REC Group (REC) is the leading European brand of solar panels and a vertically integrated solar energy company. REC manufactures silicon, wafers, cells, high-quality solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, and also provides turnkey Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) solutions. REC's renowned product quality is supported by the lowest warranty claims rate in the industry.
REC was founded in Norway in 1996 and has since come a long way; from hand-washing its first wafer to producing a cumulative total of 26 million panels in its history at end-2016. REC is headquartered in Norway, with operational headquarters in Singapore. The company employs 2,000 people worldwide, with regional offices, local representatives, and partnerships in Europe, USA and Asia-Pacific regions to help meet the world's growing energy needs.
Initially, the letters R-E-C stood for "Renewable Energy Corporation". Today, the company is known simply as "REC".
Video Renewable Energy Corporation
Company history
Maps Renewable Energy Corporation
Solar panels - past & present
Throughout its history, REC has introduced several highly acclaimed solar panels to the global market for the utilities, commercial and industrial, and residential markets.
2008
REC AE Series
- Winner: Photon Module Field Test 2011
2010
REC Peak Energy Series
- Renowned in the industry for performance and reliability
2014
REC Peak Energy 72 Series
- 72-cell variant of REC Peak Energy Series
2015
REC TwinPeak Series
- Winner: Intersolar Award (Photovoltaics) 2015
- World's first commercially available solar panel with half-cut cells
2016
REC TwinPeak 72 Series
- 72-cell variant of REC TwinPeak Series
2017
REC TwinPeak 2 Series
- World's most powerful 60-cell multicrystalline panel
REC TwinPeak 2 BLK2 Series
- Uniformly full-black multicrystalline panel
REC TwinPeak 2S 72 Series
- World's most powerful 72-cell multicrystalline panel
Operations
Total numbers at end-2016
- 26 million panels manufactured
- 6.3 GW produced
REC Group vs. REC Solar in the USA
REC Group (REC) is a leading manufacturer and brand of solar panels. REC panels are distributed and installed all over the world. REC's sales operation is divided into four regions: EMEA (headquartered in Munich, Germany), APAC (headquartered in Singapore), the Americas (headquartered in San Mateo, California, USA), and Japan (headquartered in Tokyo). In some regions, REC is referred to as "REC Solar".
In the USA, a company named REC Solar, Inc. operates as an installer of solar energy systems for commercial, industrial, and utility-scale applications. REC Group and REC Solar, Inc. are two separate companies with similar names in the same industry but have no direct relation to one another beyond REC Group being a supplier to REC Solar, Inc.
REC Solar, Inc. has used REC Group panels for many of its installations. In the USA, REC (the panel manufacturer) is known as "REC Americas".
REC Group vs. REC Silicon
The former Renewable Energy Corporation ASA had two divisions: REC Silicon and REC Solar. In October 2013, these were split into two entirely separate entities, each focusing on its own core business.
For REC Silicon, this was polysilicon and silane gas for the solar and electronics industries with manufacturing facilities in Moses Lake, Washington and Butte, Montana, USA.
REC Solar continues to manufacture wafers, solar cells, and solar panels at its fully automated integrated manufacturing facility in Singapore, plus EPC services and solutions in select markets.
Both companies continued to be headquartered in Norway (with different management, separate organization setup, operations, etc.), and both were listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange; REC Silicon kept the ticker symbol "REC" and REC Solar was spun off and newly listed with the ticker symbol "RECSOL" in 2013. REC Solar was de-listed from the Oslo Stock Exchange shortly after being acquired in 2015 by the Elkem Group in Norway.
As part of the split, REC Solar maintained the "REC Group" name, logo, and all other brand elements.
Today, REC Group and REC Silicon have no direct relation other than REC Silicon being a supplier to REC Group.
Awards & achievements
2016
- #1 most-installed brand of panels in Germany
- #1 most-installed brand of panels for California homes (at end-Q3)
- #1 most-installed brand of panels for Colorado homes
- In December, REC celebrated its 20th anniversary
- Singapore 1000, Net Profit Growth Excellence Award (Manufacturing)
2015
- #1 most-installed brand of panels for California homes (largest residential market in the USA)
- #2 most-installed brand of panels for homes nationwide in the USA
- Intersolar Award (Photovoltaics)
- IAIR Award, Best Company for Sustainability (Solar Energy Solutions, Global)
2014
- IAIR Award, Best Company for Sustainability (Solar Energy Solutions, Global)
2011
- Frost & Sullivan, Global Solar Power Customer Value Enhancement Award
2010
- Solar Industry Award, Module Manufacturing Innovation
Noteworthy installations
USA
257 MW - Tranquility (Fresno County, CA)
14.53 MW - Anahola Solar Array (Kaua'i, HI)
4.5 MW - Veteran's Hospital (Tucson, AZ)
3.2 MW - Rockville Solar II (Indianapolis, IN)
2.02 MW - MLS team Real Salt Lake's Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, UT)
EMEA
37.3 MW - Parley Solar Park (Bournemouth, UK)
28 MW - Giebelstadt Power Plant (Giebelstadt, Germany)
24 MW - Phenix Power Plant (Canino, Italy)
2.3 MW - Audi A1 Production Plant (Brussels, Belgium)
10 MW - Izvoru Photovoltaic Park (Giurgiu Country Romania)
921 kW - Heineken Wieckse Witte brewery (Den Bosch, Netherlands)
635 kW - Dubai International Airport (Dubai, UAE)
APAC
72 MW - Solarco (Suphanburi, Thailand)
5.8 MW - BMD Solar PV Power Plant (Gajner, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India)
2.2 MW - Tiger beer brewery (Singapore)
1.7 MW - Tomakomai Rinku Kashiwabara Power Plant (Tomakomai city, Hokkaido, Japan)
707 kW - National Stadium at Singapore Sports Hub (Singapore)
479 kW - IKEA Sendai (Sendai city, Miyagi prefecture, Japan)
402 kW - NextDC M1 Data Center (Port Melbourne, Australia)
Market Studies
As a thought leader in the solar industry, REC has conducted multiple in-depth market studies on various topics that promote solar as an energy source.
2016
Climate Change: Closing the COP21 Gap by Going Solar
- Results for: Global - U.S. - Germany - India - Japan - The Netherlands & Belgium
2014
Self Consumption in Singapore
- REC's in-depth study on the profitability of commercial self-consumption solar installations in Singapore
Self Consumption in Germany, Italy, and Turkey
- REC's in-depth study on the profitability of commercial self-consumption solar installations in Germany, Italy, and Turkey
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia