Solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer Tenesol has increased the production capacity at its Cape Town facility, following a €1,5-million investment.

The plant can now produce 85-MW peak of solar modules a year.

The Cape Town facility bolstered production with the addition of two new Tabber Stringer machines, which arrived at the start of June, and were now fully operational after a week of installation and commissioning.

Tenesol Cape Town Facility manager Fabien Gouzil tells Engineering News Online that the company will invest a further €1,5-million in the facility in 2011, to increase production capacity to 100-MW peak a year as well as placing a strong focus on quality control.

Tenesol has also increased production capacity at its manufacturing facility in Toulouse, France, to 85-MW peak a year, thus giving the group a total capacity of 170-MW peak a year, or some 800 000 modules a year.

This represented a 60% increase in manufacturing capacity for Tenesol.

The Toulouse facility increased production through the installation of a fourth production line. This line would also be equipped with a Tabber Stringer machine, which can serialise PV cells, and a laminator used to create laminate composites, which combine glass, serialised cells encapsulated within an ethylene vinyl acetate layer and a rear-insulating sheet. The increase in production capacity meant that the Toulouse site would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and create 20 additional jobs.

The Toulouse facility was opened in 1999 and serves the European market, while the Cape Town facility was opened in 2005 and serves markets elsewhere in the world.

Tenesol has been engineering, designing, manufacturing, installing and managing solar energy systems including production and consumption of supplied systems - including off-grid sites, general grid supply through direct connection, and solar water heating, for over 26 years.

As a designer of PV solutions, Tenesol manufactures the modules that constitute the core of its generators at these two production facilities. The company is the subsidiary of French energy giants Total and EDF.

TEAMING UP WITH TELECOMS

On Thursday, it was also announced that Tenesol, and telecommunications provider Orange, won the ‘Best Wireless Network Infrastructure Innovation' award at the Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards 2010.

The award recognised Tenesol's partnership in Oryx, the Orange solar base-station programme that provides telecoms equipment to rural locations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. This programme involves standardised mobile base stations whose design matches solar radiation levels and local population needs, using solar panels to provide power rather than generators which would usually be used.

This solution set out to reduce operating costs, improve the quality of Orange services and develop sustainable telecoms products that reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Tenesol was asked to design and manufacture a cost-effective solar powered base station specifically for rural areas.

The PV panels used in the programme are made at Tenesol's production plant in Cape Town - the ideal location to supply the Orange programme while ensuring that carbon emissions from transport are kept to a minimum.

Orange approached Tenesol because of the company's experience in Africa, as Tenesol started out in Africa, providing off-grid solar systems in rural locations. This asset was perfect preparation for the Orange solar deployment and the challenges of rural installation where accessibility, terrain and climate were major issues to overcome.

The Orange solar programme began in Senegal in 2007 with a trial of 35 base stations. Once deemed a success, the programme was rolled out in other Orange countries and in 2008 it became Orange's global blueprint for the creation of off-grid telecoms sites in Africa and the Middle East.

Since its launch, the programme covers more than 900 solar-powered base stations manufactured, supplied and installed by Tenesol in 13 countries.

"The entire team dedicated to the Orange solar programme is very proud of the work we have achieved with Orange and we are delighted to receive this award. The reliability and efficiency of PV systems mean they are an effective solution to the renewable energy needs of the telecoms industry," said Tenesol export sales director Jacques Mathan.