©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

In chronological order, here are the PV conferences I am interested in following or covering in 2012. As in past years, my focus remains technical conferences and business to business tradeshows, not regional marketing or sales events. However, I have found niche events more stimulating than the larger conferences and will consider those on an ad-lib basis. I will attend SNEC for the first time this year, and I hope to schedule some plant tours before the conference starts. The timing of EU PVSEC late in September is convenient for a pre or post conference trip to Oktoberfest in Munich (München) with the unwelcome side effect of higher airfares.

The San Francisco Bay Area has three events while Denver and Berlin sport two events each on the location alignment front.

For alternative Photovoltaic conference and event lists, please review ENF.cn’s PV Solar Exhibitions and Conferences, PHOTON International’s PV Event list, PV-Tech.org’s Event Calendar, or the pv magazine Event listings.

PHOTON’s Solar Terawatt-hours Conference Series USA 2012
February 1-2, 2012
San Francisco, California USA

PHOTON returns to the Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF consolidating to two days with two separate conferences each along with the parallel Showroom format. An optional Evening Reception continues the networking into the evening of the first day.

• 3rd PV SAFETY Conference – February 1, 2012
• 4th Thin Film Conference – February 1, 2012
• 3rd PV Inverter Conference – February 2, 2012
• 7th Solar Electric Utility Conference – February 2, 2012

PHOTON dropped the PV Start-up Conference in favor of the PV Inverter Conference on the second day.

Jefferies 2012 Global Clean Technology Conference
February 22-23, 2012
New York City, New York USA

In 2012, the Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE:JEF) invitation only, client event, the Global Clean Technology Conference “will highlight keynote speakers, panel discussions and presentations from over 100 leading public and private companies across the clean technology spectrum including industrial biotechnology / green chemicals, energy storage, smart grid, clean transportation, lighting & efficiency, solar, wind, water, geothermal and waste-to-energy.

I enjoyed the event last year even with the restrictive media policies and spoke with a few solar CEOs who are now ex-CEOs.

PV America 2012 West
March 19-21, 2012
San Jose, California USA

PV America West brings the regional Solar Power International event format pioneered in Philadelphia “to San Jose for three days of innovations, networking, education, insights and exhibits.” While this is a regional event, PV America West happens to be in my region, so I’ll have to check it out. I find it ironic I was unable to attend either PV America event in Philly.

The @PVAmerica event twitter handle and #PVAWest hash tag are quite acceptable!

PHOTON’s Solar Terawatt-hours Conference Series Europe 2012
March 26-28, 2012
Berlin, Germany

PHOTON’s Solar Terawatt-hours Conference Series 2012 Europe returns to Berlin in time for the political debate over proposed solar Feed-in Tariff (FiT) reductions to reach a consensus. The conference lineup is the same with the Showroom and optional Evening Reception the first day but no Meeting Rooms offered.

• 10th Solar Silicon Conference – March 26, 2012
• 4th PV Inverter Conference– March 26, 2012
• 7th PV Investors Conference – March 27, 2012
• 4th PV SAFETY Conference – March 27, 2012
• 7th PV Production Equipment Conference– March 28, 2012
• 8th Solar Electric Utility Conference– March 28, 2012

As last year, the Berlin location should entice German politicians to speak and join the panel discussions. I imagine the Solar Silicon Conference will speculate and then decide how low spot and contract pricing will go in 2012.

8. International Conference on Concentrating Photovoltaic Systems (CPV-8)
April 16-18, 2012
Toledo, Spain

CPV-8 jumps back over the pond to Spain after CPV-7 doubled down in Las Vegas. The first draft CPV-8 Conference Program “will be available in January.” I wrote a pair of posts on CPV-7 and can’t discuss it any further for obvious reasons. My broken toe was still healing, and I was trudging around the conference with the infernal boot.

The City of Toledo is on the World Heritage List, and my brother and I had a fun day trip to the town after the 25th EU PVSEC.

