an OEM partner in China? Do you need 300 modules in Spain in April 2006 for at most € 3.40/Wp? Do you offer a new service or solution for a specific target group? Are you looking for suppliers of flexible solar modules? Or do you have a vacancy for an expert on solar batteries?
Try us! Send us your request, offer or issue by e-mail (trading@solarplaza.com) and we will contact you with our proposal. No initial costs are involved and a SolarPlaza membership is not needed. We look forward to working with you based on mutual trust!
Why SolarPlaza?
SolarPlaza provides an independent and dedicated platform for the global solar industry. You will benefit from an international contact network:
·More than 15,000 people in the international solar industry;
·Multilingual and translation services provided by our partner network;
·Our www.solarplaza.com website and its visitors from all over the world;
·The SUN newsletter distributed to 10,000 people worldwide in the solar energy business.
SolarPlaza brings 11 years of experience in the solar business into the equation and we guarantee quality and a reliable and honest approach. We will only take into consideration serious requests and we will only suggest appropriate solutions. We can handle and promote your request or offer anonymously since we operate independently. Our organisation will only be aware of the party behind the business proposition.
Do you want to know everything about one of the leading PV markets in the world? In partnership with RTS Corporation, SolarPlaza now offers the RTS report “The PV market in Japan 2005/2006”. An extensive report with all the data, details, trends and the future outlook of what is happening in the Japanese PV market. This superior and extensive report written in English is available for only US$ 550 (excl. VAT; hardcopy) or US$ 700 if you also require a copy in PDF format. More information about the contents of the report and a fax order form can be found on www.solarplaza.com. SolarPlaza members receive a discount on the report price.
The report provides details related to all aspects of the market: technology trends, subsidies, market data, company profiles and includes many detailed tables. The report has been made by the leading Japanese PV consultancy firm RTS Corporation. Its director, Mr Osuama Ikki, is a well-respected speaker at international conferences. Major Japanese PV companies are among the customers of RTS Corp. Contents of the report. Fax order form: click here
The PV Business Tour Spain from 13 to 17 November will focus on “Huertas Solares” or solar farms. Several people from the USA, the Netherlands and China have already registered for the tour varying from investors to cell manufacturers. The all-inclusive fee for the tour is € 2,950. For the details of the complete programme related to this unique international trade mission and a registration form, click here.
Huertas Solares is the major market segment in the rapidly growing Spanish solar PV market. Many Spanish PV companies develop multi-megawatt ground-mounted PV projects. Private investors are offered a financial yield of 8% or more during 25 years. Part of the 4-day tour programme is a dedicated symposium on this topic plus a project visit. The major players in this market segment will present their experiences and plans.
Programme
Included in the 4-day programme are visits to Isofoton, Iberdrola, the Spanish government agency IDAE, the research institute CIEMAT and the electrical installer association FENIE (9,000 members). A brokerage event will be organised for the first day to meet with Spanish PV companies on aone-on-one basis. The symposium on ‘Huertas Solares’ plus a project visit are planned for the last day. The programme offers extensive networking possibilities and time to discover Spain’s capital city, Madrid, by night.
Company visits
The future of financial support via the attractive feed-in tariff will be discussed during a visit to IDAE. Iberdrola is a major Spanish energy utility company and a worldwide leader in renewable energy production. It has over 3,300 MW of installed capacity. Recently, Iberdrola announced that it would build a 3 MW rooftop PV system on the new Telefónica office building. The national research institute CIEMAT will be visited to hear all about the technical aspects and their experiences with large ground-mounted PV plants in Spain. A meeting at Isofotón will give an industrial perspective of market developments. Isofotón is one of Europe's largest manufacturers of solar cells and modules and will open a brand new factory in November.
The present shortage of solar grade silicon opens up the market for concentrator PV systems. The Spanish multinational Guascor started a new company for this product. Their new factory in Spain is aiming to produce 10 MW in 2006. This technology will bring a new dimension to investment opportunities in solar farms. CPV systems will give higher yields with less silicon at even lower cost. A visit to their first project in Madrid is part of the tour.
Brokerage event with Spanish companies
The brokerage event on the first day will be held in Madrid. SolarPlaza will match interested Spanish PV companies with the delegates for one-on-one meetings based on the preferences of both groups. All major PV companies in Spain will be invited to participate in this event that will end with an informal reception.
Symposium Solar Farmes
The symposium on 'Huertas Solares' will be organised in the Navarra region where many of these projects are being realised. Several of the major suppliers developing multi-megawatt solar farms will present their investment opportunities. Enerpal is developing a 6 MW plant in Murcia. ITER holds the record of Europe's largest farm with 15 MW. This project sold out to investors within 3 month... A Spanish commercial bank will elaborate on the financial aspects related to these projects and private investment. German market leader Voltwerk recently started in Spain demonstrating that international companies are finding their way into what will become one of the major PV markets of the world.
