PV manufacturer China Sunergy has established a new manufacturing facility in Istanbul, Turkey with its local partner Seul Energy Investment Corp, PV systems provider and installer in Turkey.
In September the two companies inked agreements to jointly invest in three newly established companies under the name CSUN Euasia. Under CSUN Eurasia, they will manufacture PV cells and PV modules in Turkey and invest in downstream solar projects in Turkey and its neighbouring countries.
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The production plant covers 22,000 square metres and is located in the Trade Free Zone in Istanbul. It has a 150MW PV module line installed and will become operational in January. The companies are also installing a 100MW solar cell line which is scheduled to begin producing solar cells in March.
China Sunergy is also planning to move 200MW of equipment to the Turkish plant from its facilities in Shanghai, China during the first quarter of 2013. The move is part of the company’s plan to gradually ramp up production in the first half of 2013 though the plan is said to be subject to market dynamics and the Turkish plant’s production progress.
China Sunergy expects Turkey to become its second largest manufacturing base after China. The Turkish production plant will serve customers across Europe and the US.
Stephen Cai, CEO of China Sunergy commented: “We are delighted to see our facilities in Turkey established and ready for production. Solar projects in Turkey enjoy higher feed-in tariffs when adopting locally manufactured cells and modules. Therefore, we believe our cooperation with the strong local partner Seul Energy will help us capture substantial market share in the region.”
Cagri Seymen, CEO of Seul Energy noted: “Turkey's energy demand has dramatically increased over the past decade, and we believe with one of the highest solar radiation in Europe, Turkey is poised to become the next new solar energy dynamo in the region. Moreover, Turkey's geographical location is ideal as a natural bridge between both North-South and East-West markets. We look forward to being a successful player in this region with China Sunergy both in PV manufacturing and PV power plant investment businesses.”
Cai concluded: “Although the solar industry is still facing headwinds, looking ahead, it possesses great potential as the sun's energy supply is inexhaustible and pollution-free. Although Turkey is a fairly new market, we believe China Sunergy has first mover advantage there and now we have cost competitiveness by deploying resources locally. Diversifying our manufacturing base to Turkey helps enhance our global supply chain and minimize any negative impacts from anti-dumping cases in the US, EU, or elsewhere. We are confident that the company is well positioned to capture future industry growth for the benefit of our shareholders.”
