2009年9月9日
米First Solar、中国に2GW規模の太陽光発電所建設へ
米First Solar社は米国時間の2009年9月8日、公式訪米中の中国全国人民代表大会 常委会委員長の呉邦国（Wu Bangguo)氏と、中国内モンゴル自治区のオルドスに大規模な太陽光発電所を建設することで合意したと発表した。
計画は4段階に分かれる。当初は、2010年6月1日までに最大出力30MWの発電施設を建設。続いて、同100MW、同870MWの施設をそれぞれ 2014年までに、最後に同1000MWの発電施設を2019年までに建設する。これらを合わせた発電能力は計2000MW（2GW）。つまり出力のピー ク値は、一般的な原子力発電2基分に相当する。これまでの太陽光発電施設はドイツの50MW台が最大だった。今回の合意で、それが一気に40倍の規模になる見通しである。
ファーストソーラーは「薄膜型」を手がける。太陽電池の主流である「結晶シリコン型」よりも製造コストが安いのが武器で、米政府の支援策も追い風となり、事業規模を広げている。
---
Sep. 8, 2009
First Solar to Team With
Ordos City on Major Solar Power Plant in China Desert
First Solar today announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
with the Chinese government to build a 2 gigawatt solar
power plant in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China.
Pursuant to the MOU, signed in the presence of Chairman Wu
Bangguo of the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress of China, the solar project in Ordos will be built over
a multi-year period. Phase 1 will be a 30 megawatt
demonstration project
that will begin construction by June 1, 2010 and be completed as
soon thereafter as practicable. Phases 2, 3 and 4 will be 100 megawatts, 870
megawatts, and 1,000 megawatts. Phases 2 and 3 will be completed
in 2014 and Phase 4 will be completed by 2019.
“This
major commitment to solar power is a direct result of the
progressive energy policies being adopted in China to create a
sustainable, long-term market for solar and a low carbon future
for China,” First Solar CEO Mike Ahearn said
at the signing ceremony. “We’re proud to be announcing this
precedent-setting project today. It represents an encouraging
step forward toward the mass-scale deployment of solar power
worldwide to help mitigate climate change concerns.”
The project will
operate under a feed-in-tariff 固定価格買い取り制度
which will guarantee the
pricing of electricity produced by the power plant over a
long-term period.
“The
Chinese feed-in tariff will be critical to this project,”
Ahearn said. “This type of forward-looking
government policy is necessary to create a strong solar market
and facilitate the construction of a project of this size, which
in turn continues to drive the cost of solar electricity closer
to ‘grid parity’
- where it is
competitive with traditional energy sources.”
The MOU
contemplates that during the implementation of the initial phases
of the project First Solar will actively review the possibility
of module and supplier manufacturing sites in Ordos, and other
considerations required to support a First Solar investment.
First Solar also intends to facilitate expansion of the supply
chains in China for thin film photovoltaic module production and
for the recycling of photovoltaic modules after use.
“We
are very pleased to be partnering with one of the solar industry’s global technology leaders in a
project of such significance to Ordos’s low carbon future,”
said Cao Zhichen,
vice mayor of Ordos Municipal Government. “Discussions with First Solar about
building a factory in China demonstrate to investors in China
that they can confidently invest in the most advanced
technologies available.”
The MOU sets forth
the agreement in principle of the parties concerning the project
and related activities. Final agreement between the parties is
subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements
among the parties.
About First Solar
First Solar, Inc. is changing the way the world is powered by
creating truly sustainable solar energy solutions. First Solar
manufactures solar modules with an advanced semiconductor
technology and provides comprehensive PV system solutions. By
constantly decreasing manufacturing costs, First Solar is
creating an affordable and environmentally responsible
alternative to fossil-fuel generation. First Solar modules are
most effective when demand for traditional forms of energy is at
its peak. First Solar set the benchmark for environmentally
responsible product life cycle management by introducing the
industry's first prefunded, comprehensive collection and
recycling program for solar modules. From raw material sourcing
through end-of-life collection and recycling, First Solar is
focused on creating cost-effective renewable energy solutions
that protect and enhance the environment. For more information
about First Solar, please visit www.firstsolar.com, or
www.firstsolar.com/media to download photos.
----------------------
Sept. 9, 2009 (Bloomberg)
First Solar to Build World’s Largest Solar Power Plant in China
First Solar Inc., a
U.S.-based renewable energy company, will build the world’s largest solar power plant in
China as the country plans to increase non- polluting electricity
generation.
The plant would be about thirty times larger than existing solar
power stations operating in Europe, Dulce Qu, a Beijing- based
spokeswoman for company, said by telephone today. The
2,000-megawatt complex will be built in Ordos City, Inner
Mongolia, China by 2019, Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar said
yesterday. One mega watt is enough to power 800 U.S. homes.
