PV Ind 2009 Final

PV Industry Handbook 2009
List of Content
Message from MBIPV Project Team About Us The Way Forward History of Photovoltaics Introduction to PV Technology and Functionality Value Chain and Manufacturing Process (c-Si) Value Chain and Manufacturing Process (Thin Film) Malaysia; a Profit Center for Global Manufacturing PV Industry and Market Development PV Policy in Malaysia (August 2009) Global and Local PV Manufacturing Update on SURIA1000 MBIPV NewsBite PV Industry Outlook The Last Word - Realigning The Photovoltaic Industry Malaysia PV Industry Directory Facts and Figures 2 4 5 6 9 19 27 33 35 45 50 55 58 60 64 69 78
Message from
The MBIPV Project Team

Salam Sejahtera - Greetings
In 2008, our years theme was SURIA1000 in Bloom. The SURIA1000 program is certainly blooming and creating new business opportunities for the local PV industry. Today, our local players understand how to further explore the local and global businesses along the photovoltaic (PV) value chain. At the same time, our team will continue with our efforts in 2009 and 2010 to support your interest and vision to be part of the booming PV businesses. Solar energy (photovoltaic, concentrating PV, and concentrating solar power) is projected to supply 30% of the worlds energy demand by 2050, and create an industry far bigger than the global automotive industry. As with all energy technologies, early introduction requires a supportive policy mechanism for the technologies to grow and bring benefits to human kind. Driven by oil prices volatility and global warming concerns, many Governments are forced to revise their energy policy to incorporate green energy technology. It is a proven fact that the best policy to promote PV (and renewable energies) growth is the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) mechanism, paying a guaranteed premium rate over a long term, e.g. 21 years for the generated renewable electricity. It is high noon for Malaysia to also introduce such a policy, which would create a new industry and thousands of sustainable new jobs. For the PV industry, the race is to first achieve grid parity with the most cost-effective products, and to then dominate the markets. With significant production cost reductions and escalating fossil fuel cost, it will not take long before grid parity is achieved in several countries in Europe (Italy, Spain, France), Japan and a few states in the USA (California, Hawaii). Once the grid-parity is achieved, PV market will sky rocket and create an exploding industry, e.g. utility PV power plants and residential PV power applications, and niche markets, such as consumer products, non-building structures and many more. In the meantime, the PV market will continue to record fantastic growth thanks to Feed-in Tariff (FiT) programs in Germany, France, Italy, Greece, etc. and other supportive PV programs in the USA, China and Japan. The future of solar energy certainly looks bright. Different reports from global leading banks (e.g. Credit Suisse, Morgan & Stanley and others) and leading consulting companies and publishers (e.g. Navigant Consulting, Frost & Sullivan and
Photon International) paint a very bright perspective, and forecast a yearly growth of 40% to 50% until 2010, and subsequently 20% to 25% annually until 2020. Recognising the opportunity, the YAB Prime Minister of Malaysia launched the Third Industrial Master Plan (20062020) on 18th August 2006, where solar PV is identified as one of the focused technologies. Through the Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaics (MBIPV) Project, Malaysia is building the right infrastructure to create a sustainable PV market, and a strong local PV industry. The emphasis towards local industry is to enhance the service quality and establish successful PV manufacturers. To achieve these goals, MBIPV Project is continuously working with the local stakeholders to develop new business opportunities and enhance local manufacturing capabilities. To date, four leading global PV enterprises (First Solar, Sunpower, Q-Cells and Tokuyama) are now in Malaysia for their production facilities. Their collective foreign direct investments (FDIs) are equivalent to RM 14 billion and create
10,000 high skilled jobs. These multi-national companies (MNCs) are offering an attractive next-door business environment and the local industries can benefit from these needs, such as the construction, logistic, materials supply, recycling and many more. We are working closely with the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) to encourage international PV manufacturers to select Malaysia as the preferred location for their manufacturing facilities. Malaysia, with its well educated university graduates and skilled employees from the semi-conductor and electronic industry, offers a conducive environment for PV manufacturing. The PV industry has the potential to grow in Malaysia and ultimately become one of the new sources of economic growth for the nation. With a focused national PV industry development program, Malaysia can become one of the top five PV manufacturing countries in the world and the established local PV industry can contribute up to 4% to the national GDP by 2020, with revenues exceeding RM 500 billion.
In trying to be part of the PV industry, it is crucial to understand the market and technology development, as well as own capabilities and the financial requirements. Competency in quality manufacturing, good international networking and excellent understanding of the worldwide PV market are a must before entering and growing your PV business as a profitable venture. We look forward to seeing you at one of our PV events, and support and help you to explore new business opportunities or to diversify your existing business into PV industry. This handbook on PV technology and market will hopefully provide you with valuable information as well as answers to your many questions. In any case, please feel free to contact us should you require further information or guidance. Sincerely, The MBIPV Project Team
About Us
The Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaics (MBIPV) Project is a national initiative by the Government of Malaysia with co-financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) whose fund is disbursed through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). MBIPV Project is implemented under the 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP) to promote widespread and sustainable use of PV in buildings. The Project was officially launched on 25 July 2005 and will last for five years, until end of 2010. The MBIPV Projects objective is to reduce the long term cost of BIPV technology in Malaysia. This is achieved through the widespread implementation of BIPV applications and creation of environmental and industrial policy in Malaysia. The project will establish the desired environment for a long-term market development and set a target for a follow-up BIPV programme in the 10th Malaysia Plan. The project aims to achieve its objectives by: - Developing and implementing strong financing mechanisms, solid institutional and policy frameworks. - Extensive education and capacity building campaigns to generate awareness and improve local competency. - Introduction of standards and guidelines, developing and enhancing the market. - Upgrading the local industry towards local manufacturing. The MBIPV Project will induce an increase of BIPV applications by about 330% with a cost reduction of 20% by the year 2010. Subsequently, its success can be replicated in neighbouring countries and thus have a significant input on the overall reduction of GHG emissions. For information on the MBIPV Project, please visit www.mbipv.net.my. The MBIPV Project is implemented by Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (PTM), a non-profit company administered by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water. PTM functions as a one-stop centre and implementing agency on national energy related matters. Contact Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (462237-T) No. 2, Jalan 9/10 Persiaran Usahawan, Seksyen 9 43650 Bandar Baru Bangi Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel: +603 8921 0800 Fax: +603 8921 0911 Website: www.mbipv.net.my Date of print September 2009
Editor : Daniel Ruoss Authors : Daniel Ruoss, Gladys Mak, Wei Nee Chen, Nor Radhiha Mohd Ali, MIDA, Jennifer LeClaire, Power Advocate Designer : Kawan Kreatif (M) Sdn Bhd Unit 816, Block B, Kelana Square, No. 17, Jalan ss7/26, 47301 Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Selangor Printer : Percetakan Skyline Sdn Bhd No. 35 & 37, Jalan 12/32B, TSI Business Industrial Park, Batu 61/2 Off Jalan Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur
Component 1: Information services, awareness and capacity building program
MBIPV (2005 - 2010)

Objective: To reduce GHG emissions by reducing long term cost of BIPV technology Project cost US$25 Million (Co- nanciers: GoM, GEF, Industry, Public)
Component 2: Market enhancement and infrastructure development program
Post MBIPV:
Sustainable & widespread BIPV applications, National BIPV program with 30% annual BIPV growth
Component 3: Policies and nancing mechanism program
Component 4: Industry development and technology localisation program
The Way Forward

One of the key initiatives under the MBIPV project is the Photovoltaic Business Development Program, which has as an objective to improve the local capabilities to venture into the PV business and compete in the global marketplace. The program features different activities, such as newsletters, business plan development, consulting along the PV value chain and guided industry mission to selected PV conferences and exhibitions. It has been organized successfully since 2006 through the PV industry missions to Bangkok, Singapore, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Valencia, as well as arranging business meetings and factory visits during the missions. Based on the feedback from the delegates from the 2008 industry missions, the activities provided exposure of the local industry to international PV business and acted as an excellent door-opener to networks, contracts as well as capacity building. The missions provided financial incentive and support to the participants by providing information, arranging networking as well as site visits to the BIPV installations. As such for 2009, several industry missions have been planned and the first mission was the industry mission to Solarcon Singapore 2009 from 20th to 22nd May 2009. The MBIPV team under the Industry Mission Program brought ten delegates from nine companies to the Solarcon 2009 to expose them to the latest information in the PV industry and products. Besides visiting the 120 booths, the delegates participated in the Solar PV Conference and visited the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS). The highlight of the mission was a site visit to several BIPV installations in Singapore arranged by the local system integrator, Grenzone Pte Ltd. One of the site visits was to the Temple of Thanksgiving or also known as Poh Ern Shih which is located on a small hilltop on Singapores southern coast. This mission provided new exposure on PV industry development in the ASEAN region, as well as creating new PV businesses for some delegates. The local PV industry needs to understand the global PV business to be able to move forward in the PV industry. Thus, a critical success factor is to follow the learning curve which reflects the local industries capabilities and the global market development. Today, the local market itself is not sufficient to enhance the local expertise. Therefore, it is crucial to learn from international examples and one the best ways to learn is by participating in industry missions and attending exhibitions and conferences. The missions offer excellent opportunities to network, match-make and get the latest product and industry information. As such, the local industry needs to look beyond the local market by exposing themselves to the global PV business and gain knowledge, experience and the latest market developments in order to develop or adjust their business strategies. To manage the development and growth successfully, a comprehensive national strategy and roadmap is essential, encompassing human resources development, supply chain security build-up, product and technology roadmap, R&D enhancement, know-how transfer and partnerships establishment.
Malaysian Delegates during a PV factory visit to Renesola in China
This is The Way Forward for Malaysia and if local stakeholders act in a coordinated approach, collaborate and learn from the past and international examples, Malaysia can create a world-class industry serving the global PV business and create a better future for Malaysia. Malaysia will benefit from the industry development and develops into a high-tech industry benefiting hugely the local industry and creating thousands of new jobs.
The Malaysian Delegates in front of The Temple of Thanksgiving with a 18.9 kWp BIPV system
History of Photovoltaics
The term "photovoltaic" comes from the Greek word (phos) meaning "light", and "voltaic", meaning electrical, from the name of the Italian physicist Volta, after whom a unit of electrical potential, the volt, is named. The term "photovoltaic" has been in use since 1849. The photovoltaic effect was first recognised in 1839 by nineteen-year old French physicist Alexander Edmond Becquerel. However, it was not until 1883 that the first solar cell was built, by Charles Fritts, who coated the semiconductor selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold to form the junctions. The device only managed to achieve an efficiency of around 1%. Edward Weston received the first US patent for solar cell in 1888 and Nikola Tesla received a US patent for the utilisation of radiant energy in 1901. Albert Einstein also made his mark in photovoltaics when he won the Nobel Prize for the mathematical explanation of the photovoltaic effect in 1922. The modern age of solar power technology arrived in 1954 when Bell Laboratories, experimenting with semiconductors, accidentally found that silicon doped with certain impurities was very sensitive to light. This resulted in the production of the first practical solar cells with a sunlight energy conversion efficiency of around 4% (see figure 1).
Figure 2: Satellite Vanguard 1 (Courtesy: NREL)
Following the oil crisis in 1973 the interest for development of PV for terrestrial applications increased and the first power applications emerged in the deserts in the United States of America. New companies (e.g. Solarex Corp, merged later into BP Solar) were founded and started production of PV modules. In 1974, Japan formulated the Project Sunshine to fuel the local PV research and development to become a global leader in PV technology. Continued improvements in efficiency and cost reductions enabled PV to become a popular power source for consumer electronic devices, such as calculators, watches, radios, lanterns and other small battery charging applications. Consumer applications, off-grid power systems and a few large-scale PV power stations dominated the early markets until 1990, when decentralised PV power systems on buildings started to emerge. The first grid-connected PV residential systems were installed in the USA and Switzerland in 1980-1982, marking the start of a new era for PV to become an independent power source as an alternative to fossil fuels.
Figure 1: Bell Lab Solar Battery (Courtesy: NREL)
The first spacecraft to use solar panels was the US satellite Vanguard 1 (see figure 2), launched in March 1958 with solar cells made by Hoffman Electronics. This milestone created interest in producing and launching a geostationary communications satellite, in which solar energy would provide a viable power supply. This was a crucial development which stimulated funding from several governments into research for improved solar cells and reducing cost. Research drove PV costs down as much as 80%, allowing for applications such as offshore navigation warning lights, lighthouses, railroad crossings, and remote use where utility-grid connections were not physically possible or too costly.
6 PV Industry Handbook 2009
Figure 3: 1st Tour de Sol 1987 (1st Solar Challenge in Switzerland)
Figure 4: Typical residential PV application from the 100,000 Solar Roof Top program in Germany
In 1987, the first solar PV car challenge started in Switzerland and attracted a huge and excited crowd. Twentytwo years later, 60 teams from around the globe competed in the Panasonic World Solar Challenge in a race over 3,000 kilometers across the desert in Australia. Germany and Japan initiated substantial subsidy programs to encourage the adoption of distributed PV power generation at the user end. In 1990, Germany launched the 100,000 Solar Roof Top program and in 1994 Japan began the 70,000 Solar Roof Top program. These schemes achieved some success in exceeding the stated targets but not as much as was desired. The turning point in the commercial development of PV technology was in 1999/2000, when Germany implemented the EEG (Renewable Energy Act), introducing the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme, which today has been successfully adopted by more than 50 countries (or states/regions) worldwide. The FiT mechanism kick-started the widespread adoption of PV as a local power generating source and created an explosive demand growth in the global market with Germany emerging as a market leader in terms of applications and also production. Japan continued with its capital subsidy program that resulted in steady growth in installed PV capacity. Spain and South Korea followed the German example and implemented the FiT scheme in 2004 and created new blooming (or more precise booming) markets. Italy, Greece, France and other countries have followed recently and contribute to a growing market demand, exceeding 30% per annum over the last 8 years and driving the cost for the products down. To date, the industry has achieved cost reduction of about 97% since the first PV system by Bell Lab in 1954, and the commercial solar cell efficiency for crystalline PV technology has been improved from 4% to 22%. Note that these are
commercially available cell efficiencies while in laboratory conditions the results achieved are much higher. See figure 77 for the development of solar cells for the different technologies reported from global research institutes. The current world record in solar cell efficiency is 41.1%, set by scientists at the German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE (figure 5). The metamorphic triplejunction solar cell was designed, fabricated and independently measured at Fraunhofer ISE. The record 41.1% efficiency was measured under concentrated light of 454 suns. One sun is about the amount of light that typically hits earth on a sunny day. The new cell is a natural candidate for the space satellite market and for terrestrial concentrated photovoltaic arrays, which use lenses or mirrors to focus sunlight onto the solar cells.
Figure 5: World record solar cell at Fraunhofer ISE in Germany
History of Photovoltaics
Figure 6: Large-scale PV power utility plant (Courtesy: Sunpower)
Higher efficiencies and innovative manufacturing processes (e.g. ink-jet printing, large area PECVD, organic and nanotechnology structures) will drive costs down further and bring PV generated electricity cost closer to grid-parity year-by-year. Grid-parity will be achieved in the various markets at different times. When grid-parity is achieved; the
market demand will sky-rocket and PV will reach a crucial milestone in being competitive with conventional energy production. This will open the door to a new era, in which PV will become one of the key components for future energy planning and large-scale deployment of PV (such as in figure 6).
Introduction to PV Technology and Functionality

PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECT
Photovoltaic (PV) modules generate electricity when they are exposed to sunlight. The photovoltaic effect is the basic physical process through which a PV cell converts sunlight into electricity. Sunlight is composed of photons, or packets of solar energy. These photons contain different amounts of energy corresponding to the different wavelengths of the solar spectrum. PV cells are made from solar grade silicon that is treated with negatively and positively charged semi-conductors, Phosphorous and Boron through a process called doping. When photons strike a PV cell, they may be reflected or absorbed, or they may pass right through. When a photon is absorbed it excites the electrons within the cell and the energy of the photon is transferred to an electron in an atom of the cell. With its newfound energy, the electron is able to escape from its normal position associated with that atom to become part of the current in an electrical circuit. This flow of electrons (current) from the negative semi-conductor (Phosphorous) to the positive semi-conductor (Boron) is what we call the photovoltaic effect. By leaving this position, the electron causes a hole to form and is able to recuperate again, thus forming a continuous process to generate electricity. The generated current, together with the cell's voltage (which is a result of its built-in electric field thanks to the P-N junction), defines the power (or wattage) that the solar cell can produce and drive the current through an external electrical load.
Figure 7: Electricity from the sunlight
GENERATION OF SOLAR CELLS

Solar cells are classified into three generations which indicate the order in which each became prominent. At present there is concurrent research into all three generations. However the first generation technology is most highly represented in commercial production and the most developed technology for more than 30 years.
Silicon Wafer Based
Monocrystalline Polycrystalline Amorphous ( a - Si )
Silicon Wafer
1st Gen
Thin Films
Tandem a - Si / Si Crystalline Thin Film Si Crystalline CIS / CIGS
Glass Sheet or Polymer Sheet
2nd Gen
II - VI
CdTe GaInP2 / GaAs
III - V
InGaP / InGaAs / Ge Liquid Electrolyte
III - V Wafer
Dye Sensitized
Jelly Electrolyte Solid Electrolyte
Full Organic Hybrid
Polymer - Polymer Polymer - Fullerene Polymer - Inorganic Figure 8: Overview of PV generations
Glass Sheet or Polymer Sheet
3rd Gen

FIRST GENERATION
First generation solar cells are crystalline based photovoltaic cells that have, and still do, dominate the solar module market. These solar cells, using silicon wafers of between 4 to 8 inches size, account for 87.5% of the global PV market share in 2008. They are dominant due to their high efficiency and proven technology. This is despite their higher manufacturing costs; a problem that second generation cells hope to remedy. First generation solar cell manufacturing involves high energy intensive production effort and labor inputs, which prevented significant cost reduction in production. 1st generation solar cells have the highest efficiency of all three generations, between 13% to 20% and approaching the theoretical limiting efficiency of around 30%. Today the energy payback period for 1st generation PV is between 11/ 2 to 31/ years. 2 Second generation materials have been developed to address energy requirements and production costs of solar cells. Alternative manufacturing techniques such as vapour deposition and electroplating are advantageous as they reduce high temperature processing significantly. It is commonly accepted that as manufacturing techniques evolve production costs will be dominated by constituent material requirements, whether this be a silicon substrate, or glass cover. Second generation technologies are expected to gain significant market share in the next decade. The most successful second generation materials have been cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), amorphous silicon (a-Si) and micromorphous silicon (m-Si). These materials are applied in continuous rollto-roll or batch process to supporting substrates such as glass, stainless steel or polymer foil thus reducing material mass and therefore costs. Several technologies, particularly CIGS-CIS and CdTe, hold the promise of higher conversion efficiencies and achieving significantly cheaper production costs through economics of scale. Among major manufacturers there is certainly a trend towards second generation technologies. However commercialisation of these technologies has proven difficult. In 2008 2nd generation represented ~15% of total market share and have now an energy pay-back time in the range of 1 to 11/ years. 2
Figure 9: 1st generation PV module (multicrystalline PV) (Courtesy: Yingli)
SECOND GENERATION
Second generation cells, also called thin-film solar cells, are significantly cheaper to produce than first generation cells but have lower efficiencies of between 6% to 12%. The great advantage of second generation, thin-film solar cells, along with lower cost in manufacturing, is their flexibility. Thin-film technology has spurred lightweight, aesthetically pleasing solar innovations such as solar shingles and solar panels that can be rolled out onto a roof or other surface. It has been predicted that second generation cells will dominate the residential solar market and power utility application, especially as new, higher-efficiency cells are researched and produced.
Figure 10: 2nd generation PV module (a-Si PV) (Courtesy: Kaneka)
THIRD GENERATION
Third generation solar cells are the cutting edge of solar technology. Still in the research phase, third generation cells have moved well beyond silicon-based cells. Generally, third generation cells include solar cells that do not need the p-n junction necessary in traditional semiconductor, silicon-based cells. Third generation technology contains a wide range of
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potential solar innovations including polymer solar cells, nanocrystalline cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells. If and when these technologies are developed and produced, the third generation technology seems likely to be divided into separate categories. Third generation technologies aim to enhance poor electrical performance of second generation (thin-film technologies) while maintaining very low production costs. Current research is targeting conversion efficiencies of 3060% while retaining low cost materials and manufacturing techniques. There are a few approaches to achieving these high efficiencies: - Multijunction photovoltaic cell; - Modifying incident spectrum (concentration); and - Use of excess thermal generation to enhance voltages or carrier collection.
Photons
Nanowires
Figure 12: Concept of light trapping with silicon nanowires (Courtesy: Wikipedia)
Figure 11: 3rd generation PV module (dye-sensitized PV) (Courtesy: Dyesol)
hematite might be made to deliver a similar 16% efficiency as titanium oxide, but in the much larger energy range of visible light. Iron oxide makes up a big portion of the earth's crust, and that makes it about as cheap a material for solar cells as you can get. However, it is still a long way to go. Out of the four generations listed above, only the first two have been commercialised. Today, the bulk of the photovoltaic modules deployed so far consist of crystalline silicon, 1st generation PV. But it is crucial to find new ways to produce cheap and abundant carbon-free energy, and this should be a global priority. If we are ever going to solve the 30-terawatt question, that is the estimate to power the world in 2050, it is going to have to be something cheap, efficient, and stable. As of today, we are not there yet and continuous research is required globally.
FOURTH GENERATION
Several research institutes studies globally are looking at new innovative next generation, 4th generation, PV cells, e.g. quantum well devices (quantum dots, quantum ropes, etc.) and devices incorporating carbon nanotubes with a potential of up to 45% cell efficiency. This generation of solar cells may consist of composite photovoltaic technology, in which polymers with nano-particles can be mixed together to make single multi-spectrum layers. The multi-spectrum layers can be stacked to make multi-spectrum solar cells more efficient and cheaper. The layer that converts different types of light is first, then another layer for the light that passes and last is an infra-red spectrum layer for the cell - thus converting some of the heat for an overall solar cell composite. Another promising approach is a material with exciting possibilities: a form of iron oxide called hematite. With the right kind of nanoscale architecture, scientists believe that
Figure 13: Silicon nanowires (Courtesy: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
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TYPE OF SOLAR CELLS
Solar cells, according to their structure can be separated into four categories. The following is a short description of the two generations of commercially available PV cells and some features of the four main types.
1ST GENERATION PV
Mono (or single) crystalline silicon (sc-Si) cells are made from very pure mono crystalline silicon and have a single and continuous crystal lattice structure with almost no defects or impurities. The principle advantage is their high efficiency, typically around 18%. Although the manufacturing process required to produce mono crystalline silicon is complicated, resulting in higher costs than other technologies. Different manufacturing methods are used, one depending largely upon the Czochralski method of growing, or pulling, a perfect crystal, another is based on the string ribbon technique; two high temperature strings are pulled vertically through a shallow silicon melt and the molten silicon spans and freezes between the strings. Another technique is the so called EFG (Edge defined Film fed Growth), where the cells are cut from an octagon. Multi crystalline silicon (mc-Si) cells are produced using numerous grains of mono crystalline silicon. In the manufacturing process, molten polycrystalline silicon is cast into ingots, which are square or rectangular in shape. These ingots are then cut into very thin wafers and assembled into complete cells. Multi crystalline silicon cells are cheaper to produce than mono crystalline ones, due to the simpler manufacturing process. However, they tend to be slightly less efficient, with average efficiencies of around 15%.
Figure 14: sc-Si
Figure 15: mc-Si cell
2ND GENERATION PV
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) cells are composed of silicon atoms in a thin homogenous layer rather than a crystal structure. Amorphous silicon absorbs light more effectively than crystalline silicon, so the cells can be thinner. For this reason, amorphous silicon is also known as a "thin film" PV technology. Amorphous silicon can be deposited on a wide range of substrates, both rigid and flexible. Amorphous cells have typical efficiencies of around 7%, are cheaper to produce and have lower temperature behaviour under hot conditions than the c-Si cells. High temperatures will reduce operating voltage and therefore photovoltaic performance. A-Si modules and also other thin film types are most suited for application in hot climates and diffused irradiance conditions. A number of other promising materials such as copper indium diselenide (CIS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) are now being used for PV modules. The attraction of these technologies is that they can be manufactured by relatively inexpensive industrial processes, certainly in comparison to crystalline silicon technologies, yet they typically offer higher module efficiencies than amorphous silicon.
Figure 16: a-Si cell
Figure 17: CIS
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Figure 18 presents an overview of the different solar cells and table 1 compares the typical efficiencies on the market today and looks at what can be achieved in the laboratory in the future.
Gallium arsenide, various types**
Crystalline silicon cell
Thin lm cell
Monocrystalline cells
Polycrystalline cells
Amorphous Si cells
Copper indium selenide cells (CIS/ GIS)
Cadmium telluride cells (CdTe)
Microcrystalline and micromorphous cells
*Research, experimental stage **Aerospace, concentrators
Hybrid HIT cells
Dye-sensitized cells*
Organic cells*
Figure 18: Overview of solar cell technologies
Mono crystalline (sc-Si)
Standard product Commercial maximum laboratory efciency 15-20% 6-8% 13-16% 8-10% 17.3% 10.9% 12.2% 12% 8% 5% 8.3% 23.4%
Maximum recorded 25.0%
Multi crystalline (mc-Si)
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) Copper indium (gallium) diselenide (CIS/CIGS)
Cadmium telluride (CdTe)
15.4% (triple junction) 19.0% 15% 16.5%
20.3%
10-12% 9-11% 4-8% 2-5%
Micromorph silicon (m-Si) Dye sensitized solar cell Organic solar cell
11.1% 6.5%
Table 1: Comparison of solar cell efficiencies
PV ARRAY
The solar cell is the basic unit in a PV system. For crystalline PV technology, an individual solar cell can vary in size from about 4 inches to about 8 inches across and typically produces between 1 and 4 watts, hardly enough power for the great majority of applications. But we can increase the power by connecting cells together to form larger units called modules. The individual crystalline cells are soldered to form strings in order to combine the cells into an effective unit that will reliably supply power for decades. These strings form the electrical basis of the solar module. To fully protect the cells from the environmental impacts (rain, sun, hail, etc.), they are often encapsulated in ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) films, Teflon as backing foil, and usually a low-reflective and tempered glass as cover. An aluminum frame is applied around the sandwich combination to protect the unfinished module from any damage during transport, installation and operation. 1 2 3 4 5
6
1 - Aluminium frame 2 - Seal 3 - Glass 4 - Encapsulating 5 - Crystalline cell 6 - Tedlar sheet
Figure 19: Structure of crystalline PV module
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Thin-film materials like amorphous silicon, CIS and cadmium telluride can be made directly into modules through PECVD process or other sputtering methods. The cell material is being sputtered on a substrate, glass, polyamide or stainless steel, and interconnected to a module by a laser. Detailed technical information on the manufacturing process of crystalline and thin film modules can be read in following chapters.
glass EVA coating glass
PV SYSTEM APPLICATIONS
In 2008 around 95% of new PV applications were gridconnected PV systems. This means that during the day, the electricity generated by the PV system can be used immediately or can be sold to the electricity supply company. In the evening, when the solar system is unable to provide the electricity required, power is provided by the normal electricity network. In effect, the grid is acting as an energy storage system, which means the PV system does not need to include battery storage. Grid-connected PV systems are often part of buildings or are ground-based PV power plants. Gridconnected PV systems are providing pollution and noise-free electricity with many impressive examples already in operation.
Figure 20: Structure of thin film PV module on glass substrate
Modules can be connected in series to strings and in parallel to even larger units known as PV arrays. The number of modules in the individual strings determines the system voltage and the number of parallel strings determines the total current. A string is dependent on the voltage input window of the inverter. Electrical basics also state that the current determines resistance losses in a wire. PV systems should be designed for higher voltage and lower current to minimise the cable losses.
PV Array DC side isolation switch Inverter AC side isolation switch
Cell
PV production meter Load AC mains supply Meter Main fusebox
Module
Figure 22: Grid-connected PV system
String
Array
Figure 21: From PV cell to PV array
An off-grid PV system, sometimes called a stand-alone system, is designed to provide electricity to a home or business without drawing on supplemental power from the electrical utility. A basic off-grid PV system consists of solar modules, a battery bank, a charge controller that manages battery charging, an inverter/charger that is the intelligent centre of the system, and a generator as an optional energy source as backup. When the sun is up, the solar modules generate power to charge batteries and provide electricity. At night, the inverter/charger automatically runs the electrical equipment from the battery bank. The generator provides additional back-up battery charging capability for extended periods of cloudy weather. The inverter/charger
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INVERTER
AC
Light
DC/AC inverter
Computer
Television Video
DC Controller
Light
Television
Radio
Storage battery
Telephone
Figure 23: Off-grid PV system
can automatically start the generator and initiate a recharge cycle when the battery bank is depleted, or a load is too large for the batteries to support independently. The photovoltaic array is exposed to the elements. Depending on design, the interconnecting wires may also be exposed. All exposed wiring must therefore meet electrical codes for outdoor application, notably exposure to UV radiation. The electrical power produced by the photovoltaic array has some unique characteristics which require special attention. It is direct current and the source is limited by current. Some installers may not be familiar with direct current and the system will require special components for switching and isolation. In some jurisdictions, electrical codes require the photovoltaic array be capable of being isolated from the inverter through a DC isolation switch. The decision on where to locate this switch should therefore be a balance between proximity to the array and accessibility for the operator.
BALANCE OF SYSTEM COMPONENTS

