SHARP INCREASE IN SALES

Specialisation in large photovoltaic systems

In 2010, NRG-ORION achieved a high rate of growth, with turnover reaching €11.5 million compared to only €3 million for the previous year.

The company specialises in large photovoltaic systems as well as trading products for smaller projects, and in the next month it will strengthen its commercial activities by creating an e-shop that will operate through its website.

NRG-ORION has constructed 63 projects with a total capacity of 4.4 MW now in production, and is currently working on another five small projects with a total capacity of 100 kW.

As explained by Theodosios Matopoulos, president and CEO of the company, the sharp increase in sales for 2010 is due to the large number of permits issued, as well as to the fact that the company has been active in the energy market for years (it was founded in 1999), specialising in photovoltaics. It should be noted that the NRG-ORION is the largest affiliate in Greece of the German company Solon (photovoltaic panels), with 95% of the market, as well as one of the main associates of SMA (inverters).

The largest project

In October 2010, NRG-ORION completed the largest work to be constructed in Greece, with sun monitoring systems and a capacity of 1.5 MWp, on behalf of the company Kronos Sun Energy, a subsidiary of the food company Kronos SA.

As a constructor of large works, NRG-ORION has secured great discounts from manufacturers of photovoltaic system components, and now plans to focus on trade with an e-shop selling these products, offering more advantageous prices to private individuals and installers who wish to make the most of schemes such as “Solar Roofs”.

NRG-ORION will again participate in the exhibition «ECOTEC - Technologies Environment & Photovoltaic Systems "which will take place in Exhibition Centre Expo Athens, Anthousa Attica from 07.04.2011 until the 10-04-2011.

Feel free to visit us at our stand, A1/BUILDING 4.

NRG-ORION participated this year with great success in the 4th exhibition of «ECOTEC, Technologies Environment & Photovoltaic Systems» which took place in Exhibition Centre Expo Athens, Anthousa Attica at 07-10 of April 2011.

NRG-ORION COMPLETED 68 PROJECTS WITH A TOTAL CAPACITY OF 4.5 MWp AND CONNECTED THEM TO THE PPC GRID

NRG-ORION achieved high rates of growth in 2010. The company successfully completed 68 projects with a total capacity of 4.5 MWp and connected them to the Public Power Corporation’s grid.
The company, which specialises in large photovoltaic systems and in trading in products for small projects, has bolstered its commercial operations by setting up an e-shop on its website. The aim is to offer better prices to individuals and fitters interested in capitalising on programmes such as ‘home roof photovoltaic panels’ programme.


Top quality projects

NRG-ORION’s projects are top quality thanks to the outstanding performance of the photovoltaic plants it builds and their reduced maintenance requirements (and reduced number of breakdowns) over their 20-year operational lifespan. The company is partnered with major, reliable producers of photovoltaic panels, current inverters and mounting systems. The photovoltaic panels NRG-ORION uses are manufactured by the German company SOLON SE. It is also important to point out that NRG-ORION cooperates with the largest manufacturer of inverters in the world, SMA. It should also be noted that the company procures its panel mounting systems from Schletter, which is the world’s largest photovoltaic panel mounting system manufacturer.


Research & Development

NRG-ORION ensures continuous training for its human resources. Nevertheless, in addition to training, the objective of the company is to apply existing photovoltaic technologies under real environmental conditions on a pilot basis. That is because in a country such as Greece, characterised by long hours of sunshine, high temperatures, drought and dust, pilot applications under real environmental conditions, combined with the existence of a meteorological station, significantly contribute to perfecting designs, as is clear from various certified simulation programmes that have been run in the past. Moreover, this approach allows the reliability of companies producing photovoltaic systems to be cross-checked. NRG-ORION has thus invested about € 150,000.00 of its own equity in the construction of a pilot photovoltaic plant near its facilities in Thessaloniki. NRG-ORION’s pilot photovoltaic plant is examining the following issues under real environmental conditions:
i) How photovoltaic panels with the same and different technology from leading manufacturers actually perform;
ii) The extent to which energy production improves with the use of solar tracking systems compared to fixed mounts.


The largest photovoltaic panel project in Greece

In October 2010 NRG-ORION completed the largest project featuring solar tracking systems yet built in Greece, with a 1.5 MWp capacity. The project was built for Kronos Sun Energy, a subsidiary of the food industry Kronos S.A. Recently, NRG-ORION has also designed and installed projects with a total capacity of 496.80 KWp at Siderokastro in Serres and on the island of Kos.
These projects will be linked up to the PPC grid by September 2011.

NRG – ORION S.A. HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A MARKET LEADER IN THE REALIZATION OF LARGE PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECTS

Thanks to the contract recently signed with “ENERBAK”, the photovoltaic energy production company for a “turn-key project” with a potential production capacity of 985.6 kWp, NRG-ORION S.A. has established itself as a market leader in the realization of large photovoltaic projects. The above project, already under construction in the Prefecture of Trikala, comes in addition to another two completed large projects; one constructed for “PHOTOENERGEIA SIDIROKASTROU”, with a power capacity of 399.96 kWp, which has been in operation for 3 years, and one constructed for “KRONOS SUN ENERGY”, with a power capacity of 1.5 MWp, which has been operating for 1 year.
The trust shown in NRG – ORION S.A. by large investors and photovoltaic plant operators has proved well justified, since the relevant projects have displayed top performance standards in their respective locations. Indicatively, the plant operated by “PHOTOENERGEIA SIDIROKASTROU” has generated 1,725,000 kWh over 3 years of uninterrupted operation, or 1437.50 kWh/kWp/year. The above performance level is 26.3% higher than the guaranteed performance level forecast by the PVSOL simulation software. The projects have required minimum maintenance and there have been no failures or problems. ON THE PARTNERSHIP WITH “ENERBAK”

“ENERBAK” was NRG – ORION S.A.’s first customer. The first project, with a power capacity of 59.85 kWp, was connected to the grid on 01/02/2008 and has been operating at top performance levels, without any problems or failures. The next two projects constructed by NRG – ORION S.A. for “ENERBAK” were two plants with a power capacity of 99 kWp, i.e. one plant with a power capacity of 19.80 kWp and one plant with a power capacity of 9.9 kWp. All photovoltaic units have been operating for a long period and are installed on land owned by “ENERBAK”, while the 9.9 kWp capacity unit is installed on the roof of an old building.

