German inverter company Kaco opens new R&D center  
On July 8, German inverter manufacturer Kaco Gerätetechnik GmbH opened its Development and Logistics Center in Neckarsulm with a befitting celebration, to which prominent local and state politicians were invited.

Interview with Frans van den Heuvel, managing director of Scheuten Solar
In July 2003, the Dutch company Scheuten Glas Groep took over the insolvent module manufacturer Flabeg Solar. In doing so, they obtained a highly automated production line in Gelsenkirchen, Germany with an approximate annual capacity of 10 MW – which is directly located beside Shell Solar's only European cell factory. Even when Flabeg Solar was still in business, relations between the two companies were not exactly neighborly. The originally planned »integrated production process« with cells from Shell for modules from Scheuten never took place. Now the neighbors are also parting ways in terms of location. On May 11, Scheuten laid the foundation stone for a new 100 MW factory at a different spot in Gelsenkirchen. But that should only be a small contribution to an expansion plan of remarkable proportions: Scheuten aims to reach a capacity of 1 GW within the next six to seven years, above all with thin-film technology made in Europe and Asia.

RWE Schott inaugurates module production in the Czech Republic 
Still not even fully in operation and already award-winning – RWE Schott Solar GmbH had a good start with its module factory in Valašské Mezirící in the Czech Republic.

Illuminating education 
German schools in foreign countries are to become »lighthouses« for local solar industries. The concept is for PV and solar thermal installations to demonstrate technology applications and product performance.

BP Solar plans increase of capacity 
at Spanish factories in 2006 
BP Solar says it plans to add a 20 MW cell production 
line at its Spanish factory in Tres Cantos for manufacturing mono- and multicrystalline cells to increase capacity to 50 MW.

Concentrix to produce concentrator modules 
A spin-off from Fraunhofer ISE intends to combine the age-old technique of focusing sunlight onto small cell surfaces with innovative cell technology to produce commercially competitive concentrator modules.  

German bank gives nearly a half billion euro for PV loans
Nearly a half billion euro – to be exact, €475 million ($611 million) – was provided by the Agricultural Pension Bank (Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank) last year in financing for PV systems in Germany. Another nearly €50 million ($64.5 million) was made available primarily for biomass systems.

EECH plans 5 MW system

10 MW for rooftops of tire maker Michelin
German Voltwerk AG is building four PV systems with a total of 10 MW on tire manufacturer Michelin's production hall and warehouse. The PV company sees the move as part of a trend away from systems on undeveloped areas and onto roofs.

Megawatt PV system installed on former nuclear plant in Germany
On Dec. 17, a PV power plant was grid-connected on the bank of the intake canal to the former nuclear power plant in Greifswald, Germany. It took seven weeks to build the 1.8 MW system, which consists of around 11,000 modules (BP 3160 Q series) as well as six Sunny Central 250 kVA inverters from SMA.

New 10 MW solar park completely on line in Germany
Jochen Kleimaier, general manager of K & S Consulting GmbH & Co. KG, used few words to describe the status of what is currently the largest project for his Regensburg, Germany-based planning company: »It's all on the grid!«

PV lobby groups UVS and BSi plan to merge
The German PV industry has long enjoyed the luxury of having two large lobby organizations. That era has now come to an end. The boards and management of the German Solar Energy Business Association (UVS) and the Federal Solar Industry Association (BSi) want their organizations to merge. The new association will be up and running by the middle of next year.

Phönix SonnenStrom stock traded over-the-counter
On Nov. 18, the fifth anniversary of Phönix SonnenStrom AG's founding, the German wholesaler and PV system company gave its debut on the German stock exchanges in Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Berlin/Bremen. No new shares were issued.

Very NICE – a module concept
At the 19^th European PV Conference, Parisian-headquartered company Apollon Solar presented its NICE concept for manufacturing solar modules employing a simple production method based on insulation glass windows. The modules are manufactured without EVA and Tedlar sheets, and the electrical contacts are created without soldering. Apollon predicts that these innovations will result in significant cost reductions when compared with conventional lamination processes.

Italian PV association renews battle for »reasonable« feed-in tariff again
At the start of 2004, prospects for a market-driving Italian PV feed-in tariff looked good with the passage of a renewable energy directive. But a lack of government commitment to setting levels high enough has put the country's PV industry back on the offensive.

PV module manufacturer plans 15 MW capacity factory in Spain
A new Spanish solar module factory plans to start production in Feb. 2005. Madrid-headquartered Solaria Energia y Medio Ambiente S.L. says its new 50,000 m² factory, with a 15 MW capacity, is being constructed in Puertollano, located about 200 km south of Madrid.

Mastervolt expands inverter production to 100 MW
Holland-based Mastervolt BV plans shipments of over 40,000 solar inverters with a power rating of around 100 MW next year. This would be more than a tripling of the targeted sales for 2004, which at 12,000 devices is equal to about 30 MW.

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