Greentech Media’s 2012 Solar Summit
May 1-2, 2012
Phoenix, Arizona USA

“For the fifth consecutive year, Greentech Media presents its successful Solar Summit. Bringing together leading solar companies, influential regulators and policymakers, forward-thinking utilities and bullish investors, the Solar Summit is a place where the industry comes to learn and do business.”

The 2012 Solar Summit event site should be up soon. In the meantime, please review the 2011 Solar Summit Post Event Coverage. Given the later timing, I wonder if Greentech Media Research will have some preliminary 1Q 2012 US market data on PV installations to share?

World Renewable Energy Forum 2012
May 13-17, 2012
Denver, Colorado USA

“EmPowering the World with Renewable Energy” is the theme combining the 41st American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Conference with the bi-annual World Renewable Energy Forum (WREF). WREF aims to provide “a unique opportunity for renewable energy enthusiasts from around the world to share experiences.”

#WREF2012 or #WREF12 is the natural conference twitter hash tag for the conference.

38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC 38)
June 3-8, 2012
Austin, Texas USA

PVSC 38 heads south to “The Live Music Capital of the World® – Austin, Texas”, for the premier US photovoltaic technical conference. The technical program continues to cover ten (10) core Areas with a parallel Exhibition. Abstracts are due by February 6, 2012.

Intersolar Europe 2012
June 13-15, 2012 (Conference June 11-14, 2012)
Munich (München), Germany

Intersolar Europe’s engagement at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre extends to a fifth year. Celebrating its 21st year anniversary, Intersolar expects over 80000 visitors from more than 150 countries to attend the “World’s Largest Exhibition for the Solar Industry” “Connecting Solar Business” sprawled across sixteen halls or 180000 square meters of exhibition space. Here is the conference program outline, and Abstracts are accepted until February 8, 2012 (February 3, 2012 listed on the conference page).

Has the growth of Intersolar Europe plateaued?

Intersolar North America 2012 / SEMICON West 2012
July 10-12, 2012 (Conference July 9-12, 2012)
San Francisco, California, USA

Intersolar North America (NA) is a distant second to SPI for exposure to the US solar market and may be challenged to fill the exhibition compared to 2011. The Intersolar NA conference program has been a highlight.

Intersolar NA will face new competition from PV America 2012 West for the hearts and minds of Bay Area solar companies and enthusiasts.

Solar Power International 2012 (SPI 2012)
September 10-13, 2012
Orlando, Florida USA

About one month earlier than usual, Solar Power International migrates to the Sunshine State in the southeastern US from Dallas, Texas. SPI has extended its lead as the number one United States Solar Expo and Conference. If you can only visit or budget a single US solar tradeshow, SPI 2012 is far and away the one to visit, exhibit, or learn more about solar and the US market.

SPI 2011 Conference session recordings are available free online for full conference attendees.

After the 2011 twitter hash tag revolt, I trust the SPI folks will get back to basics with either #SPI12 or #SPI2012? Let’s keep it real!

27th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference & Exhibition
September 24-28, 2012 (Exhibition September 25-28, 2012)
Frankfurt, Germany

The 27th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) slips south to Frankfurt from Hamburg with muted enthusiasm. EU PVSEC has a history of visiting different countries and cities throughout Europe. Italy or maybe France would have been the appropriate host country in 2012. I understand the exhibition size has made finding suitable venues difficult. Perhaps if the exhibition right sizes in 2012, this will no longer be a constraint?

Here is an “Overview of the EU PVSEC Event Site”, and it does look rather compact compared to Hamburg or Valencia. With major hotels next door, will companies opt for a cozy suite or meeting room over a full blown stand (booth) at the exhibition?

Americans can delight in getting to celebrate the US Labor Day holiday!

25th NREL Industry Growth Forum
October 23-25, 2012
Denver, Colorado USA

Organized by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the original renewable energy business plan competition resides in Denver. Here are the Program and Agenda from the 24th NREL Industry Growth Forum.

