SolarWorld AG is increasingly making its mark abroad as a provider of complete solar power plants. It supplies its customers not only with solar power modules, but with the matching frame technology and system monitoring as well. This makes SolarWorld one of the very few manufacturers in the world that offer system technology for installation on residential roofs, industrial roofs, and the ground in addition to solar wafers, cells, and modules.
South Africa’s largest solar roof system is currently being installed in Cape Town. And in addition to the high-quality modules made in Germany, SolarWorld is supplying the frames used to attach the modules to the roof and orient them towards the sun. The 3,600 square meter roof consists of horizontal and pitched areas. It tops the headquarters of Africa’s largest communications provider, Vodacom, and includes 2,000 solar modules. The system, with a power of 500 kilowatts peak, is scheduled to be completed in August.
“Our customers appreciate the experience we have gained in over ten years of using our Sunkits,” said Dr.-Ing. E. h. Frank Asbeck, CEO of SolarWorld AG. “Not only must the heart of the system, the solar module, meet the highest quality and standards, the entire system must be perfect to be able to generate the highest yields over the long term.” In addition to the high degree of technical quality, the modern design of SolarWorld’s systems also meets its customers’ standards, he said. Design also played a key role in a real estate project in Wales, for which SolarWorld has recently been awarded the contract. The company delivers Sunkits solar power systems to its customer, who installs them as standard on all 90 single-family homes in a newly built housing estate. The reason is a new regulation in Great Britain that mandates the use of renewable energy in residential construction. The project is a pilot project of sorts. The Sundeck-brand SolarWorld Sunkits were said to have been chosen because they are easy to use and because of their design. Sundeck is integrated into the roof and saves costs during installation since the modules are mounted on supports instead of the rooftop cover as is usually the case. No aluminum profiles are needed.
The vehicle manufacturer EMPL in Kaltenbach, Austria, opted for a complete system but on a much larger scale. SolarWorld modules with a total power of 420 kilowatts are currently installed on its production halls in the town. They are attached to the roof with the low-ballast Sunfix Aero framing system. This especially lightweight framing system now makes it possible for many hall roofs that were previously not considered sturdy enough to generate solar power. Moreover, the roof membrane does not need to be penetrated during installation. EMPL is Europe’s leading manufacturer of truck bodies and retrofits emergency vehicles, municipal vehicles and fire-fighting vehicles. The solar power system will primarily cover the halls’ own power consumption once they go into service.