2008
1
MESSAGE FROM THE MBIPV PROJECT TEAM
In a few short years, the PV industry has exploded, from an
industry surviving off the table scraps of the integrated
circuit industry to one that dominates the world usage of
silicon. Such growth is not without risks and set-backs. PV
cell and module manufacturers added new capacity to their
production lines, buying what ever supply was available to
spot market prices often 5 to 8 times higher than the market
prices in 2005.
New companies entered the PV business to benefit from
the high profit with PV products but found themselves within
a few months with idling equipment or even bankruptcy.
Competency in the respective manufacturing, good
international network and an excellent understanding of the
worldwide PV market are a MUST before entering the PV
business. PV companies which started pre-millennium were
mostly very small with less than ten employees. But today,
their market values are in billions with hundreds of staff all
over the world. Still, their future prospects are as bright as
the SUN. For the past seven years, the growth has
exceeded 35%, outpacing any other energy production
technology. This fantastic growth will continue thanks to
sustainable PV programs in Europe, Japan, South Korea
and the USA.
Recognising the opportunity, the YAB Prime Minister of
Malaysia launched the Third Industrial Master Plan (20062020) on 18th August 2006, with solar PV identified as one
of the technology to focus on. Through the Malaysia
Building Integrated Photovoltaics (MBIPV) Project, Malaysia
is pedantically building the right infrastructure to create a
sustainable PV market, and a strong local PV industry. The
emphasis towards local industry is to enhance the service
quality and establish successful PV manufacturers. To
achieve these goals, the MBIPV Project is currently working
with many local stakeholders to develop new business
opportunities and enhance manufacturing capabilities.
We invite all local stakeholders to participate in our capacity
building events and industry missions, and also invite
international and local PV companies to collaborate and
work with private local end-users in the ‘SURIA 1000’ and
property developers through the ‘SURIA for Developer’
programme.
Furthermore, we are working closely with Malaysian Industrial
Development Authority (MIDA) to encourage international PV
manufacturers to select Malaysia as the preferred location
for their manufacturing facilities. Malaysia, with its welleducated university graduates and skilled employees from
the semi-conductor and electronic industry, offers an almost
perfect ground for new human capital and this will play an
important and decisive role in attracting global PV players to
manufacture locally.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our PV events, and
support and help you to explore new business opportunities
or to diversify your existing business. This handbook on PV
technology and market will provide you with much needed
information to answer many questions. Please feel free to
contact us at any time should you require more information
and guidance.
Sincerely,
The MBIPV Project Team
2
3
LIST OF CONTENT
4
About Us
5
Introduction to PV Technology and Functionality
10 Value Chain and Manufacturing Process
14 Global Photovoltaics (PV) Business and PV in Malaysia
19 Manufacturing Opportunities in Malaysia and Worldwide
22 The PV Industry and Market Development – An International Snapshot
25 Sunny Outlook so far…
28 MBIPV NewsBite
30 Global PV Industry Development in the past 15 Years
33 Industry Outlook
36 MPIA Directory
38 Presentation Facts & Figures for PV Business
4
ABOUT US
The Malaysia Building Integrated Photovoltaics (MBIPV)
Project is a national initiative by the Government of Malaysia
with co-financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
whose fund is disbursed through the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP). MBIPV Project is
implemented under the 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP) to promote
widespread and sustainable use of PV in buildings. The
Project was officially launched on 25th July 2005 and will
last for five years.
The MBIPV Project’s objective is to reduce the long term
cost of BIPV technology in Malaysia. This is achieved
through the widespread implementation of BIPV applications
and creation of environmental and industrial policy in
Malaysia. The project will establish the desired environment
for a long-term market development and set a target for a
follow-up BIPV programme in the 10th Malaysia Plan.
The project aims to achieve its objectives by:
- Developing and implementing strong financing mechanisms,
solid institutional and policy frameworks.
- Extensive education and capacity building campaigns
to generate awareness and improve local competency.
- Introduction of standards and guidelines, developing
and enhancing the market.
- Upgrading the local industry towards local manufacturing.
The MBIPV Project will induce an increase of BIPV applications
by about 330% with a cost reduction of 20% by the year
2010. Subsequently, its success can be replicated in
neighboring countries and thus have a significant input on
the overall reduction of GHG emissions.
For information on the MBIPV Project, please visit
www.ptm.org.my/bipv.
The MBIPV Project is implemented by Pusat Tenaga
Malaysia (PTM), a not for profit company administered by
the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications
Malaysia. PTM functions as a one-stop centre and
implementing agency on national energy related matters.
Contact
Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (462237-T)
No.2, Jalan 9/10, Persiaran Usahawan, Seksyen 9
43650 Bandar Baru Bangi
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
GL:
+603 8921 0800
Fax:
+603 8921 0802
Website: www.ptm.org.my/bipv
Date of print
March 2008
MBIPV (2005 - 2010)
Objective: To reduce GHG emissions by reducing long term cost of BIPV technology
Project cost ≈ US$25 Million (Co-financiers: GoM, GEF, Industry, Public)
Component 1:
BIPV information
services, awareness
and capacity building
programme
Component 2:
BIPV market
enhancement and
infrastructure
development
programme
Component 3:
BIPV policies and
financing
mechanism
programme
Post MBIPV: Sustainable & widespread BIPV applications,
National BIPV programme with 30% annual BIPV growth
Component 4:
Industry development
and technology
localization
programme
5
INTRODUCTION TO PV
TECHNOLOGY AND
FUNCTIONALITY
cheaper to produce than mono crystalline ones, due to the
simpler manufacturing process. However, they tend to be
slightly less efficient, with average efficiencies of around 14%.
Photovoltaic modules generate electricity when they are
exposed to sunlight. The actual creation of usable electrical
current in a solar cell takes place at the atomic level. Solar
cells are made from solar grade silicon that is treated with
negatively and positively charged semi-conductors,
Phosphorous and Boron; this process is called “doping”.
When light energy (photons) strikes the face of the cell, it
excites the electrons within the cell. This flow of electrons
(current) from the negative semi-conductor (Phosphorous)
to the positive semi-conductor (Boron) is what we call the
PV effect.
Current
Electrical
load
Figure 1: Electricity from PV cell.
SOLAR CELLS
Solar cells can be according to their crystalline structure
separated into four categories. Following are short descriptions
and some features of each type.
Mono (or single) crystalline silicon cells
are made from very pure mono crystalline
silicon and have a single and continuous
crystal lattice structure with almost no
defects or impurities. The principle
Figure 2: sc-Si cell
advantage is their high efficiencies,
typically around 17%, although the
manufacturing process required to produce mono crystalline
silicon is complicated, resulting in higher costs than other
technologies. Different manufacturing methods are used,
one depending largely upon the Czochralski method of
growing, or pulling a perfect crystal, another is based on the
string ribbon technique; two high temperature strings are
pulled vertically through a shallow silicon melt and the
molten silicon spans and freezes between the strings.
Another technique is the so called EFG-Edge defined Film
fed Growth, were the cells are cut from an octagon.
Figure 3: mc-Si cell
Multicrystalline cells are produced using
numerous grains of mono crystalline
silicon. In the manufacturing process,
molten polycrystalline silicon is cast into
ingots, which are square or rectangular
in shape. These ingots are then cut into
very thin wafers and assembled into
complete cells. Multi crystalline cells are
Amorphous silicon cells are composed
of silicon atoms in a thin homogenous
layer rather than a crystal structure.
Amorphous silicon absorbs light more
effectively than crystalline silicon, so the
cells can be thinner. For this reason,
Figure 4: a-Si cell
amorphous silicon is also known as a
"thin film" PV technology. Amorphous silicon can be
deposited on a wide range of substrates, both rigid and
flexible. Amorphous cells have typical efficiencies of around
6%, are cheaper to produce and have lower temperature
behaviour under hot conditions as the crystalline silicon
cells. High temperatures will reduce operating voltage and
therefore photovoltaic performance. A-Si modules and also
other thin film types are most suiting for application in hot
climate and diffuse irradiance conditions.
A number of other promising materials
such as copper indium diselenide (CIS)
- figure 5 - and cadmium telluride
(CdTe) are now being used for PV
modules. The attraction of these
technologies is that they can be
Figure 5: CIS
manufactured by relatively inexpensive
industrial processes, certainly in comparison to crystalline
silicon technologies, yet they typically offer higher module
efficiencies than amorphous silicon.
The table 1 below compares the typical efficiencies on the
market today and looks in to the future, what can be
achieved in the laboratory.
Mono crystalline
Multi crystalline
Amorphous silicon
Cadmium telluride
CIS - Copper
indium diselenide
Typical
efficiencies
Maximum
recorded
12- 17%
11- 14%
6- 8%
7- 10%
22.7%
15.3%
10.2%
13%
Maximum
recorded
laboratory
efficiency
24%
18.6%
12.7%
16%
8- 12%
13%
18.8%
Table 1: Comparison of solar cell efficiencies
PV ARRAY
The solar cell is the basic unit in a PV system. An individual
solar cell can vary in size from about 4 inch to about 8 inch
across and typically produces between 1 and 4 watts,
hardly enough power for the great majority of applications.
But we can increase the power by connecting cells together
6
to form larger units called modules. The cells are welded in
serial to a string of several solar cells, for standard applications
up to 36 or 72 solar cells are in series connected. Thin-film
materials like amorphous silicon, CIS and cadmium telluride
can be made directly into modules through PECVD process
or other sputtering methods. The cell material is being
sputtered on a substrate, either glass, polyamide or stainless
steel or interconnected to a module by a laser.
provided by the normal electricity network. In effect, the grid
is acting as an energy storage system, which means the PV
system does not need to include battery storage.
Modules, then, can be connected in series to strings and in
parallel to even larger units known as PV array. The number
of modules in the individual strings determines the system
voltage and the number of parallel strings determines the
total current. A string is dependent on the voltage input
window of the inverter. Electrical basics also state that the
current determines resistance losses in a wire. PV systems
should be designed as higher voltage and lower current to
minimize the cable losses.
PV Array
DC side
isolation switch
Inverter
AC side
isolation switch
Load
AC mains
supply
Meter
Cell
Main fusebox
Figure 7: Grid-connected PV system
Grid-connected PV systems are often integrated into
buildings or are ground-based. PV technology is providing
pollution and noise-free electricity with many impressive
examples already in operation.
Module
String
Light
DC/AC
inverter
Computer
Television
Array
Video
Figure 6: From cell to module
Controller
Light
Television
PV SYSTEM APPLICATIONS
The main application (status 2007: 75-80%) for PV systems
is grid-connection to the local electricity network. This
means that during the day, the electricity generated by the
PV system can be used immediately or can be sold to one
of the electricity supply companies (which are more
common for domestic systems where the occupier may be
out during the day). In the evening, when the solar system
is unable to provide the electricity required, power is
Radio
Storage
battery
Telephone
Figure 8: Off-grid PV system
An off-grid PV system, sometimes called a stand-alone
system, is designed to provide electricity to a home or
business without drawing on supplemental power from the
7
electrical utility. A basic off-grid PV system consists of solar
modules, a battery bank, a charge controller that manages
battery charging, an inverter/charger that is the intelligent
centre of the system, and a generator as an optional energy
source as backup. When the sun is up, the solar modules
generate power to charge batteries and provide electricity.
At night, the inverter/charger automatically runs the electrical
equipment from the battery bank. The generator provides
additional back-up battery charging capability for extended
periods of cloudy weather. The inverter/charger can
automatically start the generator and initiate a recharge
cycle when the battery bank is depleted, or a load is too
large for the batteries to support independently.
The photovoltaic array is exposed to the elements.
Depending on design, the interconnecting wires may also
be exposed. All exposed wiring must therefore meet
electrical codes for outdoor application, notably exposure
to UV radiation. The electrical power produced by the
photovoltaic array has some unique characteristics which
require special attention. It is direct current and the source
is limited by current. Some installers may not be familiar with
direct current and the system will require special
components for switching and isolation. In some
jurisdictions, electrical codes require the photovoltaic array
be capable of being isolated from the inverter through a DC
isolation switch. The decision on where to locate this switch
should therefore be a balance between proximity to the
array and accessibility for the operator.
BALANCE OF SYSTEM
COMPONENTS
Modules or arrays, by themselves, do not constitute a
complete PV system. We must also have mechanical
structures on which to put them and orientate them towards
the sun, and components that take the direct-current (DC)
electricity produced by array and condition the electricity so
it can be used in the specific application. These structures
and components are referred to as the balance of system
(BOS). Those elements account for approx. 30% of the total
investment cost for a PV installation.
As light and temperature change throughout the day, the
inverter adjusts the array current and voltage levels to maximize
the efficiency of the photovoltaic array. Finally as the sun sets
in the evening it disconnects the array from the utility system.
