8 December 2010

Huainan City lures Emcore–San’an China JV Suncore

Emcore Corp of Albuquerque, NM, USA, which makes components and subsystems for the broadband, fiber-optic, and solar power markets, has entered into an investment and cooperation agreement with San’an Optoelectronics Co Ltd of Xiamen, Fujian province, China and Huainan municipal government that calls for Emcore and San’an to register and operate their China-based joint venture Suncore Photovoltaics Co Ltd in Huainan City, a prefecture-level city with 2.4 million inhabitants in the hinterland of east China and the center of Anhui province.

Huainan is the center of Southeast China’s chief coal-mining region, with an annual output greater than 80 million tons, as well as operating several large-size coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of 10GW.

San’an currently designs, manufactures and supports products including full-wavelength-range high-brightness LED chips and wafers, solar cells, and PIN photodiodes. Operating over 250,000m2 of facilities in Xiamen, Fujian province, Wuhu, Anhui province, and Tanjin, its annual LED production capacity has reached 650,000 wafers (20bn LED chips), making it China’s largest LED epiwafer and chip maker. Its total number of installed MOCVD reactors for LED production will exceed 150 once its operation in Wuhu is in full production, while its 1MW CPV power plant in Qinghai province is China’s largest installation.

The agreement to form the joint venture (owned 40% by Emcore and 60% by San’an) was announced on 30 July, with the purpose of developing, manufacturing and distributing high-concentration photovoltaic (CPV) receivers, modules and systems for terrestrial solar power applications. Emcore and San’an previously planned to establish Suncore’s primary manufacturing operations in Wuhu City, Anhui province. Suncore’s new location is expected to expedite the schedule for the construction and start of operations as well as providing other economic incentives for the joint venture.

The agreement provides for Suncore’s engineering, manufacturing, and distribution operations for CPV components and systems to be established in the Economic and Technology Development Zone of Huainan City, which is pursuing renewable energy industry opportunities to balance their industry mix. Suncore is expected to establish a total of 1000MW of manufacturing capacity at the site over the next five years, including 200MW to be ready by the end of 2011, 300MW by the end of 2013, and the remaining 500MW by the end of 2015. Total capital expenditure and working capital investment is estimated to be RMB8bn ($1.2bn).

In addition, to support start-up and on-going operations, Huainan will provide a land grant of 1600mu (263 acres), extended tax holidays, and other financial incentives. Also, within three days of the start of plant construction, Huainan will provide a cash grant of RMB500m ($75m), restricted to use solely for capital equipment purchases to support the establishment of Suncore operations. For the first 1000MW, Huainan will also provide a RMB1.4 ($0.21) cash rebate to Suncore for every watt of CPV systems manufactured in Huainan and sold in China.

“China is viewed as one of the most promising markets for CPV solar power. This agreement demonstrates Huainan’s strategy and commitment to the growth of its renewable energy industry,” comments Emcore's president & CEO Dr Hong Q. Hou. “These financial incentives will accelerate the commercialization of Emcore’s CPV technology and production ramp,” he adds. “This investment by Huainan and the establishment of Suncore’s low-cost manufacturing operation will enable our CPV technology to become a cost-effective solution for commercial and power utility applications,” Hou believes.

Emcore and San’an are currently pursuing Suncore’s business registration in Huainan, and plan to commence plant construction in early 2011.

See related items:

Emcore and San’an to form JV for terrestrial CPVs

Tags: Emcore San’an Optoelectronics CPV

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