La fábrica, que fue inaugurada en octubre de 2008, está situada en una parcela de 29.000 m2 en el Parque Tecnológico de Galicia y ocupa una superficie útil de 14.000 m2. Cuenta con un sistema productivo completamente integrado y automatizado, que incorpora tecnología de vanguardia desarrollada por la multinacional norteamericana Applied Materials. La planta, que fabricará 700.000 m2 de paneles solares al año, tiene una capacidad de producción de 40 MW/año, ampliables a 65 MW/año y 90 Mw/año en siguientes fases.
Este sistema de fabricación totalmente automatizado acaba de ser avalado oficialmente con la obtención de los certificados de calidad ISO 9001 y de medio ambiente ISO 14001 por parte de AENOR. Además, T-Solar también ha recibido el certificado OHSAS 18001 de seguridad y salud y la acreditación comunitaria EMAS -una normativa de aplicación voluntaria de la UE, que reconoce a las empresas que han implantado un Sistema de Gestión Medioambiental y han adquirido un compromiso de mejora continua-.
Certificación TÜV y garantías
Por otra parte, T-Solar también ha conseguido acreditar la calidad y fiabilidad de los módulos de capa delgada de silicio amorfo hidrogenado que fabrica en Orense. Así, desde el pasado mes de diciembre, los módulos de 1,4 m2 de superficie cuentan con la certificación oficial según los estándares IEC-61.646/2008 y EN-61.730/2007, otorgada por TÜV InterCert, uno de los centros más prestigiosos de certificación a nivel mundial. Además, T-Solar espera recibir a finales del presente mes esta misma certificación para sus módulos de 5,7 m2, los más grandes existentes en el mercado.
Los resultados obtenidos en estos controles permiten a la compañía garantizar tanto el rendimiento como el encapsulado de sus módulos por un período de 25 años.
Módulos para Italia
Los módulos que T-Solar produce en la fábrica de Orense comenzarán a instalarse en breve en las centrales fotovoltaicas que la compañía está desarrollando en la región italiana de Puglia y que suman una potencia de 8 MW.
Este proyecto de generación de electricidad limpia en Italia se enmarca en un ambicioso proceso de expansión internacional que la compañía piensa desarrollar en mercados preferentes como Italia, Estados Unidos, Francia y otros países de la cuenca mediterránea.
SOBRE T-SOLAR
T-Solar es un grupo empresarial con marcado carácter tecnológico e industrial que apuesta por la generación de electricidad limpia mediante el aprovechamiento de la energía del sol. De capital 100% español, T-Solar ha invertido más de 1.000 millones de euros en la puesta en marcha de un proyecto empresarial que aborda todos los eslabones de la cadena de valor del sector fotovoltaico. Fabrica los módulos más grandes del mercado (5,7m2), con tecnología de capa delgada de silicio amorfo hidrogenado, en su factoría de Orense (Galicia). Se trata de una planta totalmente automatizada, pionera en Europa, que tiene una capacidad de producción anual de 700.000 m2 de paneles, equivalentes a 4O MW/año. Además, el grupo promueve, opera y explota sus propias centrales fotovoltaicas. Actualmente, T-Solar cuenta con 28 centrales fotovoltaicas en España, con una potencia instalada de 143,39 MWp, capaces de producir 212 GWh/año, lo que equivale al consumo necesario para satisfacer las necesidades energéticas de una población de 200.000 habitantes. Hasta la fecha, T-Solar ha generado más de 200 empleos directos de alta cualificación y en 2009 continúa creciendo para mantener su liderazgo en el mercado nacional e internacional.
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T-Solar
T-Solar is a well defined technological and industrial group, whose main business purpose is to use the sun as a clean energy source.
This 100% Spanish company has invested more than 1,000 million Euros in a pioneering business project which integrates all activities that comprise the value chain of the photovoltaic sector.
Its new factory produces the biggest photovoltaic panels in the market (5.7 m2), using thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon technology. Full automation of the factory enables it to reach a production capacity of 700,000 m2 of modules per year, equivalent to a power rating of 45 MW/year.
The T-Solar Group furthermore promotes, manages and operates its own photovoltaic plants in order to market the electricity they generate. It currently has 28 photovoltaic parks in Spain that produce an installed power output of 143.39 MWp and occupy an area of 550 hectares, distributed over 26 municipalities of 16 provinces and 8 autonomous regions.