China, the world’s biggest polluter, burns coal to
produce 80 percent of its electricity and wants at least 15
percent of the nation’s energy to come from renewable
sources by 2020. The U.S. and China are trying to reduce
emissions of gases blamed for global warming, and the New York
Times reported yesterday Bechtel Corp. plans to build a solar
station in California.
“There
are a few existing solar projects of about 50 to 60 megawatts,
but this would be the biggest by a country mile,”
said Charles Yonts,
an analyst specializing in alternative energy at CLSA Ltd. in
Hong Kong. “China is suggesting the solar
market will be up to 20,000 megawatts by 2020, but the scale of
this project suggests these estimates are far too conservative.”
China may increase
its capacity to generate electricity from sunlight more than
13-fold by 2011, Cui Rongqiang, head of the Shanghai Solar Energy
Society, said Aug. 31. The country’s solar- power capacity may rise
to 2,000 megawatts by 2011 and 20,000 megawatts by 2020, from 150
megawatts in 2008, he said.
Chinese Investment
The world’s second-biggest energy consuming
nation plans to invest 2 trillion yuan ($293 billion) in its
alternative-energy industry from 2006 through 2020, according to
the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s economic planning agency. China
may pass Europe, Japan and the U.S. to become the world’s largest user of renewable energy
by 2010, according to Washington-based researcher WorldWatch
Institute.
Bechtel is teaming up with BrightSource Energy Inc. to build a
440-megawatt solar power plant to supply electricity to Pacific
Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison, the New York
Times reported yesterday, citing Ian Copeland, Bechtel’s president of fossil power.
Bechtel spokesman Francis Canavan didn’t respond to a voice- mail message
left on his mobile phone after business hours. BrightSource
Energy didn’t return a voice-mail message on
it press line.
Inner Mongolia
First Solar’s Inner Mongolia project will be
built in four phases, the first beginning by June 1, 2010, and
the final phase to be completed by 2019, according to yesterday’s statement. The project will
operate under a feed-in-tariff that guarantees the pricing of the
electricity generated by the plant. No details were given of the
investment in the project.
When completed, the complex would cover an area of 25 square
miles, spokeswoman Qu said today.
Under the agreement, First Solar will consider module and
manufacturing sites in Ordos. The company said it will drive
expansion of photovoltaic module production and recycling of used
ones in China.
First Solar surged $12.94, or 11 percent, to $134.41 on the
Nasdaq Stock Market yesterday. The stock has fallen 2.6 percent
this year.
The agreement for the First Solar deal came during a visit to
Arizona by Wu Bangguo, chairman of China’s National People’s Congress and the highest-ranking
Chinese official to visit the U.S. since President Barack Obama
took office.
Wu also saw Honeywell International’s aerospace headquarters in
Phoenix this week. Wu, who is leading a 100- member delegation to
the U.S., is scheduled to visit the White House and Capitol Hill,
a top Chinese official said yesterday.
“This
is the first major visit by the Chinese leadership to the United
States since the inauguration” of Obama, said Xie Feng, deputy
chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Washington. “Aside from the symbolic
significance of this visit, it’s also aimed at enhancing
cooperation” between the U.S. and China.
The 2,000-megawatt power plant would cost between $5 billion and $6 billion if built in the United States, said Alan Bernheimer, a First Solar spokesman, though he said the cost to build such a project in China would likely be lower.
-------------------------------
2009年の太陽電池セル生産能力は17GW，First Solarが首位に---DisplaySearchが予測
市場調査会社の米DisplaySearch社は，2009年の太陽電池セルの世界生産能力が前年比56％増の17GWに達するとの予測を発表した。 2008年1月から2009年7月までに増強された生産能力は11.4GWという。今後2013年まで太陽電池セルの世界生産能力は年平均49％で成長 し，2013年には42GWまで拡大すると同社はみている。一方で，2009年の太陽電池モジュールの世界需要は前年比17％減と予測。需要が上向くのは 2010年からとみる。
地域別には，2006年には日本が世界最大の生産量を誇ったが，2009年の設備投資額では中国が世界の1/3を占める見込み。将来は中国が世界最大の太陽電池セル生産国に成長するとDisplaySearch社は予測する。
材料別には，薄膜Si系の成長が著しい。2005年には世界の太陽電池セル生産能力の5％を薄膜Si系が占め，残り95％を結晶Si系が占めたが，2009年は薄膜Si系が20％以上まで比率を拡大する見込み。さらに，2013年には30％を占める見通しという。
メーカー別には，2009年の太陽電池セル生産能力で首位に立つのは米First Solar, Inc.という。同社は1GWを超える生産能力を備え，ドイツQ-Cells SEや中国Suntech Power Holdings Co.を大きく引き離すとDisplaySearch社はみている。なお，2013年の生産能力シェア上位10社の顔ぶれは，この3社に加えて中国JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd.，台湾Motech Industries Inc.，ノルウェーREC Solar, Inc.，米SunPower Corp.，中国Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., Ltd.，昭和シェル石油，シャープと予測した。