Commercial Breakthrough and Bankability of...

Commercial Breakthrough and Bankability of Concentrator Photovoltaics (CPV)

November 14, 2012Henning von Barsewisch

VP Sales & Business Development Solar Energy Business Unit

2

CPV Breakthrough

Solar Industry Summit Middle East November 14, 2012

• Soitec Introduction

• CPV Technology and the Middle East

• Bankability and CPV

• Recent CPV news

• Conclusion

Soitec at a glance

Foundation: 1992

Revenue: 450 M$ in 2011-2012

Stock exchange: Euronext since 1999

Headquarter: Bernin, France

Global presence: Present in 17 countries

Employees: >1,500 worldwide

Patent portfolio: 3,600

R&D spending: ~10% of annual revenue

Soitec semiconductor manufacturing site for engineered substrates in France

Solar Industry Summit Middle East

Through acquisition of Concentrix Solar in 2009, Soitec became a supplier of highly efficient Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV).

Soitec is the world leader in generating and manu-facturing revolutionary

semiconductor materials for electronic and energy

industries.

3November 14, 2012

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Saudi Arabia and Soitec CPV

Solar Industry Summit Middle East November 14, 2012




• Recent CPV news

• Conclusion

November 14, 2012

Principle of CPV Technology

5Solar Industry Summit Middle East

• CPV is suitable for regions with high Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI).

• Optics concentrate the sunlight onto high efficient solar cells.– Soitec uses Fresnel lenses to

concentrate the sunlight 500 times on triple junction solar cells

• CPV Systems apply dual axis tracking to ensure high performance throughout the day.

30% Soitec CPV Module efficiency

November 14, 2012

MENA climatic challenges (1/2): heat, cleaning

• Heat: – CPV performance is practically

constant even at high ambient temperatures

• Cleaning– With 30% module efficiency,

only half of the module surface compared to PV needs to be cleaned


November 14, 2012

MENA climatic challenges (2/2): sand storms, ageing

• Sand Storms: – Modules from tempered glass (front

and back) are highly scratch resistant

– High ground clearance means less exposure to sand

– Horizontal stow position during storms

• Solar Intensity/ageing: – Modules don’t suffer measurable

degradation over time

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CX0

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Effi

cien

cy [%

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10.05.2007 06.2007 06.03.2008 23.04.2009 22.11.2010 24.11.2011


November 14, 2012

Different technologies for different applications

Concentrator PV(CPV)

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP)

Thin-Film PVSilicon PV

+ Mainstream technology

+ Building integration

- High heat losses

- Long Energy Payback Time

+ Good capture of diffuse sunlight

+ Relatively low heat losses

- Tracking not viable

- Land use

+ Performance in high DNI regions

+ Very low heat losses

+ Constant high power output

+ Environmental footprint

- Needs high DNI

+ Storage possible

+ Hybrid concepts

- Cost reduction low

- Innovation cycles long

- High Water consumption

- Needs high DNI


November 14, 2012

CPV Market Overview and Analysis

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• CPV sales 2015: 1400MW worldwide

• CPV market will grow at CAGR of 174%

• Installed solar capacity 2020 in the US: 50GW (~50% in CA)

Source: Strategy Analytics 2011


November 14, 2012

Solar Resource MENA

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The MENA region has one of the world’s best solar resource


Key electricity costs for Saudi Arabia

Generation cost conventional power:

Consumer electricity prices:• For households $10 - 50/MWh• For industry $40 - 70/MWh• For hospitals, schools, agriculture $32/MWh

Solar Industry Summit Middle East 11

Oil Corresponding power price

$5/barrel $ 14/MWh

$50/barrel $ 80/MWh

$100/barrel $ 153/MWh

$150/barrel $ 227/MWh

November 14, 2012

Today’s real price = opportunity

cost

Today’s subsidized price

November 14, 2012 12






• Recent CPV news

• Conclusion

November 14, 2012

Bankability is achieved with …


• … strong project returns• … proven technology • … sound track record• … solid vendor standing • … high sponsor strength

November 14, 2012

100 MW in 2012: CPV is bankable


• Approx. 100 MW CPV in 2012 by Suncore (China), Amonix (USA), Soitec (in Italy, China), Solfocus, Isofoton etc.

Source: Strategy Analytics 2011

November 14, 2012

CPV competiveness


Competitive => satisfactory

returns achieved

Solid Technology: Examples Touwsrivier

Touwsrivier, South Africa

Soitec CPV demonstrates high and consistent Performance Ratios

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predicted annual PR

2011 2012

Bankability – September, 2012

Technology proven

Soitec CPV Track Record

17November 14, 2012Solar Industry Summit Middle East

• With installations in ~15 projects since 2007, Soitec has gathered over 100,000 module-years operations

• No degradation measured• Only two field returns (due to mechanical damage)• Typical project availability is >98%

Track record demonstratedTotal Availability: 98.1 %

From: 2008-11To: 2012-07

Puertollano power plantMonthly Availability by Yield [%]

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thly availability

by yield [%

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Despite testing activities an overall availability of 98.1% is reached over 4 years

November 14, 2012

• San Diego factory should employ 450 people, while supporting an additional 1,000 indirect jobs in the region

• Total factory investment funded on Soitec balance sheet

• Ground breaking held in December 2011

• First Module built in September 2012

• Industrial Production Start Q1 2013

Soitec’s future 280 MWp San Diego Factory


Vendor strength

demonstrated







• Recent CPV news

• Conclusion

November 14, 2012

Milestone 44MWp PPA Touwsrivier

• In November 2012, Soitec signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) covering its soon-to-be-built 44 MWpTouwsrivier power plant

• Based in the Western Cape, the Touwsrivier power plant will ultimately have 44 MWp in capacity

• Construction is scheduled to be completed during 2014, but commercial operation of the first installed systems will begin in mid-2013


Location: TouwsrivierCapacity: 44 MWp

Installation: 2013/2014

Soitec’s revised warranty conditions

• Based on high quality of manufacturing, the robust module design and the selection of reliable and durable materials Soitec gives a Limited Module Power Output Warranty which provides the customer with a best-in-class protection from long term degradation!

• The Warranted Power Output levels are:– 97% for the first year after delivery– for each further year linear decrease

by 0.4% -> e.g. 96.6% in year two-> and 87.4% in year 25

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Best Power Output Warranty amongst PV and CPV players

Soitec warranty compared to lower level of market standard


70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

0 5 10 15 20 25

Years

Soitec Solar

Basic PV/TF

November 14, 2012

Soitec warranty compared to Silicon top-tier suppliers


70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

100%

1 5 10 15 20 25Years

Soitec SolarTop-tier PV (multi)

November 14, 2012







• Recent CPV news

• Conclusion

November 14, 2012

Key conclusions on CPV breakthrough

• Project Returns: attractive in high-DNI regions• Technology: proven and recognized• Track Record: multiple suppliers with numerous projects• Vendor Standing: balance sheet is critical;

on own or through partners• Sponsor Strength: depends on each project

• While the market environment is tough, the CPV industry has seen major breakthroughs in 2012– Largest deployment of CPV with 100 MW new capacity in 2012– Financing of new projects demonstrated– Successful field operations allow to offer better warranties than PV

CPV is proven and bankable


Shukran!Henning von Barsewisch

VP Sales & Business Development Solar Energy Business Unit

E-mail: [email protected]

Commercial Breakthrough and Bankability of...

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