Modules or arrays, by themselves, do not constitute a complete PV system. We must also have mechanical structures on which to put them and orientate them towards the sun, and components that take the direct-current (DC) electricity produced by array and condition the electricity so it can be used in the specific application. These structures and components are referred to as the balance of system (BOS). Those elements account for approx. 30% of the total investment cost for a PV installation.
The heart of grid-connected PV systems, a power converter that inverts the DC power from the modules into AC power. The characteristics of the output signal should match the voltage, frequency and power quality limits in the supply network. It is the link to the outside world and basically performs three functions. First the inverter controls the operation of the photovoltaic array. As the sun rises in the morning, it connects the photovoltaic array to the utility system. As light and temperature change throughout the day, the inverter adjusts the array current and voltage levels to maximize the energy yield of the photovoltaic array. Finally as the sun sets in the evening it disconnects the array from the utility system. This may be described as the power tracking function of the inverter. The second function of the inverter is to change the direct current from the photovoltaic array to alternating current with a frequency and voltage matching the supply from the local utility. Thirdly, the inverter functions as a safety component. An inverter must not feed power back to any utility distribution system experiencing a power outage, and during periods of normal operation, power fed to the utility must meet standards for voltage, frequency and harmonic content. Safety and power quality issues are the main concern of utilities. The inverter will require periodic inspection and maintenance. Often the inverter incorporates a display panel indicating power production or fault conditions. It should therefore be installed in an accessible location and, unless designed for outdoor exposure, it should be located in a dry and temperate environment. Some inverters are known to generate some background noise. The sound can be irritating when the high frequency switching coincides with certain psychologically annoying frequencies. Noise may therefore be a factor in selecting the location of the inverter. For a grid-connected PV system, inverters send the power from PV modules direct to the grid. They do not use a battery bank and therefore they do not give you any power back up in the event of a grid power failure. The advanced grid-interactive inverters perform the same function as grid-feed inverters; however they allow power to flow 'both ways'. They also incorporate a battery bank and have an automatic built in charger. This type of system gives you back up power in the event that the grid fails or goes out of tolerance in terms of its voltage and frequency. The overall efficiency of the system depends on the efficiency of the sunlight-into-DC and the DC-into-AC conversion efficiency of the inverter. The first one varies up to 3% over a year. The second one, instead, shows a much greater variability. The efficiency of the inverter varies with the load level. Although this relation is different for each inverter,
15

100 90 80
E ciency [%]
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Output Power Relative to Rated Power [%]
Figure 24: Typical inverter efficiency curve
a conventional model has a load/efficiency curve similar to figure 24. Therefore, a key consideration in the design and operation of inverters is how to achieve high efficiency with varying power output. It is necessary to maintain the inverter at or near full load in order to operate in the high-efficiency region. However, this is not possible, as some installations would never reach their rated power due to deficient tilt, orientation or irradiation in the region. Nowadays, there are several concepts on the market available and it is very dynamic, which is the preferred and optimised concept. Following is a short description of the two main concepts applied and some of their advantages: One of the main concepts for an inverter is the central conversion covering approx. 50% of all applications. The PV modules are connected in strings and in parallel on a junction box, which collects the DC power and feeds to the central inverter. The inverter is connected to the grid in either single or three phase configuration, depending on the PV capacity. One of the main advantages is a higher efficiency for a central large inverter compared to smaller units. Common sizes are from 20 kW up to 1,000 kW.
Figure 26: Central inverter (Courtesy: Sputnik)
String inverters need a better and detailed monitoring concept than central inverters, as a larger number of inverters have to be properly monitored.
PV Modules
String Inverter
Grid
kWh
Consumer
Figure 27: String inverter concept
PV Modules Central Inverter
Grid
kWh
Consumer
Figure 25: Central inverter concept
If applying string inverters, normally no junction box is needed, thus resulting in cost reduction due to material savings and faster installation. The individual strings are often directly connected to the inverter. String inverters are available in size from 0.7 kW to 8 kW. The converted AC power is collected and often fed to the grid on a single phase.
Figure 28: String inverter (Courtesy: Fronius)
Comparison matrix of the two inverter concepts and the individual features:
Inverter concept Central String
Cost (USD/WpAC) 0.5 to 0.85 0.6 to 0.90
Dimension A0 size A3 size
Weight > 200 kg Between 5 to 20 kg
Efciency 93% to 96% 93% to 98%
Installation Junction box, more wiring, higher effort Easy wiring and fast installation
Table 2: Inverter concepts overview
Table 2 presents the important features for the two inverter concepts. Generalising, a central inverter costs slightly less then the same capacity of string inverters, but shows higher cost in the installation, due to the involved components like wiring and junction box. However string inverters need a better monitoring concept compared to a central inverter. Both concepts have their pros and cons, and need to be applied considering the site-conditions, e.g. shading or obstacles and the resulting total cost of the installation. For smaller PV systems up to 100 kWp string inverters are a preferable choice, and for PV system larger 100 kWp installers tend to apply central inverters.
box terminal may show after ten to fifteen years of operation. The wiring on the DC side is required to be double insulated, UV stable cables, either 2.5 or 4 mm2. If a longer distance for the wiring is needed or high current modules are applied one should apply 4 mm2 cables, and less wiring loss is expected. The cables must further resist temperature up to 60C and should come in two different colours for () and (+) connection.
ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
Fuses, breakers and switches normally function as required and are likely to function according to specifications for the life of the photovoltaic systems. Their reliability may reflect their passive role as well as the maturity of the electrical industry. Array string blocking diodes have failed in some systems due to lack of heat dissipation. AC breakers, along with the PV DC array switches, serve to isolate the inverter for servicing. Photovoltaic modules produce electricity whenever the sun shines and if they perform well for the first year, they are likely to continue to perform for a very long time. While perhaps not a reliability issue, one reason for reported poor system performance has been the overrating of module power by the manufacturers. It is strongly advised to check the received modules on their power capacity by I/V checker or request for detailed test protocols from the module manufacturer. Any future problems occur most likely in the inverter (approximately 60% of the cases), the wiring, connectors or DC combiner box (around 30% of the cases) or the module junction box (around 10% of the cases). The junction box is very exposed to the elements and mounted on the back of the module, it experiences temperature higher than ambient values. Evidence of corrosion in the module or in the junction
Figure 29: Module junction box (Courtesy: Huber & Suhner)
For PV applications exceeding the string inverters configuration, all strings shall be connected in a DC combiner box, which is preferably located very close to the PV array and not in direct contact with the outdoor conditions. A DC combiner box must have identical features like a cable, UV resistant, suitable for high temperature and has to be watertight, e.g. IP 65. As each string is controlled by a DC rated fuse, the DC combiner box shall be easily accessible, if needed. Overvoltage protection elements (SPDs) and the DC isolating devices are included too. The PV-DC isolating device is needed to separate the PV array at any time from the inverter. It is very important to note that this device operates under DC conditions and the operating current will vary at any time. Some devices are filled with sand, while others will eliminate electronically the resulting arcing when disconnecting. The device must be suitably rated for the PV array short current and the open circuit DC voltage.
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45678
Energy Meter
Datalogger
Alarm
Inverter
Operation
Local Alarm
Archiving
Figure 31: Concept for monitoring
Figure 30: AC/DC combiner box
MONITORING
Regular monitoring of the PV installation is recommended, as the inverter is an electronic component and can have failures. If a central or string inverter is not properly monitored and breaks down, the produced solar energy is not being converted and the PV owner loses money.
Nowadays most inverters offer the possibility to download the data via modem and even access it over internet to control the system performance. With a suitable PC program the user can check the performance of the inverters or receives automatically an error message in case of a failure. If this is not available the inverter may be checked visually and indicators at the inverter can show the operating status. As the design approach shifts towards several inverter per installation, e.g. string inverters, the monitoring should be done automatically on a daily basis and in case of a failure, an automatically generated error message should be sent. This will safeguard the PV owners interest and helps to improve the performance of a PV installation. The recorded data should be analyzed daily and will give the opportunity to react if strings are disconnected or other failures occur.
Courtesy: Solamas
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Value Chain and Manufacturing Process (c-Si)

CRYSTALLINE PV VALUE CHAIN
The crystalline PV value chain has six essential components which constitute the value chain, each dependent on each other (see figure 32). Some companies concentrate on specific segments of the value chain while others address all segments as integrated solar PV companies. These components are:
Silicon Ingots
Silicon
Monocrystalline
Wafers
Monocrystalline
Cells
Monocrystalline
PV Modules
Monocrystalline
Photovoltaic System
Multicrystalline
Multicrystalline
Multicrystalline
Multicrystalline
Figure 32: Crystalline PV value chain
SILICON
Silicon is the second most plentiful element in the earths crust, found in both quartz and sand. Silicon (Si) exists usually as an oxide, being an element among about 100 different elements. Silicon is found near the earth's surface, in abundance second only to oxygen, and is considered to be limitless in supply. Silica occurs in minerals consisting of (practically) pure silicon dioxide in different crystalline forms. Sand, amethyst, agate, quartz, rock crystal, chalcedony, flint, jasper, and opal are some of the forms in which silicon dioxide appears. Silicon also occurs as silicates (various minerals containing silicon, oxygen and one or another metal), for example feldspar. These minerals occur in clay, sand and various types of rock such as granite and sandstone. Despite its abundance, silicon is complex and therefore expensive to process. Figure 33 shows a process, based on the Siemens purification process, from mining to the final product either for the PV or the IC industry. The detailed manufacturing steps
Figure 33: From silica to IC chips or PV modules (Courtesy: MBIPV)
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will be described in this chapter. It is important to understand that feedstock for PV modules or the IC industry can be produced from polycrystalline silicon (or semicrystalline silicon, polysilicon, poly-Si, or simply poly in context). Depending on the follow-up process (ingot pulling or melting) either monocrystalline or multicrystalline silicon can be produced. The solar industry has historically relied on top-and-tails and other off-cuts from the semiconductor industry. A combination of the semiconductor industrys recovery and the solar industrys growth has put pressure on the availability of supply. As a result, silicon manufacturers are still in a strong position in the overall PV value chain. The solar PV industry and semiconductor manufacturers are the two main consumers of polysilicon. In 2000 the solar industry consumed only 10% of the world's silicon supply. In 2008 the PV industry consumed more than 70% of the world's available supply of polysilicon for the first time ever. This historic shift illustrates the growing size and importance of the solar PV industry. The recent bottleneck in 2004-2006 in polysilicon feedstock led to an influx of new manufacturing and the production may exceed the demand in 2010, depending on global PV policy programs driving the market demand. The expected production in 2010 is estimated between 130,000 and 190,000 tons, compared to 70,000 tons in 2008. In a first manufacturing step, silicon is prepared by the reaction of high-purity silica with wood, charcoal, and coal, in an electric arc furnace using carbon electrodes. At temperatures over 1,900 C, the carbon reduces the silica to silicon. Liquid silicon collects in the bottom of the furnace, and is then drained and cooled. The silicon produced via this
Raw Material C SiO
process (see figure 34) is called metallurgical grade silicon (MG-Si) and is at least 98% pure. In 2008, metallurgical grade silicon cost between USD 1.50/kg to USD 2.00/kg. In a next step, MG-Si is reacted with HCI to form a liquid that is distilled and then vapourised. The resulting gas is then deposited onto heated silicon rods (1100 C). The majority of polysilicon used by the semiconductor and PV industry is produced via a process of chemical deposition. The most commonly used process, named after the company that developed the process (Siemens), uses trichlorosilane gas (TCS) as the deposition material. TCS has many advantages, including a high deposition rate and high volatility (which makes it easier to remove two compounds that are problematic in solar cells (boron and phosphorous). One of the disadvantages of using TCS is the high electricity requirement to maintain process temperatures. Another process further refines TCS to produce monosilane (SiH4). This gaseous monosilane is then deposited on heated silicon rods. Monosilane is a higher purity starting material which leads to more pure polysilicon. This higher purity also makes it more expensive to produce. The final product of the above two processes is a rod of polysilicon that is broken up into smaller pieces; at this point the product is called chunk polysilicon (see figure 35 & 36). A third process for polysilicon production uses a fluidized bed reactor (FBR) with a final product of granular silicon.
Consumable Electrodes Electric Energy
Cleaned Gas
Filter
Figure 35: Polysilicon rods

Charge Material Liquid Metal Re ning Crater Recovered Energy Silica
Sizing
Silicon
Figure 34: Process to manufacture MG-Si
Figure 36: Polysilicon chunks
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As figure 37 shows, the Siemens process has dominated the market in the last years and will still have a market share of around 75% in 2010. The two most promising technologies are the FBR process and to upgrade MG-Si (UMG-Si) acceptable for solar cells.
11% 13% 9%
1%
2005
91%
2010
75%
Siemens
FBR
MG-SoG
Other
Figure 37: Percent of polysilicon produced by technology in 2005 and estimate for 2010 (Source: Greentech Media)
High purity silicon ("polysilicon") is the key feedstock for most solar cells and modules, and IC chips produced today. Crystalline silicon-based PV cells and modules accounted for ~88% of all PV production in 2008. From polysilicon one can create either electronic grade (EG) - 99.999% (in nine 9s) or solar grade (SoG) silicon - 99.9999% (in six 9s). The former requires a greater level of purification than the latter. The leaders in polysilicon manufacturing are Hemlock and REC from the USA, Wacker from Germany, Mitsubishi and
Tokuyama from Japan. Each of these companies has indicated that they will expand their productions significantly. Wacker and Tokuyama have launched initiatives to develop granular silicon. Wacker uses fluidized bed reactor technology while Tokuyama uses a vapour to liquid reactor. Commercialisation of these methods is expected in 2009/ 2010. Further significant expansion of polysilicon manufacturing is taking place in China using mainly the Siemens process. However, globally several other companies are developing photovoltaic grade silicon from other sources, such as upgrading metallurgical silicon via purification process. Today the first solar cells made from UMG-Si are available and result in lower cost than with the conventional Siemens process. New processes and significant upscaling will help to reduce the production cost and bring crystalline PV technology closer to grid-parity level. Figure 38 presents the follow-up process flow of polysilicon to the solar cell.
INGOT
Silicon consumers in the solar PV industry must convert silicon feedstock into silicon ingots to enable further processing into wafers, cells and modules. Silicon-based solar modules fall into two categories: monocrystalline and multicrystalline. In each category, the polysilicon must be converted into a crystalline structure.
monocrystalline polycrystalline silicon granulate (polysilicon) cutting directed solidication czochralski drawing process
Figure 39: Monocrystalline ingot