22nd International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC-22)
November 5-9, 2012
Hangzhou, China

The PVSEC-22 website is not live yet. Here is the event listing at ENF.cn. Hangzhou is located about 179 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, China.

PVSEC-21 has information from last year’s event.

13th Forum Solarpraxis
November 22-23, 2012
Berlin, Germany

Aligning with the US Thanksgiving Day holiday for the first time in a few years, the 13th Forum Solarpraxis will “focus on the political environment, market developments, new international markets, financing and quality.” After Germany lost its lead PV market position to Italy in 2011, the big question for 2013 will be how relevant Germany is to the global PV market. German Feed-in Tariff uncertainty is still moving solar stocks in early 2012.

Everyone I’ve talked with is taking a very targeted approach to PV conference and expo selection and participation in 2012. Will this be the year of exhibition contraction?

©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

That's 4.15GW of #Solar installed 4Q11 in Germany http://t.co/UI8okUI9 You have to watch those GTM figures ->

©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

“Nanosolar’s progress – or lack thereof – revealed at 4th Thin Film Summit USA” by Matthew Feinstein at Lux Populi, the Lux Research analyst blog, was released around the same time as my enXco’s Nanosolar Photovoltaic Projects in Oregon post. When I first saw Mr. Feinstein’s blog hidden behind the Lux Research clientportal paywall in early December, PV Insider was kind enough to share a distribution copy of the Nanosolar presentation at the 4th Annual Thin Film Summit USA upon my request.

First, the discrete nature of the Nanosolar Efficiency Roadmap: Competitive with c-Si slide shown above is misleading. Repeating a quote from my Oregon post, Nanosolar Vice President of Worldwide Sales & Marketing Brian Stone said:

So from an efficiency standpoint, we will likely never be the efficiency leader, but our goal is to be efficiency competitive and to really focus on cost.

Today we are shipping 11% panels. We plan to ship 12 and 13% panels next year with our printing process in 2012. And then we believe by 2013 and 2014, we can reach 14, 15, and ultimately 16% efficiency.

The 13% efficiency figure in the Nanosolar roadmap is the goal by yearend 2012 and not the average production efficiency for the entire year. Also, the module efficiency numbers shown for First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) are low compared with those presented less than two weeks later in First Solar’s 2012 Guidance Conference Call. First Solar expects their average module efficiency will increase from 12.4% in 1Q12 (first quarter of 2012) to 12.7% in 4Q12 with the best plant producing at 12.9% per the inset slide.

There is precedence supporting Nanosolar’s efficiency goals for 2012. CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide) thin film PV competitor MiaSolé increased production module efficiency to 13% in 2011, an improvement of over thirty (30) percent. Mr. Stone said the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) had certified 13.9% efficient production solar cells on the current 115 MegaWatt-peak (MWp) line, and Nanosolar had built panels with higher than 12.2% efficiency but that panel was certified with NREL about a year ago. Nanosolar did not say anything about light soaking.

Cost versus Production Volume
Nanosolar said the 115 MWp capacity solar cell line now installed in San Jose, California USA, will allow production to ramp from 1 to 2 MW per month to 8 to 10 MW per month in early 2012. In addition, the San Jose facility has enough space to expand to 250 MWp capacity adjusted for efficiency improvements. The Nanosolar panel factory in Luckenwalde, Germany, has matched 115 MWp capacity and also has plenty of room to grow.

In the “non-traditional cost slide” titled Panel Cost per Watt based on Production Volume, Mr. Stone asserted Nanosolar could achieve lower costs per Watt at smaller production capacity and volumes than multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) competitors and later even First Solar.

Here is how Brian Stone explained the cost versus production ramp progression. With 115 MWp production capacity, Nanosolar Utility Panel cost is $1.10 to $1.20 per Wp (Watt-peak) at 1 to 2 MW production per month. Moving to 5 to 10 MW per month in 1Q12, Nanosolar module production cost will be below $1.00 per Watt ($/W). By yearend 2012 after around 75 MW of production, Nanosolar expects to be producing at $0.80 to $0.85 per Wp.

