Siemens - Solutions for Solar

7/27/2019 Siemens - Solutions for Solar

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Answers for industry.

Solutions for Solar


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S o l u t i o n s f o r S o l a r


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An approach to solar power, a new industry branchp

Automation in Solarfor Photovoltaic andThermal Systems

The development of the technology from whichthe solar industry benets today reaches backto the 1950s. The rst notable achievementby Siemens in this area was to produce ultrapure

monocrystalline silicon using zonal heating. That in-

novation was followed by the invention of the

Siemens reactor, a thermal decomposition furnace,

which enables the production of polycrystalline sili-

con. Both technologies are still widely used in the

semiconductor and solar photovoltaic (PV) indus-

tries. In the early 1980s Siemens was part of the rst

terrestrial application of solar power, participating

in a European Union project to install a solar power

plant using monocrystalline solar cells (total 100

kilowatt peak) on the Greek island of Kythnos.

Siemens developed thin-lm technology based on

hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). In the 1980s

ARCO Solar Inc. started to develop thin-lm technol-

ogy based on copper indium diselenide (CIS). In 1984

Solar power today is a solid component of the renewable

energy industry road map. Because of the industrys large

scale, it has become a focus of Siemens industry-branch-

specic approach. Siemens has a long history in the eld

and is capable of supporting the solar photovoltaic (PV) and

concentrated solar power (CSP) with a broad portfolio and

industry-specic solutions and expertise.

FLENDER, which is part of Siemens AG today, delivered

already-advanced gearboxes for precise tracking to the

rst eld application in the United States. Siemens

took over ARCO Solar Inc. in 1990, and in 1998 the

rst CIS solar modules were offered on the market.

By 1996, based on crystalline silicon wafer technol-

ogy, Siemens Solar Industries had already accounted

for one-fth of the total installed photovoltaic capac-

ity worldwide, equal to 100 megawatts (MW). An-

other milestone for Siemens was the solar power

plant installation of 1.016 MW at the trade fair center

in Munich in 1997. In 2001 Shell Solar took over all of

Siemens Solars activities.

The industry approach today

Taking into consideration that capital expenditure in

the solar industry will reach 10 billion euros in 2008

and ensure a 30 percent growth, solar power pro-


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term experience in the glass industry and offers en-

hanced technical solutions for integrated automa-

tion of all production levels from raw material to

the nished product and from eld automation to

production and process management. With an inte-

grated approach, Siemens is creating complete solu-

tions for process and eld automation, for power

supply, and for all kinds of IT levels.

Polycrystalline silicon triggering growth

About 80 percent of polycrystalline silicon (polysili-

con), with the necessary pureness for high-efciency

solar cells, is produced with chemical vapor

deposition (CVD) reactors, also known as Siemens

reactors.

Siemens is the partner that understands the partic-

ular requirements of polysilicon production and, of

course, the Siemens reactors. The Siemens portfolio

includes all the electrical and automation equipment

for deposition reactors from medium-voltage

switchgear over type-tested and certied bus bar sys-

duction forms its own attractive industry segment

among other industries in the Siemens focus.

Siemens serves related industries such as glass,

chemistry, semiconductor, and power with a branch-

specic portfolio tailored to applications in those in-

dustries. Siemens approach to solar follows the

same concept. From raw material production to feed-

ing the grid, Siemens is the preferred choice for

products, systems, and solutions for solar power

production and infrastructure.

Serving the solar photovoltaic branch:Glass becoming a key component

Special, low-iron glass sheets are used to laminate

solar cells, to serve as the substrate for the thin-lm

application, and to form the mounting for the n-

ished solar modules. The glass industry is going to

build dedicated production lines for such applica-

tions, supporting the special requirements of cast

glass for conventional cell modules, as well as oat

glass in thin-lm technologies. Siemens holds long-



From raw material production to

feeding the grid, Siemens serves

the solar photovoltaic and

concentrated solar power with

products, systems, and solutions

for solar power production and

infrastructure

tems to the process control system with branch-

specic functions, all tailored to the individual re-

quirements of the CVD process. In addition, Siemens

offers resin-encapsulated dry-type transformers and

integrates third-party power control into a total

solution to make the facility capable of a reliable

output at the highest quality. A live demo shows the

exibility of Siemens control solution for the entire

deposition process.

Wafering mass production ofwafers while reducing waste

The wafer is the starting point for creating cells with

photovoltaic function. It is produced out of ultra-

pure, solar-grade, multi- or polycrystalline silicon.

The steps in the processes are time-consuming and

produce a lot of waste silicon. With its products,

Siemens would like to help silicon providers reduce

the process time and the silicon waste fraction.

Siemens is developing dedicated concepts to power

and control the crystal growing and sawing process

Simatic PCS 7 operator screen for the CVD process

by new-generation drives and by drive control and

automation systems. This supports the technology

road map directed toward thinner wafers below

100 m and toward thinner cutting width.


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of the major advantages of the Siemens line concept.

Support of a exible production concept to t vari-

ous panel sizes and types; track and trace; data ac-

quisition; and a high degree of automation in the

production lines for cell, panel, and thin lm are the

typical functionalities of the Siemens solution. The

solar industry benets from Siemens expertise in

linking production steps to a line via line control and

through data acquisition from other industries, such

as automotive.

