“There is currently huge demand for dual glass modules for on-roof systems,” said Andrew Lee, vice president of commercial operations at Sharp Energy Solutions Europe Andrew Lee. “With the introduction of our new bifacial modules, we are reinforcing our commitment to sustainable energy solutions and offering our customers products that are pioneering in terms of both performance and aesthetics.”
Sharp noted that its new modules will be produced by a facility in Hamburg, Germany, and the addition of new manufacturing capacity to the European solar sector will be a boon to an industry that has received considerable bad news in recent months, including Meyer Burger’s “strategic realignment” and cutting of jobs following its announcement of the closure of a factory in Germany.
In August, Sharp announced that it had a 200MW PV project pipeline in Germany alone, and the latest product launch coincides with growing interest in the rooftop solar sector in Germany. Figures from the Bundesnetzagentur, Germany’s federal network agency, noted that in the first four months of this year, rooftop solar capacity additions were 81% higher than in the same period in 2023.
Indeed, the German solar association, Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft (BSW), found that over half of 450 companies profiled in late May this year said they planned to add a solar system to their operations in the next three years. Then, in July, the Bundesnetzagentur awarded just under 260MW of rooftop solar PV capacity, with the upper limit on tendered rooftop solar capacity set to more than double to 550MW in the coming months.