In addition to the 985.6 kWp plant, NRG – ORION S.A. has undertaken the construction of a plant on the roof of an old building, with a power capacity of 50.82 kWp, as part of the aforementioned investment plan that exceeds 1 MWp.

With the exception of the first project, with a power capacity of 59.85 kWp, all other projects have used the following equipment: panels manufactured by SOLON S.E., currency converters manufactured by SMA and support mounts manufactured by SCHLETTER.

FUTURE PROJECTS:

The company will implement projects on the islands of Kos and Lesvos, with a total power capacity of 1.05 MWp, whose construction will begin once the “ENERBAK” projects have been completed.

THE ASSIGNMENT OF A 1MWP PROJECT FROM THE COMPANY «ENERBAK»

Thanks to the contract recently signed with “ENERBAK”, the photovoltaic energy production company for a “turn-key project” with a potential production capacity of 985.6 kWp, NRG-ORION S.A. has established itself as a market leader in the realization of large photovoltaic projects.

“ENERBAK” was NRG – ORION S.A.’s first customer. The first project, with a power capacity of 59.85 kWp, was connected to the grid on 01/02/2008 and has been operating at top performance levels, without any problems or failures.
The next two projects constructed by NRG – ORION S.A. for “ENERBAK” were two plants with a power capacity of 99 kWp, i.e. one plant with a power capacity of 19.80 kWp and one plant with a power capacity of 9.9 kWp. All photovoltaic units have been operating for a long period and are installed on land owned by “ENERBAK”, while the 9.9 kWp capacity unit is installed on the roof of an old building.

In addition to the 985.6 kWp plant, NRG – ORION S.A. has undertaken the construction of a plant on the roof of an old building, with a power capacity of 50.82 kWp, as part of the aforementioned investment plan that exceeds 1 MWp.

With the exception of the first project, with a power capacity of 59.85 kWp, all other projects have used the following equipment: panels manufactured by SOLON S.E., currency converters manufactured by SMA and support mounts manufactured by SCHLETTER.

NRG-ORION will participate in the 6th international exhibition «ENERGY – PHOTOVOLTAIC 2011» which will take place in Exhibition Centre METROPOLITAN EXPO, International Airport "EL.VENIZELOS", from 29-09-2011 until the 02-10-2011.

Feel free to visit us at our stand,4A 52/BUILDING 4.

NRG-ORION participated this year with great success in the 6th international exhibition «ENERGY – PHOTOVOLTAIC 2011» which took place in Exhibition Centre METROPOLITAN EXPO, International Airport "EL.VENIZELOS" at 29-09-2011 until the 02-10-2011.

The Chairman & Managing Director of NRG-ORION A.E.T.E. Mr Theodosios Matopoulos(left) and the Director of the company SOLON SE in Greece Mr Kirkasiadis Avraam (right) at the stand of NRG-ORION A.E.T.E.

HIGH YIELD PHOTOVOLTAIC PROJECTS

The energy yields recorded over the last 12 months from the two photovoltaic projects with a 100kWP output each in Kastoria implemented by NRG-ORION S.A for the company Eleftheria Vlachou – Sofia Papapaschali General Partnership Ltd. were extremely high.

They approached the yields recorded for similar projects on Crete. The two projects were implemented as turn-key projects by NRG-ORION S.A. using solar panels from the German firm SOLON SE, SMA STP 15000TL inverters and a biaxial support system. The annual energy yield was around 210,000 kWh, which greatly exceeded the expectations of the project owners. Mr. Loukas Vlachos, representative of the company Eleftheria Vlachou – Sofia Papapaschali General Partnership Ltd. issued a statement saying that the choice of NRG-ORION S.A. as the contractor for the project had been the right one, and Mr. Michalis Papapaschalis, also representing the company, stressed that the energy yields for these specific projects were more than 15% higher than those of other projects in the same area. For its part, the management team of NRG-ORION S.A. called these two projects ‘points of reference’. The management team also stressed that the investor’s decision to choose NRG-ORION and the annual energy yields generated would not result in the company resting on its laurels, but instead gave rise to an even greater sense of responsibility, so that quality projects would be the main policy of the company. According to the head of NRG-ORION S.A., in many cases that was detrimental to sales since many investors – power generators were seeking out cheap solutions on the market.

However, speaking from experience, he pointed out that they needed to understand that they will be tied to those projects for at least 20 years and therefore they are obliged to factor in the cost and weigh it up against quality. Given the favourable regime which exists in Greece, such projects are vital given that over time energy yields will tend to be higher.

GRID CONNECTION OF A 1MWp PROJECT FOR THE COMPANY “ENERBAK”

General view of the project

On November 9th 2011 the 1 MWp project owned by the company “ENERBAK” and constructed by “NRG-ORION A.E.T.E.” was connected to the grid.
The plant is located in Georganades, Trikala.
The project is currently under trial operation until the final acceptance by the grid operator.

About the project: The installation began on August 20th 2011 and was completed on September 26th, a record time considering the amount of work required. PV modules of the German photovoltaic company SOLON SE have been used; inverters are by SMA and support systems by SCHLETTER.
The transformer is a low-losses oil transformer by ABB.