cutting into blocks block
phosphorous diusion
sawing into wafers applying anti-reective coating front and back contacts
Figure 38: Crystalline PV value chain
Figure 40: Multicrystalline ingot
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A multicrystalline ingot contains numerous smaller silicon crystals and often has a mottled or flecked appearance. A monocrystalline ingot is comprised of one large crystal structure, which yields a uniform colour and texture throughout the ingot and produces solar cells with a higher efficiency. The most common technology used in the production of ingots for monocrystalline solar cells is based on a technique called the Czochralski process. The production of monocrystalline ingot requires precise specifications and careful monitoring to ensure uniform crystal growth and contaminant-free ingots (99.9999% purity). Completing a single cylindrical silicon crystal ingot takes between 36 and 40 hours and yields an ingot of approximately 2 meters long and 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Once the ingot has been produced, the silicon is sawed into blocks and then into wafers using specialised wire saws. Such a process can waste up to half of the material in saw slurry. Key to cutting costs is the development of thinner wafers, while maintaining structural strength. But it is unlikely that wafer manufacturers experience the same rate of long-term growth as the overall solar industry; wafers remain a high value added part of the solar value chain. For the simpler production of multicrystalline ingots, the silicon is melted in the crucible and then directionally solidified in a carefully controlled thermal environment. The process is known as vertical gradient freeze (VGF) or directional solidification or, in a similar form, as Bridgman method. The polysilicon is melted down in a silica crucible via resistive heating. The slow cooling of the melt, where large areas of crystal with regular structure are formed, takes place in the melting crucible. The heated zone (temperature gradient) is slowly moved upwards so that liquid silicon is present in the top area at the end of the process, whilst solidification into multicrystalline material takes place from the crucible bottom. Crystallisation is controlled by the shifting of the temperature gradient. In the Bridgman process, instead of the temperature gradient, the crucible with the melt is moved through the temperature field. The advantage of the VGF method is that no mechanical motion occurs during the crystallisation process. VGF method has become established for multicrystalline solar cells.
Melting of polysilicon, doping
Introduction of the seed crystal
Beginning of the crystal growth
Crystal pulling
Formed crystal with a residue of melted silicon
Figure 41: Czochralski (CZ) process
In the CZ process (see figure 41), high-purity polysilicon is put into the quartz crucible of a monocrystal growing system. Next, the process room is evacuated and the silicon is then melted down in an argon controlled atmosphere via resistive heating. After temperature stabilisation of the melt (approximately 1,420C), a rotating monocrystalline seed crystal is dipped into the melt. As a result of a slight temperature decrease, crystallisation of silicon material on the seed crystal is now initiated. As the seed crystal is slowly pulled upwards, a cylindrical silicon monocrystal hanging on the seed crystal is then formed.
Figure 42: Czochralski ingot puller
Figure 43: VGF ingot crystallizer
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Innovative approach without pulling ingots first and then sawing into wafers are the so-called string ribbon growing method, or in a similar form the edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) method. Both methods result in hardly any cutting losses in wafer manufacture, and thus have a very high material efficiency. String ribbon is a concept originating from the natural science of surface tension. In simple terms the making of a string ribbon wafer is just like the making of a soap bubble the surface tension between the soapy bubble solution and the wand creates the bubble. The only difference is that instead of the ring inside which a bubble forms, two parallel wires are used between which a thin film of silicon is formed. Two heat-resistant wires are pulled vertically through a silicon melt, with a continuous granular polysilicon feed, and the molten silicon spans and solidifies between the strings. The process is continuous, silent and clean: long wires unwind from spools, run through the molten silicon and pull a long ribbon of silicon out of the melt. The ribbon is harvested periodically and a laser cuts the solar wafers from the ribbon.
Figure 45: Wafers (Courtesy: LDK Solar)
Rear Ribbon Front Ribbon
Silicon Feed
Molten Silicon Crucible Solid-Melt Interface String
Figure 44: String ribbon growing method (Source: Evergreen Solar)
reduce the amount of silicon per watt, and thus drive down the cost. Leading wafer manufacturers state that their amount of silicon per watt is between 5.8 to 7.5 g/W. The wafer sawing process is the standard technique used to slice ingots into wafers and can waste up to half of the original material excluding the EFG and string-ribbon growth process. A large source of lost silicon is "kerf", the silicon dust produced during the sawing process. "Kerf loss" refers to the silicon removed from the ingot in the sawing process used to produce the wafers. Because the sawed grooves are approximately the same width as the produced wafers, kerf loss can approach 50% of the total silicon in the ingot. The raw ingot is first cooled and then the top and tail of the ingot are cut off and can later be reused in the ingot production process as reclaimable silicon. Next, the ingots are cut into 400-500 cm long sections and the cylindrical shape is 'squared' into four equal sides, so as to be mounted safely in the wire saw machine. In the sawing process a single strand of stainless steel wire hundreds of kilometers in length and 160 to 200 microns thick is pulled over the ingot by grooved rollers. To complete this process, usually a mixture made up of oil and normally an abrasive material known as slurry is pumped over the wires to provide the friction needed for the cutting action.
WAFER
Wafer sawing is the process of cutting the mono- or multicrystalline ingot into thin slices to enable the processing of silicon into solar cells. The key to cutting costs is the development of thinner wafers, while maintaining structural strength. Producing thinner wafers and reducing silicon waste is a major area of focus in the solar industry's campaign to lower the cost of module production and ensure more efficient use of silicon. Todays standard wafer thickness is between 180 m to 250 m, and the development goes towards 150 m to further
Figure 46: Wire saw machine (Courtesy: Meyer & Burger)
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CELL
Solar cell manufacturing typically involves a number of steps that are performed under great cleanliness and highly controlled conditions. Similar to the needs of semiconductor facilities in the 1980s, new, larger solar cell manufacturing plants require solutions that manage the employee and environmental risks of hazardous materials and process byproducts. Generally a crystalline silicon solar cell consists of a p-n junction embedded in the wafer, sandwiched between front and back contacts (see figure 47), although solar cell designs vary by company. and the external electrical load, such as a light bulb. The back contact of a cell on the side away from the incoming sunlight is relatively simple. It usually consists of a layer of aluminum or molybdenum metal. But the front contact on the side facing the sun is more complicated. When sunlight shines on the PV cell, a current of electrons flows all over its surface. If we attach contacts only at the edges of the cell, it will not work well because of the great electrical resistance of the top semiconductor layer. Only a small number of electrons would make it to the contact. To collect the most current, we must place contacts across the entire surface of a PV cell. This is normally done with a "grid" of metal strips or "fingers." However, placing a large grid, which is opaque, on the top of the cell shades active parts of the cell from the sun. The cell's conversion efficiency is thus significantly reduced. To improve the conversion efficiency, we must minimise these shading effects. Another challenge in cell design is to minimise the electrical resistance losses when applying grid contacts to the solar cell material. These losses are related to the solar cell material's property of opposing the flow of an electric current, which results in heating the material. Therefore, in designing grid contacts, we must balance shading effects against electrical resistance losses. The usual approach is to design grids with many thin, conductive fingers spreading to every part of the cell's surface. The fingers of the grid must be thick enough to conduct well (with low resistance), but thin enough not to block much of the incoming light. This kind of grid keeps resistance losses low while shading only about 3% to 5% of the cell's surface. After the back reflective coating and contact layer have been deposited, the solar cell is complete and the wafer moves to the module production line.
Figure 47: Structure of crystalline solar cell
The solar cell includes a layer of material, typically silicon nitride, on the front surface of the silicon that serves as an antireflective coating (ARC) to increase the amount of light absorbed by the cell, and a passivation layer, which passivates the bulk defects present in the wafer. In general, c-Si solar cells are manufactured using mono- or polycrystalline wafers, but some manufacturers use ribbons of silicon to minimise the amount of Si used and hence their costs. The first step in this process is to texture the wafer surface, which increases the active surface area. Next, is the doping and diffusion process, which creates the p-n junction by forming an n-doped (electron rich) layer on top of the p-doped wafer. A layer of phosphorous silicate glass (PSG) forms on top of the n-doped layer, and this is removed by either wet- or dry-etch processes. After the PSG has been removed, a layer of silicon nitride is deposited on the front surface of the cell to reduce reflection (ARC) and passivate the surface. Typically the layer is deposited using plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) or physical vapour deposition (PVD). PECVD gases and byproducts-such as SiH4, NH3, NF3, F2, H2, and HF-are pyrophoric, flammable, toxic, and a considerable safety risk. Screen printing is the primary technology for depositing back electrical contacts and reflective coatings. Electrical contacts are essential to a photovoltaic (PV) cell because they bridge the connection between the semiconductor material
Figure 48: Monocrystalline solar cell (Courtesy: Q-Cells)
MODULE
A crystalline PV module is a finished product consisting of the assembly of PV cells that have been electrically connected and laminated in a highly durable, weatherproof unit. Solar modules are the basic end-use product of the solar industry and may be produced in various sizes and shapes depending on intended usage. Module assembly involves electrically connecting strings of cells (tabbing and stringing) and laminating the cells in a durable, clear polymer material with special properties to protect the cells against the environment. The encapsulating material, typically ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), is applied at high temperature under a vacuum together with a front glass and normally with a backing material known as TPT, a combination of Tedlar and Polyester. This laminate, after curing, is framed with an Aluminium frame to protect from physical stress. A junction box and a set of connection cables on the back of a module allow the easy connection of one module to another at the site of installation. The power output of a module depends on the size and number of cells in the module as well as the efficiency of each cell. Recent trends have favoured the production of higher power modules through a combination of larger, more efficient cells and the inclusion of more cells per module. It is important to ensure that the modules comply with international standards, such as IEC 61215, IEC 6146, TUV safety class II and CE certification.
SYSTEM
A PV array consists of a number of modules either framed or unframed (laminates). Modules are installed on residential and commercial roofs, ground-mounted in large-scale solar parks, and almost anywhere else where solar power can be used. System installation covers a broad range of possible PV applications, from utility-scale PV, to commercial and residential rooftops, to building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV), to off-grid industrial and residential systems in rural areas and consumer applications.
Figure 49: Multicrystalline PV module
Figure 50: PV laminators in Chinese PV company
25
Figure 51: BIPV system (Courtesy: Envision)
84% of todays PV generating capacity consists of gridconnected PV systems and about 16% is off-grid capacity; consumer application account for less than 1% (graph 1). In 2008, around 59% of all PV applications were installed in the built environment and 36% as ground-based PV systems, e.g. PV power plants in Spain, USA, South Korea and Germany. Offgrid PV systems were 5% market share only (figure 66). For PV systems in the built environment support structures hold the PV modules in place and the PV arrays should be installed to ensure maximum solar exposure for the active PV area while at the same time minimising wind loadings on the array surface. Also, for retro-fit of photovoltaic systems on existing buildings, the addition of the support structure on the roof should not compromise the structural integrity or weather seal of the existing roof. In general, flat or
sloped roof applications are less affected by building codes than over head or faade installations. Each category (ground-based, PV in the built environment and off-grid) presents its own unique challenges for cost effectively deploying PV solar modules.
16%
25%
Figure 52: Large scale ground-based PV system
59% Grid-connected centralized Grid-connected distributed (in built environment) O -grid
Graph 1: Distribution of cumulative PV capacity by end of 2008 (Source: Envision)
Figure 53: PV powering the rural life
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Value Chain and Manufacturing Process (Thin Film)

THIN FILM PV VALUE CHAIN
Thin film PV cells differ from crystalline solar cells in many ways, for example in their electrical behaviour, efficiency, temperature and shading impact, atomic structure and also their value chain. Whereas crystalline PV technology has six essential components, thin film PV has (using the identical approach as for c-Si) four essential components and is significantly simpler in manufacturing, and thus offers the highest potential for cost reduction.
Processing
Mining Cu, Cd, Te, Ga, In Process Cu, Cd, Te, Ga, In and others into gas form
PV Modules
Photovoltaic System
Figure 54: Thin Film PV value chain
THIN FILM INTRODUCTION

Thin film cells can be divided into technologies with and without silicon. There are several types of solar cells containing silicon, from fully amorphous forms via nano and microcrystalline forms and combinations. Thin film cells without silicon are represented by two kinds of light absorbing semiconductors: II-VI connections (CdTe) and I-III-VI connections, whereby chalcopyrite with Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIS, CIGS) variants is the most important representative. Dyesensitised cells Graetzel cell and organic cells are just beginning to emerge in the market and will be explained in this chapter. If you use a solar-powered calculator, you've seen a solar cell based on thin film technology. The thinness of the cell is the defining characteristic of the technology hence the name thin film. Unlike silicon-wafer cells, which have lightabsorbing layers that are traditionally 350 microns thick, thin film solar cells have light-absorbing layers that are just 1 m thick. Thin film solar cell manufacturers begin building their solar cells by depositing several layers of a light-absorbing material, a semiconductor onto a substrate, either coated glass, metal or plastic material. The materials used as semiconductors don't have to be thick because they absorb energy from the sun very efficiently. As a result, thin film solar cells can be lightweight, indestructible and easy to use. Thin film solar cells are called second generation technologies and have yet to prove their maturity. Second generation materials have been developed to address energy requirements and production costs of solar cells. Alternative
Figure 55: Flexible thin film solar cell (Courtesy: UniSolar, USA)
manufacturing techniques such as vapour deposition and electroplating are advantageous as they reduce high temperature processing significantly. It is commonly accepted that as manufacturing techniques evolve production costs will be dominated by constituent material requirements, whether this be a silicon, substrate or glass cover. Second generation technologies are expected to gain market share in the next few years. Thin film PV has a high potential for cost reduction as the manufacturing processes can bring costs down to a little under USD 1.00 per watt, but the defects inherent in the lower quality processing methods, have much reduced efficiencies compared to first generation technologies. Among major manufacturers there is certainly a trend towards second generation technologies though commercialisation of these technologies has proven difficult.
THIN FILM TECHNOLOGIES

The most successful second generation materials have been cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS or CIS), amorphous silicon (a-Si) and micromorphous silicon (c-Si). These technologies do hold promise of higher conversion efficiencies, and cheaper production costs particularly CIGS/CIS and CdTe. Presented are following the main types of thin-film solar cells, depending on the type of semiconductor used: amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium deselenide (CIGS), and explain what dye-sensitized and organic cells are.
27

AMORPHOUS AND MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON (a-Si/c-Si)
Amorphous silicon is basically a trimmed-down version of the traditional silicon-wafer cell and has a disordered structure unlike crystalline silicon. A-Si is well understood and is commonly used in solar-powered electronics and consumer applications for decades. Solar cells, which are based on amorphous silicon and its alloys, are still the dominant types of thin film solar cells, although CdTe has gained significant market share in 2007 and 2008. The first a-Si cells were realised in 1976 (Carlson and Wronski) and early production started at Chronar Corp in the USA, followed by the Solarex and Unisolar, also in the USA. The manufacturing process improved largely in the last two decades. The option of band-gap engineering by the introduction of C and Ge resulted in the first break-through of amorphous silicon desired characteristics. Next, the very important issue of monolithic integration by structured steps, which in the meantime have been realised for all thin film technologies, was developed by a-Si technology. Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) is used for the industrial production of a-Si:H in general. Amorphous silicon from monosilane (SiH4) and hydrogen (H2) gas can be deposited at very low temperatures, as low as 75 degrees Celsius, which allows for deposition on not only glass, but plastic as well, making it a candidate for a roll-to-roll processing technique. The relatively lower electronic performance of low-temperature a-Si devices could be compensated by the cheaper production, for future, ultra-lowcost, high-volume applications. Depending on the deposition parameters and chosen materials, this can yield: - Amorphous silicon (a-Si or a-Si:H), figure 56 - Microcrystalline silicon (c-Si or c-Si:H), figure 57
Metal TCO a-Si
combined in thin layers, creating a layered cell called a tandem cell and achieve the highest efficiency, i.e. up to 14.8%. The top cell in a-Si absorbs the visible light and leaves the infrared part of the spectrum for the bottom cell in nanocrystalline Si, also called microcrystalline silicon. Figure 57 presents the structure of a microcrystalline solar cell.
Light
Glass
3-5 mm
TCO
Amorphous Si
2 m Microcrystalline Si
Figure 57: Microcrystalline silicon (m-Si)
CADMIUM TELLURIDE (CdTe)

The fastest growing generation of thin-film solar cells uses thin layers of cadmium telluride. The CdTe solar cell has one electrode made from a layer of carbon paste infused with copper, the other from tin oxide (SnO2) or cadmium stannate (Cd2SnO4). The semiconductor in this case is cadmium telluride (CdTe), which, along with cadmium sulfide (CdS), creates the n-type and p-type layers required for the PV cell to function see figure 58 for details. Cadmium telluride is an efficient light-absorbing material for thin-film cells. Compared to other thin-film materials, CdTe is easier to deposit and more suitable for large-scale production.
Substrate P1 P2 P3
Glass Stanous Oxide Cadmium Sul de Cadmium Telluride Copper-doped Zinc Telluride Titanium
Figure 56: Amorphous silicon (a-Si)
Amorphous silicon has a higher bandgap (1.8 eV) than crystalline silicon (c-Si) (1.1 eV), which means it absorbs the visible part of the solar spectrum more strongly than the infrared portion of the spectrum. As c-Si has about the same bandgap as c-Si, the c-Si (a mixture of nanometer-sized 5 to 500nm silicon crystals) and a-Si can advantageously be
Figure 58: Cadmium telluride (CdTe)
Despite much discussion of the toxicity of CdTe-based solar cells, this is the only technology (apart from amorphous silicon) that can be delivered on a large scale. The perception of the toxicity of CdTe is based on the toxicity of elemental cadmium, a heavy metal that is a cumulative poison. However, it has been shown that the release of cadmium to the atmosphere is lower with CdTe-based solar cells than with silicon photovoltaics and other thin-film solar cell technologies.
One company, Nanosolar, based in San Jose, Calif., has developed a way to make the CIGS material as an ink containing nanoparticles. A nanoparticle is a particle with at least one dimension less than 100 nanometers (one-billionth of a meter, or 1/1,000,000,000 m). Existing as nanoparticles, the four elements self-assemble in a uniform distribution, ensuring that the atomic ratio of the elements is always correct.
COPPER INDIUM GALLIUM SELENIDE (CIGS OR CIS)

CIGS films can be manufactured by several different methods. The most common vacuum-based process coevaporates or co-sputters copper, gallium, and indium, then anneals the resulting film with a selenide vapour to form the final CIGS structure. An alternative is to directly co-evaporate copper, gallium, indium and selenium onto a heated substrate. A non-vacuum-based alternative process deposits nanoparticles of the precursor materials on the substrate and then sinters them in situ. The basic structure of a Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cell is depicted in figure 59.
Cds (0,05m) i-ZnO (0,05m) Zn0:AI (1m)
0.05/3 m 0.5 to 1.5 m 0.03 to 0.05 m 1.0 to 2.0 m 0.5 to 1.0 m
Ni/Al ZnO CdS Cu (In, Ga) Se Metal foil
Figure 60: Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cell using metal foil
Notice that there are two basic configurations of a CIGS solar cell. The CIGS-on-glass cell requires a layer of molybdenum to create an effective electrode (figure 59). This extra layer isn't necessary in the CIGS-on-foil cell because the metal foil acts as the electrode (figure 60). A layer of zinc oxide (ZnO) plays the role of the other electrode in the CIGS cell. Sandwiched in between are two more layers, the semiconductor material and cadmium sulfide (CdS). These two layers act as the n-type and p-type materials, which are necessary to create a current of electrons.
Substrate glass (3mm)
Mo (0,5m)
CIGS (2m)
DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

Typically a ruthenium metalorganic dye is used as a monolayer of light-absorbing material. The dye-sensitized solar cell depends on a mesoporous layer of nanoparticulate titanium dioxide to greatly amplify the surface area. The photogenerated electrons from the light absorbing dye are passed on to the n-type TiO2, and the holes are passed to an electrolyte on the other side of the dye. The circuit is completed by a redox couple in the electrolyte, which can be liquid or solid. This type of cell allows a more flexible use of materials, and is typically manufactured by screen printing, with the potential for lower processing costs than those used for conventional solar cells. However, the dyes in these cells also suffer from degradation under heat and UV light, and the cell casing is difficult to seal due to the solvents used in assembly. In spite of the above, this is a popular emerging technology with some commercial impact forecast within this decade.
PV Industry Handbook 2009 29
Figure 59: Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cell using glass
The most common substrate is soda-lime glass of around 3 mm thickness. This is coated on one side with molybdenum (Mo) that serves as metal back contact. The heterojunction is formed between the semiconductors CIGS and ZnO, buffered by a thin layer of CdS and a layer of intrinsic ZnO. The CIGS is doped p-type from intrinsic defects, while the ZnO is doped n-type to a much larger extent through the incorporation of aluminum (Al). This asymmetric doping causes the space-charge region to extend much further into the CIGS than into the ZnO. For the production of modules, individual cells are divided and monolithically interconnected by a series of scribing steps between the layer depositions. Additionally, susceptibility to dampness makes module encapsulation a requisite for long lifetimes.

ORGANIC SOLAR CELLS
Organic solar cells and Polymer solar cells are built from thin films (typically 100 nm) of organic semiconductors such as polymers and small-molecule compounds like polyphenylene vinylene, copper phthalocyanine (a blue or green organic pigment) and carbon fullerenes. Energy conversion efficiencies achieved to date using conductive polymers are low compared to inorganic materials. However, these cells could be beneficial for some applications where mechanical flexibility and disposability are important. These devices differ from inorganic semiconductor solar cells in that they do not rely on the large built-in electric field of a PN junction to separate the electrons and holes created when photons are absorbed. The active region of an organic device consists of two materials, one which acts as an electron donor and the other as an acceptor. When a photon is converted into an electron hole pair, typically in the donor material, the charges tend to remain bound in the form of an exciton, and are separated when the exciton diffuses to the donor-acceptor interface. The short exciton diffusion lengths of most polymer systems tend to limit the efficiency of such devices. Nanostructured interfaces, sometimes in the form of bulk heterojunctions, can improve performance. In thin film manufacturing two different approaches are know, substrate or superstrate structure. Figure 61 explains the two different structures. A substrate structure is bottom-up approach, where the substrate is the final layer and the sunlight comes through the top layer. In a superstrate structure the superstrate is directly exposed to the sunlight and thus the top layer. A common method for growing a-Si and c-Si layers is Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD). In this process, monosilane (SiH4) and hydrogen (H2) gases are introduced into a reactor chamber. The process is fairly simple to understand; during the manufacturing process, the glass or foil substrates have to be cleaned very thoroughly first. If the substrate is not already covered with a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer, which serves as a front contact, sputtering or low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) is used to deposit a TCO layer. Next, the TCO layer has to be scribed by lasers to separate the solar cells. This step is followed by PECVD deposition of the silicon absorber layer. The thickness of the a-Si layers ranges between 200 and 300 nm, while the c-Si measures between 1.2 and 1.5 m. Afterwards, a second laser scribe defines the solar cells. Next, a metal contact is applied, which serves as a back reflector and forms the back contact together with the TCO layer. The number of layers in the thin film cell determines also how many times the substrate goes into the various deposition chambers and the chosen semiconductors. A third scribe then finishes the cells by preparing them for the monolithic integration into module. The module finishing takes place in the so-called back-end of the PV production plant. The different semiconductors are sputtered in a fully automated batch process and today several turn-key
MANUFACTURING
Thin-film solar cells are much easier to manufacture and therefore reduce significantly the cost. Depending on the substrate type, glass or flexible substrate, such as polymer, stainless steel or aluminum, a different manufacturing process is used.
Substrate
Superstrate
Sunlight
Laminate (eg. EVA) 3mm Front cover Front contact 0, 5 mm 3m 3mm Cell (a-Si, CdTe, etc.) Back contact Substrate 3mm 3mm 3m 0, 5 mm
Sunlight
Superstrate Front contact Cell (a-Si, CdTe, etc.) Back contact Back cover
Substrate: Glass, stainless stell, polymer foil Laminate: EVA Cover: Glass, polymer foil
Superstrate: Glass Laminate: EVA Back cover: Glass, polymer foil
Figure 61: Substrate vs. superstrate approach
30
Glass cleaning: dust removal
Glass inspection: quality of cleaning and detection of glass damage Back-contact TCO deposition: Zno, AI, Ag, Ni..., sputtering, LPCVD
Front-contact TCO deposition: ZnO, SnO2, ITO, sputtering, LPCVD
Quality control TCO: sheet resistance, transparency/haze
Laser scribe P1: IR 1064 nm / UV 355 mm
Laser scribe P2: green 532 nm
a-Si uc-Si deposition: single / multi chamber, batch / inline, 13 / 24 / 40...MHz
Glass cleaning: particle removal after scribing
Quality control P1: Isolation resistance between scribe lines
Laser scribe P3: green 532 nm
Module quality check: measurement of open circuit voltage
Back-end Module nishing
Figure 62: Manufacturing process for a-Si thin film module (Courtesy: Photon International)
equipment solution providers (e.g. figure 63) are on the market and sell complete manufacturing lines. Most manufacturing lines offer high yield throughput (tack time), between 2 to 4 hours per module; glass in, module out. For flexible thin film modules, e.g. based on polymer,
stainless steel or aluminum substrate, the deposition process looks similar. But the manufacturing is continuous roll-to-roll and not as batch process. This should reduce the production and transport cost further compared to modules based on glass substrate.
Figure 63: Turn-key solution from AMAT (USA) for a-Si/c-Si production (Courtesy: Applied Material)
31

The latest breakthrough in production has come with rollto-roll open-air printing manufacturing process that resembles offset printing (figure 65). Reams of aluminum or stainless steel foil roll through large presses, similar to those used in newspaper printing. The rolls of foil can be metres wide and miles long. This makes the product much more adaptable for different applications. A printer, operating in an open-air environment, deposits a thin layer of semiconducting ink onto the metal substrate. This is a huge improvement over on glass substrate manufacturing, which requires that the semiconductor be deposited in a vacuum chamber. Another press deposits the CdS and ZnO layers. The zinc oxide layer is non-reflective to ensure that sunlight is able to reach the semiconductor layer. Finally, the foil can be cut into sheets of solar cells.
Figure 64: Roll-to-roll production of a-Si (double or triple junction) on stainless steel or polymer substrate
Depending on the number of junctions in the final solar cell the number of deposition chambers is larger and the process becomes more complicated. Today less than a handful of companies (e.g. Unisolar, USA is the largest company) can manufacture flexible triple junction a-Si thin film solar cells.
Figure 65: Ink-jet printing approach by Nanosolar (Courtesy: Nanosolar)
32
Malaysia; a Profit Center for Global Manufacturing

Its arguably Asias best-kept secret, and its indisputably a profit center to the foreign investors whose site selection skills discover it. Its Malaysia, a vibrant, westernized nation that not only offers diversity among peoples and cultures, but also diversity of industries and an abundance of resources to support them. Malaysia gained its independence from the United Kingdom 52 years ago. Since then Malaysia has been laying the infrastructural groundwork and executing the economic development strategies that have positioned Malaysia as an industrial force to be reckoned with in its region. This multi-ethnic nation boasts a combination of attributes that are turning the heads of multinational firms looking for an edge on the competition in a predictable environment. Malaysia offers political and economic stability, strong economic fundamentals, pro-business government, liberal investment policies, well-developed infrastructure, harmonious industrial relations, and a trainable and educated work force that speaks English. While Malaysia has carved out niches in a long list of industries, including chemicals and petroleum products, photonics, solar cells, food manufacturing, textiles and apparel, furniture, medical devices, automotive, machinery and equipment, biotechnology, and aerospace and aircraft, the country is perhaps best known as Silicon Valley East because of its strong showing in the semiconductor industry. Malaysia continues to move away from low-value assembly to high value-added manufacturing and research and development. The government has also adopted more flexibility in economic development policies to provide greater opportunities for foreign companies than ever before. More than 5,000 foreign companies from over 60 nations have set up shop in Malaysia, which is strategically positioned in the heart of Asia. With customized tax incentives offered to quality investments and strong supporting industries, many companies have significantly expanded their presence. Malaysia had a 4.6% growth in 2008 and the country will retain its position as a top destination in the world for outsourcing, behind India and China. Deutsche Bank ranked Malaysia second, after India, among Asias growth stars for the 20062020 period, with China in third position. The list of high rankings goes on and on and the trend is clear: Malaysia is competitive in the global economy on all fronts, and the country is not content to rest on its success. Malaysia is striving for improvements across the board. In the World Banks Doing Business 2008 Index, Malaysia ranked 24th out of 178 economies. Malaysias standing in IMDs 2008 World Competitiveness Scoreboard is 19th. That puts the nation ahead of Japan and Korea in Asia and Thailand and Vietnam in ASEAN. Malaysia has much more competition than ever for FDI. Beyond Singapore and Hong Kong, the emergence of China and India as well as smaller Asian economies like Vietnam, Thailand, and even Eastern European countries like Hungary and Poland is forcing Malaysia to stay on its economicdevelopment toes with new strategies, more liberal policies, and fiscal and non-fiscal incentives. Malaysia, of course, continues to improve its infrastructure and continues to play to its strengths. The nations latest industry interest is from Photovoltaic companies and Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) continues to attract investment from this sector. Unlike in nearby countries like Vietnam and Thailand, running a solar cell manufacturing plant in Malaysia doesnt demand a large investment in training workers because the skilled labor is readily available. Whats more, PV technology companies report low turnover and low wage-inflation in Malaysia. On the intellectual property (IP) front, foreign companies in Malaysia find protection of patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights, geographical indications, and layout designs of integrated circuits. Malaysia is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and a signatory to the Paris Convention and Berne Convention that govern IP rights. Malaysia is also a signatory to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), signed under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Despite the rising international oil and food prices, foreign investors continue to show strong interest in investing in Malaysia. The Government has guaranteed all existing and potential investors of its continued pro-business policies and incentives packages formulated and implemented by the federal government. The large and prompt investment approvals are a testimony to this fact.
Courtesy: First Solar Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Malaysia; a Profit Center for Global Manufacturing

