SOLARTEG vs Tesla

1. www.photon.info
InternationalThe Solar Power Magazine
Bifacial modules
The Chinese company Joly-
wood plans to build a 2.1 GW
production plant – as a start
EMC problems
Huawei and Sungrow are facing
problems with EMC – and how
SMA is trying to benefit from this
Dumb »Smart meters«?
A Dutch study examining
incorrect measurements by
electric meters is causing a stir
Mapping solar
A Swedish company is trying to
track worldwide installations
with an interactive graphic
5-2017
A two-hill island
An innovative concept for solar parks involving
vertical installation of bifacial modules

2. 4 May 2017
bifacial modules
30 China-based solar corporation Jolywood implements a
technology once developed by Bosch for potential mass cell
production
750 kw-systems
32 Demand for 750 kilowatt arrays has recently soared in
Germany. System providers are putting together turnkey
packages costing from €750 per kilowatt
businessmarkets
service
3 editorial
6 in this issue
7 subscriptions
68 conferences & events
76 company directory
79 contacts page
80 publishing, advertisers list
81 10 years ago
82 preview
N-type solar cells, developed at Belgium’s IMEC research center: They don’t look any
different from p-type cells on the outside, but they have much better efficiency values.
Almost invisible: If you look down on the modules from above, they look like
dashes in the landscape. The landscape is hardly affected by this type of PV plant.
30
Imec
WinfriedBecker/PHOTONPictures
46
installed capacity
8 An interactive map shows the development of the world’s
installed solar power capacity since 1992
worldwide
9 Worldwide solar policy, regulatory and market news
africa & middle east
10 Solar policy, regulatory and market news across Africa &
Middle East
asia pacific
14 Solar policy, regulatory and market news across Asia-Pacific
region
americas
20 Solar policy, regulatory and market news across the
Americas
22 SEPA column: Beyond load growth: The EV managed-
charging opportunity for utilities
europe
26 Solar policy, regulatory and market news in Europe
28 SPE column: So much potential, so many problems

3. May 2017 5
science & technologyfinance & economics
Exchange is mandatory: electronic meters (left) are to completely replace the
well-known Ferraris devices (right) in the next few years.
Huawei stand at Intersolar Europe 2016: The Chinese manufacturer is the global
market leader, ahead of SMA, when it comes to total inverter capacity supplied.
Cover 5/2017
28-kilowatt system with vertically mounted
modules near Merzig (Saar), Germany
Photo
Winfried Becker / PHOTON Pictures
UdoGeisler/PHOTONPictures
JochenSiemer/PHOTONPictures
50 54
system concepts
46 The start-up Next2Sun will be building grid-optimized
open-field arrays more ecologically
smart meters
50 A Dutch study on errors in digital electricity meter readings
unleashes a tumult – and revives memories of a solar
inverter problem that was thought resolved.
EMC problems
54 EMC problems affected Sungrow and Huawei inverters –
and how SMA is trying to use this to its own advantage
solar tiles
58 Italian company Solarteg already produces and installs solar
tiles without cables
intersolar
60 A small selection of interesting new products at this year’s
Intersolar Europe
R&D news
66 Monthly news on highlights in solar R&D
inverter price index
36 Inverter prices until March 31
module price index
38 Module prices until March 31
photon photovoltaic stock index
41 Azure Power replaces Trina Solar
42 Quarterly results

