According to the latest PV News study, Sharp is the global leader in the production of solar cells for the fifth consecutive year, with its production amounting to 324 mega­watts in 2004. World-wide PV production exceeded the gigawatt limit for the first time in 2004.

Sharp Corporation has a long history of involvement in the solar power industry, beginning research and development into solar energy in 1959 and commencing the mass-production of solar cells in 1963.

Sharp sees massive potential in the UK for domestic, commercial and public sector applications for solar power, which was one of the main reasons why it chose North Wales as the site for its European manufacturing base. Officially opened in July 2004, the Wrexham facility assembles monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar modules for residential and commercial installations.

Commercial projects completed via Sharp’s authorised distributor, solarcentury, have included supplying PV panels as part of a complete solar power generation system on a new Tesco petrol station in Nottinghamshire and a large social housing project owned by the Peabody Trust in King’s Cross, London.

Sharp is currently working with insurance giant Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) to clad Manchester’s tallest building – the CIS Tower – with solar panels. CIS has commissioned the installation of approximately 5,000 Sharp PV panels on three sides of its Manchester HQ, making it Europe’s largest vertical solar cladding project.

From the early stages of the £5.5m project, Sharp has worked closely with CIS and solarcentury, to develop a bespoke solar module appropriate for such a large-scale installation.

The blue 80W polycrystalline PV panels have been designed to give a clean and aesthetic look to the Tower. In the process, the 391kW PV array will generate 180,000kWh of electricity per year. Work is to start shortly and is due to be complete by the end of 2005.