This may be described as the power tracking function of the
inverter. The second function of the inverter is to change the
direct current from the photovoltaic array to alternating current
with a frequency and voltage matching the supply from the
local utility. Thirdly, the inverter functions as a safety
component. An inverter must not feed power back to any utility
distribution system experiencing a power outage, and during
periods of normal operation, power fed to the utility must meet
standards for voltage, frequency and harmonic content. Safety
and power quality issues are the main concern of utilities. The
inverter will require periodic inspection and maintenance. Often
the inverter incorporates a display panel indicating power
production or fault conditions. It should therefore be installed
in an accessible location and, unless designed for outdoor
exposure, it should be located in a dry and temperate
environment. Some inverters are known to generate some
background noise. The sound can be irritating when the high
frequency switching coincides with certain psychologically
annoying frequencies. Noise may therefore be a factor in
selecting the location of the power condition.
For a grid-connected PV system, inverters send the power
from PV modules direct to the grid. They do not use a battery
bank and therefore they do not give you any power back up
in the event of a grid power failure. The advanced gridinteractive inverters perform the same function as grid-feed
inverters; however they allow power to flow 'both ways'.
They also incorporate a battery bank and have an automatic
built in charger. This type of system gives you back up power
in the event that the grid fails or goes out of tolerance in terms
of its voltage and frequency. The overall efficiency of the
system depends on the efficiency of the sunlight-into-DC
and the DC-into-AC conversion efficiency of the inverter. The
first one varies up to 3% over a year. The second one,
instead, shows a much greater variability. The efficiency of
the inverter varies with the load level. Although this relation
is different for each inverter, a conventional model has a
load/efficiency curve similar to Figure 9. Therefore, a key
consideration in the design and operation of inverters is how
to achieve high efficiency with varying power output.
100
90
INVERTER
Efficiency [%]
The heart of grid-connected PV systems, a power converter
that 'inverts' the DC power from the modules into AC power.
The characteristics of the output signal should match the
voltage, frequency and power quality limits in the supply
network. It is the link to the outside world and basically
performs three functions. First the inverter controls the
operation of the photovoltaic array. As the sun rises in the
morning, it connects the photovoltaic array to the utility system.
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Output Power Relative to Rated Power [%]
Figure 9: Typical inverter efficiency curve
100
8
It is necessary to maintain the inverter at or near full load in
order to operate in the high-efficiency region. However, this
is not possible, as some installations would never reach
their rated power due to deficient tilt, orientation or
irradiation in the region. Nowadays, there are several
concepts on the market available and it is very dynamic,
which is the preferred and optimised concept. Following a
short description of the two mainly applied concepts and
some advantages:
PV - Modules
Central
inverter
Grid
If applying string inverters, normally no junction box is
needed. Thus resulting in cost reduction due to material
savings and faster installation can be achieved. The
individual strings are often directly connected to the inverter.
String inverters are in the size available from 0.7 kW to 8 kW.
The converted AC power is collected and often feed to
the grid on a single phase.
String inverters need a better and detailed monitoring
concept than central inverters, as a larger number of
inverters have to be properly monitored.
KWh
Consumer
Figure 10: Concept central inverter
Figure 13: String inverter
Following a comparing matrix of the two inverter concepts
and the advantages and features:
Inverter Cost
concept
Dimension Efficiency
Weight
Installation
Reliability
Central
Approx. 0.6
US$/WAC
Large
and heavy
93%-95% Junction box, High
more wiring,
more effort
String
Approx. 0.8
US$/WAC
A3 size,
approx.
10 kg
94%-97% Very easy
and fast
Moderate
Table 2: Inverter concepts overview
Figure 11: Central inverter
One of the main concepts for an inverter is the central
conversion – approx. 50% of all applications. The PV
modules are connected in strings and in parallel on a
junction box, which collects the DC power and feeds single
line the central inverter. The inverter is connected to the grid
either single or three phase, depending on the PV capacity.
One of the main advantages is a higher efficiency for a
central large inverter compared to smaller units. Common
sizes are from 20 kW up to 1000 kW.
Grid
KWh
String inverter
Figure 12: Concept string inverter
Table 2 summarises roughly the important points from each
inverter concept. In general a central inverter costs less then
the same capacity of string inverters, but shows higher cost
in the installation, due to the involved components like
wiring and junction box. Whereas string inverters need a
better monitoring concept compared to a central inverter.
In overall the cost balance is slightly favouring the string
inverter concept.
ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
Fuses, breakers and switches normally function as
required and are likely to function according to
specifications for the life of the photovoltaic systems.
Their reliability may reflect their passive role as well as
the maturity of the electrical industry. Array string
blocking diodes have failed in some systems due to
lack of heat dissipation. AC breakers, along with the
PV DC array switch, serve to isolate the inverter for
9
servicing. Photovoltaic modules produce electricity
whenever the sun shines and if they perform well for
the first year, they are likely to continue to perform for
a very long time. While perhaps not a reliability issue,
one reason for reported poor system performance has
been the overrating of module power by the
manufacturers. And if there is a future problem, it is
likely to occur in the module junction box. This box is
very exposed to the elements and mounted on the
back of the module, it experiences temperature higher
than ambient values. Evidence of corrosion in the
module or in the junction box terminal may show after
ten to fifteen years of operation.
As each string is controlled by a DC rated fuse, the DC
combiner box shall be accessible, if needed. Overvoltage
elements (SPDs) and the DC isolating device are
included too. The PV-DC isolating device is needed to
separate the PV array at any time from the inverter. It
is very important to note that this device is operating
under DC condition and the operating current will vary
at any time. Some devices are filled with sand, while
others will eliminate electronically the resulting arcing
when disconnecting. The device must be suitable rated
for the PV array short current and the open DC voltage.
MONITORING
Monitoring of the PV installation is recommended, as
the inverter is an electronic component and can have
failures. If a central inverter is not properly monitored
and breaks down, the produced solar energy is not
being converted and the PV owner loses money and
the grid structure may fail the planned operation
philosophy.
Figure 14: Junction box
45678
Energy Meter
The wiring on the DC side is recommend to be double
insulated, UV stable cables, either 2.5 or 4 mm2. If a longer
distance for the wiring is needed or high current modules
are applied one should apply 4 mm2 cables, and less wiring
loss is expected. The cables must further resist temperature
up to 60°C and should come in two different colours for (–)
and (+) connection. All strings shall be connected in a DC
combiner box, which is preferably located very close to the
PV array and not in direct contact with the outdoor
conditions. A DC combiner box must have identical features
like a cable, UV resistant, suitable for high temperature and
has to be watertight, e.g. IP 65.
Figure 15: DC combiner box
web’log
Alarm
Inverter
Operation
Local Alarm
Archiving
Figure 16: Concept for monitoring
Nowadays most inverters offer the possibility to download
the data via modem and even access over internet to
control the system performance. With a suitable PC
program the user can check the performance of the
inverters or receives automatically an error message in case
of a failure. If this is not available the inverter may be
checked visually and indicators at the inverter can show the
operating status. As the design approach shifts towards
several inverter per installation, e.g. string inverters, the
monitoring should be automatically done on a daily basis
and in case of a failure, an automatically generated error
message should be sent. This will safeguard the PV owner
its interest and helps to improve the performance of a PV
installation. The recorded data should be analyzed daily and
will give the opportunity to react if strings are disconnected
or another failure occurs.
10
VALUE CHAIN AND
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Trichlorosilane is produced from metallic silicon and purified
by distillation refining. Reduction is performed with hydrogen
at temperatures near 1,100°C, depositing a 99.999…% (in
CRYSTALLINE PV VALUE CHAIN
The crystalline PV value chain has six essential components
which constitute the value chain, each dependent on each
other. Some companies concentrate on specific segments
of the value chain others address all segments as integrated
solar PV companies. These components are:
Figure 19: Polysilicon rods
Figure 20: Polysilicon chunks
Figure 17: Crystalline PV value chain
SILICON
Silicon is the second most plentiful element in the Earth’s
crust, found in both quartz and sand. Silicon (Si) exists
usually as an oxide, being an element among about 100
different elements. Silicon is found near the earth's surface,
in abundance second only to oxygen, and is considered to
be limitless in supply. Despite its abundance, silicon is
complex and therefore expensive to process.
To change silicon into polycrystalline silicon, metallurgical
silicon is manufactured from quartz with a purity of 99%
through a carbon thermal process (see figure 18).
eleven 9s) pure polycrystalline silicon in rod form. High purity
silicon ("Polysilicon") is the key feedstock for almost all solar
cells and modules produced today. Silicon-based PV cells and
modules accounted for 94% of all PV production in 2007.
While there is no fundamental limitation on the availability of
unpurified silicon material, the standard "Siemens" purification
process requires several costly steps, including the processing
of volatile chemicals (Trichlorosilane) at 1,100 degrees Celsius.
The solar industry has historically relied on top-and-tails and
other off-cuts from the semiconductor industry, a combination
of the semiconductor industry’s recovery and the solar
Mine
Silica stone
Metallic silica
Refining
Trichlorosilane
Deposition
Polycrystalline sillicon
Figure 18: Metallic silica
Figure 21: Polysilicon manufacturing process
11
industry’s growth is putting pressure on the availability of
supply. As a result, silicon manufacturers are currently in a
strong position in the overall PV value chain. The solar PV
industry and semiconductor manufacturers are the two
main consumers of polysilicon.
In 2000 the solar industry consumed only 10% of the
world's silicon supply. In 2006 the PV industry consumed
more than 50% of the world's available supply of polysilicon
for the first time ever. This historic shift illustrates the growing
size and importance of the solar PV industry, and polysilicon
manufacturers are expanding production capacity dramatically
to meet the growth in the PV industry. However, the time lag
between planning new polysilicon capacity and the actual
production of polysilicon is typically 1.5 to 2.5 years, thereby
contributing to the current shortage of silicon supply. The
impact of this shortfall is evident in the sharp rise in
polysilicon prices since 2004.
From polysilicon one can create either electronic grade (EG)
- 99.999…% (in nine 9s) - or solar grade (SoG) silicon 99.9999% (in six 9s). The former requires a greater level of
purification than the latter. Six manufactures of electronic
grade silicon also produce photovoltaic grade silicon which
they sell to the solar industry.
These manufacturers have 4 plants in the USA, 3 in Japan,
1 in Germany and 1 in Italy. The three leaders are Hemlock
(USA), Wacker (Germany) and Tokuyama (Japan) and each
of these companies has indicated that it will continue to
dedicate part of its production to photovoltaic grade silicon
for the solar PV industry. Both Wacker and Tokuyama have
launched initiatives to develop granular silicon. Wacker uses
fluidised bed reactor technology while Tokuyama uses a
vapour to liquid reactor. However commercialization of
these methods is unlikely before 2009. Semiconductor
production also supplies some silicon feedstock as a
byproduct but that source is diminishing.
Several groups are conducting R&D, such as Elkem of
Norway, to develop photovoltaic grade silicon from other
sources, such as metallurgical purification. This may offer
lower production costs in the near future.
INGOT
Silicon consumers in the solar PV industry must convert
silicon feedstock into silicon ingots to enable further
processing into wafers, cells and modules. Silicon-based
solar modules fall into two categories: monocrystalline and
multicrystalline. In each category, the polysilicon must be
converted into a crystalline structure. A monocrystalline
ingot is comprised of one large crystal structure, which
yields a uniform color and texture throughout the ingot.
A multicrystalline ingot contains numerous smaller silicon
crystals and often has a mottled or flecked appearance.
Figure 22: Polycrystalline
Figure 23: Monocrystalline
ingot
ingot
Monocrystalline technology is used because this solution
produces solar cells and modules with a higher efficiency
conversion rate of sunlight to electricity.
The most common technology used in the production of
ingots for monocrystalline solar cells is based on a
technique called the Czochralski Process.
Figure 24: Czochralski process
In this process a silicon seed crystal at the end of a metal rod
is lowered into a quartz crucible of molten silicon liquid. As
the rod and seed crystal are slowly pulled out of the crucible,
a single cylindrical silicon crystal forms on the seed crystal.
The production of monocrystalline ingot requires precise
specifications and careful monitoring to ensure uniform
crystal growth and contaminant-free ingots. Completing a
single cylindrical silicon crystal ingot takes between 36 and
40 hours and yields an ingot of approximately 2 meters long
and 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
For the simpler production of polycrystalline ingots, the
silicon is melted in the crucible and then directionally
solidified in a carefully controlled thermal environment. Once
the ingot has been produced, the silicon is sawed into
blocks and then into wafers using specialised wire saws.
Such a process can waste up to half of the material in saw
12
Producing thinner wafers and reducing silicon waste is a
major area of focus in the solar industry's campaign to lower
the cost of module production and ensure more efficient use
of silicon.
Figure 25: Ingot puller
slurry. Key to cutting costs is the development of thinner
wafers, while maintaining structural strength.
A large source of lost silicon is "kerf", the silicon dust
produced during the sawing process. "Kerf loss" refers to
the silicon removed from the ingot in the sawing process
used to produce the wafers. Because the sawed grooves
are approximately the same width as the produced wafers,
kerf loss can approach 50% of the total silicon in the ingot.
Wire sawing is the standard technique used to slice ingots
into wafers. The raw ingot is first cooled and then the top
and tail of the ingot are cut off and can later be reused in the
ingot production process as reclaimable silicon. Next, the
ingots are cut into 400-500 cm long sections and the
cylindrical shape is 'squared' into four equal sides, so as to
be mounted safely in the wire saw machine.