4. 58 May 2017
science technology | modules | solar tiles
In the french cult comic »Asterix«, each epi-
sode begins recalling how Julius Caesar, de-
spite how many legions he displayed, could not
conquer a small Gallic village, visible on the
map of the empire only with a hand lense. A
magic potion brewed by their Druid Miraculix
allows the villagers to resist the Roman legions.
To this came the reporter’s memory when
last fall, Tesla made a telecast to present world-
wide its new »Solar Roof« and few days later, in
a much smaller press conference in Milan, the
small Italian start-up Solarteg explained that
photovoltaic tiles, in fact, already exist in Italy.
The expanding empire is Tesla, Julius Caesar is
Elon Musk, and the »Solar Roof« could well be
his next ambitious campaign, after electric cars,
accumulators and company aquisitions.
The village of irreducible is in Gallia: not in
France but in the Cisalpine Gallia, to be precise
in Bernareggio, in the province of Monza. It is a
very small start-up called Solarteg, which pro-
duces and installs photovoltaic tiles. The role of
the druid is covered by Vittorio Canetta, a re-
tired engineer with a career in the field of semi-
finished products and, apparently, little desire
to rest. And the magic potion could be a patent
on integrated connectors, filed to safeguard the
photovoltaic tile made in Italy.
Tesla can wait
Solarteg was founded in 2014 by Vittorio
Canetta, who is president and partner with,
among others, Sergio Brofferio, professor at
the Polytechnic University of Milan. Brofferio
patented the solar roof tile in 2010 already.
Since last March Solarteg produces its mod-
els in series in the factory in Bernareggio. The
production capacity is 1.2 megawatts a year,
2016 revenue stopped at just 141,000 euro,
while that expected for 2017 is 900,000 euro.
In management’s forecasts revenue will reach
soon three million a year. Currently not more
than six workers do the assembly of the cells
in the thermosetting resin frames (SMC), but
Solarteg followed for now even the direct in-
stallation of the first PV plants.
The tile is called GTFV100, where »100«
means 100 watts of power, and it is composed
of two modules of 50 watts each, in turn pro-
duced by assembling 12 multicrystalline cells.
Considering the overlaps, to install a kilowatt of
power takes about eight square meters of sur-
face. The available color for now is a red that
recalls the terracotta roofing tiles, but there is
also a »diamond-like« slate in preparation. So-
larteg is preparing certifications according to
IEC 61215 and 61730, and the first tests have
been overcome
Italian company Solarteg already produces
and installs solar tiles without cables
Text: Leonardo Milla
Highlights
While the world is waiting for Tesla’s•
Solar Roof to be launched, a small
Italian start-up already begun produc-
ing and installing its solar tiles.
These can replace the roof and have•
integrated connections which ease
the installation process.
Shape and color remind of the clas-•
sic brick-red and offer a reason to
convince local commissions to allow
installations in sensible landscape
areas or on historical buildings.
A roof tiled with Solarteg’s modules: The company
is particularly aiming at historical buildings and re-
gions with landscape protection rules.

5. May 2017 59
Connections without cables
The concept of the photovoltaic tile is not
new at all – an objection that also Tesla was
confronted with when the company made a real
fuss of its Solar Roof. There are in fact other
companies that offer similar products, and even
more used to in the past but meanwhile discon-
tinued production.
Solarteg, however, matches the characteris-
tics of form (brick-like) and color (red) of the
roof. But the real technical innovation, protect-
ed by patents, are the internal connectors inter-
locking – »like Lego«, says Canetta – which al-
low the modules to connect electrically without
cables. A trick that promises to reduce the elec-
trical losses and the probability of malfunction
due to false contacts as well as problems like
attacks from animals. The Tesla solution in this
area still remains a mystery: »From the video
presentation of Musk I did not understand what
the company has developed in the field of tiles
connection« says Canetta. What is certain is
that connecting single solar tiles of a complete
roof using cables will be likely to be a very long
and tiring job. And an expensive one.
Like all real solar roof tiles presented so far,
the Solarteg tiles are integrated in the archi-
tectural structure and are capable of replacing
the roofing. Passive ventilation is provided by
ducts present under the tile floor. The tile is also
mouldable and cuttable to follow the profile of
the roof, which is particularly important for
roofs that have to respect landscape character-
istics or are under monumental protection.
Solarteg has yet to put in place a proper mar-
keting strategy. For now it is aimed primarily
at architects and design studios and also offers
installers a support in the design activities. The
turnkey plants built in Italy in 2016 are still few,
the total installed capacity was in order of the
tens of kilowatts. The cost for the end user is
indicated in about 3.000 Euro per kilowatt for
a turnkey system.
The market for historical buildings
Like all solar tile producers, Solarteg empha-
sizes that these costs should not be compared
to that of a standard PV system, since the solar
tiles in fact replace the roof. Anyway, the price
to pay for a roof of photovoltaic tiles is undoubt-
ely higher than for a standard plant. Ironically,
the very easy assemblage operations – the tiles
are fixed with four self-tapping screws – would
be the basis of an aversion to the product by the
installers. »Actually, our plant can be installed
very easily and work is carried out directly by
the building company, says Canetta, the electri-
cian should intervene only at the end to con-
nect the inverter, connect all the network and
provide the declaration of conformity.« About
the price, he underlines: »the solar roof tile
is a highly aesthetic product, those who buy
it do not look for only the cost-effective per-
formance, but also the pleasure for the eyes.«
Moreover, even Elon Musk, presenting its pho-
tovoltaic roof, has announced that this will cost
something less than the cost of the roof plus the
cost of the electricity.
Particularly in Solarteg’s home market Italy,
it is quite often the pleasure of the eyes and
the loveliness of the landscape to curb domes-
tic photovoltaic installations in some parts of
the country. The institutions of the »Belpaese«
(»beautiful country«), as the Italians tend to call
their homeland, tend to preserve the landscape
and in particular the architecture of historical
buildings, or buildings that are located in areas
of high landscape value. Although some rules
have been softened lately, installing a PV plant
on such buildings is not an easy operation as far
as red tape is concerned.
Here the Solarteg tile offers an advantage,
namely the lower impact on the landscape.
»Our tile is well regarded by local commit-
tees that decide on authorizations« explains
Canetta. Despite this, he admits, the adoption
of photovoltaic tiles is not in itself a guarantee
of approval by the local landscape committees.
On the contrary, even in the short history of
Solarteg there have been negative decisions by
local committees.
If the absence of connectors and the lower
impact on the landscapes will be enough for the
success of Solarteg in the coming years, remains
to be seen. For now Canetta plans to extend the
company’s area of interest from northern Italy
to the rest of the country, with some excursions
in southern France, and to forge contacts with
architectural firms. Waiting for the landing of
the legions of Tesla. By then, the little village of
Solarteg will have to be ready for the battle.
Further information
Contacts page 79
Technical data
Cell type multi
Rated output 100 W
Open-circuit voltage 15.4 V
Short circuit current 8.9 A
Voltage MPP 11.9 V
Current MPP 8.45 A
Module efficiency 14.60%
Dimensions 712 × 1,090 mm
Weight 15.8 kg
EDAAC22D@C+A2C6@,2D++++++++
Brevetto N. MI2012A002087 - N. PCT/IB2013/060657
closing
plug
sealing
conductive screw
conductor
conductor
lower tile
overlapping upper tile
A detail of the integrated connector: the two tiles
join like Lego-bricks, the modules are electrically con-
nected without cables. This connector is patented.
Solarteg- CEO Luca Morganti, President Vittorio Ca-
netta and Sergio brofferio, co-inventor of the solar tile
at the press conference in Milan, in late October 2016.
SolartegSrl(3)

