UK PV market to double in 2011, says IBC SOLAR’s Andreas Heinrichs

UK market mirrors report predicting global PV investment to reach almost £60bn by 2015

London, UK, 1st March 2011 (Ecobuild, ExCel) - The UK’s market for photovoltaic (PV) installations will double to 200 MW in 2011 alone despite the government’s review of feed-in tariffs, says German PV specialist IBC SOLAR at this year’s Ecobuild event. The UK therefore reflects a recently published report by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and Greenpeace International1, which predicts global investment in solar PV technology could double to almost £60bn over the next four years.
 
“What we are hearing from the government is that the current review of feed-in tariffs will still support rooftop solar installations”, comments the company’s newly appointed Managing Director for the UK, Andreas Heinrichs. “That’s the market segment we are focusing on and the one we believe will double over the next twelve months.”
 
The upbeat statement comes just weeks after IBC SOLAR announced its official UK launch as part of its drive to expand internationally in Europe and Asia. For the UK operations the company is hoping to attract local installation partners and experts to realise solar projects, with support every step of the way, from conception and installation, to monitoring and evaluation.

At Ecobuild the company will be showcasing its planning tool PV Manager, a one-stop solution for installers to manage the entire process from calculating the design of the most suitable PV system for a specific location, to back-office activities like quoting customers and online transfer of the order. “The benefit to potential partners is that no other experts or third parties are needed, which in turn makes the PV Manager a cost-effective planning tool”, explains Andreas Heinrichs.
 

Also on show will be the company’s current product range including:

Inverters:

•  Sunny Boy 3000HF-30: A solar inverter perfect for residential installations
•  IBC ServeMaster 15000TL+: A solar inverter perfect for industrial PV systems and ground mounted PV plants

Monitoring:
 

•  IBC SolControl Pro as well as SolScreen and SolPortal:

A complete professional monitoring and evaluation system to ensure maximum output at all times including the modular additions SolScreen (display) and Sol Portal. With the IBC SolPortal, several installations can be monitored at once. Monitoring the yield from solar parks and large installations is particularly important and the installer or project manager is immediately alerted to faults by SMS.

Modules:
 

•  IBC PolySol 230 MS modules: A cost effective solar module made by IBC SOLAR with 230 watt output power and module efficiency of 14.1 %
•  Sanyo HIT-N235SE10 modules: newly enhanced HIT modules from Sanyo with module efficiency of 18.6 % and excellent output, also on small surfaces.

Both modules are MCS-certified and therefore certified for the UK market

Mounting systems:
 

•   IBC TopFix 200: Mounting system for residential construction, suitable for all roofs. The installation time is reduced by 20-30 % compared to conventional systems.
•   KNUBIX 100: Particularly suitable for industrial light buildings mounting system without roof penetration.