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Abu Dhabi makes $2B photovoltaic investment, using Applied thin film equipment
Applied's SunFab line is an integrated production line for manufacturing thin film silicon solar modules using ultra-large 5.7-square-meter size glass panels. Measuring 2.2 by 2.6 meters, the company said the panels are well suited for utility-scale applications, which can reduce installation cost by more than 17% compared to smaller scale thin film panels.
By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor -- Electronic News, 5/30/2008
As part of its drive to become a world leader in alternative energy, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based Masdar PV announced this week it will invest more than $2 billion in thin-film photovoltaic solar technology in a three-phased strategy to produce thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules.
Masdar’s phase one includes a $600 million investment for manufacturing facilities in Erfurt, Germany and Abu Dhabi. The Erfurt facility is expected to be operational by Q3 2009, and the one in Abu Dhabi will begin initial production by Q2 2010, for combined annual production capacity of 210 megawatts.
Concurrently, as part of the Masdar Initiative, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co has placed an order with Applied Materials Inc for three of its SunFab thin film lines for manufacturing solar modules, which are expected to annually produce modules with a targeted capacity of up to 210 megawatts (MW) – sufficient energy to power approximately 70,000 homes.
While Applied declined to confirm the size of the deal with Masdar, it appears that the deal could be for $600 million, given Masdar’s earlier announcement.
Masdar said it is focused on ensuring that renewable energies play a key role in the energy portfolio that the world needs now and into the future, and it is doing this by applying scale, capital and commitment to the most promising technologies to accelerate the rapid adoption of renewable energy, according to Masdar CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber.
Masdar said it chose Germany as the site for its first plant since Germany is currently the center of the global PV industry, and its plant there will serve as a reference plant for technology and knowledge transfer to the larger Abu Dhabi plant by a joint German-Abu Dhabi team. Masdar also said this approach is part of its objective to transform Abu Dhabi into a developer and exporter of technology, rather than an importer, and has a goal of reaching 1 gigawatt of annual production by 2014 through capacity expansions and other new plants.
The current global PV market is worth $15 billion and growing rapidly at 40% per year, with thin film PV growing even faster at an annual growth rate of 100%, Masdar said according to Deutsche Bank.
High-volume manufacturing of thin film PV requires less than 1% of expensive semiconductor material compared to traditional PV, which is key to rapidly driving down the cost of PV and making it fully-competitive with fossil fuels, Masdar noted.
The SunFab lines will help supply solar power to Masdar City, the world’s first zero carbon, zero waste city, designed to be fully powered by renewable energy, and also will help support the broader global need for clean sources of energy, Applied noted.
Dr. Mark Pinto, Applied senior VP and general manager of Applied’s energy and environmental solutions group added, “Abu Dhabi Future Energy is leveraging its substantial resources and expertise in global energy markets to bring the first major photovoltaic manufacturing capability to the Middle East. We are very excited to be part of Abu Dhabi’s vision for the future in accelerating the adoption of solar energy to decrease the cost of electricity.”
Applied has made a number of significant moves over the past few years in support of its solar panel manufacturing equipment business. Last week, Applied formed a new organization within the company, named SunFab Operations, headed by Pinto and Dr. Randhir Thakur, who re-joined the company as senior VP and general manager of strategic operations.
Applied’s SunFab Technology Center in Alzenau, Germany is located approximately 160 miles from Erfurt, where Masdar will set up one of its manufacturing facilities.
In early March, Applied filed documents with the US SEC that it had secured a $1.9 billion deal for its SunFab thin film manufacturing equipment, but did not disclose the customer name. Today, an Applied spokesperson confirmed the customer on that deal is not Masdar.