Two hundred and twenty direct jobs and 1,500 indirect highly qualified ones have been created in just three years, thereby achieving a leading position in the Spanish photovoltaic sector. In 2009 and onwards, the company plans to carry out its international expansion in the Mediterranean countries and the USA. It will simultaneously reinforce its presence in Spain, both in ground modalities as well as in roof and shelter modalities. In this manner, T-Solar will strengthen its contribution to sustainable development of the planet, by promoting a rational and intelligent exploitation of a clean and never ending resource, namely, the Sun.
Investment: The starting up of the T-Solar Group business project has meant an investment of more than 1,000 million Euros to date. Of these, 920 million correspond to promotion and operation of the 28 photovoltaic plants that the company operates in Spain, and the remaining 80 million have been destined for construction and starting up of the photovoltaic panel factory in San Cibrao das Viñas (Ourense).
Business turnover: The T-Solar Group plans to surpass its overall turnover of 170 million Euros during 2009. It furthermore foresees a steady growth of such business turnover in the following years as a result of improvements in productivity and efficiency of its photovoltaic modules.
Employment: Staff numbers are currently around a hundred workers and plans are that they reach 220 workers in the third quarter of 2009. Of these, 190 will work at San Cibrao das Viñas factory (Ourense), while the rest will be spread over its offices in Madrid and Vigo, and in the 28 photovoltaic parks located all over Spain.
In a young and emerging sector, as is the case with the solar photovoltaic one, research, development and innovation are key factors to competitiveness in any business project. To that end, right from the beginning of its activity, T-Solar has sought the support of technological partners that are leaders in their respective fields and created a R&D&I laboratory at San Cibrao das Viñas (Ourense) along the following four lines of work:
1. Higher Performance
The manufacturing process of the large thin film silicon modules used by T-Solar in its Orense factory, is initiated using highly competitive and innovative technology. The priorities of the R&D&I Department in this field are oriented towards improving optical confinement (transparent conductive oxide and back reflector contact) and also towards the implementation of double connection cells aSi/ucSi with interspersed reflector, in order to improve performance of the modules.
2. Control of production and metrology
This research unit develops new techniques to control production of the thin film silicon modules, as well as metrology systems, both in line and out of line, in order to ensure that the modules produced strictly comply with design specifications.
3. Development of ground based photovoltaic parks:
The research priorities of the ground based photovoltaic systems are to reduce costs, facilitate installation, connection and operation of the modules, be environment friendly and design a system that reduces use of raw materials.
4. Integration in Buildings:
The challenge of integrating photovoltaic elements in buildings has led the company to open a specific line of research to, among other objectives, respond to the need for adaptation and standardization of the modules to architectural dimensions, combine opaque and transparent elements, minimize production costs, facilitate module installation and develop specific elements for facades, roofs and shade systems.
Electricity can be generated from solar radiation without any need for mobile elements, thermodynamic cycles or chemical reactions. It is an energy transformation process where sunlight is captured using photovoltaic modules. These panels are in turn made up of semiconductor elements that are joined in series called photovoltaic cells, and are the ones responsible for converting light energy (photons) into electricity (electrons).
Photovoltaic cells are basically comprised of two silicon films (P- type and N-type) that are separated by a semiconductor substance. When sunlight comes into contact with the first film, silicon electrons are released, which then pass through a semiconductor filter in a one-way direction without any possibility of return. Films then acquire different polarizations, and therefore electrons can return to the first film by passing through an external electric conductor.
In this manner, the current circuit is closed and enables the process to continue forever. Since the electricity generated is a DC supply, which is unsuitable for use in homes, devices called inverters convert the DC supply into AC supply in a final step so that such energy can then be injected into the electric power supply grid.
Spain is the European country with higher solar radiation thanks to its geographic location and its peculiar climatic conditions and therefore every square meter of area receives around 1,500 kilowatts/hour of energy per year. However, development of solar photovoltaic energy has always been very limited due to the lack of ecological awareness and the need for high initial investment.
In the past years, the reduction of costs and production bonus incentives given by the Central Government have changed this trend, and we now have new business groups in the photovoltaic market that have considerably increased the overall industrial investment as well as generation of solar photovoltaic energy.
At the present time, Spain is the first producing country of photovoltaic solar power worldwide, after having advanced Germany and having accumulated an installed power of more than 2.600 MW.
