News

8 March 2010

 

Taiwan’s Ritek breaks ground on China CIGS PV cell plant

On 28 February, Taipei-based Ritek Corp, Taiwan’s second biggest optical disc maker, started construction of an RMB2bn copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) cell plant in Yangzhou, China, reports Xinhuanew.com. The plant is expected to be the first CIGS thin-film solar cell production line in East China’s Jiangsu Province.

The project will be built in two phases: one 30MW production line to be completed by the end of 2010 and a second 30MW line to be completed by the end of 2011.

At October’s PV Taiwan 2009 event, Ritek launched Taiwan’s first 600mm x 1200mm CIGS thin-film PV modules, which have an energy-conversion efficiency of 17% (the highest achieved in Taiwan so far, it is claimed, and approaching the 20% of monocrystalline silicon).

In January, Ritek made an additional investment of NT$800m (US$24.8m) to increase its stake to 40% in Taiwan-based PVNext Corp, its 50:50 joint venture for CIGS PV module manufacturing formed in October 2008 with crystalline silicon solar cell maker Scheuten Solar Holding BV of Venlo, The Netherlands. Previously, in July, the National Development Fund of the Taiwan Cabinet invested NT$500m (US$15.3m) in a 28.59% stake in PVNext (shrinking the stakes of Scheuten and Ritek to 42.26% and 23.15%, respectively). Proceeds were put towards procuring production equipment.

See related items:

Ritek invests $24.8m more in CIGS joint venture PVNext

Ritek launches CIGS PV modules at CES

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