Estonia has become home to a building integrated PV (BIPV) manufacturing facility which its operator Solarstone calls the 'largest' of its kind in Europe by production capacity.
The 60 MW factory in Viljandi can assemble 13,000 integrated solar panels/year. Solarstone secured funding from Sunly and Biofuel OÜ, an Estonian family office to bring the project online.
The factory is equipped with advanced precision machining that the management says allows for meticulous crafting and adaptation for diverse design requirements. It also has a customized A+ rated PV-testing station on site.
Solarstone says that it will seamlessly integrate solar PV panels into building materials for re-roofing and new-build segments at the fab. The management expects strong growth in the near future when the European Union (EU) will make it mandatory for all new construction to have solar panels on their roofs before the end of this decade.
BIPV was one among the innovative PV applications discussed at the recent TaiyangNews Virtual Conference on Advanced Solar Module Innovations. Click here for conference summary.