16 December 2011

Soitec acquires Rancho Bernardo manufacturing site for CPV module production

Soitec of Bernin, France, which makes engineered substrates including silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers (as well as III-V epiwafers through its Picogiga International division), has purchased a manufacturing facility in Rancho Bernardo, CA, USA (located within San Diego City limits), where it will produce concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules for the U.S. market.

Acquired from Sony Electronics Inc, the site has a manufacturing capacity of 200 megawatts (MW) of Soitec’s fifth generation Concentrix CPV modules per year. Future expansion will double the capacity to 400 MW per year. Soitec says that the project represents an investment of more than $150m, and will create 450 on-site jobs and more than 1,000 indirect jobs at full capacity (200 MW). The investment includes the acquisition of a 176,000-square-foot manufacturing center on 14.8 acres of land located within the campus of Sony Electronics’ U.S. headquarters. Soitec will begin extensive upgrade of the facilities in early 2012 and plans to have its first phase (100 MW) production line operational by Q4/ 2012. 

Situated inside the San Diego factory will be the joint venture Reflexite Soitec Optical Technology LLC. This new company will operate its own 100-person manufacturing operation within the facility developing and manufacturing silicone-on-glass (SOG) Fresnel lens plates used in Soitec’s CPV modules.

“Bringing Soitec’s solar manufacturing business here has been an example of successful collaboration between the city, the nonprofit CleanTECH San Diego, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, SDG&E and the University of California, San Diego,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. “Soitec’s new facility will create hundreds of well-paying jobs and build on San Diego’s growing reputation as one of the world’s leading clean-technology clusters.”

“Soitec’s local presence is indeed a welcome boost for our regional economy and will support our company’s commitment to help to ensure a sustainable solar future for our customers,” said Jessie J. Knight, Jr., SDG&E’s chairman and CEO.  “This year we have signed a half-dozen renewable energy contracts with solar developers that will use Soitec’s highly efficient technology. We will continue to make great strides in securing contracts for utility-scale renewable projects to leverage the ideal solar, geothermal and wind resources in the San Diego County, Imperial County and Baja California region.”

“Having already announced our solar projects contracted with San Diego Gas & Electric, it makes perfect sense for us to launch our U.S. manufacturing operations here,” said André Jacques Auberton-Hervé, chairman and CEO of Soitec. “With strong support from the mayor and the City of San Diego, we look forward to taking part in the local economy amid the area’s large pool of trained and educated high-tech employees, the vibrant business community and the strong cluster of renewable-energy companies. 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.”

Tags: Soitec CPV modules

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