16 July 2011

Isofoton to supply 250MW of ‘made in Ohio’ CPV panels

Isofoton of Malaga, Spain is to supply about 250,000 concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) panels for the 49.9MW Turning Point Solar (TPS) plant, the construction of which was announced earlier this week. When operational, TPS will be the largest PV project in the USA east of the Rocky Mountains.

TPS is being developed by AEP Ohio (a unit of electric utility firm American Electric Power of Columbus, OH) and Turning Point Solar LLC, which is a joint venture formed last October between Agile Energy Inc of San Bruno, CA (which develops utility-scale photovoltaic plants in North America) and New Harvest Ventures (a renewable energy development firm led by Woodland Venture Management co-founders David Wilhelm and Craig Overmyer). The solar farm will be located on a reclaimed 750-acre plot in Noble County (in rural Appalachia) formerly used for coal extraction. Construction will begin in summer 2012 and should be completed in 2015.

“The selection of Isofoton panels for this project will support our ambitious US expansion plan,” says Isofoton’s chairman Angel Luis Serrano. “The State of Ohio has made a firm commitment to renewable energy, and we are equally committed to Ohio, which offers the talent, natural resources and support that we need to build and operate our new PV factory,” he adds.

It was announced on 6 July that Isofoton had chosen Napoleon, OH as the new home for its North American manufacturing facility. Contingent upon state approvals, the Ohio Department of Development will offer assistance of $15.8m to leverage Isofoton’s pledged $16.4m investment. The plant should produce its first modules in 2012.

American Municipal Power Inc (AMP) has also selected Isofoton to supply 200MW of solar panels from its Napoleon plant over five years for projects to be developed throughout AMP’s seven-state territory over the coming years. Isofoton is also working closely with the Toledo Port Authority on on ‘made in Ohio’ PV panels for solar energy projects.

Isofoton attributes its success to the development of solar platforms through close partnerships with research centers and universities around the world. In this context, Isofoton and the University of Toledo in Ohio (which is located in the hub of one of the fastest-growing solar clusters in North America) have agreed to collaborate on workforce training, to begin Andalusia–Ohio student exchanges, and to originate the co-development of strategic applied research proposals. 

Isofoton began its expansion into the North American market several years ago. According to data from the EPIA (European Photovoltaic Industry Association), by 2014 the USA will lead global demand for PV installations, with a market share of 22% compared to 5% currently. The firm's US strategy aims to meet this market demand, which has shown four-fold growth in installed capacity from 2009 to 2.15GW in 2010, according to the June 2010 US Solar Market Trends report.

Tags: Isofoton CPV

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