Leading solar panel manufacturer, Sharp, yesterday announced the formation of a major new joint venture designed to significantly ramp up the production of thin-film solar cells in Europe.
The global electronics giant has teamed up with Enel Green Power (EGP), the renewable energy arm of Italian energy firm Enel, and European semiconductor firm ST Microelectronics to form a new thin-film solar cell production firm.
Under the terms of the agreement, each company will invest €70m in the venture and hold a 33.3 per cent stake in the new operation.
The aim is to begin production of thin-film solar cells at STM's existing facility in Catania, Italy from next year with a goal of delivering a production capacity of 160MW during the first 12 months of operation, eventually expanding to 480MW a year.
The new joint venture said the thin-film cells will be sold primarily in Europe and the Mediterranean region using the existing sales networks of Sharp and EGP.
The announcement came on the same day as Sharp and EGP also confirmed they are to form a separate joint venture company, ES Solar Farms (ESSF), dedicated to the development of solar farms across the Mediterranean region.
EGP will hold a 50 per cent stake in the new firm, with Sharp controlling a 40 per cent stake and its Italian sales subsidiary Sharp Electronics S.p.A. holding the final 10 per cent.
Sharp said that ESSF would aim to build solar farms in Italy, France, Spain and Greece totalling over 500MW of capacity by the end of 2016, using thin-film solar cells produced by the joint venture plant.
It added that thin-film solar cells were "especially suitable" for solar power generation in the Mediterranean region as they are better at maintaining their conversion efficiency in hot climates than silicon-based cells.
The joint ventures were formally announced yesterday after the proposal was granted approval by the EU Commission, which regulates joint ventures in the power generation and production sectors.
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