In 2008, investments amounting to RM 62.8 billion were approved. Of this figure, foreign investments amounted to RM 46.1 billion (73.4%), while domestic investments totalled RM 16.7 billion (26.6%). Approved investments for this period exceeded the annual investment target of RM 27.5 billion set in the Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP3). Major sectors of approved industries were in basic metal products, electronics and electrical products, transport equipment and chemical products. Approved investments were mainly from Australia, Germany, USA, Spain and Japan. The current focus of the Malaysian Government is towards attracting investment inflows into high technology, high valueadded, knowledge based and skills - intensive industries. Among the industries being targeted for promotion include electronics, ICT, biotechnology, machinery and equipment, renewable energy and medical devices. Besides promoting foreign and domestic investments, the Malaysian Government is also actively promoting cross border investments. Malaysian companies are encouraged to venture abroad to expand their markets, tap new investment opportunities and acquire new technology. Investments by Malaysian companies overseas will also generate foreign exchange to the country. Direct investments abroad by Malaysian companies have increased from RM 22.0 billion in 2006 to RM 37.8 billion in 2007, reflecting the growing interest among Malaysian companies to diversify their operations. To further strengthen the efforts to promote cross border investments, MIDA established the Cross Border Investment Promotion Division in May 2008 to assist Malaysian companies venture abroad in pursuit of business opportunities. The Malaysian Government has also introduced several measures to enhance the countrys competitiveness. The corporate tax has been reduced to 26% in 2008 and this will be further reduced to 25% in 2009. Other measures include the establishment of a Special Task Force or PEMUDAH to further improve the public delivery system and the establishment of an Immigration Unit at the MIDA to facilitate the issuance of visas to expatriates. Malaysia is getting more competitive and the country has always enjoyed political stability, an attribute that many global companies cite again and again as a reason for locating and expanding there. A market-oriented economy with a welldeveloped financial and banking environment and low overall inflation is another. Theres also a developed infrastructure of well-maintained seaports, airports, highways, and railways, along with high-quality power supply and telecommunications networks, fully developed industrial parks including freetrade zones and an enviable quality of life. With thousand of companies producing world-class products across Malaysia, its almost difficult to call it Asias best-kept secret. Still, with China and India getting so much media attention, Malaysia has slipped under the radar screen for many perspective investors. But Malaysia has all the right ingredients that promise to make this nation a recognizable powerhouse of global trade in the years ahead. And as the Gateway to Asia, Malaysia is poised to give foreign investors direct access to coveted markets with the lower risks that come with a political stability the country has enjoyed for 52 years.
Courtesy: Q-Cells Malaysia Sdn Bhd
34
PV Industry and Market Development

Photovoltaics has been utilized for over 50 years in a range of applications. As the technology both improved in efficiency and decreased in cost, new applications began to emerge. Consumer products (such as calculators) experienced high growth in the market in the early 1980s, but now represent less than 1% share of the overall market. From the mid-1980s to1998 off-grid applications dominated the overall PV application market. From the mid-1990s to the present, grid-connected PV has experienced significant growth and currently represents 84% of the total PV installed today. This market is also expected to continue to grow at exceptional rates for the next several years. Published data on the cumulative amount of global grid-connected PV installed to date indicates an annual growth rate (year to year) exceeding 50% over the last 8 years, making grid-connected PV the fastest growing renewable energy market in the world. However, PV still constitutes only a small fraction (~3%) of renewable energy technologies globally and generates only a tiny portion (~0.04%) of the worlds energy, but it will provide the greatest share when compared to all available resources in the future. Solar energy is forecasted to provide more than 60% of the electricity supply in 2100; see figure 99 in chapter Industry Outlook. in this market, but it must also be understood what the primary drivers are until grid-parity with conventional electricity power producers is reached. Although the fuel (sunlight) for grid-connected PV is free, the capital costs of the technology still result in electricity production prices that are higher than conventional production prices (note; conventional prices do not include externalised costs). Forward thinking countries have dealt with this price difference through a range of support mechanisms to create a fair and level playing field as PV technology develops and approaches conventional grid pricing. Table 3 provides an overview of the six key support mechanisms currently driving PV growth globally. Feed-in tariff (FiT) is the main policy driving the global PV market growth since 2000. In 2008, approximately 85% of the total annual installed PV capacity was installed in FiT markets alone. FiT encourages the application of gridconnected PV by paying preferential rates for the electricity produced. The rate or tariff paid for the electricity produced is typically set at levels that are believed to provide appropriate returns for the investment in implementation and maintenance of the technology over an appropriate time period, generally in the order of 20 years. The preferential rates are typically paid through a fund generated by a small tax added to the price of the electricity over the entire electricity customer base. FiT is the most successful PV policy and has proven to provide the highest benefits, creates more jobs than any other policy, is the best tool for CO2 emission reduction and has been most successfully implemented in over 50 countries worldwide.
MARKET DRIVERS
The fantastic growth that is seen especially in gridconnected PV market clearly demonstrates huge business opportunities that are available to those who desire to invest
Policy Feed-in tariffs (FiT) Tax Incentives Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Net metering
Description Premium price for grid-connected PV electricity, paid to system owners by utility or regulatory body. Price typically guaranteed for 20 years. Reduction or elimination of tax paid in purchase of PV systems, deduction of total cost of portion of PV system cost from business or personal tax. Mandatory portion of grid-connected PV power in the overall generation mix in the grid. Tradable certificates represent power produced by PV systems. Grid-connected PV produced electricity is used in the home or building where installed. Any amount above what is consumed in the building is exported to the grid. Any amount below what is consumed in the building is imported from the grid. Cash rebate on a portion of grid-connected PV system costs. Voluntary schemes where electricity consumers pay a premium for grid-connected PV power from utility or other electricity retailers. Power is purchased from grid-connected PV system owners.
Table 3: Key support policy for grid-connected PV
Direct capital support Green Pricing
35

APPLICATIONS
Figure 66 gives an overview of the market distribution into the four application categories and emphasizes the point that the grid-connected PV market is completely dependent on a supportive environment to develop the market until grid-parity is achieved. The off-grid market, accounting for around 5% in 2008, is developing often based on real market conditions (off-grid PV can be viable in many remote applications) and also via donor programs. The consumer market is the oldest PV market and based on pure market play.
MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Photovoltaics had another record breaking growth in 2008, with an estimated annual installed capacity around 5,590 MWp. This results in a year-on-year (YoY) growth rate of approximately 123% compared to the previous years 60% GRYoY. Grid-connected centralised application (shaded in blue) has experienced the highest growth rate (by a factor of 2.3). However, distributed grid-connected applications still represent the largest share and account for 60% of the cumulative global installed PV power. The regional distribution of the annual installed PV market in 2008 is shown in table 4. Spains domestic installations take the major share with 44%, followed by Germany (27%), USA (6%) and South Korea (5%). These markets are growing because of a combination of both past and present investments in the development and implementation of PV technology through a deliberate and consistent policy approach. As already mentioned, from the estimated total annual installed PV capacity in 2008 (5.6 GWp) 95% is dependent on political support. Grid-connected PV technologies require forward thinking politicians to champion and to implement sustainable policies for the market development of the PV technology. For a sustainable market development, we need to create a level playing field for RE versus conventional energy producers. Conventional energy producers do not include externalized cost associated with health, safety and sustainable living. The European Union with its member countries is the biggest market globally and consumes 80% of the annual
Ground-based PVPS
35.8%
PV in the Built Environment
59%
Consumer Applications Rural Electri cation
0.2% 5.0%
Figure 66: Overview application development in 2008 (Source: Envision)
Cumulative Installed PV Power - Worldwide

16,000 O -grid Grid-connected distributed Grid-connected centralized 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 14,000
MARKET
O -grid PV
POLICY DRIVEN
Grid-connected PV
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
1995
2005
2006
2007
1988
1989
1990
Figure 67: Market development 1988 to 2008 (Source: Navigant, Photon International, EPIA)
36
1991
1992
1993
1994
2008
(MWp)
Country
Spain Germany USA South Korea Itay Japan Rest of World Rest of Europe France Portugal China India Greece Australia Total
Installed capacity in 2008 (MW)
2,500 1,500 342 274 260 230 150 130 50 48 40 28 20 15 5,587
Market share in 2008 (%)
44 27 6 5 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 100
Table 4: Regional market development in 2008 (Source: Envision)
installed PV capacity, driven by Feed-in Tariff (FiT) mechanism. Germany was the first country to introduce an attractive uncapped FiT to stimulate the PV technology and the respective industry. The annual PV capacity installed is estimated to have reached 1.5 GWp in 2008. Germany revised their FiT policy and lowered the feed-in tariffs (FiT). Further, the degression was increased from 5% to 8% for PV in buildings (< 100 kWp) and to 10% for ground-based PV systems or any PV system larger than 100 kWp. The tariffs for 2010 onwards will be adjusted according to the resulting annual PV growth (table 5). Spain, in the last two years, became a modern El Dorado where PV was supported by very attractive FiTs generating windfall profits. In 2008 the annual installed PV capacity was an astonishing 2.5 GWp, representing 44% share of the global market and the No. 2 global PV market, in terms of total installed PV capacity. The market grew very nervous when on 28 September 2008 the Royal Decree 661/2007 phased out. The Spanish government acted accordingly and approved the continuation of the PV policy; however with a 500 MW cap
for 2009, including 233 MW for rooftop and 267 MWp for ground-based PVPS, and lower FiT. The initial reaction following the revision of the PV polices was mixed. However it has been forecasted that module prices will decline even more than the revised FiTs and thus make the two markets (Germany and Spain) viable and attractive again. Other attractive and growing markets in the EU are Italy (global No. 5 PV market), France, Greece and Portugal. These four markets are forecasted to install over 1 GWp in 2009. The FiT policy is available in many other countries in Europe, e.g. Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, UK (in discussion), The Netherlands and the Czech Republic. All offer attractive FiTs but do not contribute significantly to the global growth, as the markets are limited in size. FiT policy is the chosen sustainable mechanism for developing renewable energy in Europe, and well understood and accepted (20 out of 27 EU member countries have introduced FiT). In the United States of America, the market growth was almost coming to an abrupt halt, when the Investment Tax Credits (tax incentives as key driver) was not renewed in one of the last US senate sessions in September 2008. 3 October 2008 was then the big day and Photovoltaic saw its Investment Tax Credits (ITC) extended by eight years as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Growth rate of 45% in US PV installations was among the highest in the world in part due to new state programs (RPS mainly) and the ITC, and resulted in 342 MWp PV capacity installed in 2008. Utility-scale installations grew the fastest, accounting for 15% of the annual installed capacity. USA is worldwide the No. 4 PV market estimated around 1,217 MWp cumulative power but has the potential to outpace Germany in few years thanks to the extension of the ITC and the support of various other supportive state programs. In addition to the eight years extension, the solar ITC has also been extended to utilities, which now can take direct advantage of the ITC through the ownership of solar projects. Not only ITC is an important driver in the US, but also the state RPS (renewable
Degression for PVPS <100 kW (% p.a) Degression 2009 8
Degression for PVPS >100 kW (incl. ground-based) (% p.a) <1.000 <1.100 <1.100 8 8 9 1.000-1.500 1.100-1.700 1.100-1.700 9 9 10 10 >1.500 >1.700 >1.700 10 10 11
Market 2009 (MW) Market 2010 (MW)
<1.000 <1.100 <1.100 8 8 7
1.000-1.500 1.100-1.700 1.100-1.700 9 9 8
>1.500 >1.700 >1.700 10 10 9
Degression 2010
Degression 2011 Market 2011 (MW)
Degression 2012
Table 5: Outlook degression levels in Germany (Source: BMU)
37
Figure 68: Ground-based PV power system in the Philippines
Figure 69: Pal town in Ohta City, Japan
portfolio standards) program with different technology tiers and technology specific targets. Further net-metering is accepted in all states and few states have even introduced a FiT but with much lower rates than in Europe to stimulate the national and state growth of PV technology. The largest market in the USA is California, strongly supported by its Solarminator Governor A. Schwarzenegger, who launched the Go Solar California initiative in January 2007. The new framework also includes a major shift in the way solar incentives were calculated - away from a system that funded solar incentives based only on nameplate capacity and towards one where incentive levels are based on performance factors such as installation angle, tilt, and location. This performance framework ensures that California is generating clean solar energy and rewarding systems that can provide maximum solar generation. The California Solar Initiative is part of the Go Solar California campaign and builds on 10 years of state solar rebates offered to customers in California's investor-owned utility territories. The United States of America accounted for 6% market share in 2008 and offers a mix of market drivers starting with net-metering, direct capital support, tax incentives and renewable portfolio standards. In Southwest and Central Asia, the PV technology is fairly new and unknown. Off-grid, street and marine safety applications are the dominating businesses (estimated less than 5 MWp per year) in this part of the world and thus contributing to around 0.1% global market share. Gridconnected PV applications are starting to emerge, however not driven by any supportive policy or with an attractive feedin tariff, but rather for showcasing or testing purposes. The Middle East countries want to establish the region as a leading hub for solar manufacturing, thanks to low energy cost and plenty of available land and low-cost labour. The best known
initiative is the Masdar project in the United Arab Emirates with planned gigawatt manufacturing and a CO2 neutral and zero-waste city, relying entirely on solar, wind and waste energy. However, it has become quiet lately after much hype and PR activities to promote the Middle East as the best manufacturing location and sustainable living place. In South, East and Southeast Asia, the key markets are Japan and Korea. Japan is No. 3 in the world market in terms of cumulative installed PV capacity, but the position will be contested in the next two years by the USA. Growth in 2008 is estimated around 230 MWp, resulting in a cumulative capacity of less than 2,147 MWp. The problems for the limited market growth are well known. Firstly, discontinuation of the national subsidy scheme (direct capital support) by end of 2005, and secondly, the local manufactured PV modules were exported to higher profit markets (Germany, Spain and Italy), compromising the availability of cheap modules for the home market. However, theres a chance for a new incentive program for PV (Fukuda Vision), stimulating again the home market and further industry development. For Japan, it was always a key objective to lead the global PV industry, and Japan was able to maintain the position for more than 8 years. The Government is aware, that to retake the top ranked position a major national PV program is required. Japan will implement a USD 300 million program (RM 1 billion) based on direct capital support commencing in April 2009. Korea was a highly attractive FiT market in 2007 and 2008. This has changed from 1 Oct 2008 with a FiT reduction of 30% for PV systems larger than 3 MWp. The announced tariff reduction will shift the PV market from large-scale PV system to PVPS with maximum size of 1 MWp or even smaller. The Korean Government announced it will replace the FiT program with a RPS policy post 2012. Considering the reduced FiT, it is expected that in 2009 until 2012 the Korean
market will experience a growth rate of a maximum of 20%, unless the module prices fall dramatically and thus make the 30% reduced FiT again attractive enough. Besides these two countries, limited and often unattractive PV programs a mix of FiT with limited duration, net-metering and few programs offer direct capital support are available in some Indian states and some parts in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. China, which seems committed to developing a clean energy infrastructure, has set ambitious targets and put in place a comprehensive RE policy framework. However, the country scores poorly here because the specifics for a PV support program remain unclear, in stark contrast to being the largest PV producer in the world. The region (mainly Korea and Japan) takes in 2008 approximately 11% of the global market. China and SEA are expected to grow significantly in the coming decade and overtake Europe between 2025 and 2030. Australia, similar to the US, is a country with tremendous solar, technological and financial resources that could put the country among the three leading nations worldwide. Currently, Australias federal support is inadequate to stimulate sustainable growth of PV. The government is considering an aggressive support mechanism following the successful FiT programs in Germany and Spain. Photovoltaics is recognised globally to offer solutions to our ever increasing energy demand, environmental and economical
crisis, and offers significant economic and employment opportunities. And lets not forget, PV is not only clean power but also versatile; it can serve power utilities grids and become a serious energy provider as well as provide basic needs to the more than 2 billion people, most of whom live in rural areas and may not be connected to the grid for many years to come. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that meeting our increasing global energy demand by 2030 will require investments of about USD 16 trillion (or about USD 600 billion per year RM 2,040 billion per year) not including the enormous health and environmental costs associated with the current polluting sources of energy. PV is forecasted to supply up to 15% of the electricity demand in developed countries in 2030.
INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT
Today, more than 500 manufacturing plants are active in solar cells and solar modules production worldwide. Many emerging companies have been identified in thin films, ranging from amorphous, micromorph, CdTe to CIGS. However, also the crystalline technology is upscaling its outputs fast in the next three years. Several announcements of capacities in the gigawatt range (e.g. REC, Sunpower, Q-Cells and Suntech Power) have been made. The crystalline technology, with mono c-Si (sc-Si) and poly c-Si (mc-Si) has dominated the market in the last thirty years and will dominate the market in the next decade to come. However, thin film (TF) has a huge potential for cost reduction due to fully automated simple manufacturing by e.g. screen printing or roll to roll sputtering and lower demand for the material resources, and will compete strongly with c-Si technology in the coming years. In 2008, TF technology accounted for 12.5% in the cell market share. Poly c-Si (also called multi c-Si) was leading the different PV technologies with 47.7%, followed by mono c-Si with 38.3%. Other crystalline technologies, such as ribbon cSi, had a market share of 1.5% only.
47.7 45.2 46.5 52.3 54.7 1.1 57.2 51.6 0.5 50.2 48.2 0.5 42.1 6.4 4.7 5.1 5.2 1.5 0.0 2.2 0.1 2.6 0.0 2.9 0.0 1.0 0.5 0.4 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Figure 70: PV provide solutions for the basic needs
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 Mono c-Si
38.3 42.2 43.3 38.4 36.2 32.2 36.4 34.6 37.4 40.8
others
2.7 4.7 1.4 1.1 4.7 4.4
3.3
4.5
4.4 4.6 5.6 4.3 4.1
0.7
6.4
8.9 9.6 12.3
Poly c-Si
CdTe
a-Si/uc-Si
CIS
Ribbon c-Si
0.3
Others
Figure 71: Overview PV cell technology market share from 1999 to 2008 (Source: Photon International)
0.2
39

In 2008, TF gained some market share, however not exceeding 13%. Poly c-Si is estimated to dominate the market in the coming years, largely due to improved material properties and thus higher efficiencies from upgraded metallurgic grade (UMG) silicon. UMG, either as source or as blended material, will open doors to significant cost reduction and in 2008 the first long-term contracts (e.g. Bcancour Silicon Inc/Timminco with Q-Cells) have been signed. UMG silicon can be processed into poly c-Si ingots, wafers and solar cells, providing the UMG material meets certain quality requirements, which today few can meet. However, this is expected to improve in the next 2 years and will provide poly c-Si (and thus the crystalline) technology a cost-competitive solution to maintain is market share. TF is projected to increase the market share to around 25% in 2012. However, crystalline technology will dominate the future market in the next ten years to come. The crystalline technology, also known as first generation (1G) PV technology, is well proven and has matured since the early 60s, when invented at Bell Laboratories in the USA. In 2008, among the top ten PV producers were nine companies
Annual Installed PV Power Worldwide (Conservative Scenario)
Poly c-Si Mono c-Si Thin Film
14,000 13,000 12,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
Figure 72: Overview PV cell technology market development (Source: Photon International & Envision)
producing crystalline products and only one company (First Solar) manufactured TF modules. Leading the manufacturing business is Q-Cells (Germany) followed by Suntech Power (P.R. China) and Sharp (Japan). Although introduced in the early 80s, TF technology, also called second generation (2G) PV, was so far not able to upscale towards mass market and to make the product attractive enough, in terms of cost per watt peak. TF serves a niche market, e.g. consumer applications such as calculators, parking machines, etc. and telecommunication systems until the late 90s. With the introduction of the various feed-in tariff laws in Germany, Spain and other countries, and thus an exploding market and an increasing bottleneck for polysilicon material for crystalline PV modules, the TF technology got the window of opportunity and a few companies, e.g. Unisolar, First Solar, Kaneka and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry were able to upscale and benefit from the huge demand in an undersupplied market. First Solars top ranking position is also reflected in figure 71, where Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) accounts for 6.4% market share, which can be attributed to First Solar. It is projected that in 2010 a-Si (including micromorph) will equal to CdTe, thanks to significant upscaling of production from existing TF players, such as Unisolar, Sharp and Sanyo, and new entrants, e.g. Moser Baer PV, Best Solar, Masdar GmbH, Sontor and others. Towards 2012, it is forecasted that CIS/CIGS will close the gap to the CdTe technology, driven by companies such as Nanosolar, Solibro, Global Solar and others (see figure 73). TF will certainly be competitive with c-Si and will play an important role in utility-scale projects, although several technical challenges remain. The challenges include increase of efficiency in a mass production process, upscaling from laboratory to megawatt or even gigawatt mass production, deposition of TCO layer on a large area of glass, reducing the higher cost for BOS and long-term stability of the final product.
1999
2009(E)
Company
Country Of Origin Technology Crystalline Thin-film Crystalline Crystalline Crystalline Crystalline Crystalline Crystalline Crystalline Crystalline
2010(E)
2011(E)
2012(E)
2000
2001
2002
2003
2005
2004
2006
2007
2008
(MW)
Q-Cells Germany First Solar USA Suntech Power Holdings Ltd. China Sharp Electronics Japan Kyocera Japan Yingli Green Energy China JA Solar China Motech Taiwan SunPower Corp. USA Sanyo Japan Total Top 10 (in MW) in 2008
Capacity 2008 (shipments in MW) 570 504 496 473 290 282 277 265 237 220 3,614
Rank 2008 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Rank 2007 1 5 3 2 4 9 10 15 12 8
Table 6: Top 10 cell/module manufacturers in 2008 (Source: Photon International, revised MBIPV)
40
TF offers an attractive option for large-scale PV deployment and brings down the production cost rapidly. However, with increasing production capacity and number of manufacturers, TF may also face some bottlenecks, e.g. in supply of glass - similar to c-Si - and even gas (e.g. Te, In and Cd). In 2004, the number of companies in TF manufacturing, including a fast increasing number in emerging PV technologies, e.g. dye-sensitive, organic and nano PV technologies, overtook their counterparts in the crystalline sector. However, we have to recognise, that many of this TF companies are either in pre-commercialisation stage or still in research and development of their technology. The technology mix for PV technologies after 2020 cannot be predicted at present. It seems the trend for TF goes towards consumer applications and utility scale projects, and c-Si for roof-top and BIPV projects. Emerging technologies (third generation 3G) will be commercialised and gaining market share. However, 3G PV technologies will not reach
Outlook Realistic TF Production (in MW)
6000
mass production before 2015, whereas TF (2G) is maturing and reaching mass production between 2009 and 2015. Since 1999, we experienced a doubling of PV production capacity every two years and it seems this trend will continue, taking into consideration the recent announcements of the various global PV players and new - but yet to prove technologies coming on line. This means increasing worldwide production capacity from 4.2 GW in 2007 to ~14 GW by 2010, resulting in a growth rate exceeding 50%. Photon International forecasts an annual PV production capacity of 26 GW by 2010. From 2010 onwards, the worldwide PV production could grow at an even higher rate, depending if grid-parity is reached in certain markets. Oerlikon Solar, First Solar and others, project to achieve grid-parity in 2012 in few states in the USA, and by 2014 in Italy. Obviously, as soon as grid-parity is achieved, the market will skyrocket and does not need an accompanied PV policy.
Outlook Realistic PV Production (in GW)
Thin Film
3.9 20 18 2.6 16 14
CdTe (projected) CIGS (projected) a-Si (projected) Emerging 3rd Gen (projected) Total (projected)
3000 2000 4000 5000
c-Si
(MW)
0.9 0.4 8.6 14.1 11.5 6.6 3.8
10 8 6 4 2
1000 0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Figure 73: Outlook TF production development from 2008 to 2012 (Source: Envision)
Figure 74: Outlook PV production development from 2007 to 2011 (Source: Envision)
Country Germany Spain USA Japan Italy Korea France China India Portugal Australia Greece Rest of Europe Rest of World Total CAGR GRYoY
Installed PV in 2007 1,150 512 240 210 70 50 45 22 22 15 12 2 60 120 ~2,530 MW ~39% ~61%
PV in 2008 1,500 2,500 342 230 260 274 50 40 28 48 15 20 130 150 ~5,587 MW ~62% ~121%
PV in 2009 (E) 2,100 500 800 450 550 250 220 65 40 50 40 200 90 180 ~5,535 MW ~38% ~-1%
Table 7: Annual PV capacity installed in 2007 to 2009 (E) (Source: MBIPV)
(GW)
1.7
12
41