But it is unlikely that wafers manufacturers experience
the same rate of long-term growth as the overall solar
industry, wafers remain a high value added part of the
solar value chain.
WAFER
Wafer sawing is the process of cutting the monocrystalline
ingot into thin slices to enable the processing of silicon into
solar cells.
Figure 27: Wire saw machine
In the sawing process a single strand of stainless steel wire
hundreds of kilometers in length and 160 to 200 microns
thick is pulled over the ingot by grooved rollers. To complete
this process, usually a mixture made up of oil and normally
an abrasive material known as slurry is pumped over the
wires to provide the friction needed for the cutting action.
CELL
Manufacturing solar cells requires several steps, including
cleaning and texturing the wafer, applying anti-reflective
coating and printing conductive metal grids to capture the
electricity generated in the silicon wafer by the PV effect.
Figure 26: Wafers
Crystalline silicon solar cells make up 94% of the PV solar
production in 2007 and can be divided into monocrystalline
and multicrystalline categories. Monocrystalline cells
normally achieve higher efficiencies (16-18% efficiency) than
multicrystalline cells (14-16% efficiency).
13
The power output of a module depends on the size and
number of cells in the module as well as the efficiency of
each cell. Recent trends have favoured the production of
higher power modules through a combination of larger, more
efficient cells and the inclusion of more cells per module.
It is important to ensure that the modules comply with
international standards, such as IEC 61215, IEC 6146, TUV
safety class II and CE certification.
Figure 28: Worker with solar cell
MODULE
A PV module is a finished product consisting of the
assembly of PV solar cells that have been electrically
connected and laminated in a highly durable, weatherproof
frame. Solar modules are the basic end-use product of the
solar industry and may be produced in various sizes and
shapes depending on intended usage. Modules are
installed on residential and commercial roofs, groundmounted in large-scale solar parks, and almost anywhere
else where solar power can be used.
Module assembly involves electrically connecting strings of
cells, laminating the strings in a durable, clear polymer
material with special properties called EVA, and protecting
the cells from physical stress by enclosing the laminate in
an aluminium frame with a glass front and normally with a
backing material known as TPT, a combination of Tedlar and
Polyester. A junction box and a set of connection cables on
the back of a module allow the easy connection of one
module to another at the site of installation.
SYSTEM
Systems installation covers a broad range of possible PV
applications, from utility-scale PV, to commercial and
residential rooftops, to building integrated photovoltaic
(BIPV), to off-grid industrial and residential systems in rural
areas.
Each category presents its own unique challenges for costeffectively deploying PV solar modules.
Figure 30: BIPV system
Figure 31: Off-grid PV system
Figure 29: PV module
14
GLOBAL PHOTOVOLTAICS
BUSINESS AND PV IN
MALAYSIA
By Daniel Ruoss, IC MBIPV and Lalchand Gulabrai, TA MBIPV,
February 2008
15 GWp (source: Photon International) or 7 GWp (source:
EPIA) annual PV market by 2010? Growth rate exceeding
50% until 2010 (source: Bank Sarasin) or solar sector
heading for a shakeout (source: Greentech Media)?
175,000 tons of solar grade silicon available by 2010
(source: Photon Consulting) or 80,000 to 100,000 tons
‘only’ (source: EPIA).
Correct values are of great importance and provide the
industry verifiable means of benchmarking and planning of
the production.
Market size matters – the industry and other stakeholders
have to know the status quo of the market to plan for the
mid and long-term. Presently one has to use the published
data with care and compare with one or two other sources
closely. Furthermore, one should compare statistics for
installed PV with the annual PV production. Production will
follow demand and in 2008 production should meet
demand, whereas in the last few years the demand was
exceeding production, due to bottleneck in silicon supply.
The fact is that the PV market is growing rapidly! The figures
stated below are based on research and comparing data
from REN21, Photon International, IEA-PVPS, Greenpeace,
Paul Maycock, and others. In the last seven years the overall
PV market was growing between 35% to 42%, and gridconnected PV exceeded 40% growth in the last five years.
The grid-connected PV market accounts for approximately
77% (~7.0 GWp as at end of 2007) of the overall installed PV
capacity and is the fastest growing RE market worldwide.
23% (~2.1 GWp as at end of 2007) are off-grid PV systems
and few installations (~5%) are already economically viable
without the need for subsidies. The rest (~18%) receives
financial support from NGOs, donor countries through aid
program, from donor agencies, such as United Nations
Programmes (e.g. Development or Educational), Global
Environment Facility (GEF) or World Bank. By End of 2007
the cumulative installed PV capacity was approximately 9.1
GWp resulting in total annual revenues in 2007 of US$ 1517 billion in 2007.
But we have to keep in mind that the grid-connected PV
market, although booming like mushrooms, is completely
driven by sustainable policies implemented by Governments
in various countries, such as Germany, Spain, USA, Italy,
France, South Korea, Greece, and others. In fact, it is not
the industry that is driving the market but politicians with
Figure 32: Governor Schwarzenegger – a committed PV
champion with muscles to implement a sustainable PV
programme in California
commitment and a long-term perspective for a sustainable
future (figure 32).
Policy driven programmes helped the global PV industry to
expand quickly and position itself stronger against
conventional energies. As at end of 2007, the PV industry
has created more than 300,000 new jobs worldwide (source:
Greenpeace), whereas in Germany alone approximately
50,000 jobs were created (source: Bundesverband
Solarwirtschaft BVS). It is estimated that in Germany by
2020, jobs created in RE manufacturing will exceed those
in machinery and in vehicle manufacturing!
PV and RE in general, is a job spinner and brings great
benefits to the country. But we need to ‘fuel’ this spinner,
and the ‘fuel’ today is a well designed, economically viable
feed-in-tariff (FiT) policy. Today more than 40 countries have
a FiT policy introduced. Some country programmes offer an
economically viable FiT, e.g. Germany, Spain, South Korea,
Italy, France, Greece, and many more. Other countries have
a FiT but either the timeframe of FiT is too short (e.g.
Thailand - 7 years only), or the cap on the maximum
cumulative installed PV capacity is set too low (e.g.
Switzerland, Portugal, Luxembourg), or the available tariff
is too low to make the PV system economically recoverable
within the 15 to 20 years (e.g. Norway, Sweden, Turkey, and
other countries).
15
But a well designed feed-in tariff scheme is a policy to
change the world. FiT reduces CO2 emission significantly,
create jobs, ensures energy supply, guarantees investment
security and grows the local PV industry, drives
technological innovation and provides fair market
conditions for REs. The question is “Do the benefits for the
country implementing a FiT scheme outweigh the cost
resulting from the FiT policy?” Where do the billions invested
go to? Take Germany as an example, Germany has a well
designed FiT programme, including wind, biomass, PV,
hydro and geothermal. The programme started in 2000,
and in a recent review it was presented that the benefit so
far outweighs the cost (source: Bundesministerium für
Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, report on EEG
experience, June 2007).
Cost
(estimate in US$ billion)
Cost for FiT
= 4.4
Benefit
(estimated in US$ billion)
Reduction of tariff = 6.87
for VL consumers
(Merit order effect)
Increased cost for = 0.14
Savings from
= 1.237
stand-by charges
energy import
Transaction cost = 0.0027 Socio-economic = 4.672
benefits
Total
= 4.54
Total
= 12.8
PV application, such as ‘Schoolnet’, or island
electrification with hybrid systems (e.g. Pulau Kapas), or
projects for rural electrification in Sabah and Sarawak,
initiated mainly by Government agencies and others.
Today grid-connected BIPV applications are under the
supervision of MBIPV Project and concentrating mainly in
the Klang Valley due to better appreciation of the
technology by the urbanities.
In SURIA1000 and also the ‘SURIA for Developer’
programmes, BIPV applications can be installed in East and
West Malaysia and can receive, if successful in bidding,
attractive financial incentives for the investment where the
BIPV systems are allowed to be net-metered with TNB and
later on, with SESCO and SESB. At the End of 2007; the
grid-connected cumulative installed BIPV capacity in
Malaysia surpassed the 700 kWp level and the off-grid
market is estimated to be 5-6 MWp cumulative installed
PV capacity.
Table 3: Cost vs. benefits of EEG in Germany
(source: BMU, June 2007)
And what is the status of PV policy in Malaysia? As per
February 2008 grid-connected PV in Malaysia enjoys the
following benefits:
-
-
-
Permission to connect such power generating
equipment to the TNB’s low voltage distribution supply
network (240/415 volts 1 phase / 3 phase).
Net Metering for TNB “purchase” of the PV generated
electricity, where the interconnection may be at the point
of TNB supply connection (“Direct Feed”) or at the user’s
internal distribution board (“Indirect Feed”). Under these
conditions the PV generated electricity sale equates to
TNB valuing the PV generated electricity at the same
rate it sells the electricity to its customers.
Investment in renewable energy for own use can benefit
from Capital Allowance (CA) and Investment Tax
Allowance (ITA) with 26% (2008) and 25% (2009).
In the pipeline; MBIPV project through Pusat Tenaga
Malaysia (PTM) has proposed to the Ministry of Energy,
Water and Communication, for PV incentives to be
enhanced through the National Budget, to make it more
attractive for Malaysians to invest in PV systems.
Over the last two years the annual installed PV capacity in
Malaysia was in average 1 MWp to 1.5 MWp, including offgrid PV applications, which represent approximately 70%
of the total installed PV capacity. Several initiatives in off-grid
Figure 33: 10.5 kWp semi-transparent BIPV
application at PTM-ZEO
Besides the proposed changes to the various Government
agencies on procedures to facilitate RE growth, the MBIPV
Project is working towards a sustainable environment for the
widespread use of grid-connected PV in Malaysia. The
realistic target until 2020 is to install 20 MWp cumulative
installed grid-connected PV capacity, however the technical
potential for grid-connected PV in the built environment was
estimated to be at least 7,500 MWp (in 2007).
It is important when developing the market and its
stakeholders, to follow a realistic learning curve and to address
the current industry capabilities in the design of a policy. The
scenario for post MBIPV Project (2010 onwards) proposes
that the Malaysian PV industry (service providers and
manufacturers) should become competitive before a followup high-impact (e.g. feed-in tariff) PV programme is introduced.
16
Otherwise, Malaysia will not benefit from the investment into
PV and justification for the PV program to benefit the local
stakeholder is very difficult. The PV industry has two to five
years (2010 to 2012/2015) to build capacity and become
competitive in the local and international market. This
follows a realistic scenario similar to lessons learned from
Germany, US and Japan.
The market in Malaysia will develop in due course, although
it may not be as fast as in Europe but hopefully more stable
than in other Asean countries, e.g. Thailand, Indonesia. Offgrid PV will be the majority of PV applications and may
exceed 2 MWp annual installed PV capacity by 2010
onwards due to increasing support from Government on
rural electrification, but will dwindle as Malaysia becomes a
developed nation by 2020 (Wawasan 2020).
Off-grid applications are an important and still growing
sector of PV business, but very dependant on Government
support, whereas some cases are already economically
viable without any Government subsidy. For example in
Indonesia, the PV market has been revitalized for the past
two years, thanks to strong demand of PV hybrid solution
for telecommunication application on hundreds of islands.
And just few years ago, a Government sponsored solarhome systems programme in Indonesia failed because no
ownership was created (100 percent subsidized) and very
poor maintenance was provided. In an economical viable
market such as telecommunications, the growth and
demand for PV becomes self-driving and this makes PV
business a profitable venture.
The entry barrier for PV business varies, depending which
part of the value chain one targets, where the investment
can be up to several hundreds million dollars. Becoming a
PV system integrator or proving service in design,
consulting, and other activities is with the least barrier path
to PV business. As such, companies can easily fly by night
and may be gone the next day to the next attractive PV
market with cash. Similarly, module manufacturing, which
requires minimal investment - for a 10 MW production
facility US$1.1-1.7 million – and can be set-up and operated
quickly, but can be also dismantled and relocated fast.
The scene is different if one targets front end manufacturing,
such as polysilicon production, ingot and wafer fabrication
or cell manufacturing; this can incur investment cost
between US$70-125 million for a 100 MW production
facility. Graph 1 presents investment trends for different PV
products in the value chain. Please note, this graph should
not be used for any design of business plans as it presents
trends only.
On a normalized scale (100%), polysilicon and ingots/wafer
manufacturing tend to achieve the highest profit followed
by solar cell manufacturing. Module manufacturing tends
to result in less profit than the upstream manufacturers but
profit still exceeds those in BOS manufacturing or services
sector (installation and consultation).
