Solar Frontier and TSK Agree on 5 MW CIS Project in Kuwait
Solar Frontiers CIS technology selected for Kuwaits Shagaya Renewable Energy Project
Tokyo and Gijón - 30th November, 2015 - Solar Frontier, the worlds largest CIS solar energy solutions provider, and TSK, a leading business group in engineering development and the supply of energy and industrial facilities, announced today an upcoming 5 MW CIS solar photovoltaic (PV) energy facility in Kuwait. The new CIS installation will be used to evaluate the performance of CIS in Kuwaiti desert conditions as part of a larger government project known as Shagaya Renewable Energy Project. Solar Frontier will start shipping its CIS modules at the beginning of December of this year and TSK will handle the construction as well as operation of the site for the next six years. The new PV power plant is scheduled to begin operating from June 2016.
The Shagaya Renewable Energy Project is part of the Innovative Renewable Energy Research program run by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), a Kuwaiti government entity. The first stage of this program consists of testing the performance of multiple renewable energy facilities, including PV, concentrated solar power (CSP) and wind.
TSK has been selected to construct the first 10 MW PV project, consisting of two 5 MW photovoltaic plants, as well as a 50 MW CSP plant. Solar Frontier's CIS modules make up one of the 5 MW PV facilities and will be compared to a side-by-side crystalline silicon PV plant to help Kuwaiti authorities evaluate the suitability of PV technologies for subsequent phases of the project and other similar facilities to be developed in the future.
"CIS modules are particularly well-suited for tough conditions such as in the desert in Kuwait. One of the reasons is because CIS modules are less affected by high temperatures, as indicated by their lower temperature coefficient. When all of the real-world performance advantages of CIS are combined, the result is higher energy yield - or kilowatt-hours per kilowatt-peak - compared to crystalline silicon," said Wolfgang Lange, Managing Director of Solar Frontier Europe. "With the engineering expertise of TSK, we look forward to further demonstrating the performance and quality advantages of our CIS technology outside of the lab and in real-world environments."
The project with TSK will make Kuwait the 50th country to install Solar Frontiers CIS modules as the solar energy developer continues to expand its global footprint from its manufacturing base in southern Japan.
About TSK
TSK is a global company that specializes in the execution of turn-key projects and the supply of technological solutions for different sectors in industry, providing its own technology, engineering and the capability to manage complex projects.
Currently present in several industry sectors such as electrical infrastructures, industrial plants, energy generating power plants (conventional and renewable), water treatment plants or installations for handling and storage of raw materials.
About Solar Frontier
Solar Frontier K.K., a 100% subsidiary of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. (TYO:5002) ("Solar Frontier"), has a mission to create the most economical, ecological solar energy solutions on Earth. Building on a legacy of work in solar energy since the 1970s, Solar Frontier today develops and manufactures CIS (denoting copper, indium, selenium) thin-film solar modules for customers in all sectors around the world. Solar Frontiers gigawatt-scale production facilities in Miyazaki, Japan, integrate compelling economic and ecological advantages into every module: from lower energy requirements in manufacturing to the higher overall output (kWh) of CIS in real operating conditions. Solar Frontier is headquartered in Tokyo, with offices in Europe, the U.S.A., and the Middle East. Visit http://www.solar-frontier.eu/en/home/ and www.solar-frontier.com for more information.