However, for the next few years the market expects turbulent times. The explosive growth in the solar industry in the last few years will lead to an oversupply situation in 2009, as described in chapter Industry outlook. In table 7 we have compiled an overview of the development on the demand side. Presented is the annual PV capacity installed in the main PV markets in 2007 and in 2008, and a forecast of the annual growth in 2009. 2008 was an exceptional year, driven by strong growth in Spain and Germany, resulting in a growth rate year on year (GRYoY) of 121% and causing module prices to increase 5% to 15%. This year the CAGR is forecasted to return to a growth level as in 2007 and we can expect declining module cost because of the financial crisis and the industry has been upscaling fast to achieve module production cost of less than USD 1.00/Wp (RM 3.40/Wp). There is tremendous potential for further PV cost reduction through technological innovation and economies of scale. This situation is depicted in the PV learning curve shown in figure 75, which presents the module production cost estimated in 1994. Thin film is expected to be the first to achieve production cost of USD 1.00/Wp (RM 3.40/Wp) and First Solar published in Q1 2009 production cost of USD 0.98/Wp (RM 3.33/Wp) already.
USD/Wp
1980 c-Si cost development 1986 1999 c-Si prediction 2008 TF cost development
USD/Wp
100 50 1976
Mean PV Module Price
20 10 5 2 1 0.5
Module manufacturing cost
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1990 1995 2005
Crystalline Silicon Thin Film Concentrator
TF prediction (revised) 0.2 0.1 0.1 1 100 1,000 TF prediction (1994) 10,000 100,000
MWp Total installed PV Capacity

2010 2015 2020
Figure 75: PV Learning Curve (Source: UN University Press, modified by D. Ruoss)
Figure 76: Development of module manufacturing cost (Source: US Dept of Energy, 2007)
44 40 36 32
E ciency (%)
Multijunction Concentrators Three-junction (2-terminal, monolithic) Two-junction (2-terminal, monolithic) Single-Junction GaAs Single crystal Concentrator Thin lm Crystalline Si Cells Single crystal Multicrystalline Thick Si lm Thin-Film Technologies Cu(In,Ga)Se CdTe Amorphous Si:H (stabilized) Nano-, micro-, poly-Si Multijunction polycrystalline Emerging PV WestingDye-sensitized cells house Orrganic cells No. Carolina (various technologies) State Univ. ARCO Stanford (140x conc.) Spire Spire Stanford UNSW Georgia Tech Sharp Georgia Tech UNSW Kopin UNSW UNSW NREL Japan NREL Energy SunPower (96x conc.) UNSW UNSW UNSW NREL Cu(In, Ga)Se (14x conc.)
Best Research-Cell E ciencies

BoeingSpectrolab Spectrolab
Boeing-Spectrolab (metamorphic 236x conc.)
UNSW 43.0% Fraunhofer - ISE
NREL (inverted, metamorphic) 33.8% NREL (inverted, metamorphic, 1-sun) Amonix (92x conc.) 27.6% FhG-ISE 24.7%
28 24 20 16 12 8 4
Varian (216x conc.)
FhG-ISE NREL NREL
0 1975
NREL NREL Varian NREL NREL NREL Sharp Univ. Stuttgart (large-area) University NREL (45m thin-lm So. Florida AstroPower transfer) NREL (small-area) NREL NREL Boeing ARCO Euro-CIS United Solar (CdTe/CIS) Kodak Solarex Boeing United Solar Boeing AMETEK Photon Energy Sharp EPFL Kaneka Matsushita (2m on glass) Boeing Monosolar Kodak United Solar Solarex NREL Konarka RCA Univ. Linz Boeing EPFL Groningen University Plextronics of Maine Siemens RCA University RCA RCA RCA University Linz Linz RCA RCA
20.3% 19.9% 16.5%
12.1% 11.1%
5.4%
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Figure 77: Development of Champion PV Cell Efficiency (Source: NREL, 2008 and MBIPV's research, 2009)
42
However, thin film has the lowest cost reduction potential after achieving the benchmark of USD 1.00/Wp (RM 3.40/Wp), and concentrating PV (CPV with high efficient multijunction PV cells) will converge in production cost with TF between 2015 and 2020. Crystalline silicon has the highest manufacturing cost but also offers the highest potential of cost reduction (figure 76). Cost reduction can be achieved by using thinner wafers (less kerf losses and less silicon used), cheaper polysilicon production and use of upgraded metallurigal (UMG) silicon material, innovative manufacturing techniques, economics of scale and increase of efficiency. Figure 77 shows a historic summary of champion cell efficiencies for various photovoltaic technologies. The highest efficiencies have been achieved for multijunction solar cells, which have the potential to approach 50% in coming years. Multijunction high efficiency solar cells are mainly used for Concentrating PV (CPV) or space applications. The interest for CPV applications has exploded in the last two years. CPV is most suited for ground-based PV applications, e.g. solar farms in the desert or waste lands. PV cell efficiencies have improved significantly (around 30%) in the last 10 years and new manufacturing techniques (e.g. sputtering and doping methods) will improve the efficiencies further. Amorphous silicon PV has the lowest efficiency, which can be improved by an additional crystalline
layer on top turning the structure into a microcrystalline PV module.
THE ROAD TOWARDS GRID-PARITY

Looking ahead; the various PV technologies will compete to achieve grid-parity first and secure market share and each has its strength and will play a role in the future market, be it in utility applications or niche markets only. We will experience in the next two to four years significant cost reduction due to economics of scale in manufacturing, impact of financial crisis, and changing PV policies and political commitment. This pressure leads to an oversupply in the market and a consolidation phase with mergers, bankruptcies and layoffs.
Figure 78: Highest efficiency sc-Si Solar cell (Courtesy: Sunpower)
Initial growth phase Initial production ramp: Emergence of many companies
Shake-out Rationalization: Shake-out and consolidation
Build-out of an industry Foundations for a new industry: Commercial scale production ramp by a rationalized supplier base - corporate nance activity to support
Maturity A maturing industry: Classic cyclical growth phase - industry leaders become self nancing, followed by corporate nancing activity
100%
80% Normalized anticipated corporate nance activity Corporate nance Grid parity reached Normalized anticipated stock performance
60%
40%
20% Some casualties of shake-out expected Stock performance 0% 04 04 08 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
Figure 79: Development of PV Industry and Market (Source: Deutsche Bank)
43

2025
India
2020
2015
2010
(Year)
2050
Israel
Grid - Parity
1850
Average Solar Yield (kWh/kWp/yr)
China
1650
Australia
1450
USA Greece Spain California Italy Malaysia Russia
1250
1050
Poland
France Switzerland
Japan Germany
850
UK
650 0.03
0.08
0.13 0.18 Retail Electricity Rates (USD/kWh)
0.23
0.28
Figure 80: Proximity to grid-parity (Source: Green Cross International)
Most experts consider the coming consolidation phase is much needed, as the market is now overheated. Many metoo companies entered the PV business not understanding the market, the technology and the drivers. In a matured market, the number of manufacturing companies will reduce significantly and result in a structured, competitive and high quality business controlled by few industry giants and supplied by SMEs. During this consolidation period and definitely following the shake-out, the established and financially strong companies will build up their capacity and drive their manufacturing to reach grid-parity quickly. Grid-parity is close (e.g. in few states in the USA, Japan, Israel, Spain and Italy) and it is not a question when exactly gridparity can be achieved, but how the industry reacts and how the market is developing after reaching grid-parity. Malaysia will not reach grid-parity before 2025, because of the subsidised electricity tariff not providing an equal playing ground between conventional resources and renewable resources. When grid-parity is achieved, there will be basically infinite demand and the market may shift back to a sellers market. This is the best time to assess the surviving industry and identify the niche market for a business entry or team-up. From that moment on, the PV industry will be heading towards rapidly growing demand and this will lead to many new business opportunities to serve a potential undersupply.
Most likely few industry giants will dominate the market, but smaller companies will also have good business opportunities as they can act faster and are closer to the customer to benefit from the strong demand, and can also move into niche markets, which require flexibility and offer attractive profits. Please remember, the extent and speed of the sector's growth and how soon we reach the holy grail meaning gridparity will depend on its ability to keep driving down the cost of solar power. In many parts of the world, governments accelerate the move towards grid-parity with suitable policies, but they cannot reduce the real cost of solar power. It is now high noon for the PV industry to carry the torch and cross the finish line without the handholding support from politicians.
44
PV Policy in Malaysia (Aug 2009)

Photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation is one form of clean, Renewable Energy (RE) options in Malaysias Five-FuelPolicy for power generation. The UNDP/GEF supported MBIPV project has helped to catalyse government support for RE by enhancing the fiscal incentives that had been granted previously. The range of incentives has been enhanced over the years to accelerate the production and consumption of clean RE resources. The present status (Jan 2009) of policy and procedural instruments to support the widespread adoption of gridconnected PV (GC-PV) cover the following elements. If PV is installed from the start for new premises, then the application form and supply agreement become the initial document, but will still require the revenue stamp. The relevant forms shall be duly completed and submitted to PTM/MBIPV as early as possible (at least four weeks) prior to installation of the grid connected PV system. The SEB has developed similar application forms which can be obtained from SEB Offices in Sarawak. SEB has decided on a net-RM basis of reconciliation, which is more favourable to the GC-PV owners as the first block of the domestic tariff in Sarawak is at the highest rate. The grid connection can be done as Direct-Feed at the point of utility supply or Indirect Feed at the users internal distribution board. In both cases it is necessary to install a separate, utility certified kWh meter to record the PV generated electricity. In the Indirect Feed configuration the standard utility meter (uni-directional) needs to be replaced with a bi-directional (import-export) meter to record the electricity exported to the utility grid.
GRID ACCESS
The local utilities (TNB in Peninsular Malaysia, SESB in Sabah and SEB in Sarawak) have agreed to permit interconnection of GC-BIPV to their low voltage (230/400 volts 1 phase / 3 phase) distribution networks. The limitation imposed is that the PV capacity should not exceed the customers maximum demand, in order to limit the PV generation to less than the consumption from the utility. Approval for the grid connection automatically includes approval for net-metering (see also www.mbipv.net.my/ C3NM.html) of the electricity consumed by the user and the electricity generated by the PV installation and fed into the TNB grid through the grid connection. Applications for grid connection shall be made on TNB forms for Domestic or Non-domestic application forms. The forms of the TNB application forms for connection of supply to premises with PV can be accessed from the following links: TNB Forms for Domestic Application www.mbipv.net.my/dload/MBIPV%20Supply%20application %20Domestic.xls.pdf TNB Forms for Non-Domestic Application www.mbipv.net.my/dload/MBIPV%20Supply%20Application %20Non-Domestic.pdf The process flow charts for grid connection of PV systems can be downloaded from: www.mbipv.net.my/C3GCFC.html As the TNB application form for grid connected PV system also forms a new Supply Agreement which will replace the original TNB Supply Agreement for the premises concerned if PV is installed on existing premises, it must be submitted under the name of the Registered TNB Consumer. The TNB consumer will have to pay for the RM 10.00 revenue stamp required to validate the new Supply Agreement.
Figure 81: Installation PV system at ST Building (Courtesy: Solamas)
Such open grid access has been successfully practiced and a total of about 1,060 kWp of GC-PV has been approved for installation on residential and commercial premises and grid connection under the MBIPV project until End of 2008.
NET-METERING
For the present, the GC-PV generated electricity is valued at the same rate as the respective customer tariff and is accounted for on a net-kWh basis. This means that the PV generated electricity is valued at the highest rate where the tariff includes escalating blocks, but at the energy (kWh) rate only where the tariff includes an MD (maximum demand) charge. No GC-PV installations under the MBIPV project are connected (or expected to be connected in the near future) for customers on the MD tariffs.
45
PV supply 200 kWh (E) 400 kWh (A) TNB supply 1,500 kWh (B) PV supply 1,500 kWh (C) User
Figure 82: Schematic Diagram for Direct Feed
1,300 kWh (B)
400 kWh (A)
TNB supply 1,500 kWh (C) User

Figure 83: Schematic Diagram for Indirect Feed
PV generation TNB meter Consumer Net-billing to the TNB to consumer consumption (kWh) system (kWh) (kWh) (kWh) 400 A 1,500 B 1,500 C 1,100
Equals (B A)
PV TNB Consumer PV generation generation meter to consumption (kWh) export consumer (kWh) to TNB (kWh) (kWh)
Net-billing (kWh)
Table 8: Net-Metering Bill Computation for Direct Feed
400
200
1,300
1,500
Equals (B E) 1,100
Table 9: Net-Metering Bill Computation for Indirect Feed
The value of the PV generated electricity to the PV system owner remains the same whether the system is connected in Direct-Feed or Indirect-Feed configurations.
LICENSING
All electricity generators are required to be registered and licensed by the Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) in accordance with the Electricity Regulations 1994. Generators with capacity of 5 kW or higher must also pay a license fee at a rate of RM 1.50 per kW per annum with a minimum fee of RM 100.00 per annum. The power generating plant owners are also required to have Competent Control of the installations, where the capacity of the installation exceeds 100 amperes. MBIPV has obtained ST approval for relaxation of the requirements for licensing and payment of the licensing fees, as well as the Competent Control for BIPV generating systems which are static equipment having no mechanical motive power (or moving parts). The exemption for licensing applies to PV generating plant generating not more than 100 amperes, which equates to 24 kWp for single phase installations and 72 kWp for 3 phase installations at unity (1.0) power factor.
The application for a PV system registration and Generation License shall be made by the PV system owner (filled by the Approved PV Service Provider - APVSP) and submitted to PTM/ MBIPV for onward submission to ST. The PV generation license shall be issued for a period of 21 years and annual license fees, if applied, shall be paid by 31 December every year. Details for the ST Application Form for Registration and Licensing of Grid Connected BIPV systems can be downloaded from www.mbipv.net.my. All forms shall be duly completed and submitted to PTM/MBIPV as early as possible (at least four weeks) prior to installation of the GCPV system.
GOVERNMENT FISCAL INCENTIVES

Government incentives for the generation of electricity from all forms of RE have been granted from as early as 2001 and have been enhanced under different national Budgets to the most recent enhancement under Budget 2009. Types of Incentives The incentives offered under the annual budget can be divided into two main categories: Incentives for Companies (companies locally incorporated
under the Companies Act 1965, being classified as Sykt. Bhd. or Sykt. Sdn. Bhd.); and Incentives for Importers or Manufacturers as Third Party Distributors (TPDs). For Companies generating energy from renewable sources, there is a choice of either applying for: Pioneer Status with income tax exemption on 100% of statutory income for 10 years; OR Investment Tax Allowance (ITA) of 100% on qualifying capital expenditure incurred within a period of 5 years. This allowance can be set-off against 100% of statutory income for each year of assessment; and Import duty and sales tax exemption on equipment used to generate energy from renewable sources not produced locally and sales tax exemption on equipment purchased from local manufacturers. The incentives offered above benefit only companies that generate energy from RE resources. Home owners and nonenergy generating companies such as importers of equipment used to generate RE and housing developers are not eligible to benefit from these incentives. Therefore under Budget 2009, the incentives were enhanced as follows: Import duty and sales tax exemption on solar photovoltaic system equipment for use by third parties was given to importers, including photovoltaic service providers, approved by the Energy Commission; and Sales tax exemption on the purchase of solar heating system equipment from local manufacturers. The following two scenarios attempt to further clarify the differences in the two types of incentives offered. Please note that information provided in the scenarios below gives only the key points in the application process. For complete details, please refer to the guidelines available on MIDAs website. Scenario I Application for ITA by a Company Company A decides to construct its corporate headquarters with building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules to generate renewable energy and consults an approved service provider (APVSP). The APVSP works closely with the appointed architects and M&E consultants in drafting the building plans. Company A downloads FORM RE/JA and Guidelines from MIDAs website (http://www.mida.gov.my), completes the forms and submits its application in three (3) copies to: The Director General Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) 10th Floor, Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5 Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +603-2267 3633 E-mail: investmalaysia@mida.gov.my
Application for Import Duty and Sales Tax Exemption by a Company In parallel to applying for ITA, Company A downloads the PC Services Forms (10.3.2009) together with the Guidelines from MIDAs website, and with the assistance of the APVSP, completes and submits its application in three (3) copies with additional four (4) copies of Appendix I and/or II (if applicable) to the address listed below. The Company A needs to submit the application prior to importation and customs clearance or purchase of the machinery, equipment and materials, at least three (3) months before importation or purchase, to avoid any delays in the processing of the applications. The Director General Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) 2nd Floor, Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5 Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur (Attn.: Director, Business & Other Services Division) Tel: +603-2267 3633 E-mail: investmalaysia@mida.gov.my Note: This type of application is also termed as a project (as end-user) application where import duty and sale tax exemptions for all machinery, equipment, materials, spare parts and consumables used directly in the initiatives (which are not produced locally) can be applied for while for those that are purchased locally can be considered for sales tax exemption. Companies eligible for ITA of 100% for generating RE for own use include manufacturing companies as well as companies managing office buildings/condominiums, shopping complexes, hotels, supermarkets, etc. provided expenditure is incurred by these companies. Scenario II Application for Import Duty and Sales Tax Exemption on Solar PV System Equipment by Importers/ APVSP Company B is an approved service provider (APVSP) and plans to bring in solar PV modules and inverters. Company B downloads Form PC Services (10.3.2009) from MIDAs Website, completes it, attaches all the supporting documents* and submits it to Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) with a copy to PTM (MBIPV). PTM validates the application of Company B and if in compliance, submits a validation report to ST. Upon receipt of the validation report, ST then issues a validation letter to Company B. Company B then submits the application together with the validation letter issued by ST to MIDA. Once approved internally, MIDA forwards the application to the Ministry of Finance. Company B can then expect a letter of approval from the Ministry of Finance.

Another example under this category is if Company C is an importer or distributor of solar systems for the telecommunication industry and plans to bring in a new shipment of equipment consisting solar PV modules. The following are contact information of the relevant agencies involved: Director Economic Regulation & Industry Development Department Suruhanjaya Tenaga (Energy Commission) 13th Floor, Menara TH Perdana, 1001, Jalan Sultan Ismail 50250 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +603-2612 5536/5412 Fax: +603-2691 2654 MBIPV Project Pusat Tenaga Malaysia No. 2, Jalan 9/10, Persiaran Usahawan, Seksyen 9 43650 Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor Tel: +603-8921 0800 Fax: +603-8921 0911 Email: infopv@mbipv.net.my The Director General Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) 2nd Floor, Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5 Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur (Attn.: Director, Business & Other Services Division) Tel: +603-2267 3633 Fax: (603) 2693 7791 E-mail: investmalaysia@mida.gov.my *Note: The supporting documents include the following: Company business details (as per MIDA PC Services Form); Certificate of Authorisation from Principles for each category of products concerned (for Importers); Evidence of being an APVSP; List of Products for which exemption is sought, giving: Product Technical parameters; Product manufacturing standards and compliance validation; Compliance test certificates from SIRIM or other recognized Testing Institution (recognized by Standards Malaysia).
NATIONAL GREEN TECHNOLOGY POLICY

Malaysia envisions Green Technology to be the driver to accelerate economic growth and promote sustainable development. The newly formed Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, formed on 9 April 2009, was
immediately tasked to prepare the National Green Technology Policy. The National Green Technology Policy was launched by Y. A. B. Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak on 24 July 2009. The National Green Technology Policy is built on four pillars namely Energy, Environment, Economy and Society with objectives to: Minimise growth of energy consumption while enhancing economic development; Facilitate the growth of the Green Technology industry and enhance its contribution to the national economy; Increase national capability and capacity for innovation in Green Technology development and enhance Malaysias competitiveness in Green Technology in the global arena; Ensure sustainable development and conserve the environment for future generations; and Enhance public education and awareness on Green Technology and encourage its widespread use. The policy identifies short, medium and long term goals for the nation. The short-term goals aim for significant progress and major improvements in the energy sector. Green technology will be applied in power generation and the energy supply and demand side in all forms of energy utilization. Energy efficiency and renewable energy will be further promoted and supported under the policy. There will also be adoption of Green Technology in the building sector, water and waste management sector and in the transportation sector.
The mid- to long-term goals foresee Green Technology gaining momentum in terms of local market share with significant increase in research, development, innovation by local universities and research institutions and subsequently commercialization through strong collaboration with local and multi-national companies. By then, Green Technology will be the norm in Malaysia with widespread adoption of Green Technology bringing about a reduction in the overall resource consumption while sustaining national economic growth. To achieve the goals, the policy outlines five strategic thrusts as follows: Strategic Thrust (ST) 1: Strengthen the Institutional Frameworks ST 1 sees the formation and establishment of key agencies (council and committee) to ensure effective coordination among related agencies at all levels. Legal mechanisms will be established to encourage growth of Green Technologies. Strategic Thrust 2: Provide Conducive Environment for Green Technology Development ST 2 emphasizes the need to introduce and avail innovative economic instruments, necessary monetary and fiscal measures to encourage growth of the Green Economy in Malaysia. Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in Green Technology will be promoted to foster growth in Domestic
Direct Investments (DDIs). The skills and expertise of local players in GT and its supporting value chain as well as industries will be strengthened through various enhancement programmes under this thrust. Strategic Thrust 3: Intensify Human Capital Development in Green Technology ST 3 looks at developing skilled, qualified, competent and productive human capital related to the Green Economy. Strategic Thrust 4: Intensify Green Technology Research and Innovations ST 4 seeks to strengthen Green Technology research, development, innovation and commercialization to reduce cost of Green Technology and encourage greater adoption. Strategic Thrust 5: Promotion and Public Awareness ST 5 aims to create the right mindset among the public towards Green Technology and its related applications. The success of the policy highly depends on the success of public sector promotion of Green Technology to convince the population in making this thrust a main entity towards achieving the goals set out in the 12th plan (making green technology the norm). To obtain a copy of the National Green Technology Policy, please download the e-book from the following website: http://www.kttha.gov.my/template01.asp?contentid=253
49
Global and Local Manufacturing

In 2008, the PV production has grown by a new record high of 75% reaching a world-wide production volume of 7,500 MWp and has become a RM 115 billion business. investment from companies like Q-Cells, First Solar and Sunpower, resulting in 2 GW production capacity, Malaysia will in 2011 become among the top 5 manufacturing locations worldwide by 2011. We estimate that in 2011 China will maintain its top ranking position as the largest producer of PV products, followed by Germany, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan and India. (figure 86). Note; this is based on todays announced expansion plans from leading global manufacturers and it is expected that new companies will enter the PV business and existing plans will be revised.
8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
80%
Annual production (MW) GRYoY (%)
70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
2011 (E)
7% 8% 6% 19% 13% 8% 8% 9% China, 19% Germany, 13% Malaysia, 11% Rest of Asia, 11% Japan, 9% 11% Taiwan, 8% USA, 8% India, 8% Rest of World, 7% Rest of Europe, 6%
Figure 84: PV production from 2000 to 2008 (Source: Navigant Consulting and Envision)
Business analysts forecast the market volume to increase to RM 180 billion in 2010 and expect still good profit margins and declining prices for consumers at the same time. Germany, for several years has been the world leader in PV production, lost that ranking to China in 2008. China produced around 1/3 of the global PV output, estimated at 7.5 GW (figure 85).
11%
Figure 86: PV production in 2011(E) (Source: Envision)
2008
6% 1% 1% 33%
7% 7% 10%
16% China, 33% Germany, 21% Japan, 16% Taiwan, 10% Rest of Europe, 7%
21% Rest of Asia, 7% USA, 6% India, 1% Rest of World, 1%
Figure 85: PV production in 2008 (Source: Envision)
Production share of PV products is expected to shift from 2008 to 2010 to Asia, especially to Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and India. Countries like Taiwan, China and Japan will defend their once top position; however the ranking will reshuffle, as several companies start mass production operations in the manufacturing hub Malaysia/Singapore between 2009 and 2010. Thanks to significant foreign direct
These changes may again concentrate production closer to the key markets Germany and USA giving significant boost to their respective economies and hence impacting the estimated PV production ranking as per figure 86. The new investments are driven by strong local demand in USA and Germany, and priorities given to locally manufactured products and the necessity to reduce the logistic costs by assembling the modules closer to the market. As module costs decline fast in the next five years, transport cost will become an increasing burden to the end product, and can unbalance the low labor cost and attractive tax incentives given by overseas manufacturing locations. This applies especially for thin film products were the production cost is already at USD 1.00 per watt (RM 3.40/Wp) and can reduce further thanks to fully automated production processes and increase in efficiencies. PV modules are bulky items and require careful handling, and special packaging. Logistic costs will become an important aspect in the next years to be reduced and to be able to maintain the market position. With further cost reduction in crystalline silicon modules, e.g. solar cells made of UMG material, the logistic costs need also to be optimized by manufacturing closer to the installation zone.
World Production of Solar Cells Breakdown of Technologies

18 Organic DSSC CdTe III V CIS, CIGS a-Si/ -Si a-Si Si Thin Wafer Si Wafer Based 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 0 (GW)
51
Figure 87: Outlook global PV production (Source: iSupply, Yole Developpement and others)
For 2011, leading industry analysts estimate a production capacity 16 to 18 GW (figure 87). Photon International forecasts even 30 GW production capacity by 2011 and 50 GW by 2012. The strong growth on the production side will drive down the cost for the PV products. In Q3 2007, production cost of crystalline solar cells (multi and mono) was between USD 2.18 to 2.66 per watt (RM 7.41-9.04/Wp) and module production cost was between USD 2.87 to 3.49 per watt (RM 9.7611.87/Wp) as figure 88 shows (Ref: Photon International).
3.5 3
2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Trina Sunpower Ersol Suntech Yingli Solarworld
USD/Watt
2.5
a reduction in their manufacturing costs of around 5%. In Q2 2009, the estimated benchmark value for mc-Si solar cells is USD 1.75 per watt (RM 6.00/Wp). UMG solar cells sell around USD 1.80 per watt (RM 6.10/Wp). UMG has the potential to deliver solar cells for less than USD 1.50 per watt (RM 5.10/Wp) in 2010 and USD 1.00 per watt by 2012 (RM 3.40/Wp), based on reference from Q-Cells, Calisolar and others, providing a benchmark price for UMG of less than USD 20.00 per kg can be achieved. Module manufacturing cost depends on the production scale and the level of automation. In 2009, module production cost should be USD 0.50 to 0.70 per watt (RM 1.702.40/Wp) to be competitive. Latest market analysis confirms a strong price pressure and estimated maximum production cost in Q3 2009 of: sc-Si modules mc-Si modules USD 2.20 and 3.00 per watt (RM 7.50 - 10.20/Wp), USD 2.00 and 2.50 per watt (RM 6.80 - 8.50/Wp),
Silicon - Cell Silicon - Wafer
Silicon Ingot & Wafer
Cell Modules
Figure 88: Overview of cost structure for c-Si cell (Source: Photon International, Q3 2007)
UMG based modules USD 2.00 to 2.30 per watt (RM 6.80-7.80/Wp), and TF modules USD 1.00 to 2.00 per watt (RM 3.40 - 6.80/Wp).
The lowest cost was achieved with multi crystalline (mc-Si) solar cells which are produced e.g. by Trina, Ersol, Yingli and Solarworld, and the cost was around USD 2.20 per watt (RM 7.50/Wp). In the last 1 years manufacturing cost reduced because of economics of scale but this was largely offset by an increased silicon price. We estimate the industry still experienced
Based on the FiT structures in many countries the industry is required to achieve continuous cost reduction of at least 10% along the value chain.