6%
3%
5%
10%
38%
24%
14%
Status 5 Nov 2007
Normalized on 100%
Silicon
Wafer
Modules
Ingots
Cells
BOS & structure
Installation & M&E
Graph 2: Profit trends (normalized on 100%)
for manufacturing along the PV value chain
Yes, the future is promising for the PV business. Established
PV companies are expanding their production capacity
significantly and numerous new companies are entering the
PV business worldwide. In some business, e.g. inverter and
RM million
High investment
500
450
400
350
300
Medium investment 250
200
150
100
50
Low investment
0
Silicon
per1,000 t
Ingots
and wafers
for 100MW
Solar cells
Solar modules
for 100MW
for 100MW
System
components
Graph 1: Investment trends for manufacturing along the PV value chain
Installation
and
services
17
module, competition is aggressive and almost every month,
new market entrants are trying to get a share of the
booming PV market. But before one rushes heedlessly into
the PV business, one has to understand and consider some
important (but not limited) requirements:
- Company should understand the PV value chain and
the market drivers and have a regional or international
network for procurement and sale of products.
- Establish strong collaborations with experienced
partners, e.g. JV, technical collaboration (MoA), and
others.
- Succeed in long-term supply contracts of your raw
material.
- Have reliable power supply, low electricity tariff and
good access to talented manpower.
- Reduce dependence on export market only. Create a
sustainable local home market.
production cost should decrease as the cost reduction in
silicon manufacturing is passed on through the PV value
chain. Photon International Consulting estimated
production cost of high-quality crystalline PV modules in
2009/2010 in the range of US$1.50/Wp. Cost reduction in
end products will open new PV markets and add to the
increasingly attractive business environment. This leaves
plenty of room for future growing profit and new companies
entering the PV business. Here, an increasing number of
companies are targeting the fast public listing to attract
quick cash and achieve their aggressive and ambitious
growth targets, e.g. Chinese companies. Other companies
are attracting venture capital or private equity to fund their
business strategy and a few PV companies are closed for
outside investment and still perform very well. There are
different approaches; each with its benefits, to diversify into
PV business, either way the question for new market
entrants is often “where to enter the PV business”.
It is crucial to do an extensive due diligence on market and
close competitors. Furthermore, one has to assess one’s
own financial capabilities, preferred location, infrastructure,
accessibility to ports, etc. and come up with a sound SWOT
analysis leading to decisions before venturing into a PV
business. Support on above analysis can be obtained from
several international and local consulting companies.
Please feel free to contact MBIPV team of PTM, if you are
interested to enter or diversify to the PV business and if your
company has the resources to invest in PV (see graph 1).
Looking ahead, for front-end products (e.g. solar cells,
wafers), profit tends to be high and for PV module
manufacturing profit tends to decrease slightly, because any
cost reduction is used to maximize to a certain level the
profit for the front-end manufacturers first. In 2007, FOB
(free on board) sales price for high quality crystalline PV
modules from China ranges from US$3.20-3.80/Wp for an
order of around one to five 40ft containers (100 to 500
kWp). Production cost is estimated at US$2.60-2.80/Wp,
which result in profits of 20-35% for module manufacturing.
In a few years, due to decreasing silicon prices the module
Installation /
System integration
Module
Solar cells
Wafers
Ingots
Sillicon
Increasing
scale of
production
Increasing
investment
cost per MW
Increasing
market
players
Figure 34: Characteristics of the PV value chain / Source:
Pegasus Sdn Bhd
As presented in figure 34, in back-end manufacturing (PV
modules, BOS) and system integration, an increasing
numbers of players are established and the investment is
low, whereas in silicon manufacturing only few companies
dominate the market, but investment is very high. Wafer and
PV cells production requires a high investment but less than
silicon, but competition is getting stronger as more
companies are being established in this sector of the value
chain. But there is plenty of business available considering
a BAU (business-as-usual) scenario (35% growth rate) for
the development of the global market – see graph 3.
Annual installed PV capacity (MWp) – Grid-connected & off-grid
140000
MPR in 2020 = ~US$380 billion
120000
MWp
100000
80000
MPR in 2015 = ~US$150 billion
60000
Market potential revenues (MPR) in 2010 = ~US$40 billion
40000
Annual sales in 2006 = US$12 billion
20000
0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Graph 3: Investment trends for manufacturing along the PV value chain
2017
2018
2019
2020
18
The annual revenues in 2010 are estimated to exceed
US$40 billion and could reach US$380 billion in 2020
estimating an annual market of 120-140 GWp – replacing
over hundred to hundred fifty big size nuclear reactors
installations per year. For reference and to provide a
perspective on the potential market size of PV; in 2007 thirty
three nuclear reactors were under construction totalling 27
GW vs. annual installed PV capacity of 2.3 MWp.
How are we going to get there? By economies of scale and
new developments – upscaling and commercializing new
technologies are keys to price reduction and further market
growth. In the next few years the spotlight will be on the
European and US market, and demand will be high thanks
to Governments which understood the benefits of an RE
policy (including PV) and hence, coming up with a long-term
perspective to achieve a sustainable national energy policy.
In the next two to three years, the industry should try to
consolidate, as today the market is overheated, and this will
help companies to improve their strategies over the next ten
years. These will be more IPO’s, new partnerships between
established PV enterprises and newcomers to tap into the
network and experience from a strong industry partner,
some bankruptcies may be possible, several companies
may have idling production, and few mergers &
acquisitions.
Today the hype for PV technology and business is at its
peak, and the PV industry should be mindful to use the
momentum and carry the positive support from the public
and Government into a long term sustainable business.
Once grid-parity is achieved i.e. PV electricity price is
competitive to conventional electricity price, the PV market
will sky-rocket and open avenues for new technologies and
innovative manufacturing concepts to further upscale. The
industry has to drive the market in the short to mid term and
not policy makers, who today have strong muscles
(commitment) to support PV, but as we all know muscles
tend to weaken over time.
19
MANUFACTURING
OPPORTUNITIES IN
PHOTOVOLTAICS IN
MALAYSIA AND WORLDWIDE
By Daniel Ruoss, IC MBIPV, August 2007
MIDA (Malaysian Industrial Development Authority) is Malaysia’s
one-stop centre for investment in local manufacturing. With
focus on PV business, MIDA is supported by Mr. Daniel
Ruoss (Swiss International Consultant) and Mr. Mohd Nazri
Mohd Nawi from the MBIPV Project team to facilitate
international and local business contacts and provide
updates on latest technologies and companies’ news. The
MBIPV Project team is very experienced in the PV business
throughout the value chain and familiar with local and
international PV stakeholders. To facilitate the growing
interest from local companies, MBIPV team have designed
a business development program, including free consultation
and business plan. To upgrade the local industry and support
their business interest, we have designed our programme
in six key thrusts:
T1: To understand the needs and requirements of the local
industry;
T2: To improve the image of the local PV industry and PV in
Malaysia;
T3: To stimulate interest and identify interested local
companies to shift towards PV;
T4: To design tailored programmes to enhance the local
industry;
T5: To explore Government support and collaborate with
relevant agencies on design for new incentives
for industry development; and
T6: To guide and facilitate collaboration between industries
(local and foreign).
Together with MIDA, MBIPV is working towards local
manufacturing of PV products serving the global market
and establishing strong local service providers competent
to operate business in the ASEAN region. Please feel free to
contact the MBIPV Project team any time. Contact: Mr.
Nazri (nazri@ptm.org.my)
The role of MIDA can be presented as follows:
The Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA),
incorporated as a statutory body under the Federal
Industrial Development Authority Act, in 1965, is the
Government’s principal agency for the promotion and
coordination of industrial development in Malaysia. MIDA is
the first point of contact for investors who intend to set up
projects in the manufacturing and its related services
sectors in Malaysia. Foreign investors can also contact
MIDA for assistance in planning their fact-finding trip to
Malaysia. Headquartered in Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala
Lumpur, MIDA has established a global network of 16 overseas
offices covering North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific
to assist investors interested in locating manufacturing
operation. MIDA will be opening 10 new offices in Guangzhou,
Dalian, Bangalore, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Dubai,
Johannesburg, Munich, Bangkok and Houston, by the end
of 2008. Within Malaysia, MIDA has 10 branch offices in 10
states, including two offices in Sabah and Sarawak.
The main functions of MIDA are to:
- Undertake planning and coordination of industrial
development in Malaysia;
- Promote foreign and domestic investments in the
manufacturing and services sectors;
- Recommend policies and strategies on industrial
development to the Government;
- Evaluate applications for manufacturing licences and
expatriate posts; tax incentives for manufacturing
activities, tourism, R&D, training institutions and
software development; and duty exemption on raw
materials, components and machinery;
- Assist companies in the implementation and operation
of their projects, and offer assistance through direct
consultations and cooperation with the relevant
authorities at both the federal and state levels and;
- Facilitate cross border investments and assisting
Malaysian companies to identify markets and
investment abroad;
- Facilitate the exchange of information and coordination
among institutions engaged in or connected with
industrial development.
As a measure to further enhance MIDA’s role in assisting
foreign and domestic investors, senior representatives from
key agencies are stationed at MIDA’s headquarters in Kuala
Lumpur. These officials are from the Immigration
Department, Royal Customs Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional
Berhad. Other Government representatives from relevant
ministries such as the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of
Human Resources, Department of Environment and
Department of Occupational Safety and Health, are also
assigned to MIDA to assist in expediting various approvals.
MIDA has successfully implemented the ISO 9002 Quality
Management System and has been awarded for the
promotion of foreign and domestic investments in
Malaysia’s manufacturing sector. For further enquiries,
please contact us at:
Malaysian Industrial Development Authority
Block 4, Plaza Sentral
Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, Kuala Lumpur Sentral
50470, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: (603) 2267 3633
Fax: (603) 2274 7970
E-mail: promotion@mida.gov.my
20
MIDA with support from the MBIPV Project is enhancing
and attracting international PV companies to establish
manufacturing in Malaysia and enjoy the numerous benefits
and advantages. First success story of local PV manufacturing
exceeding 10 MW is First Solar, a leading US company in
thin film module production. First Solar is establishing a 704
MW production facility in Kulim High-Tech Park, Malaysia.
Currently the production facilities are under construction
and production should be operational by mid 2008. Other
local manufacturers in PV products cover the production of
garden lamps (up to 50,000 pieces per month) and street
safety products for Middle East countries. Malaysia has
many opportunities for local manufacturing and such
opportunities have yet to be explored and understood by
global PV companies. Today semi-conductor companies
are well established, e.g. in Penang, Shah Alam and Kulim,
and have benefited from the conducive and profitable
business and manufacturing environment in Malaysia. PV
companies with interest towards front-end manufacturing
have the potential of strong earnings from the existing skilled
labour and established manufacturing environment for
silicon, wafer and cell production.
Similar to the clustering of semi-con companies in Malaysia,
a growing number of PV companies is establishing
manufacturing in Eastern Germany, e.g. Thuringen, Berlin
and Saxony. Today Eastern Germany has attracted
significant number of companies for local manufacturing,
thanks to generous incentives from the European Union and
State Government for production facility and manpower.
Value chain Company
Location
Silicon
Wafers
Cells
Modules
Thin-Films
Capacity 2006/7
Figure 36: Map of leading PV players in Eastern Germany
Employees
1
Wacker AG
Freiberg
-
600
2
Deutsche Solar AG
Freiberg
240 MWp
8001)
3
PV Crystalox Solar AG
Erfurt
4
EverQ GmbH
Thalheim
n.a.
160
90 MWp
150
5
ASI industries GmbH
Arnstadt
45 MWp
- 2)
6
Q-Cells AG
Thalheim
420 MWp
900
7
ErSol Solar Energy AG
Erfurt
240 MWp
3802)
8
Deutsche Cell GmbH
Freiberg
160 MWp
- 1)
9
Sunways AG
Arnstadt
30 MWp
60
10
Solarwatt AG
Dresden
100 MWp
320
11
Solar Factory GmbH
Freiberg
100 MWP
- 1)
12
Solon AG
Berlin/Greifswald
90 MWp
300
13
Aleo Solar AG
Prenzlau
90 MWp
250
14
Heckert Solar GmbH
Chemnitz
20 MWp
40
15
GSS Solar GmbH
Gera
15 MWp
20
16
Solara Wismar GmbH
Wismar
10 MWp
80
17
ASS Solar GmbH
Erfurt
10 MWp
20
18
Conergy AG
Frankfurt (Oder)
19
CSG Solar AG
20
21
Under construction
-
Thalheim
25 MWp
150
Antec Solar GmbH
Arnstadt
20 MWp
50
Sulfurcell GmbH
Berlin
10 MWp
50
22
Solarion GmbH
Leipzig
Pilot
20
23
Odersun AG
Frankfurt (Oder)
Under construction
-
24
Schott Solar GmbH
Jena
Under construction
-
25
First Solar GmbH
Frankfurt (Oder)
Under construction
-
26
ErSol Thin Film GmbH
Erfurt
Under construction
- 2)
27
Johanna Solar GmbH
Brandenburg
Under construction
-
28
Calyxo GmbH
Thalheim
Under construction
-
29
Brilliant 234. GmbH
Thalheim
Under construction
-
Figure 35: List of leading PV players in Eastern Germany
The cluster in Eastern Germany has already been renamed
as Solar Valley and since 1996 the Solar Valley has created
more than 25,000 jobs in tooling business (related to PV)
and along the PV value chain. In 2008 alone, 10 new solar
fabs will be built, creating up to 5,000 new jobs.
