World’s ‘Largest’ Mfg Plant For BIPV Modules Commissioned in China

BIPV solar technology company Sunman Energy has brought online in China what it claims to be the world’s ‘largest’ production facility for lightweight solar PV modules for BIPV (Building integrated PV) applications with 1 GW capacity, TaiyangNews has reported.

The production line has come online in YangZhong city of Jiangsu province in China and was recently inaugurated by the management led by the company’s Chairman and Founder Dr. Zhengrong Shi in the presence of local authorities.

Sunman deploys its eArc technology to make ‘world’s 1st glassless solar module’ combining crystalline silicon solar cells, encapsulating these with the company’s patented polymer composite material that protects the modules from possible cracks during handling and installation.

eArc has the same durability and robustness of conventional glass modules, claims the company. However, unlike glass, eArc is akin to a flexible”solar skin”, 70% lighter and up to 95% thinner, it adds. The company further claims that eArc requires 0 penetration or mounting equipment during installation, cutting time-on-site by 40%. Sunman’s technology is said to be easier to transport in bulk – up to 60% more kW per pallet. eArc targets a variety of applications glass modules cannot service.

Such lightweight modules, weighing not more than 5 kg, can be deployed for commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftops and also for off-grid PV applications. The company believes the modules can be used for a large number of roofs that aren’t sturdy or spacious enough to hold heavy solar panels which expands their market for distributed generation applicability.

Having founded Suntech, which at the time was the world’s largest module producer, Shi is an alumnus of the University of New South Wales in Australia, where he studied under world famous solar scientist Professor Martin Green who had a word of encouragement for Sunman’s technology. In a video message sent for the inauguration ceremony, Green agreed that lightweight modules are ‘obviously’ a market with huge potential.