An Ecotècnia solar farm will be visited in the afternoon. This daughter company of Spanish multinational Mondragón will develop several MW projects during the present and coming year.
Market expectations The purpose of the PV Business Tour Spain is to provide participants with an opportunity to assess and explore business and investment opportunities. International delegates can promote their company and products in Spain. The programme is fully organised with room for informal meetings and includes stays in 4-star hotels and travel arrangements. Invited to join are business owners, entrepreneurs and executives interested in developing partnership networks and to discover investment opportunities. The Spanish solar PV market is expected to grow by at least 40% in 2005. Similar growth figures can be expected for the following year too. The Spanish Government has recently approved a raise of the PV goal to 400 MW of installed capacity by 2010. The attractive feed-in tariff in Spain provides a good foundation for this growth. The survey report from SolarPlaza entitled ‘The Spanish PV Market’ showed that farms are dominating the market. More and more companies discover the attractiveness of Spain since financial yields of 8% per year are possible in these projects.
Solland Solar is the new Dutch PV cell manufacturer opening a new production facility next month. Since the Dutch market has lost its incentives and is really quiet, we are assuming that most cells will be exported. Can you tell us something about the expected production, capacity and customers?
Solland Solar is a new German-Dutch company, the first company in the world with a production at the border of two countries. Our new building became available in mid 2005 and the utilities and production machines were installed in August/September. The first cell was produced in September.
Our first production line has a capacity of 20 MWp/yr; more lines are being planned. All production (up to 50 MWp/a) is sold to Econcern and Solon.
What will be the product focus of Solland Solar?
Solland will produce cells and cells only. Initially standard cells, but by mid 2006 we plan to produce BSC cells as well. Solland offers cell manufacturing technology and module manufacturing support to strategic partners.
SolarPlaza did market research about the solar grade silicon supply chain. It seems that the majority of cell manufacturers worldwide have adopted silicon monocrystalline technology. According to our information your PUM cells are based on polycrystalline technology. What will be the advantages of your technology?
The BSC (PUM) cell has 6-8 % relative higher efficiency than standard polycrystalline cells. Furthermore, Solland can also produce monocrystalline solar cells.
SolarPlaza has already found 68 active PV cell manufacturers worldwide. Do you think further consolidation is likely to happen? And what will be the growth strategy of Solland Solar?
Our ambitious growth plans will depend on wafer availability….
These days everybody is looking at the rapidly growing Chinese cell and module production capacity. How will Solland Solar compete with new Chinese cell manufacturers?
Our production process is fully automated and labour costs are low. We are very confident that we will be able to compete globally with our automated systems and high efficiency cells .
You are also the chairman of Holland Solar, the Dutch solar PV association. Are discussions with the government still ongoing and do you expect new incentives for 2006?
The Dutch Government is currently encountering major difficulties on how to handle the renewables portfolio. Subsidies for wind and biomass projects are being discussed, implemented and stopped. The same happened with solar projects.
The debate on nuclear has even been reopened. It is still unclear what will happen….
Thank you for the interview and good luck with your new production facility!
Do you want to experience the booming Chinese PV industry and its market opportunities? An open international Trade Mission to China will be organised for April 2006. The 5-day business tour will visit major industrial PV companies (cell/module/inverter manufacturers), governmental organisations, a sector association, a research institute and other relevant stakeholders. The number of participants will be limited. If you want to be informed first, pre-register now (no obligation) by sending a message to: china@solarplaza.com.
Do you need assistance launching new business activities in Spain or China? SolarPlaza can provide dedicated consultancy services through its new partners in Spain and for China. Based in Madrid, multilingual and PV dedicated business and project development support is available. Are you considering doing business in China? Our China native partner will be able to offer support through their business and translation services.
To further support international PV business development, the SolarPlaza website will be available in both Spanish and Chinese. Interested? Contact: spain@solarplaza.com or china@solarplaza.com.
In a relatively short period you seem to have created a strong position in the market looking at PV system monitoring? What is the key competence of MeteoControl and what are its Unique Selling Points?
