Major integrated PV module manufacturer, Suntech has started ramping up a 1GW integrated cell and module assembly plant in Indonesia, predominantly to serve the US market that takes its nameplate module assembly capacity above 10GW.
Located on Batam Island, Indonesia and in close proximity to major logistic hub, Singapore the highly automated facilities will produce mono PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) half-cell bifacial modules and 78-cell based large-area modules with at least 450Wp, catering for the US utility-scale market. The company also plans to service the local market.
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Initially, the plant becomes operational with 500MW of combined capacity that will ramp to 1GW by the end of 2020, according to Suntech.
Vincent Cao, vice president of Suntech said, “Suntech shipped 3GW modules to US market in the last 10 years. As manufacturing limitation in Southeast Asian countries, we didn’t fulfil our US customers’ strong demand. With new capacity from Indonesian factory, we will continue support US market and boost our sales in [the] US.”
In August 2020, Suntech started ramping a 3.5GW module assembly plant expansion at its facilities in Changzhou, China at a cost of RMB 700 million (US$103.5 million).
Suntech, which was spun-off from parent company, Hong Kong-listed, SFCE in 2019, claimed to have had annual module shipments of 4GW last year with operating income (revenue) of approximately US$1.1 billion, a 4% increase compared to 2018.