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Press Release

Sumitomo Electric Made the Contract with the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy Regarding Operation of Concentrator Photovoltaic Power Generation Pilot Plant

Products & Technologies

May 11, 2016
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
*This press release was originally published in Japanese on May 9, 2016.

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. is pleased to announce that taking the opportunity of the Fourth Japan-Arab Economic Forum*, held on May 4, it has made a contract with the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) regarding the demonstration of a 1 MW concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) project.

The company has reached an agreement with MASEN, the leading organization for introducing renewable energy in Morocco, to jointly construct the company's first pilot plant for megawatt-class power generation using its self-developed CPV system and to start the operation of the plant.

In April 2013, Sumitomo Electric started to run an experiment on its CPV module on the property of its group company located in the suburb of Casablanca, Morocco. In September 2015, the company established a 20 kW CPV system on the property of the MASEN research institute in Ouarzazate, and began to perform a demonstration. Under the contract concluded this time, Sumitomo Electric will expand the scale of these efforts by constructing a 1 MW power generation pilot plant and conducting its operation. Measuring the total electric power output and performing quality analyses, the company strives to ensure that the plant will generate power on a stable basis even in adverse weather conditions or dust storms.

Encouraged by the conclusion of this contract, Sumitomo Electric will promote its CPV business not only in Morocco but also in other countries, in the Middle East and the rest of the world, that have high solar radiation.

Project Outline

Facility CPV 1MW
Location Ouarzazate City, the Kingdom of Morocco
Property of the research institute located in the site for the MASEN Solar Energy Power Generation Project
Operation Scheduled to be launched in November 2016
Project duration Five years from the conclusion of the agreement (until May 2021)

Background

  • Located in the northwestern part of the African Continent, Morocco faces the Sahara Desert in the south and its solar radiation is very high. This means that the country has a great potential for solar energy generation.
  • In Morocco, in order to increase its electricity self-sufficiency by making an effective use of its rich solar energy resource, the government intends to introduce 2,000 MW and 4,500 MW solar energy power generation facilities by 2020 and 2030 respectively.
  • At the signing ceremony Front row from left: Junji Itoh (Managing Director of Sumitomo Electric), Obaid Amrane (Board Member of MASEN) Back row from left: Motoo Hayashi (Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry), Moulay Hafid El Alamy (Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment, and Digital Economy of Morocco)

    At the signing ceremony
    Front row from left: Junji Itoh (Managing Director of Sumitomo Electric), Obaid Amrane (Board Member of MASEN)
    Back row from left: Motoo Hayashi (Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry), Moulay Hafid El Alamy (Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment, and Digital Economy of Morocco)

  • Conceptual Image of the Completed Plant

    Conceptual Image of the Completed Plant

Features of Sumitomo Electric's CPV Systems

1.Efficient power generation system with high power output performance suitable for high temperature environments

The CPV system uses compound semiconductor cells with very high conversion efficiency, and directly collects sunlight with the lens as it accurately tracks the sun (Fig. 1). The system boasts a conversion efficiency about twice as high as that of an ordinary crystalline silicon solar power cell (Fig. 2). Since the power generation device has little temperature dependence, this system is highly advantageous in regions with high direct radiation and high air temperatures.

2.Thin and lightweight module

Sumitomo Electric has developed a thin and lightweight module (about 120 mm in thickness and about 8 kg in weight), which is among the best of the practical concentrator photovoltaic systems. The thin and lightweight module has advantages such as improved efficiency in loading for delivery and installation at the site and increase in the number of modules to be mounted on the sun tracker, thus reducing a total cost for the power generation system.

  • Fig. 1) System and module design

    Fig. 1) System and module design

  • Fig. 2) Output Comparison (based on data obtained in an in-house demonstration conducted in Morocco)

    Fig. 2) Output Comparison (based on data obtained in an in-house demonstration conducted in Morocco)

* Japan-Arab Economic Forum
The Japan-Arab Economic Forum was established as a framework for a public-private dialogue by uniting efforts of the Japanese and Arab-states' governments and business communities for the purpose of further enhancing the economic relationship between Japan and Arab states through cooperation in a wide range of areas including trade, investment, energy, science and technology, and human resource development. The fourth forum was held in Casablanca, Morocco, on May 4 and 5, 2016.

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