Module manufacturer and energy solutions company Hanwha Qcells has landed an agreement with Canadian Premium Sand (CPS) for the commercial offtake of patterned solar glass to support its US PV module production.
Conducted through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qcells parent company Hanwha Solutions Corporation, the long-term agreement will see CPS supply low-carbon patterned solar glass to Qcells’ module factory in Georgia.
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“The integrated nature of CPS’ operation with its wholly-owned sand resource and the use of renewable hydro-electricity in its manufacturing process offer excellent alignment with our low-carbon objectives,” Hanwha said.
CPS will supply the glass from a sand mine to be located in Selkirk, Manitoba that will produce the high-purity, low-iron silica sand by using renewable hydropower, although concerns have also been raised in some quarters about the environmental credentials of the site given its extraction and mining method.
The company said Qcells North American solar glass demand of over 3GW of module manufacturing represented more than 80% of its planned Phase 1 production capacity.
In May, Qcells announced plans to nearly double the total production capacity of its operational 1.7GW module factory in Dalton, Georgia, to over 3GW, which the company said would present approximately 35% of current North American solar module production.
“As Qcells expands its manufacturing footprint in North America, we see tremendous value in securing supply from a trusted partner that is proximal to our operations,” said a Hanwha spokesperson.
Last week, meanwhile, Qcells acquired a 66% stake in German energy technology business Lynqtech for an undisclosed fee, with the company lauding the potential for synergies in home energy solutions including solar PV, electric vehicles and other smart technologies.
And earlier this year Qcells launched a comprehensive rebrand to reflect its pivot from being solely a PV manufacturer to a more holistic clean energy solutions provider.