BP Solar announces two Mega Cell plants - BP Solar to expand its cell manufacturing capacity in Spain
Release date:
21 March 2007
Hamburg/Madrid, March 21, 2007: BP Solar today announced that it
has begun constructing two mega cell plants, one at its European
headquarters in Tres Cantos, Madrid and the second at its joint venture
facility, Tata BP Solar, in Bangalore, India.
For phase 1 of the Madrid expansion, BP Solar is aiming to expand its
annual cell capacity from 55 MW to around 300 MW. The Bangalore
expansion could add another 300 MW to BP Solar’s total capacity.
The new cell lines use state-of-the-art screen printing technology,
much of it proprietary to BP Solar. By fully automating wafer handling,
the lines will be able to handle the very thinnest of wafers available
and ensuring the highest possible quality.
Construction of the new Madrid manufacturing facility is already
underway, with the first line expected to be fully operational before the
summer. Construction has also begun on lines two and three. In
addition to the new manufacturing lines, the Tres Cantos site will be
remodelled to include a new photovoltaic (PV) systems prototype area,
a visitor training centre and product testing and development facilities.
“The announcement of the two mega cell plants cements BP Solar’s
commitment to maintain a market leadership position in PV” said Lee
Edwards, BP Solar’s CEO. “The new cell technologies we are using,
our intellectual property in casting with Mono2 and the contracts we
have signed to secure preferential access to metallurgical grade silicon
are all important steps towards our goal of offering customers PVgenerated
electricity on a par with the cost of conventional gridsupplied
electricity.”
The Madrid mega cell plant will be one of the largest such facilities in
Europe. Since the site was acquired by BP Solar in 2002, a triDeutsche
plant has been built providing heat and power to the
site. The facility is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified.
BP Solar chose its Tres Cantos facility for one of its mega cell plants
due to confidence in the growth projections of the European market.
“We already have an established manufacturing presence in Madrid, a
skilled and talented workforce, and direct access to some of the
fastest growing PV markets in the world,” said Bertrand Boulin, BP
Solar’s Vice President of Manufacturing and Supply.
To learn more, visit http://www.bpsolar.es
and http://www.tatabpsolar.com/
Notes to Editors:
BP Solar is a key business within BP Alternative Energy and a global company with over 2200 employees focused on harnessing the sun's energy to produce solar electricity. This includes the design, manufacture and marketing of quality solar electric systems for a wide range of applications in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. With over 30 years of experience and installations in over 160 countries, BP Solar is one of the world's largest solar companies and has manufacturing facilities in Spain, the U.S., Australia, India and China. BP Solar is part of BP, one of the world's leading energy companies.
BP Solar is a key business within BP Alternative Energy and a global company with over 2200 employees focused on harnessing the sun's energy to produce solar electricity. This includes the design, manufacture and marketing of quality solar electric systems for a wide range of applications in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. With over 30 years of experience and installations in over 160 countries, BP Solar is one of the world's largest solar companies and has manufacturing facilities in Spain, the U.S., Australia, India and China. BP Solar is part of BP, one of the world's leading energy companies.
BP is one of the world’s largest energy companies, with interests in
more than 100 countries and over 96,000 employees. BP Alternative
Energy, formed in 2005, brings together BP’s interests in zero and lowcarbon power generation: BP Solar, the company’s photovoltaic
business; wind power generation; hydrogen power - which combines
fossil fuel power generation with carbon capture and storage to
provide extremely low carbon power; and BP’s natural gas-fired power
interests. BP Alternative Energy has an active wind development
portfolio in Europe, North America and Asia; the company’s hydrogen
business includes two projects in Los Angeles and Peterhead
Scotland; BP Solar is a leading global solar company; and
BP participates in more than 13,000 MW of gas-fired generation
around the world. www.bpalternativenergy.com
Tata BP Solar JV
Tata BP Solar is a joint venture (JV) between the Tata Power Company Limited (49%) and BP Solar Pty Ltd (51%). The JV was formed in 1989 and began commercial operations in 1991. It has a solid track record of managing safety, growth and performance.
The JV has supplied solar energy systems that have given more than 2 million people in the Indian sub-continent access to sustainable energy for applications such as village lighting, water pumping and telecommunications. The manufacturing plant has the potential to expand its production capacity to 300MW of PV products by 2010. This capacity could potentially provide basic lighting for over four million village homes in the Indian sub-continent, in addition to boosting exports.
Tata BP Solar is a joint venture (JV) between the Tata Power Company Limited (49%) and BP Solar Pty Ltd (51%). The JV was formed in 1989 and began commercial operations in 1991. It has a solid track record of managing safety, growth and performance.
The JV has supplied solar energy systems that have given more than 2 million people in the Indian sub-continent access to sustainable energy for applications such as village lighting, water pumping and telecommunications. The manufacturing plant has the potential to expand its production capacity to 300MW of PV products by 2010. This capacity could potentially provide basic lighting for over four million village homes in the Indian sub-continent, in addition to boosting exports.
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