US-based CIGS thin-film manufacturer, Stion Corporation said it would be expanding capacity in the wake of recent preliminary tariffs on Chinese solar cells and modules shipped to the US.
Stion noted that it would increase production capacity of its next generation ‘Elevation’ Series CIGS modules in the second half of 2014, and continue to ramp production further in 2015 on an anticipated increase in demand as a direct result of the latest round of duties on Chinese products.
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Stion declined to reveal to PV Tech the scale of the production capacity expansion plans.
The company had previously claimed in 2011 to have started operating its first plant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi with a nameplate capacity of 100MW, with more than US$100 million investment through 2012. Initial module shipments were said by the company to have begun in March 2012.
However, the company has not publically provided claimed production or shipment figures from the Hattiesburg facility since its official opening.
Stion is a venture capital backed company and had previously said that it had received a US$130 million funding round in December 2011 to ramp production. The company has not publically announced any further funding rounds since, though has technology licensing agreements and small investment from TSMC, which recently announced plans to expand capacity from 40MW to 120MW in 2014.
It is unclear whether Stion’s touted capacity expansion is related to ramping its existing nameplate capacity, thereby increasing utilization rates or actually investing in new capacity.
