ersol Solar opens new 100MWp plant in Arnstadt

ersol Solar Energy AG has opened its second 100MWp cell production plant with an initial investment of €46 million. The first multi- and monocrystalline silicon solar cells will leave the plant in Arnstadt, Germany in early 2008, the company said.

"It’s fantastic to celebrate the inauguration of our second plant for crystalline solar cells today. This is a major milestone in ersol’s efforts to expand its capacity,” said Dr. Claus Beneking, CEO of ersol Solar Energy AG. “Crystalline cell production is a key component of our product portfolio. Now we can produce everything from wafers to solar cells in Arnstadt without too much logistics effort. This enables us to meet the strong market demand for our products. One annual production of the new solar cell factory is capable to supply 30,000 households with solar electricity and relieves the environment of about 1 million tons of carbon dioxide emission."

It took just under a year to build the c. 10,100-square-meter facility on a 41,000-square-meter plot of land. Construction of the new facility began in December 2006, and the topping-out ceremony took place in April 2007.

M+W Zander FE GmbH erected a turnkey production building that was then equipped with the necessary production systems. Züblin Ost, a subcontractor from Jena in Thuringia, was responsible for the building shell. A total of 80 percent of the subcontractors hired by M+W Zander were from companies from Thuringia.

ersol will now have a nominal capacity of 220MWp by the end of 2008. The company plans to achieve a nominal capacity of 400MWp by the end of 2010 and 500MWp by the end of 2012, and has secured the silicon needed for this through various long-term supply contracts.