Company

Soitec readying California factory for late 2012 production

The company made good on its pledge to build a factory in San Diego, close to the 305MW of planned projects -- all with contracts approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) -- slated to use the Concentrix systems.

Soitec Solar Development will build 155MW of projects itself under 25-year power purchase agreements with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). It is also supplying independent power producer Tenaska Solar Ventures with 150MW of Concentrix systems for another SDG&E contract, which was approved by the CPUC last week.

The factory will be equipped to produce 200MW of Soitec's fifth-generation CPV modules annually with space to expand to 400MW a year in the future. An initial 100MW production line is targeted for operations in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Soitec acquired a 176,000-square-foot (16,350-square-metre) facility in Rancho Bernardo -- part of San Diego's high-tech manufacturing cluster -- from Sony Electronics. It is investing $150m in the factory, including extensive upgrades to be made beginning early in 2012. M+W Group's US subsidiary is serving as general contractor.

The factory will also house Soitec's new Fresnel lens components joint venture with Reflexite. In total the factory will employ 450 people, mainly in high-skill positions such as computer technicians and engineers.

Soitec attracted a host of local and state dignitaries to an opening ceremony last week, including California Governor Jerry Brown, who called the factory a validation of the state's 33%-by-2020 renewable energy target.

"That’s a goal and we’re going to meet it," Brown said. "In fact, we are going to do better.”

Jessie Knight Jr., chief executive of SDG&E, which has hitched a large portion of its renewable energy portfolio to Concentrix CPV, lauded the technology.

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