AUO debuts PV project in Taiwan

PV roof over play area

AU Optronics (AUO) has announced the completion of a building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) project at a Taipei school - the LCD panel maker's first project since stepping into the solar industry

The Solar Frisbee Roof, a Frisbee-shaped roof consisting of 32 210-watt photovoltaic (PV) modules, is located at the playground of the Taipei European School.

The Solar Frisbee Roof, co-financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, is part of a German Energy Agency Solar Roof Program, AUO said.

AUO said it cooperated with abakus solar AG, a Germany-based provider of PV system planning, design and installation service, and a2peak power, a Taiwan-based maker of PV modules, to carry out the project.

The project has an installation capacity of 6.8KWp (kilowatt-peak) to generate an estimated 6,205 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, equivalent to an annual reduction in carbon emission by 3.95 metric tons, AUO said.

AUO invested in M. Setek, a Japan-based producer of polycrystalline (poly-Si) material and solar-grade crystalline silicon wafers, in June 2009 and set up a PV business unit in early October.