Soitec has bought a manufacturing facility in California to produce its concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules for the US renewable-energy market.
This represents an investment of more than $150m and will create 450 on-site jobs.
Soitec will begin extensive upgrade of the facilities in early 2012 and plans to have its first phase (100 MW) production line operational by the fourth quarter of 2012.
“Having already announced our solar projects contracted with San Diego Gas & Electric, it makes perfect sense for us to launch our US manufacturing operations here,” said André Jacques Auberton-Hervé, chairman and CEO of Soitec.
The site, acquired from Sony Electronics, will enable a manufacturing capacity of 200 megawatts (MW) of Soitec’s fifth generation Concentrix CPV modules and with future expansion to double the capacity to 400 MW per year.
“We want to help California meet its Renewable Portfolio Standard, which calls for a third of the state’s utility-scale energy production to be generated by renewable sources by 2020,” said Auberton-Hervé.
The company has plans for more than 300 MW in solar power plant projects throughout the Southwest US including 155 MW in power purchase agreements with San Diego Gas & Electric, approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) last month.
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