Spanish solar firm Isofoton eyes China tie-ups
May 31, 2012 Category Alternative energy, Environment
Spanish solar panel maker Isofoton, which expects European panel sales to fall due to cuts in government subsidies, aims to raise production capacity five-fold to 1.5 GW in two years, by forming joint ventures in China, the Middle East and Latin America. Europe would account for just half of its sales this year, compared to all of its sales two years ago and Spain accounts for just 2% of sales, according to Chief Executive Angel Serrano. It plans to establish 300 MW of panel production capacity in each of the new regions to add to its existing 200 MW of capacity in Malaga, southern Spain, and 100 MW of wholly-owned capacity which is slated to come on stream in September in Ohio in the United States. Serrano said Isofoton signed a preliminary agreement with state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp’s battery unit Tianjin Lishen in February. It was now discussing a joint venture with its Chinese partner to build a plant with an annual capacity of 150 MW of panels and related energy systems, including power storage batteries. This month, Isofoton and GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, China’s largest producer of polysilicon, announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop and build 1,000 MW of solar farms in the global market. They plan to form a joint venture to make solar power system trackers that orient solar panels toward the sun to maximize a system’s conversion of sunlight into electricity. Isofoton will supply the expertise in trackers and high concentration photovoltaic panels while GCL will be responsible for arranging project finance and engineering, procurement and construction services. Isofoton also agreed to buy all of the solar wafers needed to make the panels for the solar farms. The agreement, if realized, will allow GCL to boost sales and plant utilization.
- KURT VANDEPUTTE (UMICORE) APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE FLANDERS-CHINA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (FCCC)
- Webinar: “Knowing Your Chinese Partner” – May 26, 2021, 10 am – 12 am
- EMA starts rolling review of CoronaVac, WHO approves Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use
- The Global Times warns not to politicize the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)
- Hainan to become biggest duty-free market in the world