Intersolar 2012: Sharp focusing on complete solutions

This year marks the ninth time that Sharp is taking part in Intersolar. From the 13th to 15th of June in Hall A3, Stand 280, the company will be presenting new solar modules and complete solutions. Another major marketing feature will be the customer-friendly purchase procedures offered by the newly revamped Web Shop, where solar installers can order individual complete solutions for their own customers from a wide range of available PV kits.

“Our customers are increasingly demanding the ability to buy everything from a single source. Individual PV kits containing every component, from module to inverter and even including the full substructure, are in high demand, in particular in young markets," observes Peter Thiele, Executive Vice President Sales/Marketing at Sharp Energy Solution Europe.

At Intersolar, the kits are exhibited in model installation in the “Roof Garden” at the Sharp stand. The standard solutions with a capacity ranging from 1.5 to 4 kWp are designed for the small-scale photovoltaic segment. The target group for these PV kits consists of solar installers selling complete solutions directly to the end user.   These kits are available with polycrystalline modules.

The show also provides an opportunity to present storage solutions that Sharp plans to make available in autumn 2012. With a storage capacity of 3.5 or 5 kWh, these solutions can store generated electrical energy for delivery at a later time. As a result, consumers can still enjoy the extra benefit of the present-day feed-in tariffs whilst also in the long-term becoming more independent of the major power corporations.

This year, for the first time, in the “Module Lounge” at the Sharp stand, a polycrystalline 60-cell module with black frame and black back foil will be on show. With their plain and simple aesthetic design, these black/black modules appeal particularly to home owners who place extra-high priority on the perfect visual integration of their solar system. These modules should be available in the shops from August, in power rating classes up to 245kWp. For these – and other – modules, Sharp has extended its voluntary product guarantee from five to ten years. For all crystalline modules, the guarantee concerning power output has also been converted from a discrete level by level basis to a linear guarantee.

Sharp is also taking the opportunity of Intersolar to unveil its innovative LED lighting concepts for the first time. The company has decades of experience in the manufacture of high-power LEDs and is now applying this experience systematically to lighting units. The results for customers are new possibilities in existing business sectors, whilst also boosting Sharp’s efforts to put environmentally advanced products on the market.

Back in November 2011, Sharp announced a reorganisation of its corporate structures with Paul Molyneux as its European boss. In mid-April, Sharp also made public its plans to set up a new European headquarters in London. The future home of the solar industry Competence Centre will be in Wrexham. Sharp has already been producing solar modules in Wrexham since 2004, and in the last year the company has been able to double its production capacity at the plant to 500 MW.

In the 2011 financial year, Sharp produced solar cells with a total capacity of 1073 megawatts. Despite the slight drop in production, the share of solar in Sharp’s overall turnover rose from 8.8% in 2010 to 9.1% in 2011. “The European market is extremely important to us. The UK alone has a share of 30%, whilst Germany even accounts for just under 40% of total European turnover. We also see massive potential in Spain for small-scale photovoltaic solutions. Consequently, we will also be focusing on these markets in future, orienting our solutions specifically towards the residential sector.