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Renewable Energy Fund Established in Asia

The Private Energy Market Fund 2 (PEMF2)is a Euro 50 million sustainable energy investment fund that is locating in Bangkok. It will provide assistance and investment capital for companies and projects in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors in Asia. The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and its Finnish partner, Emerging Power Partners (EPP) are providing seed financing. The goal is for PEMF to finance 10-15 projects at a total cost of Euro 200-400 million, and an estimated capacity of 150-500 MW. “Establishing innovative funding and finance mechanism is essential to mobilizing the massive amounts of capital needed to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy across the ASEAN region,” said Dr. Marianne Osterkorn, International Director of REEEP. “However, we are confident that with the right funds in place, the opportunity is there to make an impact. Many Asian countries have recognized the importance and benefits that clean energy provides, and they are introducing incentive and policy programmes for renewable energy that will support the efforts of funds like PEMF.”

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Sharp to Begin Mass Production of Thin-Film Solar PV

Sharp Corporation announced it will introduce a system to mass-produce thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules at its Katsuragi Plant in Nara Prefecture this September. The 2 billion yen production system will have an annual capacity of 15 megawatts (MW). Thin-film solar technology requires a very tiny amount of silicon compared to crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules, and additionally, can be used in applications that offer attractive design features such as “illuminating solar panels (Lumiwall)” where they are combined with LEDs, and see-through type solar panels that permit natural light to pass through. Sharp’s crystalline thin-film tandem cells are based on a proprietary architecture that integrates amorphous silicon technology with crystalline thin-film silicon technology to boost conversion efficiency by 50% compared to existing solar cells. The company says compared with existing Sharp products, conversion efficiency will be increased from 7 – 11%.

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