Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

Japan: 10 MW thin film power plant activated

Solar Frontier president, Shigeaki Kameda, attended a ceremony last month to activate the 10 megawatt (MW) Mt. Komekura Solar Plant, in the Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan.

Solar Frontier supplied the 10 MW Mt. Komekura power plant.

Solar Frontier

The company’s CIGS / CIS (copper indium gallium selenide) modules were used for the photovoltaic system, which will be operated by the Prefecture and Tokyo Electric Power Company. Electricity production from the plant – one of the biggest in Japan – can be monitored online, in Japanese, on the utility’s website.

In a statement released, Solar Frontier emphasized the company’s recent success in proving the bankability of its CIGS modules, by supplying a number of larger installations in Japan. Further afield, the Miyazaki-based manufacturer announced in recent months that it supplied a 10 MW car-park installation in Saudi Arabia. In January, Solar Frontier also announced that it would supply 100 MW of modules to the Catalina Solar Project in California. When completed, the solar power plant will be the largest CIGS-powered plant in the world.

In today’s announcement of the Mt. Komekura Solar Plant’s activation, Solar Frontier also highlighted that its CIGS modules deliver, "higher overall energy output (kWh) under real energy conditions". The company claims reduced efficiency losses in high temperature conditions are one factor for the modules’ performance.

Earlier this year, Lux Research produced a report on the CIGS market where it claimed that it would double between now and 2015. When evaluating the various CIGS manufactures, the research authors concluded that Solar Frontier is, "the clear and evident winner in this industry in terms of overall execution". The report continued: "Our conversations with at least two engineering, power and construction firms (EPC) indicate that Solar Frontier modules are bankable and reliable."