Free visits to nearby PV panel manufacturer and solar farms to showcase solar in the Orlando area Solar Power International 2012 WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Attendees at next month’s Solar Power International 2012 (SPI ‘12) can take a close-up view of Orlando, Fla. area state-of-the-art solar energy installations and manufacturing facilities including the rooftop PV installation at the Orange County Convention Center, a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturing plant and two solar farms. These tours, along with 900 exhibitors, demonstrate the diverse solar supply-chain. This year, nearly 200 companies are exhibiting for the first time at SPI’ 12 taking place September 10th through 13th. The show is presented by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA). On Monday, September 10, attendees can tour the Advanced Solar Photonics (ASP) photovoltaic manufacturing equipment facility in Lake Mary, Fla., where they will see the production line for the 400-watt series of mono-crystalline PV modules. Earlier this year, ASP’s 100-megawatt production capacity manufacturing plant became the first net-zero solar powered photovoltaic (PV) equipment manufacturing operation in North America. This tour also includes a visit to the 1.4-megawatt Rinehart Solar Farm, the largest privately owned PV rooftop solar plant in the southeastern U.S. Tours of the Stanton Solar Project at the Curtis H. Stanton Energy Center in east Orange County are scheduled for Monday, September 10, and Tuesday, September 11. The 6 megawatt solar farm went online in December 2011 and is owned and operated by Duke Energy Renewables and was co-developed by Regenesis. It features more than 25,000 solar panels and generates enough renewable energy to power more than 600 homes. It is the first photovoltaic facility at the Orlando Utility Commission’s 3,280-acre energy center, which is home to natural gas, landfill gas and coal. The third tour, offered Monday through Thursday, brings attendees to the Orange County Convention Center’s 1-Megawatt rooftop PV system, which features nearly 6,000 solar panels and is the largest rooftop system in the southeastern U.S. The system produces approximately 1,400 megawatt hours of electricity per year, equivalent to the power used by 100 homes. Solar World and The Orlando Utility Commission are sponsoring this tour. To register for SPI ‘12: http://www.solarpowerinternational.com/
