PPG to make Solarphire PV glass at Fresno plant

PPG Industrieswill expand production at its Fresno, Calif., plant to accommodate the manufacture of Solarphire PV glass, an ultra-low-iron glass used to make components for the solar power industry.

“With demand for these products growing in California and the southwestern U.S., the ability to meet the delivery and service requirements of our West Coast customers has become a critical priority," saidRichard Beuke, PPG vice president, flat glass, in a Feb. 1 release. "The new capability at the Fresno plant is planned specifically to help address their needs.”

Scott Follett, global director, PPG Solar Performance Group, said the primary benefit of making Solarphire PV glass in Fresno will be reduced delivery times. “Unless customers have special orders, PPG should be able to make next-day deliveries throughout California and the southwest,” he said, in the release.

Follett said the new capability will enable PPG to expedite shipments to customers in Asia as well. Beuke said that while no new jobs will be associated with expanded production at the Fresno plant, it will benefit existing employees. “The addition of the solar business will enable the plant to generate more tonnage, so we expect to have fewer production slowdowns that lead to layoffs,” he said.

Solarphire PV glass is an ultra-low-iron glass that features high transmittance across the entire solar spectrum and a proprietary glass chemistry that increases solar transmittance in the near-infrared band. In thicknesses of up to 3.2 millimeters, Solarphire PV glass transmits up to 91 percent of total solar energy, according to the PPG release. The glass also is available with anti-reflective and corrosion-retardant coatings to satisfy component manufacturers’ performance requirements.