Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/343202
S o l a r Po we r D a i l y N e ws 1 3 Tu e s d a y, J u l y 8 , 2 0 1 4 Business Unit is a spinoff of Heraeus' Thick Film Materials Division, which has been producing customized pastes for various industries for over 40 years. Our Photovoltaics Business Unit has become one of the leading preferred sup- pliers of metallization pastes for c-Si solar cells in the world, supplying almost all of the top solar cell manufacturers. SPDN: What was the most significant event or series of events affecting your company in the past year? WZ: The most significant event that has occured over the past year is the consolidation of our worldwide research and development group to our West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania facility. When Heraeus first began the development of metallization pastes for solar cells, we started with a few scientists in West Conshohocken. We sucessfully developed products with higher performance than what was commecially available at that time. To increase our competitive position, we recognized that we needed to attract additional talented scientists and engi- neers from around the world. With a core talent of employees at our corpo- rate location in Hanau, Germany and our targeted market in Asia, we set up R&D centers in Hanau and Singapore. This has allowed us to obtain outstand- ing employees who have been instru- mental in increasing our technology portfolio and developing advanced Heraeus ( Cont'd. from p. 1) paste formulations. We have now decided to co-locate all our research and development staff in West Conshohocken. We believe this action will foster a faster pace of innovation, increasing our speed to market. We are excited about having this cross-cultur- al team, with their unique perspectives, come together for the benefit of the Heraeus PV business and our cus- tomers. SPDN: Last year, Heraeus purchased the Ferro Photovoltiacs Paste Business. How has the integration of Ferro R&D person- nel affected your company? WZ: The acquisition of the Ferro Photovoltaics Paste Business represents one of our most significicant strategic activities in 2013. From an R&D stand- point, we obtained technologies, increased our intellectual property posi- tion and absorbed talented scientists who have made signfiicant contribu- tions to our business. During the Intersolar N.A. tradeshow, we will be highlighting a series of products that were developed through the integration of the Ferro PV Paste Business into Heraeus. Once all of our R&D person- nel are centralized, we will have the most dynamic team of scientists work- ing together in the development of met- allization paste for the solar industry. For more information, visit www.pv silverpaste.com, call 610-825-6050, email pv.techservice@heraeus.com or visit booth #7611. expanded our business to include the RV and Boat Storage, and Self-Storage mar- kets. As the solar business grew, we also emerged as the leader in solar support systems up to 17' clear height. SPDN: What are the most significant wins for your company in the last year? BH: Well, I would have to say that every job we do is significant and we treat all jobs with the same intensity. That being said, Baja was awarded the solar structure business for LIPA's 19MW solar carport project, and the solar structure business for General Motor's electric vehicle solar carport/EV charging solution. SPDN: Any new and improved products? BH: Not only are we improving our orig- inal designs to incorporate grounding, wire management, direct attachment (racking elimination) and accessory options (e.g. security cameras, facia, etc.); we are also focusing on DSA struc- tures. We have completed several solar carport school installations in California, Nevada and New Jersey. We also have DSA-approved three Baja designs and six options. SPDN: What distinguishes Baja from its competition? BH: Our in-house engineering depart- ment is able to customize a site-specific structure; our material is light gauge, high-tensile steel – half the weight of structural steel with the same amount of Baja Construction ( Cont'd. from p. 1) strength; and our experience both techni- cally and geographically. There is no other company out there with the depth of experience in terms of labor and geog- raphy – most of our employees have been in the business of steel design, engineer- ing and installation for a minimum of 15 years in more than 23 states. Another important fact – we are contracted in the three western states with International Ironworker's Union. SPDN: What is your outlook for your solar support structures? BH: We see a great demand for solar carports, as there is not much differ- ence in price between a solar roof- mounted solution and a solar carport solution. The secondary benefit of shaded parking in conjunction with the generation of solar power is a winning combination. Shaded parking is not just a convenience for car owners; we are continuing to building PV shaded solutions for the essential operations of cattle and dairy farms, RV and boat storage, transportation centers and water districts. SPDN: To what do you attribute your company's success? BH: I am amazed to find that