Solar Frontier has announced it supplied 21.3 MW of CIS thin-film solar panels for one of Japan’s largest solar farms.
The solar facility, located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, commenced operations in July 2014 and is owned and managed by US Power Co., Ltd; a joint venture set up by Ube Group and Showa Shell Sekiyu.
The US Power Plant is expected to generate about 25,010,000 kWh annually; enough to supply 6,900 Japanese households. Electricity generated is being sold to Chugoku Electric Power Company.
Yamaguchi Prefecture covers an area of 6,110 km² and is home to 1,424,000 people. The region has become a hotbed of renewable energy project activity, with various wind farms and solar power stations springing up in recent years.
Solar Frontier CIS solar panels modules feature a light-soaking effect and a higher efficiency than other thin-film panels. Solar Frontier’s SF150–170-S module series offer one the highest conversion efficiencies of any mass-produced thin-film module – from 12.2% to 13.8%.
Unlike some thin film panels, Solar Frontier modules don’t contain cadmium telluride (CdTe); a heavy-metal based compound of some concern. Instead, Solar Frontier’s technology is based on copper, indium and selenium.
Solar Frontier CIS modules perform well in hot conditions, have an energy payback time of under one year and have demonstrated no potential induced degradation (PID).
Solar Frontier is a subsidiary of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K, is headquartered in Tokyo and operates a gigawatt-scale production facility in Miyazaki, Japan. Spurred by the oil crises of the 1970s, the company originally began developing solar technologies in collaboration with the Japanese government, academic institutions and early industry leaders.
Solar Frontier has shipped more than 2 gigawatts of CIS modules and systems for a variety of applications across multiple climates.