Another cluster location for growing PV manufacturing is
Oregon, USA, with focus on silicon and cell manufacturing
because of low-cost hydro power, very stable power supply
and highly skilled labour from existing semi-conductor
industry. Start-ups with focus on 2nd and 3rd generation
PV cells are concentrated in the Silicon Valley in California.
The Silicon Valley is attracting the highest venture capital
(VC) and private equity (PE) investment and investors have
renamed the Silicon Valley to ‘PV Valley’. A recent report by
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
concludes that in 2006, US$4.9 billion (RM17.6 billion) VC
and PE investment were poured into new clean energy
companies and renewable energy (RE) projects in the USA.
The US is the largest single destination globally for venture
capital and private equity investment where investment in
PV (21%) is the second largest after Biofuels with (34%).
21
Considering these facts and estimating that around 60% of
the VC and PE money goes into California and around 30%
into the ‘PV Valley’, it is anticipated that more than US$180
million (RM648 million) of VC and PE investment went into
new companies and new technologies in the ‘PV Valley’ in
2006 alone.
PV is a BIG business! Today many Industrial Development
Agencies responsible for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are
participating in exhibitions and are collaborating with
respective country chambers of commerce to woo
international PV parties to the country. And exhibitions with
focus on industry and products are mushrooming. Soon we
will have a section or special days dedicated for investors to
inform about local PV manufacturing in respective
countries. For now, this is not addressed but may become
an important platform in the future. The race is on –
everyone has recognized the huge potential of PV and
revenues, especially the manufacturing of PV products and
exporting the final products to the booming markets.
Countries not known on the PV map so far, but known for
abundant solar sources, such as Singapore, United Arab
Emirates (with Sharjah, Fujairah) and Mexico (Baja
California) are wooing international PV companies and
attracting an increasing number of them with attractive
packages, including up to 50 years tax holiday (UAE), equity
participation (Singapore) and low-cost labour (Mexico). But
for investors, it is becoming increasingly difficult to
differentiate between all the offers, all of them appear to be
an eye-catching bouquet of flowers but start to wither after
few days. Adding to the difficulties are ‘consultants’, who
act as middle-men trying to make their cut and use the
opportunity to ride the ‘PV business wave’.
For the past two years and possibly inclusive of 2008, the
industry has been and is still talking about the silicon
Figure 37: Infineon at Kulim High Tech Park, Malaysia
bottleneck, which hindered the rapid expansion of the PV
industry. The problem seems to be properly addressed and
more than 120,000 tonnes of annual silicon production
capacities will be on-line from 2009 onwards, able to supply
a demand of at least 10 GWp annually. The industry is
positive that the issue has been addressed and solutions
are in place to resolve this bottleneck, and forecasts that
the growth rate of PV will resume the escalation rate as
before.
But what’s next? Bottleneck on human capital? Yes, this is
most likely! But some say, let’s harvest today – the future is
now and is definitely PV. But we have to be cautious and
should reconsider our main objectives ‘to bring the cost
down’ and ‘serve the global market, including also
undeveloped countries’.
The focus shifted in the last 5 years towards the high-profit
markets in Europe and the USA and the off-grid market is
given less attention. Profit is high in grid-connected markets
with a feed-in-tariff (FiT) programme and every industry
player likes to profit as fast and as much as possible. What
if policies change and markets become less attractive?
Hopefully there will be new FiT markets, but we have to
keep our objectives focused to achieve PV system cost of
less than US$3/Wp (RM10.8/Wp) from 2010 onwards, as
once promoted to our politicians. The industry needs to cut
back their high profit and reduce system cost to sustain a
long-term development of the PV market in order to achieve
grid-parity, and also to be able to supply the off-grid market
in rural areas again. The industry has to balance the market
development with the socioeconomic impacts; which is
somewhat a delicate balance between serving ‘the havenot’, e.g. undeveloped countries and ‘the investors’
interest’, e.g. FiT markets.
22
THE PV INDUSTRY AND
MARKET DEVELOPMENT – AN
INTERNATIONAL SNAPSHOT
countries and also at the global level. The total global PV
market for 2007 is estimated to be about 2,300 MWp
(source: EPIA), up from 1,900 MWp in 2006, or an increase
of 21%.
By IEA PVPS Task 1 & EPIA Report (edited in February 2008)
Four countries mainly contributed to the global photovoltaic
market in 2007: established countries such as Germany,
Japan and the US; but also Spain, which made a large
contribution by tripling its annual installations this year.
Germany remains clearly in first position with a 50% global
market share. Japan’s market is estimated to stagnate in
2007, while Spain’s market should reach 300 MWp. The US
should register a 260 MWp market by the end of 2007.
Other new European markets have confirmed the
effectiveness of their feed-in tariff schemes: Italy registered
50 MWp of installed capacity in 2007, while France is
following with an estimated 40 MWp. South Korea is also
becoming a significant market player with 50 MWp of newly
installed systems in 2007.
The PV industry may be subdivided into the following
groups representing different steps in the PV value chain:
producers of upstream materials, ie feedstock, ingots, blocks/
bricks and wafers; producers of semi-finished and finished
PV products, ie PV cells and modules; producers of balanceof-system components for PV systems, ie charge regulators,
inverters, batteries, mounting structures and appliances.
The total value of business in 2007 amongst the International
Energy Agency PV Power Systems Programme countries
was approximately US$14 billion (in 2006 approx. US$10
billion), along the length of the value chain from feedstocks
to PV system deployment. In parallel with the business value
of PV production and markets, the economic value in these
countries can be characterized by the total direct
employment of about 100,000 people across research,
manufacturing, development and installation.
To make single crystal silicon ingots, multicrystalline silicon
ingots or multicrystalline silicon ribbons, the basic input
material is highly purified silicon. The process is the same
as for producing semiconductor grade silicon. However, the
producers have simplified some steps in their processes for
supplies to the PV industry. There are many attempts to
replace the current expensive purification process based
on chemical gaseous purification by cheaper alternatives;
however these are not likely before 2009 at the earliest.
In 2007 there continued to be four major producers of solar
grade silicon: Wacker in Germany, REC Solar Grade Silicon
and Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation in the USA, and
Tokuyama in Japan. Between them, they produced about
60% of the feedstock required by the PV industry in 2007.
The USA is a large exporter at this level of the PV industry
value chain. It is reported that the selling price of solar grade
silicon increased by about 20% from 2006 to 2007.
Ingots are of two types: single crystal and multicrystal. Ingot
producers are in many cases also producers of wafers.
European and Japanese companies feature most prominently
in this section of the industry value chain. Some companies
are vertically integrated, controlling the process from ingots
to cells and modules. The companies having their own
feedstock or having secured long term contracts are those
best able to grow. An interesting trend is the decrease of
wafer thickness, probably strongly motivated by the rising
price of silicon feedstock, and an ongoing focus on
improving manufacturing efficiency. 2007 provided some
interesting cell and module growth stories in individual
USA 6.8%
China 15.1%
Europe 8.2%
India 1.4%
Germany 20.0%
Japan 36.4%
Middle East 0.3%
Australia 1.3%
Rest of Asia 3.7%
Taiwan 6.7%
Graph 4: Cell production shares per region
(in 2006) / Source: Photon International
Japan was the leading producer of cells (920 MWp) and
modules (645 MWp) during 2006 (graph 4). Production of
cells in Japan accounted for 36.4% of global production,
with Germany in second place with 20% of production
respectively. The relative German market share in 2006
increased at the expense of the Japanese market share.
Non-IEA-PVPS countries (particularly China, Taiwan, India,
and the Philippines) account in 2006 for 26% of global cell
production and over 30% of global module production.
2007 figures were in February 2008 not available yet. 2007
figures were at the time of printing not available yet.
The Japanese producer Sharp maintained its lead, with the
German producer Q-Cells in second position, followed by
Kyocera, Suntech and Sanyo Electric (graph 5). These five
companies accounted for about 46.6% of total cells
produced in 2006. In the United States, the third largest
producing country, production of cells increased, while
module production remained stagnant. However, US
output of thin-film technologies saw another dramatic
production increase compared to the previous year.
23
Sharp 17.1%
Rest 23.5%
Q-Cells 10%
BP Solar 3.4%
Solar World 3.5%
emerging powerhouse for PV cell and module production
internationally and exporting more than 80% of the
manufactured products to EU and USA.
100
90
80
70
Kyocera 7.1%
60
50
Schott Solar 3.8%
Suntech 6.3%
Motech 4.0%
Sanyo 6.1%
Mitshubishi
Electric 4.4%
40
30
20
10
0
2006
Graph 5: Top 10 cell producer shares (in 2006) /
Source: Photon International
2010
2020
2030
year
Thin Film
New Concepts
c-Si
Graph 7: Relative share of technology over time / Source: EPIA
EPIA believes that up to 10 GWp of crystalline silicon, the
main raw material used in PV production, could be
produced in 2010 based on an 80,000 tons annual supply.
More capacity will be built for companies active lower down
the value chain, enabling a production capacity of 14 to 16
GWp for crystalline-silicon based modules. Thin-film
producers are expected to up-scale production capacities
up to 4 GWp, enabling a production of 2 GWp in 2010,
representing over 20% of the total. The real production
capacity of the sector should reach 10 to 12 GWp within
the next 3 years.
CIS 0.2%
ribbon-sheet
c-Si 2.6%
a-Si 4.7%
CdTe 2.7%
mono c-Si 43.4%
For the next 10-15 years crystalline technology will
dominate the market, losing shares to thin-film and new
concepts, which are expected to emerge in the next
decade (graph 7).
In 2007, the global photovoltaic market is estimated to
reach 2.3 GWp and the global cumulative installed capacity
has reached 9 GWp. EPIA estimates that under a policy
driven scenario, in 2010 the annual PV market could reach
up to 7 GWp, enabling an average market growth in excess
of 40% (capital annual growth rate - CAGR) in the next 3
years. If support programmes in countries, where the
majority of PV installation are take place in the next 3 years,
are not further enforced, EPIA estimates that the market in
2010 would reach 4.7 GWp (pessimistic scenario).
18
multi c-Si 46.5%
17
16
15
14
Graph 6: Technology shares (in 2006) / Source: Photon
International
13
12
11
10
In 2006 module production in Europe clearly surpassed that
of Japan for the first time. Crystalline silicon technologies
maintained their dominance, accounting for 92.5% of the
market (graph 6). However, this percentage has slipped
three percentage points from 2005.
9
8
7
6
2005
2006
2008
2009
2010
year
efficiency %
Some consistent themes emerged during 2007 and still in
2008: silicon supply bottleneck and therefore cell supply
problems are creating dire circumstances for many smaller
and disaggregated module producers. East Asia is the
2007
silicon usage g/Wp
Graph 8: Module efficiency and silicon
consumption / Source: EPIA
24
Until 2010 we’ll experience a continuous improvement of
the cell efficiency and lower silicon consumption in terms of
grams per watts (graph 8). This will lead to the targeted cost
reduction and towards the ‘holy grail’ of grid-parity. With
increasing electricity prices and progress in cost reduction,
solar photovoltaic electricity is already competitive in some
US states; it is expected to be so in Southern European
countries by 2015 and by 2020 for most of Europe.
The future of the German market will depend on the revision
of the Renewable Energy Law which should come into
effect in 2009. EPIA believes that in the best case scenario
installations could reach up to 2 GWp in 2010. The Spanish
market for the coming years remains uncertain: if the current
decree and objectives are not properly revised soon, market
actors fear a break in 2009 which could lead to a strong
slow down of installations in 2010. The US, thanks to the
dynamism of several states in particular California, is
expected to become the second largest market behind
Germany from 2009, and could reach up to 1.4 GWp in
2010. Since the suppression of its support programmes,
Japan is dropping down, in an optimistic scenario it could
install a maximum of 500 MWp in 2010. South Korea, given
its current favourable political programme, is expected to
multiply by ten its current market size over the same period.
Italy, if administrative barriers are reduced and support is
maintained, could register a market growth of up to
400 MWp in 2010, followed by France with 300 MWp.
Photovoltaic market in 2010 (MWp):
Countries
Pessimistic
Germany
1500
Japan
200
US
1000
Spain
400
Italy
200
Greece
100
France
200
30
Portugal
China
50
S Korea
400
India
300
Rest
300
TOTAL
4680
Policy-Driven
2000
500
1400
600
400
200
300
50
100
500
400
500
6950
Source: EPIA (2007)
The opinions of the global PV industry and market players
have been taken into account, along with a cross-checking
of multiple sources in order to elaborate an accurate and
realistic market and production scenario. EPIA has
developed two scenarios: a policy driven scenario that
takes as its hypothesis that favourable policy frameworks
are maintained, reinforced or introduced according to
available information on potential new developments; a
pessimistic scenario that is closer to a ‘business as usual’
forecasts without the enforcement of favourable policies.
