Reported by Jeanny H. Lim

 What do you see as the trends and market forces driving PV technology in the second half of 2011?

In Europe, we can see an increasing trend to on-roof solar systems. The potential is huge. In order to supply the entire German population with solar energy, for instance, we’d need a total roof surface of 5,000 square kilometers. 2,800 square kilometers are already there and one third would be available for solar installations right away. For this decentralized form of energy production, the possibility of storing energy in a battery is getting increasingly important. The power from the sun can then be used at night, too.

Conergy already has the right solutions for both, a storage solution as well as completely synchronized solar systems for private homes: As a system manufacturer, Conergy produces all components for a solar installation and offers all services under one roof and from a single source. With our new Conergy Complete solutions, we offer completely synchronized systems─not made out of separate components but already developed as a ‘team’ from the beginning on. The customer benefits from more yield, shorter installation times and an easier installation─from one installer on the roof. This solution is accompanied by the new storage solution based on lithium-ion technology. With that ‘solar system of the future’, sun’s literally shining in the middle of the night.

How are PV prices expected to develop in the second half?

2010 was a solar boom year. The boom--as expected--did not continue so far in 2011 and prices in Q1 decreased. However, at the moment, the further development of prices in 2011 is mere speculation.

Where do you put your focus this year, in terms of business growth and technology development?

Conergy will be focusing on its traditional markets but also open up new, promising markets. By implementing our system manufacturer strategy in the U.S., we will strengthen our footprint there. Recently, we have opened up our local mounting systems factory in Sacramento/California. Moreover, we built one of the biggest on-roof installations on Hawaii for Fujifilm--with our premium PowerPlus modules. Also in Canada, we see potential and recently teamed up with a local partner there in order to develop a module that fits the local content requirements.

Furthermore, there are interesting quite young markets in the U.K., Israel and in Asia. Here, we see strong growth in Thailand where we recently built our third park within 12 months--12.4 megawatts equipped with 100% of our Conergy system technology. Also Australia and India show dynamic growth and Malaysia and the Philippines are on our ‘watchlist’.

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