6. May 2017 79
Much room for further
growth
p. 8
Greenbyte AB
www.greenbyte.com
Solar Power Europe
www.solarpowereurope.org
2.1 GW to start
p. 30
Amtech Systems Inc.
www.amtechsystems.com
Bosch Group
www.bosch.com
ECN – Energy research Centre of the Neth-
erlands
www.ecn.nl
IMEC
www.imec.be
International Solar Energy Research Center
Konstanz (ISC Konstanz)
www.isc-konstanz.de
Jolywood (Suzhou) Sunwatt Co. Ltd / Jolywood
(Taizhou) Solar Technology Co. Ltd.
www.jolywood.cn
RENA Technologies GmbH
www.rena.com
SolarWorld AG
www.solarworld.de
Suniva Inc.
www.suniva.com
Tempress Systems BV
www.tempress.nl
Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd.
www.yinglisolar.com
service | contacts page
Not that big, but very
interesting
p. 32
B.I.E.M. UG
www.biem.online
REC Group / REC Solar EMEA GmbH
www.recgroup.com
Schneider Electric GmbH
www.schneider-electric.de
Solar-Info-Zentrum SIZ GmbH
www.s-i-z.de
Solarnova Deutschland GmbH
www.solarnova.de
A two-hill island
p. 46
BayWa r.e. renewable energy GmbH
www.baywa-re.com
Neo Solar Power Corp. (NSP)
www.nsp.com
Next2Sun GmbH
www.next2sun.de
SI Module GmbH
www.si-module.com
Trina Solar Ltd.
www.trinasolar.com
»The world doesn’t stop
at two kilohertz«
p. 50
CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotech-
nical Standardization)
www.cenelec.eu
Easymeter GmbH
www.easymeter.com
EMH Metering GmbH Co. KG
www.emh-metering.de
Forum Netztechnik/Netzbetrieb (FNN) im
VDE Verband der Elektrotechnik Elektronik
Informationstechnik
www.vde.com/de/fnn
Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and En-
ergy System Technology (Fraunhofer-Institut für
Windenergie und Energiesystemtechnik, IWES)
www.iwes.fraunhofer.de
Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA)
www.hva.nl
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers)
www.ieee.org
Landis+Gyr AG
www.landisgyr.com
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)
www.ptb.de
University of Twente (UT)
www.utwente.nl
Caught out
p. 54
Bureau Veritas’ Consumer Products Services
www.bureauveritas.com
Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur)
www.bundesnetzagentur.de
Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and En-
ergy System Technology (Fraunhofer-Institut für
Windenergie und Energiesystemtechnik, IWES)
www.iwes.fraunhofer.de
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
www.huawei.com
SMA Solar Technology AG
www.sma.de
Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd.
www.sungrowpower.com
TUV Rhineland (TÜV Rheinland AG)
www.tuv.com
Tesla can wait
p. 58
Polytechnic University of Milan (Politecnico
di Milano)
www.polimi.it
Solarteg Srl
www.solarteg.it