the solar industry is filled with "construction-lite" companies trying to execute on a con- struction site. Baja brings more than 40 years of construction experience and reli- ability to each job. For more information, call Bob at 925- 766-2612, email bob@bajacarports.com, visit www.bajacarports.com or stop by booth #9444. JG: Because our solder masks are made for use in very demanding appli- cations – not only for PCBs in con- sumer products, but also for use in the satellite and aerospace setting – the durability of our products and the flex- ibility of use really stand out against other products when it comes to the solar industry. Our solder mask makes an excellent dielectric material. The properties really lend to very good heat, moisture and chemical resistance; it's just a very durable material. Then we also have a number of con- ductive materials that have been identi- fied for the solar industry. We have silver conductive pastes for solar panel manu- facturing as well as silver and aluminum pastes for solar cell manufacturing from our Taiyo Korea facility. SPDN: What products do you see as being hottest this year? JG: Products like FOC-800; it's a flex- ible UV-curable dielectric material. We've conducted significant research regarding applications like Metal Wrap Through (MWT) solar panels, and as an isolative dielectric material. Additionally, we offer PSR-4000 FXT a flexible product for fine patterning by using a photo-imaging process. With these products, you screen print the Taiyo America ( Cont'd. from p. 1) material, but then you can image them with a UV source with your desired pattern, develop off the areas of print that you don't want, and then go through a final cure to lock in the film. These products lend to the solar market well in that they're very flexible and chemical/heat/moisture resistant, work- ing well in traditional solar panel con- figurations. We also have materials for CIGS, DSSC and OPV solar cells. We also have a few really good con- ductive materials. One that really stands out is a product called EPH-100, a pho- toimageable silver paste. What that enables you to do is screen print but get a very fine resolution of about 20um x 20um from the photoimaging process. SPDN: Tell our readers about your trade show objectives, plans, products, promo- tions, etc. JG: The largest solder mask manufactur- ers in the world, we're very well-known in the PCB industry, but we've been pushing more recently to introduce our- selves to the solar industry. Hosting a booth and getting our name out there; essentially, we are letting people know about our reputation in other industries and how our products can apply to solar applications. For more information, call 775-885- 9959, visit www.taiyo-america.com or stop by booth #7625. QUANTA POWER GENERATION COMPLETES WHITE RIVER, CORCORAN PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECTS Quanta Power Generation, Inc., (QPG) was selected by Con Edison Development (CED) to engineer, procure and construct the White River and Corcoran Photovoltaic (PV) Facilities totaling approximately 40 megawatts (MWAC), in Kings and Tulare Counties, Calif. QPG, a subsidiary of Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE: PWR, S&P 500), was established with a core focus of pro- viding engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to the utility- scale power generation industry. Since its formation, QPG has established itself as a leading provider of utility-scale PV solutions with more than 300 MWDC of generation capacity completed or cur- rently under construction. In addition, QPG draws upon Quanta Services' 50 years of experience and more than 50,000 MW of power gen- eration projects to provide a wider range of EPC service to the industry. Quanta Services has been active for more than a decade in power generation and distribu- tion, as well as renewable energy projects including solar, wind and ethanol/alter- native fuels. Quanta is a publicly-traded company with national coverage and annual revenues of $5.9 billion. With approximately $400 million of cash available, Quanta effectively delivers large scale power generation projects. Under the terms of the contracts, QPG provided comprehensive design, engineering, procurement and installa- tion services for all equipment required for the two 20 MWAC projects. Pre-con- struction activities began in October 2012 and the projects were completed in the late third quarter of 2013. Combined, the facilities used approx- imately 176,000 polycrystalline PV solar modules mounted to a single-axis tracking system and span more than 350 acres. Both sites utilized a mixture of Yingli 295 and 300-watt and Canadian Solar 290- watt modules and Emerson inverters. QPG was responsible for the site prepara- tion including management of all project grading, trenching and fencing, installa- tion of impact-driven steel piers, tracker system and modules, as well as design and installation of the two 34.5-115kV substa- tions. The Corcoran Facility utilized local union labor from IBEW Local 100. Other Quanta companies that assisted on these projects include Dashiell Corporation and Intermountain Electric, Inc. For more information, visit www .quantapower.net.