SunFab Thin-Film Lines to Make Up India's Largest PV Factory
KSK Surya Photovoltaic Venture Pte. Ltd. has agreed to buy two SunFab thin-film lines from Applied Materials to manufacture high-power-output 5.7 m2 solar panels, to be installed in what will be India's largest PV factory.
Aaron Hand, Executive Editor -- PV Society, 10/8/2009
KSK Surya Photovoltaic Venture Pte. Ltd. (Hyderabad, India), a subsidiary of Indian power provider KSK Power Ventur plc, has agreed to buy two SunFab thin-film lines from Applied Materials (Santa Clara, Calif.) to manufacture high-power-output 5.7 m2 solar panels. They will be installed in what will be India's largest PV factory, including an R&D center, planned for Hyderabad's Fab City at a price tag of ~$500M.
When completed, the annual capacity of KSK's facility is expected to be ~150 MW. "Since India receives among the highest amount of solar radiation in the world, it must become a leader in solar power generation technology," said T.L. Sankar, chairman of the KSK Group. "Our alliance with Applied Materials will help KSK play a significant part in India's new Solar Mission to build 20 GW of solar power by 2020."
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Executives from KSK and Applied Materials attended a contract signing ceremony Sept. 28 in Hyderabad, India. Pictured (from left) are T.L. Sankar, KSK Group chairman; Anil Kutty, managing director of KSK Surya Photovoltaic Venture; Mark Pinto, senior vice president of Applied Materials; S. Kishore, executive director of KSK; and K.A. Sastry, executive director of KSK. |
Using Applied Materials' advanced tandem-junction technology, each 5.7 m2 SunFab panel will have a power output greater than 500 Wp. "We believe that thin-film silicon is the best solar module technology for conditions on the ground in India," said Anil Kutty, managing director of KSK Surya Photovoltaic Venture. "Compared to crystalline silicon technologies, our SunFab thin-film modules will be capable of producing more power at high ambient temperatures and under diffused light, maximizing the energy yield from our future solar farms."
S. Kishore, KSK's executive director, added, "The large, powerful, tandem-junction panels from our SunFab lines will enable us to quickly build our PV capacity and supply clean, renewable energy at an affordable cost."
KSK plans to develop solar farms with the technology, to sell energy into the grid. "The fully integrated SunFab lines will enable KSK to rapidly and cost-effectively deploy solar farms to meet India's fast-growing energy needs," noted Mark Pinto, senior vice president and general manager of Applied's Energy and Environmental Solutions Group.
KSK also signed a service contract with Applied Materials covering the first five years of production. Applied Materials will support KSK's lines with preventive and corrective maintenance, spare parts and other services to optimize equipment performance and maximize manufacturing output. In addition, Applied and KSK will work together to develop continuous improvement programs that aim to increase module efficiency and lower operating costs.