Albeit at lower efficiency, Nanosolar believes their yearend 2012 $/W production costs will be lower than multicrystalline silicon and other thin film manufacturers except for First Solar. Of course, the lower efficiency caveat has a huge impact on the market pricing of the Nanosolar Utility Panels.

Nanosolar estimated First Solar’s average module production costs at about $0.74/W in 2011, the mid $0.60’s/W in 2012, and $0.60/W in 2013. These figures align with the Updating Goals for Module Cost, Module Efficiency, and BOS slide from First Solar although the impact of plant underutilization may increase these costs in 2012 as shown above.

Mr. Stone went on to claim by yearend 2013 at over 200 MW capacity, Nanosolar will catch up with and beat First Solar on cost at $0.60/Watt. At higher capacity in 2014, Nanosolar believes they can get to the $0.50’s/W production cost range with the ultimate goal of $0.40 to $0.45 per Watt-peak.

Nanosolar said variable material costs are $0.60 to $0.65 per Watt-peak today and can get to $0.30 to $0.35 per Watt-peak. In justifying the low material costs, Mr. Stone said Nanosolar does not waste a lot of material since out of spec solar cells can be scrapped well before they are assembled into panels. Of course, some of us have been wondering about Nanosolar cell yields since the last time they entered production, and nothing has ever been said about how scrap is recycled. Nanosolar achieved a perfect OVERALL SCORE: 0 in SVTC’s 2011 Solar Scorecard for non-response to the survey.

Nanosolar said variable labor cost is less than $0.10 per Watt-peak. Nanosolar’s less than fully automated cell factory line has twenty (20) staff and the panel factory employs fifteen (15) for a grand total of thirty-five (35) people.

Operating Business Model
Nanosolar summarized their long term business model at multi GigaWatt capacity scale production as follows:

CAPEX (capital expenditures): $0.60’s per Watt-peak or less than $0.10 per Watt-peak depreciated over 7 years
Variable cost: $0.40 to $0.45 per Watt-peak
Module efficiency: 14%+
Gross Margin: 20%
Average Selling Price: $0.65 per Watt-peak

Carbon Footprint, Temperature coefficient, et al.
Per the study “Life Cycle Analysis of Nanosolar CIGS PV system”, Fthenakis, V.M., H.C. Kim H.C. and R. van Haaren, Center for Life Cycle Analysis (CLCA) at Columbia University, Nanosolar has a carbon footprint of 14 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kiloWatt-hour (g CO₂ eq/kWh) over the full product life cycle from aluminum to the recycling of the panel after 25 to 30 years. Nanosolar’s carbon footprint is similar to First Solar and has almost 2.8 times fewer emissions than crystalline silicon solar modules.

Producing solar cells in San Jose, shipping them to Germany for panel assembly, and then returning round trip to the United States for installations does not help lower Nanosolar’s carbon footprint.

Nanosolar told PV-Tech the temperature coefficient was -0.45% per degree Kelvin last April “and we’ve got a path to negative 0.4 as we start shipping 12% panels in the first quarter of 2012.”

At the 4th Annual Thin Film Summit USA, Mr. Stone said:

We see our temperature coefficient coming down over the next several years into the 0.35 area. [Ed. Note: -0.35% per degree Kelvin]
The performance ratio right now is around 0.8 (80%) and we see it coming up to about 82 or 83%.
Now, not as good as the amorphous silicon guys and First Solar but we believe competitive with and starting to meet and beat the crystalline guys at a much lower cost.

Nanosolar Projects
Nanosolar touted $0.06 to $0.07 per Watt BOS (Balance of System) savings from Nanosolar Utility Panels based on ~2 square meter size, higher string current, 1500V system voltage rating, and edge connectors.

