20 April 2015

Hanergy to build 10MW plant in Wuhan for Alta's flexible GaAs solar cells

China-based Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd and the Huangpi District People's Government in Wuhan City have entered into an investment cooperation agreement to construct a gallium arsenide (GaAs) thin-film solar cell R&D and manufacturing plant with a capacity of 10MW on a 150 acres site in Huangpi Linkong Industrial Park in Wuhan. Also, a Huangpi project company will be established to implement the project.

The project is Hanergy's first thin-film solar call R&D manufacturing plant in China using GaAs technology, following its acquisition of Alta Devices Inc of Santa Clara, CA, USA on 27 January. Founded in 2007, Alta's GaAs PV cells are fabricated in a micron-thick thin-film that is then lifted off the growth GaAs substrate (which can then be reused multiple times to amortize its high cost). The thin-film cell can then be placed on a flexible substrate. Hanergy Thin Film Power Group's parent company Hanergy Holding Group aims to explore the use of flexible, lightweight thin-film GaAs PV products in mobile applications such as power-cord-free mobile, portable and wearable consumer electronic devices, drone systems, and solar-powered vehicles.

The project is receiving support from the Huangpi District People's Government in Wuhan City. Specifically, the Wuhan Huangpi District Government will be responsible for construction of the production site, warehouse, factory facilities and power systems being completed within 10 months, and will lease the plant to the project company for an annual rent. It will also help it to become eligible to apply as a high-tech enterprise for support from the Innovation and Technology Fund and the High-end Industrial Support Fund. The government will also promote use of the firm's photovoltaic products in the local market.

The project will be implemented in two phases. The first phase involves constructing a plant with production capacity of 3MW on about 50 acres of land. The aims to install equipment and assemble production lines for testing within 12 months, and to start production within 18 months.

Wuhan Huangpi District Government will also reserve an additional 100 acres of land for a period of three years, during which it will not levy any tax or fees before the land is either used (for construction of the project's second phase) or sold.

After seven years of leasing the plant and related factory facilities, the firm may apply to Wuhan Huangpi District Government to extend either the lease or the direct buyback of the plant (at a price determined according to the construction costs and land price after deducting rent paid).

Wuhan Huangpi District Government targets the use of thin-film photovoltaic systems on 100,000 new residential buildings and across 20,000 acres of agricultural greenhouses (totaling 600MW of power generation). It will also help the firm to construct demonstration projects for not only household power generation systems (a pre-launch involving 100 families in the countryside) and 100 acres of photovoltaic agricultural greenhouses (involving the Bureau of Agriculture) but also roof-top building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) projects of about 100m2 for municipal buildings and public facilities.

See related items:

Hanergy completes acquisition of GaAs thin-film PV firm Alta Devices

Hanergy secures $3.3bn in financing for renewable energy projects

Alta's new dual-junction solar cell sets 30.8% efficiency record

China's Hanergy acquires US-based CIGS PV firm Global Solar Energy

China's Hanergy completes acquisition of Silicon Valley CIGS PV firm MiaSolé

Hanergy to acquire Q.CELLS' CIGS PV subsidiary Solibro

Tags: Alta Devices GaAs PV Hanergy

Visit: www.hanergy.com

Visit: www.altadevices.com