CIS technologyContribution to ME Energy Business

21st Joint GCC-Japan Environment SymposiumDoha

February 2013

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Outline

1

Company profile

CIS Technology

Solar Frontier's CIS

PV system design with Solar Frontier's CIS

Case study

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Company Profile

2

Showa Shell SekiyuDownstream oil refining &

marketing company

Basic Data FY 2011 (US$)*

Tokyo Stock Exchange Class 1

Turnover $35 Billion

Total Assets $15 Billion

*FOREX USD-JPY exchange rate - December 2011

Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K.Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K.

Solar FrontierAmericas Inc.Solar FrontierAmericas Inc.

Showa Shell SekiyuDownstream oil refining &

marketing company

Solar FrontierEurope GmbHSolar FrontierEurope GmbH

SaudiAramco

RoyalDutchShell

OtherInvestors

100%100%

100% Subsidiary

15% 35% 50%

PV CIStemsGmbH Co. & KG

(JV with BelectricGroup)

PV CIStemsGmbH Co. & KG

(JV with BelectricGroup)

50%

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Solar Frontier Global Footprint

Santa Clara, USA Tokyo, Japan

Munich, Germany

Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia

3

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R&D and Production

Atsugi Research CentreNext Gen production

technologyvia three key processes:

enlarged substrate size,higher throughput, higher

efficiency

LaboratoryKey technologydevelopment

achievedworld record of

19.8%

R&D

Miyazaki Plant 3bldg: 158,000 m2

Capex : USD 1 bnJPY 100 bn

2007 2009 2011

Production

Miyazaki Plant 2Bldg: 27,000 m2

Capex : USD 150 MJPY 15 bn

Miyazaki Plant 1Bldg = 6,300 m2

Capex = USD 50 MJPY 5 bn

20MW

60MW

900MWYearly production capacity: 900 MW

R&DR&D crystalline-Si amorphous-Si CIS

2005

Commitmentto CIS

production

1993

Start CISresearchfunded

by NEDO

2004

ShowaShellSolar

established

2006

ShellSolarJapan

established

2007

Commercialproduction in

Miyazaki Plant 1

2009

Production at2nd plant begins;

Atsugi R&DCentre opens

2011

World’s largestCIS plant

1GW Scale

1978

1981

Technicalpartnership

with Arco Solar

1983

Startedc-Si

production

1986

LaunchedShowa ArcoSolar JV with

Arco Solar

1990

Showa ArcoSolar renamedShowa Solar

Energy

Showa Shellstarts PV R&D

1987

Co-foundedJPEA

Shell Solaracquired

Siemens Solar

2010

NewGlobal NameSolar Frontier

1974

Oil crisis sparksjoint solar projectwith Japanesegovernment

2003 2012

World’s largestCIS project<150MW

4

CIS Technology

CIS is a thin-film compound-semiconductor PV consisting of threemajor elements:

Cu CopperIn Indium

Se SeleniumSometimes called “CIGS” sinceportions of In are replaced by Ga

Crystal structure of CISCrystal structure of CIS（Chalcopyrite structure）

Cu

In*

Se**

* Partially Ga** Partially S

What is CIS?

5

SiliconSilicon

CrystallineCrystalline Others

HITMulti-

Junction(tandem)

Others

HITMulti-

Junction(tandem)

Organic

Dye-sensitized

Organicthin-film

Organic

Dye-sensitized

Organicthin-film

Thinfilm

Compound Silicon

Thinfilm

Compound Silicon

Micro-crystalline

Micro-crystalline

AmorphousAmorphousSpheric

-SiSpheric

-SiPoly-SiPoly-SiMono-SiMono-Si

With CdWith CdWithout

CdWithout

Cd

CdTeCdTeCISCIS

Lowerefficiencythan CIS

Challengedby Cadmium

toxicity

Not commer-cialized

Lower performanceratio than CIS

Longermanufacturing

process than CIS

Solar Frontier’s CIS modules do not contain cadmium or lead

PV Module Technologies

6

Product Development Roadmap

80

1,000

1,500

3rd Plant900MW

150W 13.3% AA

Module eff. 12.2%

GEN3

Total Prod.Capacity(MW)

AA-Efficiency(%) AA=Aperture Area

14

13

12

11

17

・・・・

2nd Plant60MW

1st Plant20MW

92.5W 13.0% AA

Module eff. 11.6%

160W 14.2% AA

Module eff. 13.0%

2011 2012 2013 201420102009Now Future

170W 15.0% AA

Module eff. 13.9%Applied

16.3% AA

17% AA

Lab Technology

Applied

4th plant

On 30cm x 30cm module

Achieved

Product Development Roadmap

7

SF140-160-S Series

8

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PV System Design with Solar Frontier’s CIS

9

Outline

① Low light behavior

② Temperature stability

③ High shadow resistance

④ Long-term reliability

⑤ Risks arising from Si module

⑥ Snow resistance

⑦ Certificates

⑧ Black color module

High Output

High Reliability

Superior Appearance

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Competitor A

Competitor B

Competitor C

Competitor D

Competitor E

Competitor F

Average（n=588)