For the Ohio National Guard project profiled in Ohio National Guard Camp Perry goes Nanosolar, the following statistics were presented:

Size: 538 kWp (kiloWatt-peak)
Generation: 634 MWh/year (MegaWatt-hour per year)
Production: 1210 kWh/kWp (kiloWatt-hour per kilowatt-peak)
Installed Cost: ~$3.00/Wp
LCOE: $0.23/kWh without tax credits or incentives and basic financing
LCOE: $0.20/kWh with all tax credits and incentives available in the US

The revisionist project installed cost does not include $0.50/Wp for special ground preparations required by the military and environmental factors.

For the 1 MWp solar project that should now be under construction at the Camp Roberts California National Guard Base in San Miguel, California USA, Nanosolar presented the following project details:

Size: 1 MWp
Generation: 1750 MWh/year
Production: 1750 kWh/kWp
Installed Cost: ~$3.00/Wp
LCOE: $0.17/kWh without tax credits or incentives and basic financing
LCOE: $0.14-0.15/kWh with all tax credits and incentives available in the US

The production and LCOE improvements are driven by higher California irradiance versus Ohio. The Camp Roberts contract was signed about a year ago, and it appears 200 Watt or 9.99% efficiency Nanosolar Utility Panels will again be used.

If the Camp Roberts project were built in the second half of 2012 using 240 Watt or 12.0% efficiency Nanosolar Utility Panels, Nanosolar claimed the project economics would improve as follows with new panel and BOS pricing:

Size: 1 MWp
Generation: 1750 MWh/year
Production: 1750 kWh/kWp
Installed Cost: ~$2.10/Wp
LCOE: $0.115/kWh without tax credits or incentives and basic financing
LCOE: $0.09/kWh with all tax credits and incentives available in the US

Prognosis
Independent of the CIGS material set, the solar cell printing process, and BOS innovations, Nanosolar’s low efficiency Utility Panels can only command single junction amorphous silicon (a-Si) $/W market prices. Nanosolar Utility Panels do not have the low level light performance or lower temperature coefficient benefits of similar efficiency tandem junction a-Si modules. Until Nanosolar can increase Utility Panel efficiencies to about 13%, Nanosolar Utility Panels will sell at a discount to First Solar resulting in very low or negative gross margins as production ramps in 2012, and Nanosolar moves down the learning curve.

In his Lux Populi blog post, Matthew Feinstein said:

In general, it’s clear that Nanosolar could very well be a victim of the solar shakeout in 2012 without additional investment. The company is simply not keeping up with the leaders in the CIGS market, like Stion and Solibro – both of which are above 13% production efficiency – and capacity leader Solar Frontier. That competitive landscape, in addition to bolstered competition from x-Si and CdTe, place Nanosolar squarely on the outside looking in.

As noted earlier, MiaSolé is also ahead of Nanosolar on the module efficiency metric.

In “The solar shakeout, and what to expect in 2012”, Mr. Feinstein has selected Nanosolar as one of the “high-profile start-ups” that could be claimed by the solar shakeout in 2012. Unlike Mr. Feinstein, I do not believe Nanosolar has a play in the commercial rooftop segment until they get to higher efficiencies. The over optimized Utility Panel will also need to be redesigned to address commercial applications including the addition of a junction box to facilitate integration of distributed power electronics. Also, I have observed Nanosolar Utility Panels in the field and find them to be an aesthetically neutral though uneven grayish color and not the darker shades shown in the datasheet or official project photos.

Nanosolar has already telegraphed the need to raise additional venture capital for expansion, and I think working capital as Nanosolar’s market uncompetitive panels are ramped this year. In “12 Predictions for ‘12”, @cleantechvc Rob Day said:

Other next-gen manufacturers like MiaSolé (one of ours, by the way), Nanosolar, Stion and others are already actively in partnership talks with large corporate players and would make natural acquisition targets.

So Nanosolar might have acquisition aspirations in the near term.