Providing that PV can retain the political favour it currently
enjoys in a number of key markets for the next 5-10 years,
continuous high market growth rate of 30% per annum
seems possible. This presents a very attractive proposition
for investors of all kinds, as the increasing spate of public
listings for PV companies attests. The steady march of the
main manufacturing centres towards countries with lower
production costs – notably Middle East and South East
Asia, and also central Europe - seems inevitable. This will
accelerate PV’s convergence with the price of conventional
electricity supplies, provided quality control is not
compromised. But future development of markets will
depend strongly on political support until 2015-2020.
25
SUNNY OUTLOOK SO FAR…
180
155
160
148
140
By Wei-nee Chen
kWp
120
80
60
The National SURIA 1000 is the anchor programme of the
MBIPV Project. SURIA 1000 is a capital-based financial
incentive programme designed following Germany’s and
Japan’s famous pioneering solar photovoltaic (PV) Rooftop
and Sunshine programs. The SURIA 1000 is unique as it is
based on a bidding process; the process awards the
bidding to those who request for the least financial support
from the Government. SURIA 1000 is divided into seven
calls in which each call is floated every six months. The total
target capacity for the SURIA 1000 programme is 1,200
kWp. The programme sounds simple but how is it faring?
40
Analysis on the first two calls of SURIA 1000 showed three
significant results (graph 9-11):
i) A total of 152 kWp in PV capacity was achieved against
a target of 100 kWp
60
58
40
20
0
Planned
Received
1st Call
Successful
2nd Call
2,000
500
761,194
522,000
1,000
300,000
1,500
1,264,198
1,703,990
2,500
2,015,479
Graph 9: Analysis on PV Capacity
RM’000
RESULT OF THE FIRST TWO CALLS
94
100
0
Planned
1st Call
Received
Successful
2nd Call
Graph 10: Analysis on Willingness to Pay
26
ii) Willingness to pay from bidders is 2.5 times higher than
the set target
iii) Overall 13% drop in price of grid-connected PV systems
from the initial estimated price of RM30,000 per kWp
31,000
30,000
30,000
29,000
29,000
28,793
28,006
28,000
27,165
27.000
According to Ir Ahmad Hadri Haris, MBIPV Project National
Project Leader, “for the first two calls, the bidders’
willingness to pay were more than what was expected. This
in turn translated to a much higher PV capacity being
awarded for the same amount of financial allocation
available from the Government”. Ir Hadri added that
bidders’ contributions were not the only factor for the
success of SURIA 1000 so far; the competitive nature of the
bidding programme saw the grid-connected PV systems
price falling from first call to the second. The first call saw a
drop of 6.7% in PV systems price while the second saw a
further decline of 10.3% from the estimated price.
26,029
26,000
25,000
24,000
Planned
Received
1st Call
Successful
2nd Call
Graph 11: Analysis on PV Systems Pricing
SURIA 1000 homes and BIPV showcase D'Heron, Precinct 16:
Photo courtesy of Dr Philip Tan, Mr. Harry Boswell and Putrajaya Perdana Berhad
Call for Bidding
1st Dec ‘06 – 1st Apr ‘07
1st Jun ‘07 – 1st Oct ‘07
3rd Dec ‘07 – 1st Apr ‘08
2nd Jun ‘08 – 1st Oct ‘08
1st Dec ‘08 – 1st Apr ‘09
1st Jun ‘09 – 1st Oct ‘09
1st Dec ‘09 – 1st Apr ‘10
Bidding Schedule for SURIA 1000
Target Capacity
for Bidding (kWp)
Actual Capacity
Awarded (kWp)
40
60
80
120
140
160
180
58
94
Maximum Capital
Incentive Available
(%)
75
70
60
55
50
45
40
Actual Capital
Incentive Awarded
(%)
53
48
27
PROFILE ANALYSIS OF RECIPIENTS
10
Of the 30 recipients from the first two calls for SURIA 1000,
most of the recipients are either running their own businesses
or employees (graph 12). Most recipients are above 40
years of age and 90% of them are male recipients (graph 13).
67% of the recipients reside in central Peninsular Malaysia
and 80% of the homes are bungalows. 60% of the recipients
have electricity bills exceeding RM400 per month. In the first
call, only two out of 14 recipients applied for building
integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems, by the second call,
the number of BIPV systems increased to 12 out of 16.
8
6
4
2
0
Employee
Business
1st Call
Retired
2nd Call
Graph 12: Analysis on Profession
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
30 - 39
Harry and Stephanie Boswell, happy owners of a PV system
40 - 49
1st Call
50 - 59
over 60
2nd Call
Graph 13: Analysis on Age
Harry and Stephanie Boswell, one of the successful SURIA
1000 recipients, an English retired couple who have taken
up the Malaysia My Second Home Programme in Malacca.
Both have committed to promote a greener Malaysia and
have walked the talk by building an energy efficient home
with electricity generated from PV.
THE CORPORATE ADVANTAGE
“While it may be too early to preempt the success of the
entire SURIA 1000 programme, the results so far have been
encouraging,” said Ir Hadri. The first two calls for SURIA
1000 were for residentials only, from the third call onwards,
commercials are invited to participate in the bid. Under the
Budget 2008, companies will receive double tax relief (via
Investment Tax and Capital Allowances) for installing solar
PV systems for their own use. Solar PV which also functions
as building material is an excellent outward expression of
corporate responsibility. With fiscal incentive available from
Budget 2008 and the SURIA 1000 programme, companies
will be leading by example to implement solar BIPV in their
offices with the reduced investment cost.
LIFE AFTER SURIA 1000
Perhaps the million dollar question is “what is going to
happen at the end of SURIA 1000”. In countries where gridconnected solar PV has flourished (e.g. Germany, Japan),
the countries national PV programmes were implemented
over 10-15 years. MBIPV Project spans over a period of five
years (2006 – 2010) with target capacity of 1,500 kWp
during the project’s tenure. Is SURIA 1000 the start of a
sustainable developing PV market in Malaysia?
“A five-year capital-based incentive is certainly too short of
a time frame to ensure the sustainability of our local PV
market in the long run,” said Ir Hadri. “While capital-based
incentive certainly has its merits, as the reduced capital
investment from the people will help to overcome cost
barrier in solar PV deployment. However, in the long run, it
has been proven that performance-based incentive via
enhanced feed-in tariff is the way to go”.
Will solar PV continue to have a sunny outlook in Malaysia?
With the country fast losing reserves on fossil fuel, will the
Government of Malaysia adopt the proven and successful
enhanced feed-in tariff? While Malaysia debates over the
sustainability strategy of solar PV in the country, other
countries such as Spain, Italy, South Korea, Greece and
France have already jumped on board the feed-in tariff
express rail to an explosive PV market.
Feedback your comments to weinee@ptm.org.my. For
more information on SURIA 1000, please visit http://www.ptm.
org.my/bipv/suria.htm or email any enquiries to suria1000@
ptm.org.my.
28
MBIPV NEWSBITE
By Wei-nee Chen
APPROVED PHOTOVOLTAIC SERVICE
PROVIDERS (APVSP) SCHEME
TRAINING ON DESIGN AND
INSTALLATION OF GRID-CONNECTED
PV SYSTEMS
Pusat Tenaga Malaysia (PTM) in partnership with the
Malaysian Photovoltaic Industry Association (MPIA) is
providing training on designing and installing a gridconnected PV system. The 10-day course is structured with
compliance to the requirements of the Institute for
Sustainable Power (ISP) where the training will constitute
both theoretical and practical sessions ending with a
competency examination. PTM is also the first centre in
ASEAN to apply for the world-renown ISP accreditation for
its grid-connected PV training.
The course covers:
• Design of grid-connected PV systems that include PV
modules, inverter and associated equipment.
• Installation of the grid-connected PV systems up to the
inverter. (Note: the electrical wiring of the system can
only be undertaken by licensed electricians).
The training will be held at Pusat Tenaga Malaysia. Training
schedule, course content and application forms can be
obtained from http://www.ptm.org.my/bipv/C1TRN.html.
For any other enquiries on the training, please call course
coordinator Pn Nor Radhiha (03) 8921 0871, or email to
radhiha@ptm.org.my.
To help develop a quality based PV industry, the MBIPV
Project together with Malaysian PV Industry Association
(MPIA) has introduced an Approved PV Service Provider
(APVSP) scheme. Only APVSPs will be eligible to design
and install grid connected BIPV systems for the MBIPV
funded projects.
The objectives of the APVSP scheme are:
• To ensure Malaysia has a pool of quality local PV service
providers;
• To ensure quality design and installation of grid-connected
PV systems;
• To ensure customer satisfaction of grid-connected PV
systems; and
• To facilitate the use of pre-approved quality PV products
and components.
The conditions for APVSP are as follows:
• Only companies can apply, (individuals are not eligible
to be an APVSP).
• The company must be a member of MPIA. At least one
member or staff must be certified with an approved
PVSP and has attended ISP accredited “Design and
Installation of Grid-connected PV Training”.
• The company must have prior experience in the design,
supply and installation of BIPV power systems. If not,
the company will have to work under a provisional
approval valid for a calendar year. During this period, the
company is required to engage the services of a
Consultant from the panel approved by MPIA to audit
the design and installation of the company’s first gridconnected PV project.
• The company shall be financially sound.
• The company shall have workers’ insurances and public
liability insurance.
• The company shall agree to follow the APVSP Industry
Best Practice Guidelines.
• The company shall agree to abide by the APVSP Code
of Conduct.
The APVSP will be effective from 1st June 2008 and APVSP
will be administered by MPIA. APVSP is valid for one-year,
the fee for new application is RM100 and renewal fee is
RM50 per company. For more information on APVSP,
please contact administrator for APVSP, Ms Aznura Annuar
at (03) 7880 9499, or email to aznura@bestium.com.my.
29
QUALITY ASSURANCE
SCHEME (QAS)
The QAS is an initiative to complement the services of the
Approved PV Service Provider scheme. The QAS provides
a channel for customers or complainants to file any complaints
irresolvable with their approved PV service providers on
installations of their PV systems funded by the MBIPV
Project.
the complaint is found to be against the approved PV
service provider, MPIA, the administrator of the APVSP
scheme will be notified. If the approved PV service provider
fails to provide satisfactory remedial action to the PV
installation, then the approved PV service provider will have
their APVSP license revoked.
The investigation fee for the first complaint is born by MBIPV
Project; the complainants are expected to cover investigation
fees for subsequent complaints.
The QAS will be effective from 1st June 2008. The
coordinator for QAS is En. Mohd Nazri Mohd Nawi,
(03) 8921 0872 or email to nazri@ptm.org.my.
NATIONAL PV CONFERENCE
The complainant is required to write in to MBIPV Project to
request an investigation to his/her complaint. Upon
receiving the complaint the MBIPV Project will then write to
the approved PV service provider notifying them that a
complaint has been received. Subject to the nature of the
complaint, the MBIPV Project will initiate an investigation on
the complainant’s system and conclude upon a solution. If
MBIPV Project will be organizing a National PV Conference
in August 2008. International and local PV experts from the
industry, university will be invited to share their knowledge
on solar PV technology, market and industry development.
The event will cover PV exhibition and poster sessions will
be provided for companies to showcase their PV products
and services. The National PV Conference will provide the
platform for the exchange of PV knowledge and business
networking.
Information on the event will be posted at the MBIPV Project
website www.ptm.org.my/bipv by Q2 2008. Please check
the website for an update on the conference.
30
GLOBAL PV INDUSTRY
DEVELOPMENT
IN THE PAST 15 YEARS
By Daniel Ruoss, IC MBIPV, August 2007
1992: Bill Clinton is elected as the 42nd president of the
USA - Former Czechoslovakia voted to split the country into
the Czech Republic and Slovakia - Pope John Paul II issued
an apology, and lifted the edict of the Inquisition against
Galileo Galilei - And the Photovoltaic industry was cracking
100 MWp cumulative installed power capacity.
In 1992, the annual revenue from doing business in the PV
sector was between US$0.2-0.3 billion. The United States
of America was dominating the global market in terms of
cumulative installed PV capacity (~45 MWp) and product
manufacturing, e.g. Siemens (formerly ARCO Solar), Mobil
Solar and AMOCO/ENRON Solar (with Solarex as business
unit). In 1992, the PV module price dropped for the first time
to below US$5/Wp and system prices were around US$1215/Wp.
Figure 38: Sputnik 30 kWp PV inverter installed in 1992
Products installed in the first markets (USA, Switzerland,
Japan and Germany) are performing as manufacturers had
forecasted, guaranteed and in turn, provided important
feedback that crystalline PV technology is well understood
and mature. The photos (figure 38 and 39) were taken in
2004 and both PV components are still operational today.
These first market implementations were critical as their
successes lead to increased confidence for the policy
stakeholders to design and implement sustainable PV
programmes to widespread PV technology.
2007: The PV market has finally taken off and is booming.
