Construction postponed on Bosch’s €520 million PV plant in Penang, Malaysia

  • To date, Bosch has invested around €2 billion in photovoltaics.
    To date, Bosch has invested around €2 billion in photovoltaics.

According to German publication Frankfurter Allegemeine Wirtschaft, Bosch has delayed plans to build its €520 million integrated solar module manufacturing plant in Penang, Malaysia. Construction was due to commence at the end of last year, with completion scheduled for 2013. Bosch has attributed this to the current market of overcapacity, falling module prices and government subsidy cuts.

In an interview with the publication, deputy chairman of the board of management, Siegfried Dais, said "If you invest too early, you run the danger of possibly settle for a less advantageous technology path." He said that the company hopes to have a revised timetable by the end of the year.

To date, Bosch has invested around €2 billion in photovoltaics.

Last December, the Sustainable Energy Development Authority of Malaysia started accepting developers to participate in its new feed-in tariff program. By December 2, proposals, totalling 143.78MW, had already been submitted.

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