Oct 31, 2014 - German firm SolarWorld AG (ETR:SWV) said yesterday it plans to boost its solar panel production capacity in Oregon to up to 530 MW and lift its capacity for making photovoltaic (PV) cells there to 435 MW .
As part of the plan, the solar equipment supplier will add a new solar panel manufacturing line at its factory in Hillsboro, thus raising the plant’s annual capacity from 380 MW currently. This will be a step towards achieving a PV panel production capacity of 630 MW at the facility in the near future, SolarWorld noted. In addition, the German firm will increase by 100 MW its present capacity for making advanced passive emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cells, which will allow it to produce 60-cell mono-crystalline panels with power densities of 280 Wp and higher.
SolarWorld will invest over USD 10 million (EUR 7.9m) in the expansion, which will create about 200 full-time job positions in Oregon.
The president of SolarWorld’s US arm, Mukesh Dulan, noted that the company has “turned the corner” after several difficult years in the US. Earlier this week, the German parent said it has cut its third-quarter 2014 loss before interest and tax to EUR 4 million (USD 5m), thanks to a rise in sales in the US.
In the past few years SolarWorld USA has been fighting against unfair competition from China and Taiwan. This summer, the US Department of Commerce issued preliminary anti-subsidy duties of between 18.56% and 35.21% for Chinese and Taiwanese solar manufacturers, as well as preliminary anti-dumping tariffs of up to 165% on imports of crystalline silicon PV products from the two Asian countries. A final decision on the two cases is expected to be taken by the US Department of Commerce on December 17.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.795)
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