Driven by committed and long term policy programmes
Figure 39: Siemens M55 PV module from 1992
implemented in Germany, Spain, USA, Italy, France and
Korea the market revenues end of 2007 will exceed US$14
billion, resulting in a growth factor of 50 to 60-fold compared
to 1992. The biggest annual market – for the fourth time in
a row – will be Germany with an annual installed PV capacity
exceeding 1.1 GWp (End of 2007). The United States of
America secured their once top spot in the PV ranking
(annual installed capacity) and become the No.3 market
worldwide behind the Japanese (End of 2007). In Japan the
policy changed a few years ago and Government subsidy
programme for residential PV application had concluded.
This resulted in PV becoming less attractive due to the still
higher cost of generating electricity for PV compared to
conventional electricity. But in Japan this price gap is closing
rapidly and PV is already competitive in peak power pricing.
In a few years grid-parity will be achieved in urban centres
of Japan and also in some parts of the USA. Grid parity is
when the cost for electricity generated by a PV system
matches the conventional electricity cost, which can be
achieved when the cost for PV system declines and
conventional electricity prices reflect true cost.
Compared to 1992 the global market experienced module
cost reduction of 30% (1992: US$5/Wp / 2007: US$3.4/W)
and an increase of efficiency of 150% (1992: 12% / 2007:
18%) for mono-crystalline PV cells. The industry is developing
fast to achieve module prices of less than US$1/Wp.
From time to time the industry experienced some hiccups
but they have reacted fast towards increasing production
capacities and cost reduction. In 1988-1990 and then again
31
2005-2007, supply shortages of crystalline silicon wafer led
to briefly higher prices of PV modules. After 2008-2009, it
is predicted that prices will decrease, owing to additional
solar-grade silicon capacity coming on-line and new
technologies to use metal-grade silicon feedstock for
acceptable cell efficiencies. But prices for modules will not
resume back to normal price reduction trend, because
today’s policies implemented support higher sales prices
for modules and benefiting high profit and growth along the
value chain.
But what can be said about long-term forecasts? When will
production cost for PV modules dip below the US$1/Wp
mark? Today the race is on to be the first company to promote
products which will achieve grid parity. The estimated PV
system cost (for 2007) should be around US$3/Wp – with
module prices below US$1/Wp – to achieve grid parity in
markets such as Japan, USA, and partly Europe. There is
enormous potential for further PV cost reduction through
technological innovation and economies of scale.
This situation is depicted in the ‘PV learning curve’ shown
in graph 14, which presents the module production cost
estimated in 1994. For crystalline technology the PV
learning curve is well on track and according to predictions.
Thin-film technologies are expected to achieve faster cost
reduction but due to a demand outstripping the supply, the
prices are kept high and modules are sold only slightly
below (around US$0.4-0.8/Wp) the prices for crystalline
modules. Thin-film is expected to be the first to achieve
production cost for US$1/Wp when market reaches 10
GW; some companies claim to have achieved the
benchmark already. But the crystalline technologies still has
room for improvements and will continue to dominate the
market in the next five to ten years.
Today, c-Si technology has a market share of 94% and
achieves cell efficiency of 18% to 20%, and this is two to
three times the efficiency of thin-film. Improvements can be
made by increasing manufacturing speed or higher
efficiency or increasing the production yield, e.g. towards
Gigawatt production facility.
100
Crystalline Si prediction (1994)
50
In 1992, the No.1 PV module manufacturer (Siemens, USA)
had an annual production output of ~10 MW/year. 15 years
later, the No. 1 PV module manufacturer (Sharp, Japan) has
an annual output of close to 600 MW/year; 60 times higher
than 15 years ago, which means the production output
doubles approximately every 2.5 years. Following this
manufacturing upscaling process, we can expect to see the
first 1,000 MW (1 Gigawatt) production facilities from 2010
onwards or even earlier.
This is certainly one of the approaches to bring the cost
down – via economics of scale – another is to have
innovative manufacturing techniques, e.g high-efficiency
back-contact cell by Sunpower (figure 40) or PV modules
where the strings of the cells are interconnected by folding
over the back of the cells and soldered with a simple
machine onto a flexible circuit. The circuit substrate has
special contacts for attachment to the junction box and also
serves to insulate the strings from the cells.
Figure 40: Sunpower c-Si solar cell
An identical impressive growth was experienced for other
PV products and manufacturing equipment. In 1992; the
annual market was only 20 MWp per year and equipment
manufacturer did not consider the market at all. In 2007;
any major company from the tooling business promotes his
product range and the possibility of easily modifying PV
manufacturing and is competing aggressively to get a
market share. Even a 1% market share will result in revenues
of approximately US$ 140 million in 2007. Many companies
worldwide have recognized the huge and fast growing
business in Photovoltaics and have considered diversifying
their businesses to PV.
20
10
5
2
Thin film actual (2007)
1
0.5
Thin film prediction (1994)
0.2
0.1
0.1
1
10
100
1,000
10,000
Graph 14: Learning curve for production cost of PV
modules / Source: United Nation University Press,
modification Daniel Ruoss
100,000
In the balance of systems (BOS), the development of
inverters is worth commenting. In 1992; the drive was
towards string inverters and the first design of
transformerless inverters were presented at international
conferences. The reaction was strong; transformerless
inverters were labelled as a ‘danger for human safety’ and
‘deadly piece of electronic chunk’. In 2007 the market share
(in MW) of transformerless inverters is at least 30% and
increasing.
32
The advantages of transformerless inverters have been fully
recognized and the products comply with international
safety standards and do not pose any harm to the installer
and end-user. Development on inverters has reached a
peak and a new product is introduced to the market almost
every four weeks. Existing inverter manufacturers are
aggressively defending their market share or increasing their
market share. New multinational enterprises are entering
this business to secure part of the PV cake or at least the
icing. Competition is fierce but end-users are all smiles as
they get the cost reduction passed on. Inverter cost
reduced around 60% from 1992 to 2007 (1992: US$2/WAC
and 2007: US$0.7/WAC) and further cost reductions are
expected.
Photovoltaic in 2007 has certainly caught the eye of the
industry and also the finance sector. The market in 2005 to
2007 is in upheaval and does not follow the PV value chain
as it used to do. Today investors deal with engineers and
go from silicon manufacturing to module manufacturers to
get a fast profit. Long-term planning becomes difficult and
quality is often of lesser priority.
their production output fast to reduce production cost of
solar modules. But as depicted in graph 14, thin film
production cost was expected to achieve the US$1/Wp
level with a market of around 7 GWp cumulative PV capacity
installed but so far has not achieve the target. Even as
several hundred Megawatts of new production is
announced and thin film technologies being the darling of
investors and new start-up companies, we have to consider
the time and the difficulties, especially with large area glass
substrates, to upscale the production process into full
operation (e.g. up to 100 MW).
And the focus is already shifting towards third generation
solar cells, such as of organic or nanostructure or even biodegradable substance. All these activities will finally drive
the cost down and contribute to the widespread use of PV
in everyday life.
15 years into the future; i.e. 2007 to 2022, PV will reach gridparity in most of Europe, Japan and the United States of
America and become a mainstream product for power
production and as a building element. Major power utilities
have invested over the last 10 years (2010 onwards) into
power production by PV to meet their exponential growing
energy demand. The power structure is finally shifting from
the more than 100 year old centralized grid structure
towards decentralized and the market is internationally
liberalized to allow IPPs to negotiate their feed-in tariff
independently. Market growth is finally not depending on
policy programmes anymore but only on the industry to
sustain and growth factor is substantial resulting again to
almost 60-fold, as it did the last 15 years from 1992 to 2007.
Figure 41: Latest successful IPO by Sunergy
In the last 15 years, we saw more than 50 IPOs from PV
companies only; generating a market capitalization of >
US$50 billion and venture capital (VC) investment in startups and innovative approaches exceeded US$ 280 million
in the last 4 years. Companies in the USA attracted the
largest share of risk capital, and Chinese companies lead
the business by number of IPOs and market capitalization.
In fact one could almost conclude in order to have a
successful IPO, the company must be vertically integrated
or front end manufacturing and from China.
As highlighted, the first generation PV cell, crystalline
technology, will dominate the market for the next ten years,
but the second generation, thin film technology, is upscaling
Figure 42: Organic solar cell by Plextronics
33
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
Is the future for solar energy really so bright? It is hard to
imagine a healthier backdrop for alternative energy
companies than that provided by today's nervous times.
The oil price has recently reached USD100, politicians are
engaged in a greener-than-thou race to the environmental
high ground and energy security is right at the top of policymakers' agendas as geopolitical tensions continue to simmer.
It is hardly surprising then that a new report from Swiss
private bank Sarasin should present such a bullish view of
the outlook for growth in the global solar energy industry.
Photovoltaic cell production rose 44% last year, Sarasin
says, and it forecasts 50% a year growth for the rest of this
decade and then a further 22% a year until 2020. Put that
on a chart and the numbers for annual installations start to
head pretty steeply up the page. The power of
compounding means the size of the industry quickly
becomes serious. The performance of the solar industry's
publicly quoted companies - the main index of solar stocks
has doubled so far this year - looks understandable, if
dizzying. Matthias Fawer, the author of Solar Energy 2007
- The Industry Continues to Boom -, believes growth in the
industry might be close to a tipping point. Dramatic
reductions in costs, he says, will make solar power
competitive with conventional forms of electricity or heat
within 10 years.
The industry is currently fuelled almost wholly by
government subsidies, but once the big power generators
see "grid parity", solar bulls argue, the economics change
completely. Currently, solar is two to three times too
expensive to be competitive, compared with a few
percentage points for rival technologies like wind. But
developments in areas such as thin-film technology are
rapidly bringing costs down. Solar's time may really have
come.
Fawer is the first to admit that all this breathless talk about
the future sounds reminiscent of the internet bubble eight
years ago. But he says there is one key difference: "There
are some really strong companies here that are actually
producing something. They are really making money." He
even thinks some of the racy multiples in the sector are
justified because they are matched by equally optimistic
growth forecasts. Although price-to-earnings ratios are in
many cases way above market averages - from 25 to as
high as 60 or more - so is expected growth. PEG ratios,
which compare a stock's price-to-earnings ratio with its
estimated growth rate, are in many cases around one. The
ratings are justified by excellent prospects, he believes.
Among alternative energies, solar energy is a child starlet:
alluringly clean, endlessly promising, yet petulantly expensive
and hard to manage. For investors, solar energy stocks have
been an astonishing story in 2007: The aggregate market
value of a group of 28 solar companies now tops $118 billion
– as of Aug 2007.
34
Company/Country
Market
Capitalization
($U.S. bil)
REC/Norway
ORKLA/Norway
MEMC/US
WACKER/Germany
Q-CELLS/Germany
FIRST SOLAR/US
SUNPOWER/US
SUNTECH/China
SOLARWORLD/Germany
LDK/China
TOKUYAMA/Japan
DC CHEMICAL/South Korea
CONERGY/Germany
YINGLI/China
MOTECH/Taiwan
JA/China
TRINA/China
ECD/US
ERSOL/Germany
EVERGREEN/US
RENESOLA/China
E-TON/Taiwan
SOLON/Germany
SOLARFUN/China
TOTAL
$17.40
16.7
12.4
9.9
9.5
7.3
6
5.8
5.5
4.5
4
3
2.6
2
1.8
1.5
1.4
1.2
0.9
0.9
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.5
118.1
its cost drops by 20%. Governments in Germany and
Japan have consequently offered generous subsidies to
local consumers and companies who invest in building solar
power. Those subsidies have sparked booms. The race is
on to find a way to make solar grow up so that it can
compete, dollar-per-watt, against any fuel on the planet.
According to Sarasin, global solar cell production jumped
from 1.7 gigawatts to 2.5 gigawatts in 2006 as a bottleneck
in the manufacture of solar-grade silicon cleared. That's
good news for consumers and policy-makers but less
exciting for the producers of silicon, wafers, cells and
modules - which is almost every quoted solar company. Fat
margins, which together with growth expectations have
fuelled nose-bleed share prices, look set to tumble. Another
area of concern is the flood of Chinese companies into the
sector. Fawer says there has been a rush to market in China
by companies such as Suntech, Yingli Green Energy and
LDK Solar, eager to raise cash for expansion while the boom
continued.
The biggest concern for investors in the solar sector is its
reliance - for the next few years at least - on government
incentives such as feed-in tariffs and subsidies. Michael
McNamara, a solar expert at US investment bank Jefferies,
warns: "2008 will be critical for the solar industry. The key
issues will be the evolution of solar incentive programs and
what medium and long-term impact they will have on
demand."
Sources: Bloomberg Financial Markets, Reuters and
US Department of Energy (as of August 2007)
But some experts are not so convinced and believe trouble
is on the horizon in the form of oversupply. "Pricing is very
strong and there will be reductions," they say. "There's been
a shortage of silicon and as that is relieved there will be huge
competition. There's no shortage of sand."
Solar power is still more expensive than fossil fuel generated
electricity. But the gap is closing. The rule of thumb in the
solar business: Every time the volume of solar cells doubles,
The meteoric rise in the German solar industry, for example,
has been almost wholly due to its government's staunchly
pro-solar incentives. Growth from 44 megawatts in 2000 to
959 megawatts in 2006 (graph 15) was not a reflection of
Germany's sunny climate.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with investors taking
advantage of the way the political wind is blowing. But they
need to understand that the gusts can change direction or
blow themselves out completely.
