Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) (NASDAQ: ENER), a manufacturer of thin-film flexible solar laminate products for the building integrated and commercial rooftop markets, announced plans to establish a 30 megawatts (MW) solar laminate manufacturing facility in France. The company has started its initial site selection process and is evaluating various sites, particularly in the Alsace region.
Expected terms of the project, including anticipated launch date, were not disclosed and are subject to completion.
Mark Morelli, ECD’s president and CEO, said, "France is one of the world’s fastest growing and most progressive solar markets. It has expressed its long-term support of alternative energy in the Grenelle de l’environnement objectives, and the recent change to its feed-in-tariff structure establishes a sustainable foundation to meet those objectives. We are pleased that France is continuing to support the development of high added-value technology and innovative solutions like UNI-SOLAR® laminates, which protect the aesthetics of France’s cultural heritage by integrating into the building architecture."
"We relocated our European headquarters to Paris last year, and believe it is now an excellent time to locate manufacturing in this market close to our channel partners and customers. With the new tariff structure resolved, and the high concentration of low-load bearing buildings that are ideally suited for our lightweight and low impact UNI-SOLAR solutions, we see growing demand for our solar products in France," added Mr. Morelli.
Energy Conversion Devices manufactures, sells and installs thin-film solar laminates that convert sunlight to energy using proprietary technology. ECD’s UNI-SOLAR brand products are unique because of their flexibility and light weight.
Thin-film solar company First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) also has plans to build a large manufacturing facility in France.