Page 36 - Climate Control News Magazine March 2021

Energy Cost Reduction & Monitoring
Glass shortage could disrupt solar boom
East Asia and Europe, for Sunman’s innovative e-Arc modules.”
Shi said the modules are 70 per cent lighter than a glass panel and easier to install, and they also avoid the use of aluminium which is an energy- intensive raw material used in mak- ing all glass.
“This allows the modules to be used for a wider range of applications as they can be in- stalled across existing rooftops on factories, warehouses, garages, and other structures that are not strong enough to support heavier glass panels,” he said.
“The e-Arc modules are a cost-effective alter- native to traditional solar as they are flexible and can be bonded to rooftops or other building sur- faces such as facades.
“There is huge potential for commercial and industrial building owners to reduce their costs and lower emissions by investing in e-Arc solar.”
Shi said many building owners are unaware that the payback period for investing in solar has plummeted over the past decade with the aver- age period now down to 2.5 years.
He said the investment costs can now be more easily offset against the immediate savings in electricity costs.
Last year, the Clean Energy Finance Corpora- tion (CEFC) invested $7 million in Sunman to further develop e-ARC modules.
CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said the eArc pan- els already power the Byron Bay solar train, after being moulded to fit its curved roof.
Learmonth said they have also been installed at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, which had been unable to support glass panels because of the steep slope of its roof.
“The Museum estimates that the panels will cut its electricity bill by about $50,000 a year,” he said.
Australia is already a world leader in solar power, with more than 2.4 million rooftop solar PV systems on residential dwellings.
THE RENEWABLE ENERGY industry is facing a worldwide glass shortage, with technology company Sunman expecting PV glass output to be 20 to 30 per cent short of demand in 2021.
The fall in production follows restrictions in China, where the majority of solar glass is made. The limitations have been imposed by the gov- ernment in an effort to limit pollution due to the energy-intensive process of manufacturing glass.
The supply shortage could have a knock-on ef- fect for Australia’s booming green energy industry. Most traditional solar panels utilise glass to protect the solar photovoltaic cells from potential- ly damaging external factors and it accounts for 20 per cent of the total cost of traditional solar panels. Given that the cost of the glass that coats pho- tovoltaic panels doubled in the last half of 2020, many solar panel manufacturers are being
forced to increase their prices to compensate. The shortage comes as the solar industry turns toward bifacial panels, which use
The innovative Sunman technology.
glass on both sides, thereby increasing both power output and glass requirements.
Sunman predicts the demand for bifacial pan- els will make up half the market for solar panels in 2022.
Although solar glass manufacturers request- ed permission from the Chinese Government to increase production to accommodate the shortage, it will take time for new capacity to become available.
As a result there will be a shortage of large panels throughout 2021 as production capacity will not be able to keep up with the increasing demand for modules, according to Sunman founder, Dr Zhengrong Shi.
“Manufacturing more glass will solve the shortage issue, but it is still a very energy-inten- sive process, which creates pollution,” he said.
“The production of the glass-free e-Arc panel is less polluting as it is manufactured in a single step process to create a lightweight polymer composite material and does not require alu- minium frames.
“This price issue has led to a 40 per cent increase in enquiries, particularly in South-
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Australia is already a world leader in rooftop solar installations.
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