Conergy to Create 1,000 Jobs at New Solar Factory in Frankfurt
Hamburg, Germany / November 21, 2006
source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com
http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=46617
Conergy AG, with the approval from its board of management, plans to build a technologically advanced production plant for solar modules on the site of the former chip factory in Frankfurt (Oder). The production process will begin with a cell thickness of 200 micrometers but is designed for a reduction to 160 micrometers. In the first stage, the company will invest around Euro 250 million [$320 million] in what may be the world’s first fully integrated mass production of wafers, cells and modules. In the medium term, it will create more than 1,000 jobs on the site of the former chip factory.
The project will be financed by a syndicated loan, without drawing on funds earmarked for the company’s further expansion. The first modules, with total output exceeding 50 megawatts (MW), will already start rolling off the production lines by the second half of 2007. By 2008, a production capacity of 300 MW for wafers, 275 MW for cells and 250 MW for solar modules will have been reached.
The production process will begin with a cell thickness of 200 micrometers but is designed for a reduction to 160 micrometers. The efficiency goal for monocrystalline modules is above 17%, aided by the new layout of production lines that shortens transport routes while the automation reduces the breakage rate of the sensitive cells. The machinery offers room to maneuver for further increases in productivity, through advances in efficiency and lower silicon usage.
website for coenergy:
http://www.conergy.us/DesktopDefault.aspx