To help our readers understand you better, please give us a brief account on how Masdar PV entered the solar photovoltaic business.

Masdar PV was officially announced in April 2008 by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s future energy initiative. Construction of the high-tech production facility in Ichtershausen began in August 2008 and we began moving in the equipment in April 2009. Production on the Applied Materials Sunfab line began in October 2009. The ramp-up then progressed as expected until we reached our current production capacity of 65 MWp per year.

What are your keys to competing in a saturated thin-film market? What have you been doing to make your technology stand out from the crowd?

Masdar PV produces thin-film solar modules based on the well-known semi-conductor amorphous silicon. Since we have a lot of customer requests for our modules, we cannot complain of the market being saturated. On the contrary, many customers approach us because our modules deliver excellent price-performance ratios and high energy yields under diffuse lighting conditions and high ambient temperatures. We are currently delivering 5 MW for a solar park in the desert in India where we cooperate with Belectric. We have also completed a test field where our modules were integrated into a building faade. As for our modules, Masdar PV delivers state-of-the-art German-made quality. Our experts modified the AMAT production line before installation to fit our specific needs. For example, seven inline metrology systems were installed to allow better characterization of the manufactured product. This allows us to identify weak spots in our modules prior to delivery to eliminate the possibility of premature failure in the field.

What is your perspective on the market drivers for your high-tech thin-film PV modules at this time?

Masdar PV’s thin-film-based PV modules are specially designed for use in utility-scale PV power plants, or in large rooftop applications. A unique feature of our product is the module size of up to 5.7 m².

Manufacturing 5.7m² substrates and deploying our large-surface PV modules helps significantly reduce total system costs. Among other things, fewer cables and connectors are needed, which drives down investment costs. We are also keeping assembly costs down by using back rails specially designed to meet our customers’srequirements. Together, these factors provide lower levels of expenditure for each watt of electrical power generated and ultimately lead to greater returns when on-grid PV installations are considered a financial product. We focus clearly on the highest possible quality of our products. Every single production step was optimized internally, ensuring that our products meet the highest quality standards. Here is one example: We use a laser edge deletion tool, which creates a clean glass surface without any residues and prevents bubbles from developing at the edge of the modules after lamination.

To sum up, our excellent cost-performance ratio and premium German-made quality are the key drivers for our market success.

How do you evaluate your performance last year and how much growth do you expect for this year?

Last year we were off to a very good start since the ramp-up progressed as planned. Now we are focusing on broadening our sales approach, aiming to deliver modules for industrial-sized solar parks. We are also currently considering expanding our Ichtershausen plant to be able to satisfy all the inquiries we receive.

What is your priority this year, business-wise and technology-wise?

We have established Masdar PV as a reliable partner for rooftop and ground-mounted installations. Now we are aiming to further internationalize our sales and build the foundation for further company growth.

What is your plan for the next phase of growth?

We are currently preparing to expand capacity further, which is likely to include a technology upgrade as well. I cannot give you any more details at this time, however.

We understand that Masdar PV’s product portfolio continues to focus on large-scale utility PV farms in the key markets such as Germany. Could you give our audience an overview of the Germany’s utility market? And how do you reach it?

Masdar PV is, of course, dedicated to serving its domestic market, Germany. Under the new German EEG, there are still a lot of potential areas where utility-scale PV power plants can be developed on non-agricultural land and along infrastructure axes. We offer the right solutions for those ground-mounted systems that perform especially well in diffuse light conditions. We also offer innovative mounting solutions that allow customers to use our PV modules for pitched and flat commercial rooftop installations--thus securing attractive compensation.

Beyond Germany, Masdar PV strives to become a leading force in bringing solar power to the Middle East and North Africa. It is supported in this cause by its mother company, Masdar, in Abu Dhabi. Favorable governmental support schemes along with excellent solar irradiation data are key reasons for Masdar PV to offer its product range in Southern European countries like Italy and emerging markets like Bulgaria.

Masdar PV has decided to extend its performance guarantee for its products from 20 to 25 years. What led you to this decision?

Our products perform reliably and since we are backed by a strong mother company like Masdar--and thus by the Emirate Abu Dhabi--we know that we will still be here in 25 years.

What do you think system integrators are expecting from thin-film PV modules?

PV modules need to be easy to handle and install. That is why we work with our project partners to improve handling. For example, the back rails on our modules are positioned so that they fit into the system perfectly.

What are your expectations for the development of the thin-film solar cell market in the coming years?

We believe that the market will continue to grow since many sun-kissed countries have just started to consider alternative energy. And thin-film solar modules are the best products for creating steady energy harvest and return rates in regions with hot climates.

Jeanny Lim is Editor-in-Chief of InterPV. Send your comments to swied@infothe.com.