German based Solar Energy Company SolarWorld eager to tap Asian market
April 30, 2007, Singapore
Source: The China Post
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news/archives/business/2007430/108439.htm
SolarWorld, the third largest solar energy company, is eager to tap into the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific energy market, founder and chief executive Frank Asbeck said in a published report on Saturday. The German-based firm is planning to invest S$300 million (US$197 million) in two solar module and cell production plants in Singapore or South Korea within two years.
South Korea has a domestic market, but a plant there could face “a lot of interference while selling to China or Japan,” The Business Times quoted Asbeck as saying. He suggested Singapore initiate a policy that compensates solar energy users for returning their surplus power to the grid, a plan the government is considering.
The Asia-Pacific solar energy market is expanding at an annual rate of 40 to 50 percent, Asbeck said. SolarWorld forecasts the solar energy industry will reach an annual turnover of US$200 million by 2012, when parity between the price of standard electricity and solar energy is attained.