Although Photovoltaics has reached mass production, challenges still remain to be addressed in the next years in the manufacturing process. Screen printing is the most used method for contact deposition. But, because of wafers going thinner and a trend to increase purity and conductivity of the contacts, new methods are now emerging: inkjet deposition and electroplating. Because of its toxicity, manufacturers try to avoid the use of cadmium both in contacts of wafer based solar cells and in buffer layers of thin films (CIS, CdTe). Silicon shortage was well known on the PV market but the situation is expected to improve in 2009 and latest 2010. But silicon is not the only shortage, we should be aware that indium, cadmium and many other materials will have difficulties to follow the explosive growth of the PV industry. PV manufacturers need to look closely to quality and yield improvements, and follow the path the semiconductor industry has taken. As it is the case in the semiconductor industry, metrology and monitoring tools are a solution to increase the quality of the products and avoid discard, e.g. because of micro-cracks, etc. all stakeholders. The benefits that occur through global standardization efforts are tremendous for the industry and elevate the PV industry to a competitive mainstream industry at par or even surpassing the automotive or semiconductor industry. SEMI as the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries is leading the global standardization efforts and collaborates closely with its members. More information on SEMI and its efforts can be viewed under www.semi.org. Malaysia, with its numerous strengths for local manufacturing, will play an increasingly important role in the global manufacturing of PV products and has to become part of the global standardization efforts. Until Q2 2009, four leading PV companies have announced or are in process to establish local manufacturing of polysilicon, solar cells or thin film modules in Malaysia (figure 89).
The semiconductor industry is a shining example of how investments can flourish through application of suitable standards and collaboration between the industries. The PV industry can benefit greatly by leveraging on the work that has already been done. By using existing standards to fill similar needs and allowing sufficient time and energy to investigate those areas truly unique to PV, solutions and approaches can be developed that will help propel the industry forward towards a more efficient, cost-effective manufacturing process by the industry and for the industry. The PV industry needs to learn from the semiconductor industry and implement homogeneous standards to be used globally by
Figure 89: International PV companies in Malaysia
The following is an overview of the international PV business in Malaysia. These four major global PV companies benefit from different incentives provided by the Government of Malaysia for local manufacturing and very supportive manufacturing environment with a highly trained work force, lower cost electricity compared to many other countries and attractive land cost. First Solar a US manufacturer of thin film modules (CdTe) was the first international PV company to establish local manufacturing and benefit from the conducive environment.
Company First Solar Q-Cells
USA
Origin
Germany Selangor SP2 Ingots
Kulim HTP
Location
CdTe Modules Wafers and solar cells
Manufacturing
800 MW 500 MW
Capacity/year Employees 1,200 3,500
800 MW
2008
Start of operation 2009
Sunpower Tokuyama
USA Japan
Malacca (Rembia) Bintulu
Ingots, sc-Si wafers 1,000 MW and solar cells Polysilicon 3,000 ton
5,500 500
2010 2011
Table 10: International PV companies in Malaysia (Source: MBIPV)
52
Figure 90: First Solar in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah
The four established global PV manufacturers in Malaysia provide good business opportunities for the local industry to enter. They have created an attractive next-door environment to understand, enter and benefit along the supply chain. Several local companies are already active in PV business, supplying their products locally and globally. Solar cables, PV garden lights and c-Si PV modules are manufactured locally, automation and inspection equipment for PV manufacturing is available and a wafer trading house from KL is owned by a leading German PV company. Besides manufacturing, Malaysia has to date 22 approved PV service providers (PVSP) providing quality work to the end users. Approved PVSP have to pass an intensive training exercise (under ISP accreditation) and exam by PTM, are financially sound and follow a code of conduct. Please visit our website (www.mbipv.net.my) to view the database for detailed information on the Malaysian PV Industry and the services and products available. To develop Malaysia into a leading global solar hub, it needs a holistic strategy to develop capabilities and build capacity to groom local industry into world-class players across a broad range of occupations. The comprehensive program shall encompass human resources, supply chain, locations (clustering), product and technology roadmap, research and development, and partnerships. A national RE policy is required to provide a training ground for the local industry to be capable to capture later international business contracts and become a world-class industry player. This will develop the local industry and open the door for Malaysia to a new blooming high-tech industry. The market on the demand side in Malaysia is expected to develop in due course, although not as fast as in Europe but hopefully more sustainable than in other ASEAN countries, e.g. Thailand, Indonesia. With the proposed FiT policy, expected to commence in 2011, an annual gridconnected PV capacity of around 27 MWp in 2015 and 125
MWp in 2020 is to be installed. The FiT policy is funded through a mechanism to be implemented in 2010 latest. The off-grid market will develop thanks to programs by Ministry of Education, TNB and others, and is estimated to be around 2 MWp in 2009 and 3 MWp in 2010. The funding for off-grid programs will dwindle as Malaysia becomes fully electrified in a few years. Grid-connected PV will be the main market from 2015 onwards, providing the FiT policy is implemented. However, to benefit from the local and global business opportunities, newcomers need to understand the PV value chain and the market drivers. Interested parties have to follow closely the global policy, market and technology development. It is crucial to do an extensive due diligence on market and close competitors. Furthermore, one has to assess ones own financial capabilities, preferred location, infrastructure available, accessibility to transport, etc. and come up with a sound SWOT analysis leading to decisions before venturing into a PV business. Support on above analysis can be obtained from international and local consultancies, or feel free to contact MBIPV team of PTM, if you are interested to enter or diversify to the PV business and if your company has the resources to invest in PV technology. Note, competition is fierce with several dozens of companies trying to survive the financial crisis and with todays credit crunch the entry level to the promising long-term business has risen. Installation and Services, the downstream business, is the lowest hanging fruit to start PV business, but with the most competitors in this sector. Going upstream in the value chain the entry barrier for the business gets significantly more expensive. Figure 91 gives indication of the investment trends for different PV products along the value chain. Please do not use the indicative values for any design of business plans or decisions for investment. For upstream and downstream manufacturing, state-ofthe-art equipment can be purchased as turn-key solutions.

Upstream business (e.g. solar cells) requires a highly trained work force to operate and to produce high quality products, clean rooms and often adequate space for the facility. For an integrated gigawatt facility, from ingot pulling to solar cell manufacturing, a land space of at least 60 to 80 ha is required. As a rule of thumb, the higher the investment required for production, the less competitors are active in the field. E.g. in polysilicon manufacturing a few dozen companies are operating, whereas in module manufacturing around 400 companies are producing. Where investment is low the entry barrier is low and this creates a situation where companies can easily fly by night and may be gone the next day to a new PV market with attractive profits. For upstream and midstream manufacturing (until solar cells) the focus needs to be long-term and the target business area global. Module manufacturing can be for the local market only and fast established and also relocated quickly. The capacity of such a module production facility would be small scale and not competitive in the global market, but can survive on local contracts. Serious module manufacturing requires a certain size of the production facility, e.g. starting from 100 MW, to be competitive against the global players and the investment can run into hundreds of millions of Ringgit Malaysia. As for upstream manufacturing, medium to large scale module production needs a longer term perspective and good understanding of the global market development. Looking ahead, grid-connected PV will becomes a serious electricity producer in the next 10 years. The size of utility power plants is drastically increasing from todays few hundreds megawatts to very large scale PV power systems (VLPVPS) in the gigawatt scale. Production facilities will be located next to the VLPVPS to optimise the logistics and reduce the cost of transport to offer the lowest cost of solar electricity. The facility produces continuously and the installation follows the production output. One can expect that this will be a very lucrative business to offer a turn-key solution from production to providing the electricity. The company will be in control all along the value chain up to the last step, the actual electricity production. Such a venture will be of interest for power utilities and industry giants, e.g. GE, Google, Siemens, IBM, and many others.
Figure 92: Concept of gigawatt manufacturing facility (Courtesy: M&W Zander)
The first gigawatt ground-based PV power station is planned in China (in the Qiadam Basin on the Tibetan Plateau) and a second gigawatt power generation plant has been announced in Jordan, including an integrated 200 MW thin film module factory to supply the power plant. Over a threeyear installation period, the factory will reach an annual PV module manufacturing capacity of 200 MW. The PV modules produced by this factory will be used primarily in the construction of a PV power generation plant in Jordan to reach a total power generation capacity of 1 GW by 2017. As soon as the financial crisis eases, we will read more such announcements of integrated projects. PV manufacturing and power generation plants are going BIG, and so is the business perspective.
RM million 500 450 400 350 300 Medium investment 250 200 150 100 50 Low investment 0 High investment 300 - 500 200 - 350 300 - 400 50 - 150
Silicon
Status: Jan 2009
per1,000 t
Ingots and wafers for 100MW
Solar cells for 100MW
Solar modules for 100MW
System components
Installation and services
Figure 91: Investment trends for manufacturing along the PV value chain (Source: MBIPV)
54
Update on Suria 1000

RESULTS OF THE 5 CALLS
Analysis on the first 5 calls of SURIA 1000 showed three significant results: i) A total of 612 kWp in PV capacity was achieved against a target of 450 kWp. ii) Overall 20% drop in price of grid-connected PV systems from a baseline of RM 30,000 per kWp. iii) By the 5th call, bidders willingness to pay is 59.9% of total PV system price which has increased from 46.7% in the 1st call. An analysis of the PV system pricing (per kWp) over the past 5 calls for SURIA 1000 showed fluctuating prices; the 1st & 3rd calls were in the RM 28,000 price range and the 2nd & 4th calls were in the RM 26,000 price range. The 5th call recorded the lowest average price of RM24,000, with the highest price of RM26,800 and the lowest price of RM22,800.
South Korea and Malaysia are two countries in Asia which offer immediate promise for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications. Malaysia has also been touted as one of the countries in Asia promoting BIPV applications aggressively via Malaysia Energy Centre (PTM).
Report by Frost and Sullivan, May 2008 On 1 December 2006, Malaysia launched the first call for SURIA 1000. SURIA 1000 is an adaptation of Germany and Japans famous pioneering solar photovoltaic (PV) Rooftop and Sunshine programmes. SURIA 1000 is the Asia-Pacifics first financial incentive programme for PV in the built environment to be carried out via a bidding process. SURIA 1000 awards the bidding to those who request for the least financial support from the Government. It is divided into seven calls in which each call is floated every six months. The bidding programme is administered by Malaysia Energy Centre (PTM) via Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaic (MBIPV) Project. To date SURIA 1000 has completed 5 calls and the final call will be opened until 1 December 2009. SURIA 1000 has attracted international attention due to its unique bidding process, but is the programme a role model for other countries to emulate?
RM/kWp
Analysis of Average RM/kWp
36,000 34,000 32,000 30,000 28,000 26,000 24,000 22,000 20,000

1st Call 2nd Call 3rd Call 4th Call 5th Call
Call for Bidding
1 Dec 06 1 Apr 06 1 Jun 07 1 Oct 07
Target Actual Maximum Willingness Capacity Capacity Capital to Pay for Awarded Incentive (RM/kWp) Bidding (kWh) Available % of (kWh) (%) total 40 58 94 109 175 176 75 13,079 (46.7%)
Graph 2: Analysis on PV system price per kWp
60 80 120 140 340
70 60 55 50 42
3 Dec 07 1 Apr 08 2 Jun 07 1 Apr 08
13,477 (51.7%) 14,968 (53.2%)
1 July 09 1 Dec 09
1 Dec 08 1 Apr 09
14,439 (59.9%)
15,053 (57.8%)
Table 11: Bidding schedule for SURIA 1000
The first 3 calls of SURIA 1000 were for residential and the programme was opened to commercial bidders at the 3rd call for SURIA 1000. Residential bidders can bid up to maximum PV capacity of 10 kWp while commercial can bid up to 30 kWp. At the end of the 3rd call, PV capacity for residential bidders made up 97% of the total awarded PV capacity. By the 4th call, the awarded PV capacity for commercial overtook residential at the ratio of 3:2. By the 5th call, the trend of award for commercial continued to strengthen. It is quite likely that the announcement of Budget 2008 on 7th September 2007 had spurred the growth of commercial take up of BIPV applications for SURIA 1000 in the 4th and 5th call. The Budget 2008 allows companies to claim for Investment Tax Allowance (ITA) in addition to the normal Capital Allowance (CA) on investment in PV installations for own office use.
55
Update on Suria 1000

The lowest total awarded PV capacity was found in Eastern Peninsular after East Malaysia (Sarawak). PV systems in the built environment can be mounted in 2 ways: integrated or retrofitted. When PV systems are integrated into the building, there is no secondary building material e.g. roof, the PV acts as the primary building envelope. This application is most suitable for new buildings when the PV system is incorporated at the design stage of the development. For existing buildings, PV systems are usually retrofitted over existing roofs; meaning the PV system is mounted above the existing roof. For the past 5 SURIA 1000 calls, 54% of the total awarded PV capacity is retrofitted and 46% integrated. Under the SURIA 1000 programme, integrated mounting structure receives 5% extra points as incentive to promote aesthetic BIPV applications.
Residential vs Commercial
200
150
100
50
3rd call Commercial Residential 3 105.6
4th call 106.08 68.95
5th call 130.98 45.4

200 180 64.5 48.7 160 140
Graph 3: Analysis on 3rd to 5th call SURIA 1000
On 29 August 2008, the Government announced the Budget 2009 which has extended import duty and sales tax exemption on PV systems to PV system importers and PV service providers approved by the Energy Commission (ST) for products they import for supply to their clients. The result of the 5th call for SURIA 1000 will determine how effective is the incentive introduced in Budget 2009 in reducing the total PV system price. An analysis of awarded PV capacity for the past 5 calls showed that 2/3 of the total awarded PV capacity is located within the Klang Valley. Southern Peninsular (Melaka and Johor) ranked the next highest in total awarded PV capacity.
PV Capacity kWp
100 29.1 90.8 110.5 49.3 9 1st call 2nd call 64.6 17.8 0 3rd call 4th call 5th call 127.7 80 60 40 20
Retro tted
Integrated
Graph 5: Analysis on installation method
WHY PV HOMES?
A survey was carried out among recipients of SURIA 1000 to find out the reasons why building owners install PV systems in their house/office buildings. The survey showed that these owners do so for the following reasons: i) Leverage on existing government incentives for PV; ii) For retirees, having a PV house will help to hedge against future electricity price increase; iii) Environmental conservation; iv) For home buyers, having a PV house will help create a point of differentiation by being a clean micro IPP (independent power producer); and v) For commercial entities, the installation of PV systems in the buildings helps to create an image of social responsibility.
8% 18%
5%
1%
68% Northern Peninsular Klang Valley Eastern Peninsular Southern Peninsular Southern East Malaysia
Graph 4: Analysis by location
56
kWp
120
Figure 93: BIPV owner, Dr Leong and his wife, believe in living in harmony with the environment
Figure 94: Mr. Tan Kim Lai of Sunway Construction invested in BIPV as measures to adapt to climate change
THE WAY FORWARD

In countries where solar PV have flourished (e.g. Germany, Spain, South Korea), their Governments have conducive PV policies which stimulate the market to develop. One of such proven and effective PV policy is the feed-in tariff in which the solar PV owner is able to sell PV electricity to the utility at a much higher rate than the utility is selling to the people. Effectively, the solar PV system owner is able to recover his/her investment in solar PV in a much shorter time frame. Lessons learnt from other countries showed that PV requires a long term strategy in place before the full benefits can come to fruition. In Malaysia, the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water is studying the possibility of adopting feed-in tariff for
the use of renewable energies (RE). This is one of the strategies to mitigate the energy crisis issue which the country will one day face; the secondary issue is to mitigate climate change through carbon emission reduction through the use of RE. As Malaysia sows the seeds of hardship in seeking energy security through RE, so shall the country reap the benefits in due time. This article is a 4-part series progress report on SURIA 1000 prepared at the end of every 2nd call. The final wrap-up report will be prepared at completion of final call. Data analysis for SURIA 1000 was provided courtesy of Pn Azah Ahmad, Senior Officer (Project Management) of MBIPV Project. For more information on SURIA 1000, please visit http://www.mbipv.net,my/suria.htm or email any enquiries to suria1000@mbipv.net.my.
Figure 95: Eco Villas at Setia Eco Park (Suria for Developer Program) (Courtesy: Setia Eco Park)
57
MBIPV NewsBite
MALAYSIA IS A FULL MEMBER OF INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER SYSTEMS PROGRAMME (IEA PVPS)
The Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme is a collaborative R&D Agreement, established within the International Energy Agency, and conducting projects on the application of solar photovoltaic electricity. IEA PVPS operates worldwide via a network of national teams in member countries. Malaysia has been an active observer of the IEA PVPS since 2004. As of 22 October 2008, Malaysia officially became a full member of the IEA PVPS. The other members are: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, European PV Industry Association, European Union, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. Malaysia is currently the first ASEAN country to become a full member of IEA PVPS. Currently there are eight research projects (Tasks) which are on-going within the IEA PVPS Programme Task 1: Exchange and dissemination of information on photovoltaic power systems Task 2: Performance, reliability and analysis of photovoltaic systems Task 8: Very large scale photovoltaic power generation systems in remote areas Task 9: Photovoltaic services for developing countries
DESIGN AND INSTALLATION COURSE OF GRID-CONNECTED PV SYSTEMS TRAINING UNDER ISP

Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (PTM) is providing training on the design and installation of grid-connected PV system. The 10day course is structured with compliance to the requirements of Institute for Sustainable Power (ISP) where the training will constitute both theoretical and practical sessions ending with a competency examination. PTM is also the first centre in ASEAN to be recognised by for the world-renown ISP accreditation for its grid-connected PV training.
Figure 96: Training participants during an exercise
Task 10: Urban-scale grid-connected PV applications Task 11: PV hybrid systems within mini-grids Task 12: PV environmental health and safety
The course covers: Design of Grid-Connected PV systems that include solar PV modules, inverter and associated equipment. Installation of the Grid-Connected PV systems up to the inverter. (Note: the electrical wiring of the system can only be undertaken by licensed wire man) The training is held at Pusat Tenaga Malaysia. Registration fee per local participant is RM 3,500, while the fee for international participant is Euro 1,500. The fee is inclusive of course materials, provision of facilities for practical sessions and lunch. Training schedule, course content and application form can be obtained from www.mbipv.net.my/C1TRN.html. For any other enquiries on the training, please contact Course Coordinator Pn Nor Radhiha (+603) 8921 0871, or email to radhiha@mbipv.net.my.
Task 13: Performance and reliability of photovoltaic systems Malaysia is involved in Tasks 1, 10, 11 and 13. For more information on the IEA PVPS, please visit www.iea-pvps.org.
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THE DESIGN AND INSTALLATION OF OFF-GRID PV SYSTEMS TRAINING

As of June 2009, Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (PTM) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) extends PV training to cover the design and installation on off- grid PV system. The 10-day course is structured with compliance to the requirements of Institute for Sustainable Power (ISP) where the training will constitute both theoretical and practical sessions ending with a competency examination.
2ND NATIONAL PHOTOVOLTAIC CONFERENCE (2009)

Following the resounding success of the National PV Conference 2008, MBIPV Project will be organizing a 2nd National PV Conference (2009) on 17th November 2009. This conference will cover a full day; international and local PV experts from the industry will share their knowledge on solar PV technology, market and industry development. The event will cover PV exhibition and poster sessions will be provided for companies to showcase their PV products and services. The conference will be the platform for exchange of PV knowledge and business networking. Prominent speakers include Dr Hermann Scheer, strong advocator and initiator for the feed-in tariff, Mr Robert Vinje, Managing Director of Sunpower Fab 3 in Melaka, Mr Jos van der Hyden, Vice President Business Development EMEA of First Solar, Mr Uwe Bauer, Managing Director of Q-Cells Asia Ltd, Dr Shawn Qu, Chairman, President and CEO of Canadian Solar Inc, Mr Antonio Berni on achieving from vision to reality for MASDAR initiative and Mr Max Gldi from Huber-Suhner, world leader in connectivity solutions. PV industry Associations will be represented by Dr Murray Cameron (Europe), Mr Tetsuzo Kobayashi (Japan), Dr JoengShein Chen (Taiwan) and Ms Christy Herig (Utility - USA). Please visit www.mbipv.net.my/NPVC2009.html for more information on the event.
Figure 97: Hands-on practice during the off-grid training
The course covers: Design of the off-grid PV systems that include solar PV modules, and Balance-of-System (BOS) equipments. Install, test and commission the above systems with the connection from the batteries to the building switchboard being undertaken by a suitably approved person. (Note: the electrical connection between the inverter and loads can only be undertaken by licensed electricians). Registration fee per local participant is RM 5,000 and international participant is Euro 2,000. Any other enquiries on the training can be directed to the Training Administrator, P: +603 5521 1994, or email to pvtraining@mbipv.net.my. For more information on the off-grid training, please visit www.mbipv.net.my/C1OGTRN.html
Figure 98: National PV Conference 2008 where nearly 700 participants attended the event
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Industry Outlook
Is the sun setting on solar energy? Opposite to last years theme Is the future for solar energy really so bright? in our 1st Edition PV Industry Handbook, we like to give our insights for the future industry development and impact of the credit crisis and looming threat of oversupply. Soaring energy prices and the hype on global warming have boosted RE technologies into an almost mainstream business and put several technologies, e.g. PV, wind and biomass, into the media spotlight. Clean energy companies have attracted vast amounts of capital in the last four years and were often the darlings in the global stock markets. Specially solar energy (including PV, concentrating PV and concentrating solar thermal power) have become the hot spot in the clean energy sector. The following is a good overview of how the very short history of solar stocks looks like: 2005 was The Year of Solar Stocks, where solar stocks outperformed the general averages by 20-fold, gaining an average of 134% versus the major indexes average gain of 6%. 2006 was The Year of the Solar IPO, a year in which the largest number of solar related companies went public through IPOs. 2007 was The Year of Thin-film Solar. This was the year when the industry and the general public really seemed to focus on thin-film technologies and their longer term potential. Several companies multiplied their market capital from beginning 2006 to end 2007 by incredible factors between 5 and even 11 (e.g. First Solar shares rose from USD 25/pcs (RM 85/pcs) to USD 280/pcs (RM 952/pcs). The finance sector, media and end-users were keen on anything about solar contributing further to an overheated market. Note, PV technology is strongly driven by political support and not by pure market forces. 90% of the total PV capacity was installed in markets with supportive policies introduced by committed politicians to support an attractive (in few cases over-attractive) growth towards an environmentally benign national energy supply and creation of a new industry. 2008 was The Year of the Solar Stock Collapse, in which the general stock market had its worst year since 1931 and solar stocks went down. In October 2008 the party came crashing to a halt, courtesy of the global credit crisis. Of course we knew before that the question was not if the solar industry will experience a shakeout, but when. Now the next question must be how bad is it? Or, more importantly, how long will it last? Within a short time all public-listed PV companies saw their market capital falling out of the sunny sky back into reality. Companies lost between 40 and 80% (on average around 60%) and most analysts downgraded their bullish assessment to either hold or even sell. Company (Ticker) USD billion Cap Price USD USD billion Cap Price USD
First Solar (FSLR)
30 Aug 2008
Renewable Energy Corperation (REC)
21.5 13.5 6.4
272.99 25.8
18 Aug 2009
10.5 2.57 2.50
133.12 4.91
Suntech Power (STP) SunPower (SPWR) Yingli Green Energy (YGE) Solarworld (SWV)
4.8 2.0
7.8
91.57 16.02 88.9 43.2
41.75
1.69 1.46
2.27
16.32 15.25 26.72
11.74 11.93 3.91 9.00
Q-Cells (QCE)
LDK Solar (LDK) Ja Solar (JASO) Total Top 10 Energy Conv. (ENER)
5.2
8.6 3.0
76.4
3.6
17.96 77.64
47.30
0.99 0.59 24.3 0.62
1.15
12.85
Table 12: Solar stocks comparison 30 Aug 2008 and 18 Aug 2009 (Source: MBIPV)
Several voices say the worst is yet to come towards the end of 2009 or even beginning of 2010. The threat of oversupply, the volatile currencies and less generous subsidies will put further pressure on all companies. The very attractive subsidies experienced in uncapped markets such as Spain (formerly), Korea (formerly), and Germany are unlikely to be replicated in the future given concerns or even fears of their ultimate cost in a troubled world economic climate. True, even in a recession or especially then, countries have to look to invest in alternative energy and PV particularly, is an excellent way to support economic growth, create new jobs (potentially 100 to 300 new jobs with every 10 MW of PV), and increase the national energy security. But with the concurrent steep deflation in commodity prices (oil, steel, aluminium, etc.), many countries will feel the pressure building up to get more selective in their projects and programs. Lower energy prices will afford them the luxury of allocating resources to what will seem like more immediate problems threatening the national economic and social stability. Fundamentally nothing is wrong with the PV technology. Photovoltaics is a reliable and proven technology that has produced clean electricity for over three decades. The outlook for PV is strong and the business will recover in few years time. A number of PV technologies are ready for prime-time and can compete with conventional energy producers on a peak generating cost level. Future generations will achieve even further cost reduction and become mainstream in less than a decade in developed countries.
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in 1,000 TWh 90 2050: 25% (12,000 TWh) 2030: 7% (2,450 TWh) 50 40 30 20 2009: 0.1 (18 TWh)
2100: 64% (55,000 TWh)