The signs thus far are not encouraging for Nanosolar. Nanosolar Utility Panels with 11% efficiency have not yet been observed at an installation and the next 1MWp Camp Roberts installation is supposed to use 9.99% efficiency panels. Nanosolar has also never addressed the wide +/- 10% rated power tolerance of shipping Utility Panels versus the +/- 5% tolerance specified in the datasheet indicating a loose solar cell process control limit.

There is a nasty thread over at Quora titled “Is Nanosolar the next Solyndra?” though the analogy is misleading since Nanosolar has not received a US Department of Energy loan guarantee.

I wonder if Nanosolar CEO Geoff Tate has ever hollered down the solar cell line in San Jose: “Scotty, I need 13% panel efficiency this year or we’re all dead!”

(Full disclosure: I =still= own some shares of FSLR stock.)

©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

The State of the Blog is strong as twitter Followers more than doubled to 2910 through organic growth although Blog RSS and email subscribers were flat per FeedBurner.

Here are the Top 10 GUNTHER Portfolio photovoltaic (PV) posts from 2011 as ranked by Google Analytics page views and presented in Late Show with David Letterman Top 10 List reverse countdown order.

10. Navigant Consulting’s Photovoltaic Demand 2011 and Beyond – Paula Mints’ forecast of PV market shipments early in the year.

9. Photovoltaics: 8 Trends to Watch in 2011 – will be reviewed in my 2012 update, I hope in January.

8. Is the Future of Solyndra Flat? – My speculations on how Solyndra might adapt to survive before the bankruptcy.

7. Securing Silicon Metal for Solar – Major polysilicon and solar grade silicon producers took steps to secure supply and control costs of the vital raw material.

6. SMA Solar Technology reimagines the Microinverter – SMA prelaunched a new approach to microinverters but is conflicted on the product strategy in relation to central inverters.

5. BrightSource Energy’s IPO Filing and the Ivanpah Solar Project Temporary Suspension – brought attention to the Ivanpah temporary suspension over desert tortoises and looked at the IPO fine print.

4. Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition Preview 2011 – The annual post is still popular with folks looking for concise, independent conference and tradeshow guidance.

3. Calisolar emphasizes Solar Silicon at Jefferies Clean Technology Conference – One CEO and a few layoffs ago, Calisolar revealed their plans to expand solar grade silicon production before the recent sharp declines in polysilicon pricing.

2. Applied Materials: Back Contact Photovoltaic Revolution – New silicon solar cell and module technologies promise to increase efficiency and lower manufacturing costs.

1. Photovoltaic Polysilicon Conundrum – tries to reconcile if high quality polysilicon supply can be tight when the commodity is in oversupply.

Polysilicon oversupply and pricing were the obsessive topics of interest in 2011. The 2009 archive post, Solar Polysilicon Oversupply until 2013?, was the most viewed post overall as everyone wanted to divine future polysilicon pricing from historical data.

Other archive posts still popular with readers included:

UNI-SOLAR PowerShingles pre-announced at Solar Power International 10
Low Concentration PhotoVoltaic System, SunPower style
Making Silicon Metal for Solar

Please see the Top 10 GUNTHER Portfolio Photovoltaic Posts of 2010 for last year’s top posts.

I wish everyone a Happy New Year and an Epic 2012 with health, happiness, and prosperity.

©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

Wonder why? DIGITIMES: Joint venture from Motech, GET and Taiwan Polysilicon put on hold http://t.co/Ti95mcq9 #Solar ->

©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.

In search of the Yamhill and Bellevue solar projects.
Both projects cost about $11 Million or almost $3.86 per Watt using 200 Watt Nanosolar Utility Panels.

From enXco Yamhill and Bellevue Solar Projects

I had very specific plans for a free afternoon in Portland, Oregon. On a partly cloudy day, with the emphasis on the cloudy, I took a short drive to Yamhill County and the location of the two enXco, Inc., an EDF Energies Nouvelles Company, solar installations using Nanosolar Utility Panels. I hatched the idea back when I posted EDF Energies Nouvelles update on Nanosolar Photovoltaic projects.

