BP and RGE Energy team up for giant German solar project

It may have recently faced criticism for its decision to close two production facilities, but BP Solar underlined its commitment to the sector this week with the news it is teaming up with German solar specialist RGE Energy AG on a project for one of the "largest solar projects" in the world in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Under the terms of the deal, BP Solar will provide about 210,000 crystalline photovoltaic cells with a peak output of 220 watts each, which will then be installed by RGE. The cells are slated for delivery in the third quarter of this year, and all the solar modules for the site are expected to be in place by the end of 2009.

The companies said the total output from the site in Koethen is expected to reach about 43,000MW hours per year, providing enough energy for approximately 11,500 households and saving an estimated 25,600 tons of carbon emissions.

BP spokesman Reyad Fezzani said the deal, coupled with the company's decision to offer yield guarantee on the products, underlined its commitment to both PV crystalline technologies and the German solar market.

"With the additional yield guarantee, we are standing behind the quality of our product," he said. "We are convinced that our co-operation with RGE Energy AG will benefit us greatly in the German market, a market we strongly value... This project also emphasises our view that PV crystalline technology will continue to be a leader in the solar sector."

Used widely for decentralised installations, home generation and commercial rooftop installations, silicon-based crystalline solar panels are widely seen as the dominant technology in the solar market. However, some experts believe emerging thin-film technologies could prove more cost effective in the long run as new manufacturing techniques mature.

As well as the project in Koethen, the companies said that they are planning other solar projects in the area, which could deliver a total of 66MW of output. A 15MW solar system at Eberswalde airport and an option for another 15MW are also on the cards.

The news comes just weeks after BP Solar announced it was to scale back production facilities in Spain and the US. In April, the company announced plans to close a manufacturing plant in Spain and reduce production at a facility in the US as part of an overhaul of its operations that will see the company increase manufacture of solar panels at plants in China and India.

In related news, German solar manufacturer Schott Solar announced this week that it has entered into a three-year research partnership with nanoelectronics research centre IMEC based in Belgium.

The project will see IMEC investigate how to cut silicon use, while also increasing cell efficiency – a move intended to reduce the cost per watt for solar manufacturers.

"IMEC aims to reduce both the cost of producing crystalline silicon solar cells and the amount of Si/Watt that is needed by a factor of two to three. Efficiencies of more than 20 per cent are targeted," the research organisation said in a statement.

The news comes as Schott announced it is closing a plant in the US. In a statement this week, the company said it "intends to end production at its Billerica, Massachusetts facility effective 31 July in an effort to streamline the company's global manufacturing footprint".

The company insisted it remained committed to the US market, pointing to investment in another site in Albuquerque, New Mexico worth about $100m (£62m) and arguing that the Billerica site no longer had the scale to keep pace with the advances in the solar industry.

"As one of the pioneer solar technology facilities, Billerica has an important place in the history of photovoltaic industry development," said Dr Gerald Fine, president and chief executive of SCHOTT North America. "[But] solar manufacturing has evolved over the years, and current production facilities are built at a scale that is not achievable in Billerica."