Applied systems PV

feeding sunlight to the grid

Today most of the generated DC power is converted

to AC power and then fed into the public grid. Since

the advent of Siemens PV business, uninterruptible

power supply technology and, later, drive technology

were used to build the highly efcient SINVERT PV

inverters. Measures were taken to adopt these invert-

ers to the various grid conditions to ensure maxi-

mum power is delivered to the grid under all speci-

ed conditions. The largest rooftop installations with

5 megawatts peak (MWp) and large ground-based in-

stallations in Spain (20 MWp xed mounted) and Por-

Providers of core equipment for the process are go-

ing to extend their competencies to turn key wafer

lines. Line integration and automation, as well as IT

applications such as manufacturing execution sys-

tems (MES) from Siemens, allow leading productivity

and global support.

Cells, panels, and thin lm the technology drivers

The solar panel combines a number of solar cells to

achieve a relevant voltage level for feeding the cur-

rent into the grid. Thin lm, as an alternative tech-

nology to crystalline silicon cells and panels, uses

chalcopyrite materials, such as CIS, deposited di-

rectly on metallized glass panels. This avoids the ex-

tensive consumption of semiconductor materials.

Controlling the tight process windows, tracking

the quality data, and process steering are the success

factors for this technology. More and more today,

Siemens is applying its existing automation solutions

in semiconductor equipment and infrastructure to

solar. The integrated safety function, which is also

part of the Siemens motion-control systems, supports

handling and operation in the production lines one


Flender drives are applied in tracking systems for solar photovoltaic plants



tugal (10 MWp partly with tracking systems) are pro-

vided with SINVERT PV inverters. The solution

comprises tracking control.

Siemens can provide all the equipment from

boxes, inverters, medium-voltage switchgears, and

transformers to complete container solutions and

is therefore able to provide turnkey installations to

clients. Installation, commissioning, and service go

without saying. Service contracts ensure reliable op-

eration of plants over their whole life span and pro-

tect investments.

Serving concentrated solar power

The second energy source within solar energy is the

heat. Collectors focus the sunlight into a centered re-

ceiver tube to heat up a medium, which nally drives

a steam turbine. The critical requirements are preci-

sion for focusing the light according to the sun track,

outdoor application and wide distances in the eld,

and guaranteed wide-range operation of the tur-

bines. A distributed decentralized control and auto-

mation system, including drives for tracking com-

bined with lightning protection, is part of the

Siemens offer. Interfacing the eld control with the

control of the power station is the strength of the

Siemens concept; it bridges both parts with one har-

monized control architecture. The concept integrates

eld operation and maintenance and process control

and power station control in one total solution.

Infrastructure a reliableproduction environment

All the process steps of solar PV and the production

of receiver tubes for solar thermal systems need ex-

tensive facility infrastructure, including buildings,

energy supply, and supply of gases, water, and media

to low-class clean rooms. Siemens offers a complete

solution portfolio for power supply equipment and

control for co-generation plants and high-, medium-,

and low-voltage packages, including energy distribu-

tion to tools.

Siemens offers scalable Fab-wide integrated con-

trol solutions, including instrumentation, engineer-

ing, and installation. The Siemens portfolio is tuned

to customers needs in production scale and width

and has the exibility to migrate according to the

customers road map of growth.

Building automation, dedicated water solutions, and

IT services from MES to enterprise resource planning

complete this portfolio, adding up to total integrated

automation for small, medium, and mega Fabs.

Siemens Water Technologies delivers ultrapure wa-

ter systems for the manufacturing process, as well as

wastewater ion exchange and capital solutions to

comply with efuent guidelines governing heavy

metals in the waste stream. The Siemens solutions

cope excellently with inconsistent efuent concen-

trations, rapidly expanding manufacturing scale,

and fast-changing technology requirements all typ-

ical challenges coming from the emerging solar in-

dustry.

Initiating success stories

Siemens long history in the semiconductor eld, its

pioneering development in the solar eld, and its

understanding of the solar industry make it the right

partner with which solar power producers can grow

and face future needs. Siemens invites the solar

industry to make use of this industry-specic ap-

proach to automation products, systems, and solu-

tions, and to create the success story of electrical

power production using the sun together.

Silicon Saxony is one example of such a success

story. The Siemens Sales Region East Germany was a

partner in developing the semiconductor mega Fabs

like those from Inneon and AMD in Dresden.

Experiences from this pioneering time are ready to

be used now by major players in the solar industry,

creating the second success story the Solar Valley

in Germany. p

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Photovoltaic odles

Sieens aster/slave

inverter nit

SINVERTsolar 4x60

transission grid

SINVERT inverter systems enable feeding solar power

to the transmission grid


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The inforation provided in this brochre contains erel

general descriptions or characteristics of perforance which

in case of actal se do not alwas appl as described or which

a change as a reslt of frther developent of the prodcts.

An obligation to provide the respective characteristics shall onl

exist if expressl agreed in the ters of contract.

All prodct designations a be tradearks or prodct naes

of Sieens AG or spplier copanies whose se b third parties

for their own prposes cold violate the rights of the owners.Al hardware and software naes sed are brand naes and/or

tradearks of their respective holders.

www.siemens.com/automation

Sbject to change withot prior notice 08/08

2800/15799

Dispo 06303

Printed in Geran

Sieens AG 2008

Sieens AG

Indstr Sector

P.O. Box 4848

90327 NuREmBERG

GERmANy

Further Information and Contact

www.siemens.com/solarpv

[email protected]

www.siemens.com/poly-silicon

[email protected]

www.siemens.com/sinvert

[email protected]

www.siemens.com/[email protected]

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Siemens - Solutions for Solar