Concentrated PV

Intelligence Brief 30 March – 13 April Companies and organisations included in this round-up include: IBM King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) Azur Space Solar Power Frost & Sullivan Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) Society for Cultural Exchange Concentrix Solar Soitec Rosenblatt New Energy Awards

Intelligence Brief 30 March – 13 April Companies and organisations included in this round-up include: IBM King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) Azur Space Solar Power Frost & Sullivan Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) Society for Cultural Exchange Concentrix Solar Soitec Rosenblatt New Energy AwardsSaudi Arabia to build world's biggest CPV powered desalination plant A break through desalination project in Saudi Arabia is being co-developed with IBM and Saudi Arabia's national research group King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) to create the world's largest solar-powered desalination plant. KACST said it will open the ground breaking plant by 2012 in the city of Al-Khafji according to a Technologyreview.com report. The pilot plant will supply 30 000 cubic meters of clean water per day to 100 000 people but will also reduce operating costs in the long run by harvesting energy from sunshine. Arab News has stated that Saudi Arabia is the world's number one desalination water producer in the world but which comes with a cost of 1.5 million barrels of oil used per day just to run its plants. In the new desalination plant the Saudis hope to slash energy costs by deploying a new kind of concentrated photovoltaic technology which uses lenses or mirrors to focus the sun's rays onto solar panels. The technology will concentrate the sun 1 500 times on a solar cell to boost efficiency. That's about three times the solar concentration of most concentrating photovoltaic panels currently in operation. In a New York Times report is was noted that the system's upgrade is due to a device that IBM came up with back when the company was designing mainframe computers and trying to ensure that they didn't overheat. The device called a liquid metal thermal interface uses a highly conductive liquid metal to transfer heat away. In the desalination plant the devices will serve as heat sinks to prevent the photovoltaics from breaking down under such extreme concentrated heat. The Al-Khafji desalination plant will mark the first of three steps in a solar-energy programme launched by KACST to reduce desalination costs said the technologyreview.com report. The second step will be a 300 000-cubic-meter facility and the third phase will involve several more solar-power desalination plants at various locations Analyst grants Azur Space Solar Power

 growth leadership award Azur Space Solar Power of Germany has been granted the 2009 World Solar Power Industry Growth Leadership Award from industry analysts Frost & Sullivan according to a PRnewswire.com report. Azur Space according to Frost & Sullivan has carved a niche for itself in the field of space and terrestrial solar cell applications by providing high-performance solar cells. The company's Si and GaAs solar cells are renowned for their unmatched quality and efficiency rates with Azur currently the sole producer of GaAs cells in Europe and only one three producers of this cell worldwide. It uses special semiconductor grades of Czochralski-grown material to prepare its silicon cells on while its GaAs-based cells are prepared by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on germanium (Ge) substrates. The company's cell production for satellite application ranges from the standard silicon cells to the very high efficiency GaAs cells with more than 30 percent efficiency in space that includes not only protection diodes but also maximized end-of-life efficiency and power-to-weight ratios " said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Suchismita Das. "The range of Si cells produced by Azur Space also includes highly specialised ones for deep space missions." The German solar cell developer claims to produce the best solar cells for satellite applications. A total of 38 percent of efficient solar cells for terrestrial concentrator application are in production at Azur Space. "It leverages its close ties with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE to develop and launch 40 percent-efficient concentrated photovoltaic (PV) cells for terrestrial applications next year. The report said that over the long term cells with 50% efficiency should be possible which will result in about 35% AC overall system efficiency. Azur Space is also looking to enter the healthcare market by researching ways to use the GaAs technology for medical applications such as X-ray detectors. According to Das: "The company is rolling out this technology in the United States and is making efforts to introduce it in the market and compete against the existing silicon counterparts." Solar art to illuminate thousands of homes in Dubai A Dubai-based American couple has come up with a plan to develop a series of land art installations which would basically be massive aesthetic sculptures that would double up as renewable power generators with a potential to illuminate thousands of homes according to a Khaleej Times report. The unique project named Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) is a brainchild of Robert Ferry an architect and wife Elizabeth Monoian an artist. As a first step towards realising their dream project the couple has launched an international design competition bringing artists architects scientists engineers and landscape developers from across the world to collaborate. The proposed project will have the capacity of generating 5.6 gigawatts of power fulfilling a third of the UAE's future energy demands in a sustainable way. The project has already generated massive interest in the artistic and environmental circle said the report and the number of entries received for the design competition in just four months is a testimony to the viability of the project. "Launched on December 7 2009 the design competition has received over 600 entries from all over the world said Ferry who is the ambassador in the UAE for the Living Building Institute. "An elite jury of international experts will select the best designs. "They will announce the three winning designs after June 4 which is the last day for submissions. "After that we are planning to do educational programming and display the top 25 to 50 entries in international public exhibitions." As an architect and designer of less-than-zero-impact buildings that double as renewable power plants Ferry says he has always been interested in incorporating latest technologies of sustainable energy creation into his designs and create buildings that not only power themselves but also the surrounding areas. "Land art is a growing movement in big cities across the world and attracts millions of tourists every year. "We saw the potential in these installations to double up as renewable power generators that would inspire the people who come to see it. "This would show thousands of people the importance of adopting sustainable practices " said Monoian. "This part of the world receives the greatest amount of insulation energy from the sun as compared to other regions behind only to the Sahara desert. In terms of days of direct sun per year the Arabian peninsula gets one of the highest. There are also seasonal winds which are quite powerful and we have access to tidal power and wave power from the sea as well so we have got a good combination of resources which can be tapped into and harnessed to fulfil at least one-third of the local demand to begin with " said Ferry. "We have support and backing from municipalities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; they are very excited about the initiative and are willing play whatever role they can to see it through but what we are lacking in is the funds to carry on the project " said Monoian. "Many corporate organisations have showed interest but given the current economic climate it is understandable that no sponsorship is forthcoming. However we feel it's just around the corner " said Monoian in the report who is the founder and Director of Society for Cultural Exchange a non-profit arts organisation that is developing exchanges nationally and internationally between communities academics and artists. Subject to government approval a mudflat between Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary and The Lagoons is the proposed Dubai site and sites near Yas Island and Masdar City are proposed for Abu Dhabi. Concentrix Solar awarded deal of the year Germany's Concentrix Solar was awarded Deal of the Year at this year's Rosenblatt New Energy Awards. The company was chosen on the base of its sale to microelectronics specialist Soitec for €55m (

£50m) in December 2009. Days after winning Deal of the Year at the Rosenblatt New Energy Awards the company opened a major power plant in the US. The recent contract sees Concentrix opening a one megawatt solar power plant at Chevron Mining facility in New Mexico the largest of its kind in the US. Concentrix which produces solar energy systems spun off from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in 2005 and will use Soitec's technology to improve the performance of its solar cells. Soitec is the world's leading provider of engineered substrates for microelectronic components and produces more than 80 percent of the SOI wafers worldwide. The "Deal of the Year" recognizes and rewards the company that the judges deem to have planned and executed the best acquisition merger or fundraising during the past 12 months. Factors such as business strategy swiftness of execution and sound financial modeling have been considered."