Geothermal Other Renewables Solar Thermal (Heat)
Solar Electricity (Photovoltaics and Solar Thermal) Wind Biomass (modern) Biomass (traditional) Hydroelectricity Nuclear Gas Coal Oil
0 2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
2100
Figure 99: Global RE technologies development until 2100 (Source: REN21, adapted by MBIPV)
However, starting in 2006 until mid 2008 the PV industry was flying too high and soared towards the sun without the right wings to support. The much needed market consolidation accelarated by the global financial crisis brought the high-flyer back to earth and now a wave of companies are scrambling to understand the impact and adjust to the new scenario. We will see in the next two to four years a major shake-out in the overly crowded solar energy space starting with crystalline silicon PV modules and spreading to the thin film sector. The weak and inefficient players with inexperienced and incapable management and not competitive products will get weeded out. It has been a rough-and-tumble ride for many public listed PV companies lately and this will be go on or even intensify. Several of the currently publicly-traded PV companies will probably not survive the current global economic turbulence, coupled with an oversupply in the market. We will see increasing press releases announcing earnings warnings, reduction in capacity yields, and expansion plans put on hold or cancelled. Credit is tight and cash even more so. A number of PV companies have major projects (power production or manufacturing) in the pipeline that seek finance to be implemented. They need to find a sizeable chunk of finance in the tightest credit conditions seen in decades. Thus, the sector will see a wave of consolidation and take-overs by industrial giants, which has already started with companies like General Electric, LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Schneider Electric and others. This is a good time for companies with cash in their pockets and an interest to enter the PV business long-term and make good money. The doors have never been so open for new investment in utility-scale solar power plants or new technologies to commercialise and upscale. Companies mentioned above have started to acquire or take-over
interesting PV assets. E.g. Schneider Electric bought Xantrex, one of the leading inverter manufacturers, Panasonic is merging with Sanyo and incorporating their solar business, General Electric has bought significant stakes in three companies; Konarka Technologies, an organic flexible PV producers, Primestar, a CdTe flexible PV producer and BrightSource Energy, a developer of utility-scale solar plants. However any new market entrant has to consider the business as long-term strategy, otherwise disappointment will soon turn the excitement sour. The macro and micro market forces will put a lot of pressure on the industry and it will be challenging to meet market expectations. Winners will be companies with the lowest cost per watt, e.g. First Solar is right now in the best position. First Solar has a window of opportunity until newcomers master their innovative technology and are able to upscale. Many module manufacturers will be pressured to reduce their prices but still need to make healthy profits. If they dont, companies could find themselves trapped with low margins and unable to raise money to expand and reinvest. All companies need to think very carefully how they will position themselves for a shakeout to take advantage of the next boom, which will be when grid-parity converges with the traditional electricity tariffs, which is going to happen in several markets in four to eight years. In the next years companies are advised to set more conservative and realistically achievable goals, because we have seen in the last four years a lot of big promises from solar companies that have not delivered. During the peak time 2006 until mid 2008 we have seen a lot of smoke and mirrors from companies that had zero experience and know-how, but were still able to attract financing and make fast profits. But to design a realistic strategy for the coming years, companies need to observe and understand how the market is developing. Considering a pessimistic scenario under the
Industry Outlook Outlook PV Production vs. Demand

Total Production (realistic/shipments) Total Production (announced) Total Demand (conservative) Total Demand (progressive) 11 8.5 7.5 6 4.2 3.6 2.5 2.5 5.6 5.6 8 7 5.5 6 6 4 2 2007 2008 2009 (E) 2010 (E) 2011 (E) 0 8 9.5 14.1 14 11.5 10.5 12 10 GW 15 20 18 18 16
Figure 100: Outlook PV production vs. demand until 2011 (Source: MBIPV, Jan 2009)
current economic crisis the PV industry is heading for significant capacity oversupply in the next few years (figure 100). Thus, with PV demand increasing at a slower rate, and PV supply continuing to grow rapidly, it is estimated that PV ASP (average selling price) will fall at least 25% in 2009. Profit margins will be shrinking to a point where higher-cost module manufacturers will not be profitable anymore in the future strong competitive climate. Companies which started in 2007, following the market hungry for PV modules, will have difficulties to survive as most of them are small and have not enough cash to weather the storm. In China alone there are over 500 module manufacturers and we have already seen the first signs that several smaller manufacturers stopping production or are actively looking for a take-over partner. Analysts (Commerzbank Germany, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and others) predict that between 20 to 50% of the solar companies, especially in Asia, will not make it through the global recession. As it seems that difficult times loom ahead for PV, it can be easy to lose sight of the long-term potential of the PV technology. The market forecast is positive. Reaching gridparity will unleash unlimited market potential and drive largescale manufacturing towards competitive prices versus conventional energy sources. Based on recent EPIA study (figure 101) the market will continue to grow exponentially, and China and South Asia are expected to become key markets towards 2025 to 2030. In a moderate scenario the business potential in 2015 exceeds
RM 250 billion, with 40% turnover generated in Europe. The USA and Canada become important markets until around 2025 when the Asian markets take over. To achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) larger than 30%, the consolidation, speeded up by the global economic crisis, will in fact turn out to be positive for PV. By shaking out the weak players, this will end the current fragmentation, cool down the over-heated market and facilitate the emergence of stronger industry players turning into giants, with a game-changing ability to deliver massive economics of scale and thus become a serious contender among mainstream energy sources. Consolidation will create corporations that can weather the sectors inherent cycles and leverage their political and economical muscle to thrive in the future.
30,000 25,000 Million Euro 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 2006 2010 2015 2020 2025
China South Asia North America Africa Central and South America Europe East Asia OECD Paci c Transition Economies Middle East
2030
Figure 101: Market value for PV systems until 2030 (Source: EPIA, 2008)
300 250 200 150 100 50 0 2008 2012

100% PV 20% PV 60% CST 20% CPV
99% PV
2015
2020
Utility
Residential Commercial PV = Photovoltaics CST = Concentrating Solar Thermal CPV = Concentrating Photovoltaics
Figure 102: Outlook cumulative solar installed capacity (in GW) (Source: Greentech Media, 2008)
Leading industry analysts anticipate that the consolidation is going to encompass further participation from upstream players. Polysilicon players need to take control of their demand chain and can afford to, even in the current financial crisis, acquire suitable downstream players into their business portfolio. REC is one of the examples to follow this trend, by constructing an integrated production facility in Singapore, to transform silicon all the way to PV modules. In a next step, REC established a system integration RM, as did Q-Cells, Suntech, Sunpower and many others, to become truly vertically integrated and control also the EPC (engineering,
procurement and construction) business. Other upstream producers will follow this trend in 2009 and 2010, as well as utilities in North America and in Europe. Several utilities are already actively involved in project commissioning and financing. The risk for them is to see parallel solar utilities emerge and grow into rivals once gridparity is reached. The traditional power utilities need to capture a large segment of the potential future solar market, which is estimated to be at least 30 GW in 2020 (figure 102). The stronger solar companies will survive the hard times over the next two to four years and we believe the future market will be controlled by a few vertically integrated giants. They will controll the value chain and the surviving smaller downstream players will find themselves in niche markets, or stuck in the middle, which will require strong flexibility, very good understanding of the market and development, hence have a sound business strategy to survive among the big brothers controlling the market. Nevertheless, we could also have relatively unknown players as future winners. New companies can be successful providing they have a strong vision, a conviction that the solar energy market offers huge business opportunities in the long term and deep pockets to see them through a difficult startup phase under the current economic conditions. It is important to see the bigger picture and the enormous business potential in a grid-parity market and strategise accordingly. Presently and in the next few years the surviving companies will face a bumpy road ahead as though the sun is setting. Thus it requires careful navigation to make it into the new sunrise and face a long-lasting bright sunny day.
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The Last Word - Realigning The Photovoltaic Industry

The global financial turmoil and economic slowdown will help the photovoltaic (PV) industry in three important ways. First it will drive down the costs faster, secondly, it will build up and strengthen the supply chain, and thirdly, it will lead to a more mature market, consistent with sustainable growth and matured players. Last year, many analysts were predicting annual PV installations to grow by 30% 25% over the next decade. The dramatic collapse of the worlds credit markets has prompted a revisiting of forecasts and a dialling back of expectations. Global PV installations rose at a 40% combined annual growth rate (CAGR) from 20002008, resulting in a cumulative installed capacity of some 15 GW. With a record growth year in 2008, which consumed 5.6 GW, it appeared as if the industry was poised to continue this trajectory well into the future. Still, representing only 0.1% of world electricity generation, PV has enormous opportunities for growth. The factors driving PVs growth remain robust. First and foremost, continuous improvement in technology has enabled dramatic reductions in the cost of PV products. A second major growth driver has been strong government support in the form of feed-in tariff (FiT) programs in Europe and Korea, investments tax credits and subsidies in the US, portfolio standards and FiT in Canadian provinces and American states, and the government mandates and policy directions seen in Asia. In addition, PVs still not comparative cost with fossil-fuelled generation has also benefited from the steady tightening of government-mandated environmental controls on fossil generation. Together, these have made PV an increasingly competitive technology driving towards grid-parity. PV generation has also encountered a number of significant challenges, hindering its ability to expand. After experiencing a steady reduction in costs in the 1980s and 1990s, PV module prices have increased since 2002 and peaked in 2008, due to enormous market demand in Spain and Germany. However, the module prices have declined significantly since the start of the financial crisis, and cost per Watt is today 20% to 40% lower than of 2008 prices. Of course, rising costs harm the industrys competitiveness with other forms of generation, and the industrys nascent supply chain has also struggled to keep up with increasing demand, and as a result, lead times have grown and quality
Figure 103: PTM-GEO (Green Energy Office) powered by Photovoltaics
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suffered. At the same time, the PV industrys rapid global growth has encouraged the market entry of numerous players and manufacturers with multiple competing business models, and often limited understanding of the market drivers and the manufacturing process. In large measure these challenges are the natural growing pains of an emerging global business. Ultimately, todays economic downturn and financial turmoil will accelerate the industrys steps toward becoming more competitive, productive, and capable of delivering long-term sustainable growth.
How far have PV module costs fallen, and how far will they fall? Today (Q3 2009) buyers could negotiate prices for PV modules that are 20% to 40% cheaper than they were at market high in Q2 of 2008. Thus, an important silver lining in todays economic downturn has been the slowing demand growth and reduction of commodity and ultimately the PV product costs. These changes will stabilize the market and bring economic certainty into the business. The change in economic fundamentals has also transformed the business from a sellers to a buyers market, which will ensure PV manufacturers are more aligned with customer demand.
PRICE STABILIZATION
Leading up to the collapse of the credit markets, strong demand and the fear of PV module shortages resulted in a strong sellers market driving the cost for PV products up. The global financial downturn has abruptly and radically changed the economic landscape of the PV industry. In the face of shaky financial institutions, plunging commodities, and market uncertainty, investors, utilities and project developers as with the entire energy business are cutting or delaying capital projects, including PV power plants. Tightening credit markets have made financing prohibitively expensive, if available at all for many investors and developers. The bottom line is that with financing less easy accessible and lower economic growth, the demand for large-scale PV power plants has fallen significantly. While the global economic crisis has weakened the electric power industrys short-term growth levers, the basic need to upgrade existing and build new infrastructure to meet future electricity demand means that the underlying fundamentals remain solid. This is especially true for developing countries such as China, with a projected electric load growth of almost 40% by 2020 to just over 3,000 TWh.
STRENGTHENING THE SUPPLY CHAIN

The rapid growth of the PV sector created serious challenges for the industrys supply chain in ensuring that quality components, materials, and services were delivered on time by qualified suppliers. Lead times of up to one year were a symptom of both a sellers market and shortcomings within the supply chain. The supply chain of the PV business is complex and exposed to a number of risks. Rapid growth accentuated these risks as many new suppliers entered the business. Until the economic downturn, the main pinch point in the supply chain was mainly polysilicon, which relies on capital-intensive production facilities that take a significant amount of time to set up. The shift to multi-megawatt PV power plants in 2008, due to strong demand in the Spanish market, added strain on an already tight supply chain.
Figure 105: Multi-megawatt PV power plant in Spain
Figure 104: PV module manufacturing in China
Another serious problem related to the PV industrys constrained supply chain is quality. Quality issues have been prevalent along the value chain, e.g. PV modules, solar cells, wafers and polysilicon. Many of these issues can be attributed
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The Last Word - Realigning The Photovoltaic Industry
Figure 106: Suntech staff overseeing the solar cell production (Courtesy: Suntech Power)
to the high demand for PV modules and manufacturers were under pressure to rapidly satisfy the market. High volume in production facilities have than led to quality issues within the manufacturing process and put more pressure on buyers quality control process. Today, with a current oversupply of PV modules, manufacturers will have more time to develop their supply channels, unclog bottlenecks, and improve the product quality. New manufacturing facilities are also under construction or planned in the fastest growing markets, including China, Germany and the US. As the PV industry matures, major players increasingly recognize that the supply chain is critical to their business as it is both a cost and profit centre. Issues of quality can have major impacts on a firms brand and hence perception by both shareholders and the general public. As the industry matures, commitment to service and reliability will be instrumental to building successful global brands.
CONSOLIDATION OF BUSINESS
An overlooked and under appreciated value of financial downturns is that they play an important economic role, especially when they come after unsustainable growth spurts.
As markets expand and overshoot there is a tendency for high cost capacity, inexperienced management and inefficient practices to be added. Consequently, the abrupt market contractions occurring in the PV and wider infrastructure markets present an opportunity to eliminate inefficient capacity, firms, and business practices that provide negative or marginal value. The PV industrys dramatic growth in recent years was largely fuelled by government support (e.g. FiT programs), as well as low cost and readily available debt. This led to an industry development structure that is highly splintered and populated with numerous and often small companies with different business models. The survivors from the fall out will be those firms offering the most value and with most efficient cost structures, supply chains, and business models. Moreover, weakened and highly cautious financial institutions will tend to channel capital to the economically stronger companies with solid business plans. Photovoltaic business has become more fragmented over time, with the top ten manufacturers in 2008 with an approximately 64% share of the market. From 2002 forward, new entrants from the east the Chinese entered the market with a few, such as Suntech
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Power, Yingly Green Energy and JA Solar, finding their way into the top 10 PV manufacturers. The Chinese manufacturers benefit by having one of the largest potential markets and a new government policy that provides attractive financial subsidies and even FiT is considered in several provinces. The PV industrys rapid growth indicates that while barriers to entry exist, they are not insurmountable. Companies can either enter by acquiring existing players, which is how Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), General Electric (USA) and Schneider Electric (France) entered, or acquire rights to technology as the Chinese have done. This indicates that intense competition is likely to be an important hallmark of the industrys future and that further consolidation may be difficult, especially as the potential for growth is so large. The present economic downturn with its significant impact on demand for PV modules should serve to accelerate what is already a highly competitive market. Given the large number of global players, there should also be strong competitive pressure to pass on falling product costs, which will be a boon to buyers. Companies with low-cost structures, for example, with access to low-cost country sourcing, should gain a competitive advantage. More intense competition is also likely to accelerate specialization, as firms exit businesses for which they do not have a core competency. This should encourage many of the larger and more established firms to re-double their business rationalization strategies. Similarly, other established players can be expected to take advantage of the slowdown to sharpen their technology prowess by purchasing needed expertise and resources at todays lower prices. At the same time, the opportunity for economically stronger firms to enter the burgeoning PV business or expand
by buying low cost assets may entice large vendors to grow their PV businesses.
A BAPTISM OF FIRE?
After growing at a breakneck pace the industry is expected to install around 6 GW in 2009, and up to 9 GW by 2010. By significantly drive innovations, production cost reduction and intensifying competition, todays global economic slowdown should encourage a shakeout of companies, management teams, and business practices in the PV business. To adapt to the more competitive and lowercost economic environment, companies will have to consolidate their ownership and development models. New market economics will drive industry transformation to a lower cost structure, with fewer players, stronger supply chains, and a greater focus on quality products and reliability. Higher efficiency and better reliability are especially critical for making the PV generation cost competitive and credible with traditional forms of power generation. This will be a tremendous benefit for buyers of PV power systems, and though painful in the short run for PV companies, this economic cleansing process should result in a more stable and resilient long-term business. An economic crisis can often present the seeds for industry innovation as heightened competition drives disruptive innovation in the form of, not only lower prices, but new technologies, business organizations, and service delivery methods. The PV industry is in position to take advantage of these challenges and take the next step down the path toward sustained growth.
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Pusat Tenaga Malaysia is a not-for-pro t organisation

administered by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water. We serve as a think tank for the Government and as a national energy research centre that focuses on strategic energy policy input and analysis. Our services also encompass dissemination of energy e ciency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) technologies and consultancy services and hence make us the one-stop agency for linkage with industries on energy matters. PTM strives to be a proactive and internationally-recognised driving force in the promotion of sustainable energy solutions, in harmony with national aspirations and the environment. The emphasis is on R&D to ensure e cient and environment-friendly production and consumption of energy in Malaysia.
Malaysia Energy Centre
Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (462237-T) No.2, Jalan 9/10 Persiaran Usahawan , Seksyen 9 43650 Bandar Baru Bangi Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia For further information contact: Hamiza Ibrahim Syarifah Ilham Syed Ahmad Noor Azlin Mahat T. 603-8921 0800 F. 603-8921 0801 E-mail: info@ptm.org.my
Malaysia PV Industry Directory

