Motech has signed a joint-venture contract with Itogumi Construction, in which the new company, Itogumi Motech, will acquire the photovoltaic module factory now run by Itogumi’s Lumber unit. The crystalline-silicon panel factory, located in Hokkaido, Japan, has a 27MW annual nameplate capacity and employs 35 people.
The move marks Motech’s first production foray into the Japanese market. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, although the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Motech is the majority partner.
“Japan has always been a solar PV market with great potential,” said Simon Tsuo, chairman of Motech. “In view of this, Motech has already committed many years towards cultivating this market. The joint venture will further strengthen Motech’s position in the Japanese market and reinforce [our] strategy of vertical integration.”
Late last year, the Taiwanese solar cell manufacturer announced it had purchased GE Energy’s 34MW c-Si moduling facility in Delaware. The division is now known as Motech Americas.
Motech subsidiary AE Polysilicon learned in early January that it had been selected to recieve a U.S. advanced energy investment tax credit of nearly $45 million, which will help defray the nearly $150 million investment it has made at its poly production facility under construction in Bucks County, PA.
