Masdar PV, the United Arab Emirates state-owned solar company, today announced a multi-billion dollar investment in thin-film photovoltaic solar technology, as part of its drive to become a world leader in alternative energy.
The total investment of over US$2 billion represents one of the largest investments ever made in solar, and will fund a three-phased manufacturing and expansion strategy to produce the latest generation of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules.
Phase one involves an investment of US$600 million, which will fund the development of two manufacturing facilities–the first, in Erfurt, Germany will be operational by 3Q09, and a second facility in Abu Dhabi which will begin initial production by 2Q10. The combined annual production capacity of these two sites will be 210 megawatts (MW), which is committed to major PV system installers in Europe and for Masdar’s own energy generation needs, according to a Masdar release.
Masdar said it chose Germany as the site for its first plant, because Germany is currently the center of the global PV industry. This German plant will act as a reference plant for technology and knowledge transfer to the larger Abu Dhabi plant by a joint German-Abu Dhabi team.
This approach represents a significant step in Masdar’s objective to transform Abu Dhabi into an developer and exporter of technology, rather than an importer. Masdar’s goal is to reach 1 gigawatt (GW) of annual production by 2014 through capacity expansions and other new plants.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, said, "This marks a major milestone for Masdar and Abu Dhabi. It will not only establish Masdar as a major global PV player, but will be the first high-tech semiconductor nano-manufacturing facility of its kind in the entire region."
The plants will use the latest generation of equipment capable of high-volume processing of ultra-large glass substrates, which, at 5.7 square meters, are eight times larger and five times more powerful than that of the current market leader.
High-volume manufacturing of thin film PV, which requires less than 1% of expensive semiconductor material compared to traditional PV, is key to rapidly driving down the cost of PV and making it fully-competitive with fossil fuels.
PV industry experts applauded the move. "This potentially represents a paradigm shift in solar, a real game-changer," commented Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, President of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, the largest organization representing the PV industry. "The entry of such powerful energy leaders into solar is very exciting, and could change the dynamics of the entire industry" by not only adding capacity but also new future big markets in and around the Middle East with a lot of sun and capital to deploy PV systems, he added.
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