SolarWorld is honouring its plans to expand production capacity in the U.S. with the announcement of a new manufacturing facility to be built at the Hillsboro site in Oregon. The facility will increase the production of crystalline solar power modules to an expected capacity of 350MW by 2011.
This facility, once complete, will add to the group’s current megawatt total, bringing it to 500MW for crystalline solar wafers, solar cells and solar modules.
“We are quite deliberately expanding our production in our future markets”, says Frank H. Asbeck, Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld. “In addition to good growth prospects the USA as a production location also offers the best possible framework conditions to meet the high SolarWorld quality demands. What we have found here is an excellent research infrastructure, a highly qualified workforce and high social and environmental standards. These are central parameters for the production of sustainable and high efficiency products.”
As well as maintaining expansion in the U.S., the group is also adding to its presence in Europe with its location in Freiberg, Germany. By the end of 2011, SolarWorld aims to have group-wide production capacities of more than 1GW and will employ approximately 3,000 people.
