Moser Baer's solar photovoltaic subsidiary has raised approximately $93 million from an international group of investment houses in its bid to expand production of both crystalline solar wafer and thin film operations. Moser Baer is currently establishing a thin film PV plant near Chennai with a proposed 500MW annualized capacity, using Applied Materials ‘SunFab’ turnkey amorphous silicon production technology.
The Chennai facility was initially established with a single, 40MW capacity line, but with the new funds, Moser Baer plans to expand thin film production to 120MW. On the crystalline silicon front, the company will invest in expanding capacity to 180MW, up from 80MW currently. The company wants to reach a total manufacturing capacity of over 600 MW by 2010, in thin film production alone.
Investors in this round of funding included; Nomura, CDC Group, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, IDFC PE, and IDFC.