Personally, I have always seen photovoltaic systems as a substantial future energy source. Already in the research and demonstration phase where system monitoring was at a price level of the cost of a full residential PV system today, we focused on the development of cost effective services. Most market actors worked on system development and installation, we, instead, start when the switch is turned on and the PV system has to run for the coming twenty to thirty years. With almost 30 years’ experience in system monitoring and more than 10 years in photovoltaics, we have been able to develop services that automatically check the performance of thousands of systems. The concept adapts to the size of the system and, therefore, can also be used for a 1 kWp up to a 10 MWp system. These services, on the other hand, are also very useful for the marketing needs of our partners. Today more than half a million modules and 10,000 inverters are connected to our SaferSUN service which reflects about 10% of the PV capacity installed in Germany today.
What will be the strategy of MeteoControl in terms of products and markets (looking at the increasing number of feed-in tariff systems in Europe)?
Based on our SaferSUN Partner concept, we spread our products through our inverter and system integrator sales partners to all emerging markets. We will establish local subsidiaries in Spain and the USA to also ensure we have a close relation to our SaferSUN partners locally. Only minor modifications to our products are required with regard to the European markets.
Since you are involved in many different projects, could you define market trends in PV applications?
Project developers for PV systems are creative people. Also, it seems that feed-in tariffs have become a standard. There are differences in each country that affect both the technical and financial project design. The photovoltaic system is becoming more and more a financial product. With the PV industry reports from leading banks, photovoltaic has at last become accepted as a industry. With the growth of the PV market, new actors are also tapping into the module and inverter business. A new level of prefabrication has been reached with the SolarOptimal and the Solon Mover, a 2-axis tracking system produced on industrial standards.
What are the trends in PV system-monitoring technology if you consider the rapid developments in ICT (UMTS, cable, ....)
We already decided more than five years ago to focus on Internet-based communications. Even today only a very few market actors are really able to easily make use of this data transmission medium, which is the cheapest option, apart from our SaferSUN service. Decentralised, or local, monitoring devices connected via Internet to a central server will became the accepted standard solution. Effective performance monitoring is the essential part to secure the return of the huge investments that have been and will be made in photovoltaic systems. Step-by-step industrial standards will be used more and more after proprietary solutions from each inverter manufacturer. RS485 communication, which comes with almost all inverters today, will be replaced by Ethernet, Bluetooth or WLAN communication capabilities tomorrow. On the marketing side, this will lead to direct communication from your PALM or mobile phone with your PV system, which we have demonstrated already at the Intersolar Fair at Freiburg.
Being involved in system monitoring should teach you a lot about system/inverter quality and maintenance. Do you have any tips for the industry?
Compared to the systems and inverters 10 years ago, the quality has increased substantially. As with the feed-in tariff systems, time is limited and each single day counts for the rate of return that I get on my investment in a PV system. With our SaferSUN service we have established very sophisticated routines to detect breakdowns or performance losses as quickly as possible. Installers and inverter manufacturers should ensure they focus on providing higher operation and maintenance service levels to ensure fast replacement of faulty parts.
What are your PV market expectations for Germany next year and worldwide in general?
We have to face the regular reduction of the feed-in tariffs in 2006 together with constant or even rising module prices. The rate of return related to big systems out in the field, in particular, will no longer be interesting to investors. Therefore, I expect the German market to be approximately 500 MW. The total module production capacity has also passed the 1GW line and substantial market growth on the worldwide market still depends on very few silicon production facilities. Decisions taken to solve this today will not be effective before 2007.
Did China make you sit up and pay attention this year? Order before 30 November and receive the SolarPlaza report, "The Chinese PV market", before the 20th of December 2005 with a 15% discount (normal price € 950). Learn all about business opportunities and potential business partners, how to do business in China, the domestic PV market forecasts and trends, government and subsidy programmes and major projects, PV companies and stakeholders. The report contains overviews and extensive company profiles of all major Chinese silicon ingot and wafer manufacturers and major cell (10) and module (20) manufacturers. Click here for a fax order form.
Following the success of the SolarPlaza “The Spanish PV market” report, the report about the Chinese market offers everything you need to know to start PV business activities in China and with Chinese PV companies. As can be clearly seen in different activities and exhibitions, the number of Chinese PV manufacturers is rapidly increasing and the Chinese market is rapidly growing. This will become the dominating factor in the global PV market. With this report you will be able to make up your mind and your strategy for next year concerning the Chinese PV market.
More information about the contents of the report and a fax order form can be found on www.solarplaza.com. SolarPlaza Gold and platinum members will receive an additional discount. Contents of the report: click here. Order form: click here
Find and be found in the rapidly growing PV market! Promote your company and 5 products on SolarPlaza to a global audience for a whole year for only € 99 and receive the original SolarPlaza t-shirt. Save time and money: SolarPlaza will enter all the data for you! This offer includes the addition of your company logo on our homepages alternating with other members, and linking to your company profile.
.JPG)