CIS Outperforms Other Panels

10

50.0

70.0

90.0

110.0

130.0

150.0

170.0

Ave

rag

ek

Wh

/k

Wp

/m

on

th

CISc-Si (CIS average 5.6% higher)CdTe (CIS average 3.7% higher)

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12.6%

11.6%

14.7%

11.4%

10.0%

10.5%

11.0%

11.5%

12.0%

12.5%

13.0%

13.5%

14.0%

14.5%

15.0%

STC efficiency Efficiency 70C

Module Efficiency Comparison

Solar Frontier

C-Si

In reality, modulesoperate at much

higher temperatures

Solar module efficiency is rated at 25ºC module temperature. However, this is misleading since these conditions rarely occur. Module temperature is typically 30-35ºC higher than ambient.

CIS efficiency at 70ºC: 12.6% + LS 0.8% - Temperature 1.8% = 11.6% C-Si efficiency at 70ºC: 14.7% - LID 0.12% - Temperature 3.18% = 11.4%

② CIS Outperforms Other PanelsWhy? High Temperature Performance

Ratedefficiencyis basedon 25ºC

11

Standard Testing Efficiency Efficiency at 70ºC

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Temperature-Coefficient FS-CIS

Temperature Coefficient

ISC 0.00 (A/℃) 0.01 (%/℃)

VOC -0.34 (V/℃) -0.31(%/℃)

Pmax -0.45 (W/℃) -0.30 (%/℃)

Temperature -Coefficient c-Si (example)

Temperature Coefficient

ISC 0.034 (%/℃)

VOC -0.34(%/℃)

Pmax -0.48 (%/℃)

This means:

Less power reduction in case ofhigh module temperatures

Example: 65 oC module temp.:SF-CIS module: -12%c-Si-module: -19.2%

> Delta: 7,2%

② Temperature stability

12

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Under partially shaded conditions, the unique patterning of CIS moduleskeeps the drop of output to a minimum

CIS

c-Si

Shadow

The module’s output drops significantlyunder partial shadow

There is a partial loss ofoutput but the overall

effect is minimum

c-SiCIS

Shadow

③ Shading Tolerance

13

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Reliability for Long term Performance

Decrease in Pmax：0.5 %/Year (10% in 20 years)

Pmax increased about 10% from “the light soaking effect” after installationsthus, no decrease against nominal capacity

Decrease in Pmax：0.5 %/Year (10% in 20 years)

Pmax increased about 10% from “the light soaking effect” after installationsthus, no decrease against nominal capacity

Ref. - c-Si : 0.5-2.7 % / Year (10-54% in 20 years)

- poly-Si : 0.3-1.3 % / Year (6-26% in 20 years)

Manuel V. and Ignacio R. Progress in Photovoltaics, 16, 419 (2008)

④ Reliability for Long Term Performance

14

- 280 prototype modules- Direction: 340°(south east) Tilt:20°- Inverter Eff. 92.5%

PV system at ARC

11.1kW system

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⑤ Risks arising from Si modules

Micro crack

- More critical for p-Si thanm-Si

- Caused by weight onmodules

Snail tracks

-Material defects canbe caused or boostedby microcrack.

PID(Potential induced degradation)

- Power degradation dueto the exposure to anexternal potential in afield

Not relevant for Solar Frontier CIS modules, due to different technology!

15

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⑦ Certificates

16

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⑧ Aesthetics of CISReflexions – a problem for some Customers

> Solar Frontiermodules transformphotons into Energy,rather than reflectingthem

Reflexioncomparison:

SF-Module (left)

A-Si-Modul (right)

EnR Paris, April 2012

17

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Conclusion

PV technology could contribute to saving fossil fuelconsumption and conservation of national assets:Oil & Gas, and thus contribute to protectenvironment and establishing low carbon society.

CIS is expected to give the largest amount ofenergy output per installed nominal unit(kWh/kWp) among PV technologies.

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0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Annual PV Energy Potential in Qatar

19© Solar Frontier K.K.

Masaieed Industrial City Ras Laffan Industrial City Dukhan City

Irradiation[kWh/m2]

Power Output[MWh/MWp]

Irradiation Source: NASA Surface meteorology and Solar Energy Power Output: based on PR Assumption = 0.75, not for a guarantee but just a reference purpose Oil Equivalent value is based on assumed oil generator’s efficiency =40% & 1 ton of Crude Oil Equivalent is 41.868 GJ

Fuel Saving[BBL/MWp]

Project Profile: Saudi Aramco North Park-10 MW CIS Solar Park

20© Solar Frontier K.K. | Unrestricted

Thank you for your attentionSolar Frontier K.K. Technical & Scientific Office

Eastern Cement Tower, #306King Abdul-Aziz Street Al KhoperKingdom of Saudi Arabia

Tel: +966 3 882 0260www.solar-frontier.com

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