At first I was planning to wing it, figuring the sites should be easy to find. When I read both projects were in the southeast portion of Yamhill County contrary to my assumptions, I knew some preparation was necessary. The Yamhill County Planning Commission September 2, 2010, Meeting Minutes provided all the requisite location and project information. The solar projects are located about 2.4 miles (3.9 kilometers) apart on the SW Bellevue Highway between Amity and Bellevue.

View enXco Yamhill and Bellevue Solar Projects in a larger map

Yamhill Solar Project
I decided to stop and survey the Yamhill solar project first. enXco has an excellent project page with photos. The 1.19 MWp (MegaWatt-peak) project consists of 5940 Nanosolar Utility Panels deployed on 9.4 acres (3.4 hectares). Dividing 1.19 MWp by the 5940 modules confirms these are 200 Watt CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide) Nanosolar Utility Panels with a module efficiency of 9.99% using three significant digits. The same wattage modules were used in the Camp Perry Solar Project and corroborate what Nanosolar told Tom Cheyney in “Nanosolar supplies 6MW of CIGS PV panels for projects in France, Oregon”. Unfortunately, my Canon PowerShot SX230 HS was unable to capture a module rating label.

From enXco Yamhill and Bellevue Solar Projects

The Nanosolar panels are mounted in groups of twelve, three high by four wide arranged length wise, on a racking solution I have not identified. The project inverter was supplied by Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) and appears to be a variant of the turnkey PowerStation Integrated Solution interconnecting to the distribution grid.

From enXco Yamhill and Bellevue Solar Projects

From enXco Yamhill and Bellevue Solar Projects

At Yamhill, I was introduced to the local soil, an insidious muddy clay that sticks to everything, including grass, and continues to accumulate until scraped off with vigorous force.

Bellevue Solar Project
The Bellevue solar project page provides similar enlightenment. The 1.66 MWp Bellevue solar project consists of 8316 Nanosolar Utility Panels deployed on 11.9 acres (4.82 hectares). Simple division again confirms the modules are 200 Watt Nanosolar Utility Panels. From the inset photos, the Bellevue project uses the same racking and inverter solution as Yamhill, but the only access is from the SW Bellevue Highway to the North.

From enXco Yamhill and Bellevue Solar Projects

Project Costs
“Hot new crop on a 25-year rotation” by Edward Stratton for the Yamhill Valley News-Register said:

Together, the two arrays are costing enXco about $11 million. At the end of 25 years, it will have to either pull out or negotiate new terms with its partners.

At an installed cost of $11 million, the combined system capacity of the Bellevue and Yamhill solar projects is about 2.85 MWp (MegaWatt-peak) resulting in a project cost of almost $3.86 per Watt.

As a reminder, the Portland General Electric Company (NYSE: POR) signed 25-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with enXco for the power generated by both solar projects.

At the PV Insider 4th Annual Thin Film Summit USA, Nanosolar Vice President of Worldwide Sales & Marketing Brian Stone said:

So from an efficiency standpoint, we will likely never be the efficiency leader, but our goal is to be efficiency competitive and to really focus on cost.
Today we are shipping 11% panels. We plan to ship 12 and 13% panels next year with our printing process in 2012. And then we believe by 2013 and 2014, we can reach 14, 15, and ultimately 16% efficiency.

So far those 11% Nanosolar Utility Panels have not emerged in a project. Perhaps these will first be used in the 1 MWp solar project being constructed in early 2012 at the Camp Roberts California National Guard Base near Paso Robles, California USA, with partner BELECTRIC, Inc. At least there were no concave modules observed in Oregon.

I wish all my readers and subscribers a Happy Holiday. Please see Best Wishes for the Holidays and an Epic 2012! for my online greeting card.

I know my thoughts will be preoccupied with the tragic news about Amonix CEO Brian Robertson.

©2012 GUNTHER Portfolio. All Rights Reserved.