PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

Illuminating education

German schools in foreign countries are to become »lighthouses« for local solar industries. The concept is for PV and solar thermal installations to demonstrate technology applications and product performance.

	© Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (Dena)
German solar technology in El Salvador: The students of the German school in Antiguo Cuscatlán are excited about their new PV system.

Even in times when the worldwide PV industry has transcended the gigawatt threshold for yearly solar cell production, a simple 20 kW system can kick a government into action. That's what happened this April in El Salvador, when President Elías Antonio Saca dedicated one of the largest grid-connected PV installations in Central America.

The system will generate 30,000 kWh a year on the rooftop of the German school in the capital of San Salvador. »We embrace this reference project. It brings with it numerous opportunities for informational events, training, and marketing that will initiate the use of PV in our country,« announced Saca optimistically. Above all, the Salvadorian head of state said he hopes PV systems will advance the cause of rural electrification in his country.

Berthold Breid would like to see as much German solar technology as possible in such a future market. As a door opener, the project manager of the German Energy Agency (Dena) is looking to a program started last year called Solar Roofs on German Schools and Facilities Abroad, which was responsible for the solar generator on the school in San Salvador. Breid hopes the program will create an impulse for mid-term growth in foreign markets. Currently, German solar companies – thanks to the country's Renewable Energy Law – have an overflowing abundance of contracts. But he warns against losing view of the export market: »The German solar branch should now use these opportunities to prime the export business and markets ahead of the international competition and position itself wisely in case of declining domestic demand.« Or put differently: Solar companies should learn from the mistakes of the German wind industry.

The initiators of the Dena solar roof program see it as the first jump into several markets selected by the solar industry such as Thailand, China, Turkey and Malaysia. The choice of German schools as a starting point is strategic: »These schools not only have good reputations in each of these countries – through the children, the parents and the teachers, we gain important multipliers.«

The participating German companies have to do more than delivering just a couple of modules. Whichever company wants a piece of the »export support for renewable energies« subsidy pie – offered by the German Ministry of Economics – amounting to 47 percent of project costs – has to commit 53 percent out of its own pocket.

The company with the most convincing concept for market development in combination with a price-competitive bid for system installation is awarded the contract. »Funding from the economics ministry could be conducted in no other way,« says Breid.

The combination of system demonstration plus informational and marketing value is what makes the program for Breid: »This way the companies show that they have a long-term interest in each of these countries and begin immediately with market development.« Dena facilitates the marketing effort by offering an array of services: from simple folding brochures to learning materials for the classroom and training for client consulting and potential installation partners. Savvy dedication ceremonies for these solar rooftops are naturally a lift, even if the appearance of a head of state is not generally included.

Dena was able to celebrate the premiere of its roof program last year in Greece. Within view of the Olympic Stadium in Athens, a 33 kW system began operation at the local German school. Along with public support, the project's costs were shared by Solar-Fabrik AG and RWE Schott Solar GmbH.

Following the project started recently in El Salvador with participation from Phönix Sonnenstrom AG, the next installations to be dedicated are IBC Solar AG's system in Lisbon and Sunset Energietechnik GmbH's solar system in the Namibian capital of Windhoek in June – PV installations arranged by Breid and colleagues in the first year of the project.

Dena is planning 10 more »lighthouses« for the second phase of the project until the end of 2006. These will include solar collectors for cooling at two or three sites. The interest from the German solar industry is strong, says Breid: »The discussions I had at the German PV Symposium in Staffelstein left me with a sense of inspiration.«