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XinAo Group, a company with an energy- and engineering-related history of over 10 years, has become the latest new entrant to the solar market with plans to build a 500MW thin film large substrate plant in China, employing Applied Materials’ turnkey ‘SunFab’ equipment production line. A contract was signed on November 13, 2007.

Initial investment is for a 50MW capacity using 5.7m² glass substrates, though no timing for the delivery and planned plant construction dates were disclosed. XinAo has an option to upgrade production to Applied’s tandem junction technology at a later time, the company said.

Mr. Wang Yusuo (pictured), Chairman of XinAo, said, “Photovoltaic module manufacturing is a very important part of our strategy to provide clean energy to China and other countries of the world. We are leveraging our history of innovation and experience in energy production and utilization to develop this renewable alternative energy solution at competitive pricing. We have selected Applied Materials as a key contributor to this project because of its leadership in ultra-large area processing and its successful 23 year history of providing systems and support to China’s semiconductor manufacturers.”

 “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with XinAo on their first solar project and we value their trust in our ability to help make this new venture a success,” said Mr. Janker. “Since the Applied SunFab Thin Film Line uses 5.7m² substrates that are four times bigger than today’s typical solar modules, XinAo can use efficiencies of scale to lower both manufacturing and installation costs. These large substrates will accelerate the development of a cost-effective solution for clean renewable energy.”