Dow Corning touts solar installation on German manufacturing site

By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor -- Electronic News, 8/20/2007

Midland, Mich.-based silicon-based technology provider Dow Corning is detailing its solar panel installation on one of its largest manufacturing sites in Europe, which includes more than 1,000 square meters of solar panels.

The panels, supplied by Photowatt International SAS, have been installed on the roof and facades of Dow Corning GmbH in Wiesbaden, Germany on office and production buildings and are expected to generate the amount of energy needed to satisfy the annual electricity needs of 35 households, the company explained.

The company said it partnered with ESWE, a local utility company that manages an innovation and climate protection fund to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, which allowed the company to decrease the total cost of its energy needs in the short- and longer term, and to contribute to more sustainable energy production for the region.

The energy generated by the solar panels at Dow Corning is fed back into the local electricity grid, and in return, the company benefits from subsidies to buy electricity for its own energy needs. Dow Corning Wiesbaden said it has committed to reinvest 30 percent of these subsidies every year in sustainable energy projects aiming at reducing the site's total energy consumption.

The solar panels contain Dow Corning materials developed for use in photovoltaic cells and modules, including the company's PV 1101 SoG silicon.

Klaus Hoffmann, Dow Corning European area president reminded that reducing energy use saves both natural resources and reduces emissions, creating economic value for Dow Corning and benefits the environment and the community.

He also said that several Dow Corning sites across Europe and the rest of the world are already participating in similar projects to increase energy efficiencies and reduce its environmental impact, and the company is keen to take advantage of more opportunities like this one in Germany to actively engage in its global commitment to sustainability.

Also in the solar realm, Dow announced in May it would make a $1 billion investment in manufacturing capabilities for this critical material to offer broad availability of solar energy, through its majority stake in Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., which the company says manufactures 30 percent of the world’s total supply of polycrystalline silicon.