Integrated PV module manufacturer REC Solar has secured supply agreements to US installers in 2015 that account for over 50% of its expanded manufacturing capacity.
A revised supply deal with major US installer, Sunrun that expands from 50MW of modules to 100MW puts total supply deals in the US for REC Solar at 622MW in 2014. REC Solar expects to ramp capacity at its fab in Singapore to 1,200MW this year.
REC Solar noted that it had signed 703MW of long-term supply agreements for the residential, commercial, and utility segments in the US market since May 2014, primarily due to the second round of US anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Taiwanese products.
A key customer is SolarCity, which signed a major supply agreement with REC Solar in 2014, which was later expanded to 220MW. The largest US installer had previously selected modules primarily from China-based tier-1 suppliers such as Yingli Green Energy and before its bankruptcy, Suntech Power Holdings.
Historically, REC Solar’s main market had been Europe, notably Germany and the UK, accounting for well over 60% of module sales.
In the fourth quarter of 2014, REC Solar’s geographical sales split still showed that Europe was is main market, accounting for 53% of sales. However, the Americas accounted for 21% of sales in the quarter, compared to only 6% 12 months before.
Japan was its third-largest market in the fourth quarter and accounted for 19% of sales, down from 37% of sales in the first quarter of 2014.
