The flat glass business of PPG Industries has declared the expansion of its production capacity at the Fresno plant in California in order to produce SOLARPHIRE PV glass. This is an ultra-low iron glass that is utilized in manufacturing parts for the solar industry.
According to Richard A. Beuke, Vice President of PPG, the company will become the first and only low-iron glass manufacturer on West Coast, due to this expansion. The glass production significantly improves the potential of the company in order to support the growing solar market in the region.
Beuke added that the company’s potential to meet the service and delivery needs of the West Coast clients has gained significance, as there is a growing product demand in Southwestern U.S. and California. The new facility at the Fresno has been specially planned for achieving these demands.
PPG Solar Performance Group’s Global Director, Scott Follett stated that the reduction in delivery time is the key benefit of producing Solarphire PV glass at Fresno. PPG can make next-day deliveries all over the southwest and California, except if there are special orders from clients. Generally three to four days are required for delivering the Solarphire PV glass from the east coast. The company will have larger flexibility to meet the production and inventory demands of the customers.
Follett added that PPG will be enabled to accelerate the shipments to the Asian Clients, due to the new facility Fresno.
The features of Solarphire PV glass include a proprietary glass chemistry leading to increased solar transmittance in the near-infrared band and high transmittance across the complete solar spectrum. This glass transmits solar energy up to 91% and is available with corrosion-retardant and anti-reflective coatings to meet the performance demands of the component producers.