Specialty Firms Eye Renewables Markets

Forecasts of strong growth for renewable energy have attracted product developers at Asahi Glass and Saint-Gobain. In Japan, Asahi Glass plans to build a 4.2-MW solar-power system at its manufacturing site in Ako, Hyogo prefecture. Because the area under the power plant is a former salt farm, the firm will use its Plalloy fiber-reinforced plastic, which Asahi says resists rust and corrosion, for the structural frame supporting the solar modules. Meanwhile, France’s Saint-Gobain has launched an initiative to target the solar- and wind-energy industries with next-generation bearings. It already sells a fluoropolymer composite bearing to increase efficiencies in facilities that concentrate solar energy.