APPROVED PV SERVICE PROVIDERS (APVSP)
Malaysia PV Industry Directory as per Aug 2009. Please check our website www.mbipv.net.my for any updates on the directory. ACEI Systems Sdn Bhd 75 - G & 75 - 1, Jalan Cecawi 6/33, Seksyen 6 Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor 603 - 6142 2268 / 603 - 6142 2826 Tel: Website: www.aceisys.com.my Product/Service: System integrator & distributor Bestium Technologies Sdn Bhd Unit 510, 5th Floor, Block A, Kelana Business Center 97, Jalan SS7/2, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Tel: 603 - 7880 9499 Website: www.bestium.com.my Product/Service: M&E consultant, system integrator, distributor & testing BT Solar Sdn Bhd Lot V, Level 2, Arked Khidmat, Lorong Pokok Seraya 5 Taman Khidmat, Jalan Bukit Padang 88450 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Tel: 6088 - 380 197 Product/Service: System integrator & distributor Eco-Gallery Sdn Bhd 14 & 16 Jalan Maju 1, Taman Perindustrian Cemerlang 81800 Ulu Tiram, Johor Tel: 607 - 8677 933 Website: www.eco-gallery.com Product/Service: M&E consultant, system integrator, distributor, testing. BOS manufacturer of mounting structure & solar charge controller Gading Kencana Sdn Bhd 24, Jalan Opera J U2/J, Taman TTDI Jaya 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 7845 2864 Website: www.gadingkencana.com.my Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor IBC Solar Teknik Sdn Bhd A902, 9th Floor, Block A, Kelana Square 17, Jalan SS7/26, Kelana Jaya 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Tel: 603 - 7494 0441 Website: www.ibc-solar.de Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor Intelligent Power System Technology Sdn Bhd 809 - B Kompleks Diamond, Bangi Bussiness Park 43650 Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor Tel: 603 - 8210 1147 Website: www.ipstechnology.com.my Product/Service: System integrator, M&E consultant, distributor & testing Keepkool Sdn Bhd 1029, Lorong Perusahaan 2, Prai Industrial Complex 13600 Prai, Pulau Pinang Tel: 604 - 6567 864 Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor Kejuruteraan Broadway Sdn Bhd 29, Jalan Jintan, Taman Supreme, Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 - 91313699 Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor Kemuning Structures Sdn Bhd Lot 3801, Batu 6 1/4, Jalan Klinik, Seksyen 32 Bukit Kemuning, 40460 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5162 1688 Website: www.k-structures.com.my Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor Laurenz Leistung Sdn Bhd 48, Jalan Kesuma 5/3 Bandar Tasik Kesuma, Beranang, Selangor Tel: 606 - 2833 808 / 013 - 6611 808 Website: www.smartandcoolhomes.com Product/Service: System integrator, M&E consultant & distributor Metta Engineering Sdn Bhd 5A, Jalan Beranang Dua, 27/14B, Taman Bunga Negara Seksyen 27, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5192 9580 Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor My Trends Sdn Bhd No 29-2, Jalan 10/116B, Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 - 7982 8669 Website: www.trends-group.com Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor Pekat Technologies Sdn Bhd No.1, Jalan PJU 3/40, Sunway Damansara Industrial Park 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Tel: 603 - 78850022 Website: www.pekat.com.my Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor Power Technologies Sdn Bhd 1-10-03, Jalan Lazuardi 7/29, Worlwide @ 7, Seksyen 7 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 55129001 Website: www.powertechnologies.com.my Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor SFG Technology (M) Sdn Bhd 313, 3rd Floor, Block B, Kelana Squre 17, Jalan SS7/26, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Tel: 603 - 7880 9360 Website: www.sfg.com.my Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor
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INSTITUTIONS
Solamas Sdn Bhd No 18, Jalan Industri PBP 9, Taman Industri Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47100 Puchong, Selangor Tel: 603 - 8060 9062 Website: www.solamas.com Product/Service: System Integrator, consultant & distributor Solidi Mega Vision (M) Sdn Bhd No. 25B, Jalan M6, Taman Merdeka 75350 Batu Berendam, Melaka Tel: 606 - 3172527 Website: www.solidi.my Product/Service: System Integrator / Installer Success Electronics & Transformer Manufacturers Sdn Bhd 5 & 7, Jalan TSB 8,Taman Industri Sungai Buloh 47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor Tel: 603 - 6157 2788 Website: www.success.com.my Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor Swissprof Sdn Bhd No. 37, Jalan TSB 2, Taman Industrial Sungai Buloh 47000 Kota Damansara, Selangor Tel: 603 - 61413190 Website: http://swissprof.com Product/Service: System integrator, M&E consultant and manufacturer of mounting structure Utai Engineering & Electrical (EM) Sdn Bhd Lot 7042, Section 64 KTLD, Jalan Sekama 93300 Kuching, Sarawak Tel: 6082 - 339 177 Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor Utara Maju Engineering Sdn Bhd 66, Jalan Rengas, Taman Selatan, 41200 Klang, Selangor Tel: 603 - 3371 4399 Product/Service: System integrator, consultant & distributor Centre for Research Power Electronics, Drives, Automation & Control (UMPEDAC) Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 - 7967 5305 Product/Service: Inverter research & development. Inverter Quality Control Centre Fakulti Kejuruteraan Elektrik Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor Tel: 607 - 5535 360 Website: http://psm.fke.utm.my/iqcc/ Product/Service: Inverter testing and investigation Mounting Structure Quality Control Centre Block 7, Taman Ilmu Ikram, Jalan Serdang-Kajang 43000 Kajang, Selangor Tel: 603 - 8738 3388 ext 292 Product/Service: Mounting structure testing and assessment Photovoltaic Monitoring Centre Institute of Science, Komplek Teratai Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5521 1991 Website: http://pvmc.uitm.edu.my Product/Service: Monitoring of PV system installed in Malaysia Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) Level 3, Perpustakaan Tun Sri Lanang Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor Tel: 603 - 8921 5555 Website: www.ukm.my/seri Product/Service: Solar energy research
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MANUFACTURERS
ABB Malaysia Sdn Bhd Block A, Level 2, Lot 608, Jalan SS 13/1K 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5628 4888 Website: www.abb.com.my Product/Service: Supplier of switches & junction box Channel Systems Asia Sdn Bhd Lot P.T. 14274, Jalan SU8, Persiaran Tengku Ampuan 40400 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5192 2643 Website: www.channelsystems.com Product/Service: Manufacturer of aluminium frame for PV module Huber+Suhner (M) Sdn Bhd 2, Jalan Pensyarah U1/28, HICOM Glenmarie Industrial Park 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5035 3333 Website: www.hubersuhner.com Product/Service: Manufacturer of junction box, connectors & cables Edwards Technologies Sdn Bhd Suite 2.03, 2nd Floor, Wisma Mirama Jalan Wisma Putra, 50460 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 65 - 9112 3101 Website: www.edwardsvacuum.com Product/Service: Vendor/ manufacturer of vacuum and gas abatement equipment. First Solar Malaysia Sdn Bhd 8, Jalan Hi-Tech 3/3, Zon Industri Fasa 3 Kulim Hi-Tech Park, 09000, Kulim, Kedah Tel: 604 - 4016 888 Website: www.firstsolar.com Product/Service: Manufacturer of Thin Film PV module Pentamaster Corporation Berhad Plot 18&19, Technoplex, Medan Bayan Lepas, Taman Perindstrian Bayan Lepas, Phase IV, 11900 Penang Tel: 604 - 646 9212 Website: www.pentamaster.com.my Product/Service: Manufacturer of solar tracker P.I.E. Industrial Bhd Plot 6, Jalan Jelawat Satu, Kawasan Perusahaan Seberang Perai 13700 Seberang Jaya, Penang Tel: 604 - 399 35169 Product/Service: Manufacturer of solar cable Polytool Integration Sdn Bhd Plot 30, Hilir Sungai Klung 1, Bayan Lepas Industrial Park Phase 4, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang Tel: 604 - 6429 731 Website: www.kobaytech.com Product/Service: Manufacturer of solar components and equipments PV Hi Tech Solar Sdn Bhd 12, Jln Bunga Raya 14, Tmn Tasek Jaya 70400 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan Tel: 606 - 6429731 Website: http://pvhitech.com/index.php Product/Service: Assembly of PV module Q-Cells Malaysia Sdn Bhd Lot1, Selangor Science Park 2, Bukit Baja, Mukim Dengkil 43900 Sepang, Selangor Tel: 603 - 83150888 Website: www.q-cells.com Product/Service: Manufacturer & distributor of solar cell Siemens Malaysia Sdn Bhd Level 1, CP Tower, No 11, Jalan 16/11 Pusat Dagang Seksyen 16, 46350 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Tel: 603 - 7952 5471 Website: www.siemens.com Product/Service: Vendor/ Manufacturer of system automation (PLC), transformer, HV & LV electrical, drive, water treatment and sensor instrument Sharp Roxy Sales & Service Company Sdn Bhd 1A, Persiaran Kuala Langat, Section 27 40400 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5102 5228 Website: www.sharp.com.my Product/Service: Manufacturer & distributor of Sharp PV module Solartif Sdn Bhd Lot D1 & D2, SME Bank Factory Complex Chendering Industrial Estate 21080 Chendering, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu Tel: 609 - 6270 320 / 609 - 6176 059 Website: www.solartif.com.my Product/Service: Assembly of PV module Superspan Sdn Bhd 22, Jalan Batai Laut 4, Taman Intan, 41300 Klang, Selangor Tel: 603 - 3344 5748 Website: www.dayatera.com Product/Service: Manufacturer of mounting structure & roof structure specialist
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RELATED SERVICES
TT Vision Technologies Sdn Bhd Plot 106, Hilir Sungai Keluang 5, Bayan Lepas Phase 4 11900 Penang Tel: 604 - 6456294 Website: www.ttvision-tech.com Product/Service: Manufacturer of measurement & inspection systems Vesuvius Fused Silica Lot PT 11693 (Block B), Jalan Pelabuhan Utara Kawasan Industri Bandar Sultan Suleiman 42000 Pelabuhan Klang, Selangor Tel: 603 - 3176 8002 Website: www.vesuvius.com Product/Service: Manufacturer/Vendor of solar crucibles Omron Electronic Components Sdn Bhd 3A, Lot 4 Bangunan TH Uptown 3, Damansara Uptown No. 3 Jalan SS21/39, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Tel: 603 - 7623 6300 Website: http://ecb.omron.com.sg Product/Service: Manufacturer/Vendor electronic components (relay, etc) Advance Micro Product Sdn Bhd 39, Jalan Tabia 33/21, Shah Alam Technology Park Section 33, 40400 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5122 0062 Website: http://amp.com.my Product/Service: Distributor of PV products/ trader of wafer and cell Advance Solar Voltaic Sdn Bhd 8 Jalan 2/137B, Resource Industrial Centre 58200 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 79805419 Product/Service: PV products supplier and R&D Amalinsya Sdn Bhd 2-19 Pusat Perdagangan KLH, Menara KLH Bandar Puchong Jaya, 47100 Puchong, Selangor Tel: 603 - 8076 5057 Website: www.amalinsya.com.my Product/Service: Distributor of PV products Asahi Best Base Sdn Bhd Lot 11, Kulim Industrial Estate, Kulim, 09000 Kedah Tel: 604 - 489 1906 Product/Service: Distributor of PV connectors Borid Energy (M) Sdn Bhd No. 13, Jalan Jurutera U1/23, Seksyen U1 Hicom Glenmarie Industrial Park, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5569 4618 Website: www.boridenergy.com Product/Service: Distributors of batteries and PV products Carlo Gavazzi Automation (M) Sdn Bhd D12-06-G, Block D12, Pusat Perdagangan Dana 1, Jalan PJU 1A/46, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Tel: 603 - 78427299 Website: www.gavazzi-automation.com Product/Service: Distributor of PV inverter Erapoly Sdn Bhd Lot 4089, Jalan P4/8, Sek. 4, Bandar Teknologi Kajang 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Tel: 603 - 8723 7988 Website: www.erapoly.com Product/Service: Distributor of solar panel, street light, batteries & cables Green Age Solar Technology Sdn Bhd 14, Tingkat Perusahaan Utama 1, Bukit Tengku Industrial Park Bukit Mertajam, 14000 Penang Tel: 604 - 5082 331 Website: www.ga2020.com Product/Service: Distributor & supplier of solar products
72
Hibex Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd Lot 33, Jalan PJS 11 / 1, Bandar Sunway 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor 603 - 5633 0109 Tel: Website: www.hibex.com.my Product/Service: Distributor of PV process equipment Hitachi High-Technologies IPC (M) Sdn Bhd Letter Box No. 183, 33rd Floor UBN Tower 10 Jalan P.Ramlee, 50250 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 2078 6968 www.hitachi-hitec.com.my Website: Product/Service: Distributor of PV cells, balance of system components and manufacturing equipment parts. Infomekar Sdn Bhd l6-4-21F, Pelangi Promenade Business Park Jalan Pekan Baru 35, 41050 Klang, Selangor Tel: 603 - 3348 8050 Website: www.infomekar.com Product/Service: Distributor of PV products IRE-TEX Malaysia Sdn Bhd 118, Jalan Perusahaan, Bukit Tengah Industrial Park 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Penang Tel: 604 - 5022 752 Website: www.iretex.com.my Product/Service: Packaging materials and logistics solutions for PV panels/products KTI Teknikal Sdn Bhd 18, 1st Floor, Taman Luyang Phase 8, Specialist Centre Off Jalan Kolam, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Tel: 6088 - 239 780 Website: http://kti.com.my Product/Service: Distributor of PV products M+W Zander (Penang) Sdn Bhd 20th Floor Gurney Tower, 18 Persiarian Gurney,10250 Penang Tel: 604 - 3704 500 Website: www.mw-zander.com Product/Service: M&E consulting, system integrator & distributor (engineering design, general contractor, equipment hook-up, facility management for PV plants) Melco Sales Malaysia Sdn Bhd 6, Jalan 13/6, P O Box 1036, 46860 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel: 603 - 7955 2088 Website: http://global.mitsubishielectric.com/ bu/solar/index.html Product/Service: Distributor of PV modules (Mitsubishi)
Nagase (M) Sdn Bhd Suite 16.01, Level 16, Menara IGB, Mid Valley City Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur 603 - 2283 3966 Tel: Product/Service: Distributor & supplier of PV raw materials, SiC, silicone, epoxy, chemicals, solvent cleaning agents, chemicals recycling services and etc Nuri Saga Resources Sdn Bhd No 7 - 1, Jalan Opera E U2/E, TTDI Jaya 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 7845 5204 Website: http://nurisaga.com Product/Service: Distributor of PV products Wazlina Sdn Bhd No.93, (Mezzanine Floor), Jalan Pudu Lama 50200 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 - 2032 1899 Product/Service: Distributor of PV products
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OTHERS
Architron Design Consultants Sdn Bhd Unit C8, Taman Tunku, Bukit Tunku, 50480 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 - 6204 2999 Website: www.architrondesign.com Product/Service: Design consultants/architecture for PV project Eleena Jamil Architect 34P-2-4 Jalan 1/27F, KLSC Section 5, Wangsa Maju 53300 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 - 4149 0775 Website: www.ej-architect.com Product/Service: Design consultants-architecture for PV project Embassy of Spain. Economic and Commercial Office 20th Floor, Menara Boustead, 69, Jalan Raja Chulan 53000 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 - 2148 7300 Website: www.spainbusiness.com Product/Service: Consulting services for Spanish companies interested in Malaysian market and find partners for Malaysian firms interested in business in Spain Invest Melaka Berhad Level 3, Menara MITC, Jalan Konvensyen, Kompleks MITC, 75450 Ayer Keroh, Melaka Tel: 606 - 2312 226 Website: www.invest-melaka.com.my Product/Service: Consultant for investment / project in solar & other high technology in Melaka Kulim Technology Park Corporation Berhad KHTP Business Centre, Kulim Hi-Tech Park P.O.Box 60, 09000 Kulim, Kedah Tel: 604 - 4032 420 Website: www.khtp.com.my Product/Service: Consultant for investment in solar & other high tech products in Kulim Hi-Tech Park Malakoff Corporation Berhad Level 8, Block 2A, Plaza Sentral Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, 50470 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 - 2263 3000 Website: www.malakoff.com.my www.mmc.com.my Product/Service: Project management / development Negeri Sembilan Investment Centre Tingkat 5, Blok B, Wisma Negeri, 70503 Seremban Negeri Sembilan Tel: 606 - 7659 570 Website: www.nsic.com.my Product/Service: Consultant for investment / project in solar & other high technology in Negeri Sembilan state Polar Twin Advance (M) Sdn Bhd Plot 132(A), Jalan Perindustrian Bkt Minyak Tmn Perindustrian Bkt Minyak, Mukim 13 14100 Bkt Minyak, Pulau Pinang Tel: 604 - 5021 668 Product/Service: R&D in organic solar cell Putrajaya Perdana Bhd 2nd & 3rd Floor, No 5, Jalan P16, Precinct 16, 62150 Putrajaya 603 - 8886 8888 Tel: Website: www.p-perdana.com Product/Service: Developer for solar township / housing SP Setia Berhad Wisma SP Setia, 1, Jalan Bandar Satu Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47100 Puchong, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5882 2000 Website: www.spsetia.com.my Product/Service: Developer for solar township / housing SSIC Berhad 24th Floor, Wisma MBSA, Persiaran Perbandaran 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: 603 - 5510 2005 Website: www.ssic.com.my Product/Service: Consultant for investment / project in solar & other high technology in Selangor state
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INTERNATIONAL CORPORATIONS
Air Products Singapore Pte Ltd 2 International Business Park, #03-32 Singapore 609930 Tel: 65 6494 2249 Website: www.airproducts.com Product/Service: Distributor and supplier for chemical product for PV industry Applied Materials South East Asia Pte Ltd 3 Changi Business Park Vista, Singapore 486051 Tel: 65 6311 7000 Website: www.appliedmaterials.com Product/Service: PV equipment manufacturer China-Tianwei Yingli New Energy Resources Co Ltd 3055, Middle Fuxing Road, Baoding China (071051) Tel: 86 (312) 8929 809 Website: www.yinglisolar.com Product/Service: Cell & module manufacturer & suppliers Conergy Renewable Energy Singapore Pte Ltd 138 Cecil Street #01-01 Cecil Court, Singapore 069538 Tel: 65 6849 5540 Website: www.conergy.com Product/Service: Cell & module manufacturer & suppliers First Solar, Inc 350 West Washington Street, Suite 600 Tempe Arizona 85281-1244, USA Tel: 1 602 414 9300 Website: www.firstsolar.com Product/Service: Manufacturer PV module (thin film) Fronius International Solar Electronics A 4600 Wels, Buxbaumstr.2 Tel: 43 7242 241 Website: www.fronius.com Product/Service: Manufacturer of PV inverter & junction box Kyocera Asia Pacific Pte Ltd 298 Tiong Bahru Road, #13-03/05 Central Plaza Singapore 168730 Tel: 65 6271 0500 Website: www.kyocera.com.sg Product/Service: Cell & module manufacturer & suppliers Leonics Co Ltd 119/50-51 Moo 8, Bangna-Trad Road, Bangna Bangkok 10260 THAILAND Tel: 66 2746 9500 Website: www.leonics.com Product/Service: PV Inverter and electronic manufacturer M+W Zander (S) Pte Ltd 16, International Business Park, #02-00, Singapore 609929 Tel: 65 6725 9500 Website: www.mw-zander.com Product/Service: M&E Consulting, system integrator & distributor (including engineering design, general contractor, equipment hook-up & facility management) Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte Ltd 307, Alexandra Road #05-01/02 Mitsubishi Electric Building Singapore, 159943 65 6473 2308 Tel: Website: www.MitsubishiElectric.com.sg Product/Service: Manufacturer of cell & module Mitsui & Co. Ltd (Kuala Lumpur Branch) 5th Floor, Millennium Office Block 160, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603 2141 8099 www.mitsui.com Website: Product/Service: Distributor of PV module (Kaneka) Multi-Contact (South East Asia) Pte Ltd 215 Henderson Road #01-02, Henderson Industrial Park, Singapore 159554 Tel: 65 6266 0900 Website: www.multi-contact.com Product/Service: Manufacturer of junction box, connectors & cables NanoPV (Asia) Ltd Thosapol Land 3 Bldg., 17th Fl. Unit A, 947 Moo 12 Bangna-Trad Rd. Bangna, Bangkok 10260 THAILAND Tel: 66 2 769 5415-6 Website: www.nano-pv.com Product/Service: PV equipment manufacturer for PV module (thin film) Oerlikon Solar OC Oerlikon Balzers AG, Iramali 18, LI 9496 Balzers Tel: 423 388 4480 Website: www.oerlikon.com/solar Product/Service: PV Equipment manufacturer Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd 209 Syed Alwi Road, Singapore 207742 Tel: 65 6511 9339 Website: www.PhoenixSolar.sg Product/Service: System integrator, M&E consult, distributor & testing Q-Cells Asia Limited Room 1308 13/F Nan Fung Tower 173 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong Tel: 852 2541 5688 Website: www.q-cells.com Product/Service: Manufacturer & distributor of cell SMA Solar Technology AG Sonnenallee I, 34266 Niestetal, Germany Tel: 49 5619 5220 Website: www.sma.de Product/Service: Manufacturer of PV inverter
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INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
SolarWorld Asia Pacific Pte Ltd 72 Bendemeer Road, #07-01 Luzerne, Singapore 339941 65 6842 3886 Tel: Website: www.solarworld.de Product/Service: Manufacturer of cell & module SunPower Corporation 3939, N. 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95134 Tel: 408 240 5500 Website: www.sunpowercorp.com Product/Service: Manufacturer of wafer, cell & module Sunseap Enterprises Pte Ltd Blk 3, Alexandra Distriparkk, #09-13 Alexandra Road Singapore 118483 Tel: 65 62716631 Website: www.sunseap.com Product/Service: Manufacturer & assembler of PV module Arsenal Research Giefinggasse 2, 1210 Vienna, Austria Tel: 43 (0) 50 550-0 Website: www.arsenal.ac.at Product/Service: Module, inverter & PV products testing and certification Global Sustainable Energy Solution Pty Ltd P O Box 57, Ulladalla, NSW 2539 Australia Tel: 61 2 4457 3057 Website: www.gses.com.au Product/Service: Training provider in PV & RE Research Institute for Sustainable Energy Murdoch University, Murdoch Drive Murdoch WA 6150 Australia Tel: 61 8 9360 6620 Website: www.rise.murdoch.edu.au Product/Service: Inverter testing and certification SEMI Singapore Pte Ltd 112 Robinson Road, #07-01, Singapore 068902 Tel: 65 6339 6361 Website: www.semi.org Product/Service: Provide facilitation and support for semiconductor industry in PV Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) National University of Singapore (NUS) Block E3A, #06-01, 7 Engineering Drive 1 Singapore 117574 Tel: 65 6516 4119 Website: www.seris.nus.edu.sg Product/Service: Module testing and certification
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Facilitating Your Investments in the
Manufacturing and Services Sectors

MIDA is the first point of contact for investors who intend to set up projects in the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia.
We undertake to:
Promote foreign and domestic investments in the manufacturing and services sectors; Undertake planning for industrial development in Malaysia; Evaluate applications for manufacturing licences, expatriate posts, and tax incentives for various activities in the manufacturing and services sectors; Assist companies in the implementation and operation of their projects, and offer assistance through direct consultation with the relevant authorities at both the federal and state levels.
MIDA State Offices

KEDAH & PERLIS
Level 4, East Wing No. 88, Menara Bina Darulaman Berhad Lebuhraya Darulaman, 05100 Alor Setar Kedah Darul Aman Tel: (604) 731 3978 Fax: (604) 731 2439 Email: midaas@po.jaring.my
NEGERI SEMBILAN
Suite 13.01 & 13.02, 13th Floor , Menara MAA 70200 Seremban , Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus Tel: (606) 762 7921 (GL) (606) 762 7884 (DL) Fax: (606) 762 7879 E-mail: nsembilan@mida.gov.my
KELANTAN
5th Floor, Bangunan PKINK. Jalan Tengku Maharani Puteri 15000 Kota Bharu, Kelantan Darul Naim Tel: (609) 748 3151 Fax: (609) 744 7294 E-mail: midakb@po.jaring.my
TERENGGANU MELAKA
3rd Floor, Menara MITC, Kompleks MITC Jalan Konvensyen, 75450 Ayer Keroh , Melaka Tel: (606) 232 2876/78 Fax: (606) 232 2875 E-mail: midamel@po.jaring.my 5th Floor, Menara Yayasan Islam Terengganu Jalan Sultan Omar, 20300 Kuala Terengganu Terengganu Darul Iman Tel: (609) 622 7200 Fax: (609) 623 2260 E-mail: midakt@pd.jaring.my
PULAU PINANG
4.03 4th Floor, Menara PSCI 39 Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050 Pulau Pinang Tel: (604) 228 0575 Fax: (604) 228 0327 E-mail: midapg@po.jaring.my
PERAK
4th Floor, Perak Techno Trade Centre (PTTC) Bandar Meru Raya, Off Jalan Jelapang 30720 Ipoh, Perak Darul Ridzuan Tel: (605) 5269 962 / 5269 961 Fax: (605) 5279 960 E-mail: midaprk@po.jaring.my
JOHOR
Unit No. 15.03, Level 15, Wisma LKN 49, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, 80000 Johor Bahru Johor Darul Takzim Tel: (607) 224 2550/ 5500 Fax: (607) 224 2360 E-mail: midajb@tm.net.my
SABAH
Lot D9.4 & D9.5, 9 Floor, Block D, Bangunan KWSP Karamunsing , 88100 Kota Kinabalu , Sabah Tel: (6088) 211 411 Fax: (6088) 211 412 Email: midasbh@tm.net.my
SARAWAK
Room 404, 4th Floor, Bangunan Bank Negara No.147, Jalan Satok, P.O.Box 716 93714 Kuching, Sarawak Tel: (6082) 254 251/237 484 Fax: (6082) 252 375 E-mail: mida_kch@tm.net.m
PAHANG SELANGOR
22nd Floor, Wisma MBSA , Persiaran Perbandaran 40000 Shah Alam , Selangor Darul Ehsan Tel: (603) 5518 4260 / 94525 Fax: (603) 5513 5392 E-mail: selangor@mida.gov.my Suite 3, 11th Floor, Kompleks Teruntum, P.O.Box 178, 25720 Kuantan, Pahang Darul Makmur Tel: (609) 513 7334 Fax: (609) 513 7333 E-mail: midaphg@po.jaring.my
Malaysian Industrial Development Authority Block 4, Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: (603) 2267 3633 Fax: (603) 2274 7970 Website: www.mida.gov.my E-mail: promotion@mida.gov.my
Pusat Tenaga Malaysia

No. 2, Jalan 9/10, Persiaran Usahawan, Seksyen 9 43650 Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia GL: +603 8921 0800 Fax: +603 8921 0911 Email: infopv@mbipv.net.my Website: www.mbipv.net.my

PV Ind 2009 Final

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PV Industry Handbook 2009

The MBIPV Project Team

PV Industry Handbook 2009

PV Industry Handbook 2009

Component 1: Information services, awareness and capacity building program

MBIPV (2005 - 2010)

Component 2: Market enhancement and infrastructure development program

Component 3: Policies and nancing mechanism program

Component 4: Industry development and technology localisation program

PV Industry Handbook 2009

The Way Forward

Malaysian Delegates during a PV factory visit to Renesola in China

PV Industry Handbook 2009

Figure 2: Satellite Vanguard 1 (Courtesy: NREL)

Figure 1: Bell Lab Solar Battery (Courtesy: NREL)

Figure 3: 1st Tour de Sol 1987 (1st Solar Challenge in Switzerland)

Figure 5: World record solar cell at Fraunhofer ISE in Germany

PV Industry Handbook 2009

Figure 6: Large-scale PV power utility plant (Courtesy: Sunpower)

Introduction to PV Technology and Functionality

Figure 7: Electricity from the sunlight

GENERATION OF SOLAR CELLS

Silicon Wafer Based

Monocrystalline Polycrystalline Amorphous ( a - Si )

Tandem a - Si / Si Crystalline Thin Film Si Crystalline CIS / CIGS

Glass Sheet or Polymer Sheet

Jelly Electrolyte Solid Electrolyte

Full Organic Hybrid

Polymer - Polymer Polymer - Fullerene Polymer - Inorganic Figure 8: Overview of PV generations

Glass Sheet or Polymer Sheet

PV Industry Handbook 2009

Introduction to PV Technology and Functionality

Figure 9: 1st generation PV module (multicrystalline PV) (Courtesy: Yingli)

Figure 10: 2nd generation PV module (a-Si PV) (Courtesy: Kaneka)

PV Industry Handbook 2009

Figure 11: 3rd generation PV module (dye-sensitized PV) (Courtesy: Dyesol)

Figure 13: Silicon nanowires (Courtesy: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

PV Industry Handbook 2009

Introduction to PV Technology and Functionality

Figure 14: sc-Si

Figure 15: mc-Si cell

Figure 16: a-Si cell

Figure 17: CIS

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Gallium arsenide, various types**

Crystalline silicon cell

Copper indium selenide cells (CIS/ GIS)

Cadmium telluride cells (CdTe)

Microcrystalline and micromorphous cells

*Research, experimental stage **Aerospace, concentrators

Hybrid HIT cells

Figure 18: Overview of solar cell technologies

Mono crystalline (sc-Si)

Maximum recorded 25.0%

Multi crystalline (mc-Si)

Amorphous silicon (a-Si) Copper indium (gallium) diselenide (CIS/CIGS)

Cadmium telluride (CdTe)

15.4% (triple junction) 19.0% 15% 16.5%

10-12% 9-11% 4-8% 2-5%

Table 1: Comparison of solar cell efficiencies

Figure 19: Structure of crystalline PV module

PV Industry Handbook 2009