3000
1200
100.000 roofs programme
1000
2500
EEG
2000
800
1500
Yearly installed capacity [MWp/a]
600
Total installed capacity [MWp/a]
1000
400
500
200
0
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Year
Graph 15: Market development in Germany
2004
2005
2006
Total installed capacity [MWp/a]
Yearly installed capacity [MWp/a]
1400
36
MPIA DIRECTORY
Malaysian Photovoltaic Industry Association
ABDULLAH & ZAINUDIN
31st Floor, Menara Tun Razak
Jalan Raja Laut
50350 Kuala Lumpur
www.mpia.org.my
Antah Melco Sales & Services Sdn Bhd (11098-W)
6 Jalan 13/6
P O Box 1036
46860 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-79552088
http://global.mitsubishielectric.com
Australian Solar Voltaic Sdn Bhd (682097-A)
6 Jalan 3/152 Taman Perindustrian Oug
58200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-77820668
Bestium Technologies Sdn Bhd (737277-M)
Lot 510 5th Floor Block A
Kelana Business Centre No 97
Jalan SS7/2 Kelana Jaya
47301 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-78809499
www.bestium.com.my
Eco Development Facilities Sdn Bhd
No.21m, Jalan Hentian 6
Pusat Hentian Kajang
Jalan Reko
43000 Kajang
Selangor
Tel: 03-87394924
www.actrail.com.my
Eco Gallery Sdn Bhd (611933-V)
No 14 & 16 Jalan Maju 1
Taman Perindustrial Cemerlang
81800 Ulu Tiram
Johor
Tel: 07-8677933
www.eco-gallery.com
My Trends Sdn Bhd (719589-X)
No 29-2 Jalan 10/116b
Kuchai Entreprennurs’ Park
Off Jalan Kuchai Lama
58200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-79828669
www.trends-group.com
Nakuda Sdn Bhd (397199-V)
No 234 Batu 2 Jalan Ipoh
51200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-40420311
www.solarnakuda.com
P.J.Indah Sdn Bhd (141041-T)
Wisma Pji No. 17 & 19
Jalan Astaka U8/83 Seks U8 Bukit Jelutong
40150 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 03-78448888
www.pjindah.com.my
Success Electronics
& Transformer Manufacturers Sdn Bhd (200853-K)
No 5 & 7 Jalan TSB 8 Taman Industri Sungai Buloh
47000 Sungai Buloh
Selangor
Tel: 03-61572788
www.success.com.my
Utai Engineering & Electrical (Em) Sdn Bhd (758384-A)
Lot 7042 Section 64 Ktld Jalan Sekama
93300 Kuching
Sarawak
Tel: 082-339177
Optimal Power Solution Sdn Bhd (488095-W)
116 & 118 Block A3
Leisure Commerce Square
9, Jalan PJS 8/9
46150 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-78769129
Usains Holding Sdn Bhd (473883-H)
Kompleks Eureka, Universiti Sains Malaysia
11800, Penang
Tel: 04-6583655
www.usainsgroup.com
Euroforce Sdn Bhd (292198-H)
3-2 Jalan Usj1/1b Regalia Business Centre
Taman Subang Mewah
47500 Subang Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-80235064
Borid Energy (M) Sdn Bhd
No. 13, Jalan Jurutera U1/23
Seksyen U1, Hicom Glenmarie Industrial Park
40150 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 03-55694618
www.boridenergy.com
Kemuning Saintifik Sdn Bhd (657421-W)
29, 1st Floor Jalan Helang
Desa Permai Indah
Sungai Dua
11700 Pulau Pinang
Tel: 04-6587009
Alps Electric (M) Sdn Bhd (181071-T)
P.T.10643 Nilai Industrial Estate
71800 Nilai
Negeri Sembilan
Tel: 06-7991515
www.alps.com
Laurenz Leistung Sdn Bhd (750060)
Al:259 (Lot 2699 Ab)
Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh
47000 Sungai Buloh
Selangor
Tel : 03-61576121
www.smartandcoolhomes.com
KTI Teknikal Sdn Bhd (116631-K)
Shoplot No.18
1st Floor Taman Luyang Phase 8 Specialist Centre
Off Jalan Kolam
88100 Kota Kinabalu
Sabah
Tel: 088-239780
http://Kti.com.my
Matrix Energy (M) Sdn Bhd (292256-U)
No 89 Jalan Penerbit U1/43
Temasya Industrial Park
40150 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 03-55692622
www.matrixenergysaver.com
Mareqsue Sdn Bhd
Tingkat 2a, No.13, Jalan U1/23
Hicom Glenmarie Industrial Park, Section U1
40000 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 03-55691011
37
Metta Engineering Sdn Bhd (489137-V)
No 12-3 Jalan USJ21/4
47630 UEP Subang Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-80231787
Merit Saga Sdn Bhd (536264-D)
53 Jalan Bola Jaring 13/15 Section 13
40000 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 03-55128728
Omron Electronic Components Sdn Bhd (674129-P)
3a Lot 4 Bgn TH Uptown 3
Damansara Uptown No.3 Jln SS21/39
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-76236300
http://ecb.omron.com.sg
Phillatt Energy (M) Sdn Bhd (774004-A)
A-10-8, Megan Avenue 1
189 Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-21612020
www.philatt.com
Gading Kencana Sdn Bhd (270511-H)
24, Jalan Opera J U2/J
Taman Ttdi Jaya
40150 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 03-78452864
www.gadingkencana.com.my
Green Age Solar Technology Sdn Bhd (431763-H)
14 Tingkat Perusahaan Utama 1
Bkt Tengku Ind.Park
14000 Bukit Mertajam
Penang
Tel: 04-5082331
www.ga2020.com
IBC Solar Teknik Sdn Bhd (580907-K)
A902, 9th Floor, Block A, Kelana Square
No.17, Jalan SS7/26, Kelana Jaya
47301 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-74940441
www.ibc-solar.com.my
Intelligent Power Systems (IPS) Sdn Bhd (380619-H)
809-B Kompleks Diamond
Bangi Business Park
43650 Bandar Baru Bangi
Selangor
Tel: 03-82101147
www.ips.com.my
Putrajaya Perdana Bhd (465327-P)
2nd & 3rd Floor No 5 Jalan P16 Precinct 16
62150 Putrajaya
Tel: 03-88868888
www.p-perdana.com
SFG Technology (M) Sdn Bhd (169114-H)
313, 3rd Floor Block B, Kelana Squre
17 Jalan SS7/26, Kelana Jaya
47301 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 03-78809360
www.sfg.com.my
Sharp Roxy Sales & Service Company Sdn Bhd (8394-W)
No 1a Persiaran Kuala Langat Section 27
40400 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 03-51025228
www.sharp.com.my
Solamas Sdn Bhd (659680-P)
Lot 271 (No.18) Jalan Industri Pbp 9 Taman Industri
Pusat Bandar Puchong
47100 Selangor
Tel: 03-58911528
www.solamas.com
Amlex Technology Sdn Bhd (671870-W)
5 & 7 Lorong Perindustrian Bukit Minyak 3
Kaw.Per.Bukit Minyak, Seberang Prai Tengah
14100 Bukit Mertajam
Pulau Pinang
Tel: 04-5013811
www.amlextech.com
Atlas CSF Sdn Bhd (224390-X)
21 & 22 Jalan Damar Sd 15/1
52200 Bandar Sri Damansara
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-62728840
www.atlas-csf.com
Amalinsya Sdn Bhd (333898-X)
2-19 Pusat Perdagangan KLH, Menara KLH
Bandar Puchong Jaya
47100 Puchong
Selangor
Tel: 03-80765057
www.amalinsya.com.my
Huber & Suhner (M) Sdn Bhd (48900-X)
24 Jalan Pengacara U1/48 Temasya Industrial Park
40150 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 03-76280202
www.hubersuhner.com
Infrakomas Sdn Bhd (103521-T)
No.2, Jalan Pengetua U1/32
Hicom Glenmarie Industrial Park
40150 Shah Alam
Selangor
Tel: 03-55693237
www.ifk.com.my
Halfwing Blue Enterprise (Ip-0200627-A)
5a, Lengkok Jelapang Maju 5
Taman Perindustrian Jelapang Maju
30020 Ipoh
Perak
Tel: 05-5292378
Matrix Power Services Sdn Bhd (325864-T)
Lot 9, Jalan P/7, Seksyen 13
Kawasan Perindustrian Bangi
Bandar Baru Bangi
Selangor
Tel: 03-89264941
www.ingressmatrix.com.my
SP Multitech Sdn Bhd (494148-M)
11, Jalan BPU 5
Bandar Puchong Utama
47100 Selangor
Tel: 03-58825595
www.spmultitech.com
38
FACTS AND FIGURES
39
40
41
42
43
44
Facilitating Your Investments in the
Manufacturing
and
Services Sectors
MIDA is the first point of contact for investors
who intend to set up projects in the
manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia.
We undertake to:
Promote foreign and domestic investments in the manufacturing
and services sectors;
Undertake planning for industrial development in Malaysia;
Evaluate applications for manufacturing licences, expatriate
posts, and tax incentives for various activities in the
manufacturing and services sectors;
Assist companies in the implementation and operation of their
projects, and offer assistance through direct consultation with
the relevant authorities at both the federal and state levels.
MIDA State Offices
KEDAH & PERLIS
NEGERI SEMBILAN
KELANTAN
Level 4, East Wing
No. 88, Menara Bina Darulaman Berhad
Lebuhraya Darulaman, 05100 Alor Setar
Kedah Darul Aman
Tel:
(604) 731 3978
Fax:
(604) 731 2439
Email:
midaas@po.jaring.my
Suite 13.01 & 13.02, 13th Floor , Menara MAA
70200 Seremban , Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus
Tel:
(606) 762 7921 (GL)
(606) 762 7884 (DL)
Fax:
(606) 762 7879
E-mail:
nsembilan@mida.gov.my
5th Floor, Bangunan PKINK. Jalan Tengku Maharani Puteri
15000 Kota Bharu, Kelantan Darul Naim
Tel:
(609) 748 3151
Fax:
(609) 744 7294
E-mail:
midakb@po.jaring.my
MELAKA
5th Floor, Menara Yayasan Islam Terengganu
Jalan Sultan Omar, 20300 Kuala Terengganu
Terengganu Darul Iman
Tel:
(609) 622 7200
Fax:
(609) 623 2260
E-mail:
midakt@pd.jaring.my
PULAU PINANG
4.03 4th Floor, Menara PSCI
39 Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050 Pulau Pinang
Tel:
(604) 228 0575
Fax:
(604) 228 0327
E-mail:
midapg@po.jaring.my
PERAK
4th Floor, Perak Techno Trade Centre (PTTC)
Bandar Meru Raya, Off Jalan Jelapang
30720 Ipoh, Perak Darul Ridzuan
Tel:
(605) 5269 962 / 5269 961
Fax:
(605) 5279 960
E-mail:
midaprk@po.jaring.my
SELANGOR
22nd Floor, Wisma MBSA , Persiaran Perbandaran
40000 Shah Alam , Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel:
(603) 5518 4260 / 94525
Fax:
(603) 5513 5392
E-mail:
selangor@mida.gov.my
TERENGGANU
3rd Floor, Menara MITC, Kompleks MITC
Jalan Konvensyen, 75450 Ayer Keroh , Melaka
Tel:
(606) 232 2876/78
Fax:
(606) 232 2875
E-mail:
midamel@po.jaring.my
JOHOR
SABAH
Unit No. 15.03, Level 15, Wisma LKN
49, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, 80000 Johor Bahru
Johor Darul Takzim
Tel:
(607) 224 2550/ 5500
Fax:
(607) 224 2360
E-mail:
midajb@tm.net.my
Lot D9.4 & D9.5, 9 Floor, Block D, Bangunan KWSP
Karamunsing , 88100 Kota Kinabalu , Sabah
Tel:
(6088) 211 411
Fax:
(6088) 211 412
Email:
midasbh@tm.net.my
PAHANG
Room 404, 4th Floor, Bangunan Bank Negara
No.147, Jalan Satok, P.O.Box 716
93714 Kuching, Sarawak
Tel:
(6082) 254 251/237 484
Fax:
(6082) 252 375
E-mail:
mida_kch@tm.net.m
Suite 3, 11th Floor, Kompleks Teruntum, P.O.Box 178,
25720 Kuantan, Pahang Darul Makmur
Tel:
(609) 513 7334
Fax:
(609) 513 7333
E-mail:
midaphg@po.jaring.my
SARAWAK
Malaysian Industrial Development Authority
Block 4, Plaza Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 5, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: (603) 2267 3633 Fax: (603) 2274 7970 Website: www.mida.gov.my E-mail: promotion@mida.gov.my
Pusat Tenaga Malaysia
No. 2, Jalan 9/10, Persiaran Usahawan, Sekysen 9
43650 Bandar Baru Bangi
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
GL: +603 8921 0800
Fax: +603 8921 0802
www.ptm.org.my/bipv