The U.S. is advancing renewable energy; German companies are investing heavily in solar power plants

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Schott Solar, a leading global solar company based in Germany, has recently announced that it will invest in the construction of a new manufacturing facility for solar technologies in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The facility is expected to come online in 2009, with an initial investment of 100 million dollars. In the initial phase, this production facility will manufacture collectors for solar thermal power generation (CSP) plants, as well as 64-megawatt solar photovoltaic modules. To meet the growth of the renewable energy market in the United States and the increasing demand for solar energy technology production capacity, this new factory also plans to further expand its production lines for photovoltaic modules and solar collectors. According to the long-term plan, the total number of employees at the new factory will increase to 1,500, with a total investment of $500 million. Professor Udo Ungeheuer, chairman of the board of directors at Schott Group, said, “According to industry analysts and Schott’s own projections, the value of the solar market is set to double over the next five years.” With the completion of this new factory, Schott Solar will be in a leading position in meeting the growing demand for renewable energy in the U.S. market. ” It is understood that in 2007, the global solar photovoltaic production capacity of the Schott Group was 130 megawatts. By 2010, Schott Solar GmbH planned to have an annual global production capacity of 450 megawatts of crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, with an additional 100 megawatts of capacity to be added in the field of ASI thin-film technology. The newly built factory will complement the production capacity of Schott Solar’s existing facility in Billerica, Massachusetts, which has a capacity of 15 megawatts and is primarily used to produce Schott ASE-300 watt photovoltaic modules – one of the largest standard-sized modules available on the market today. The establishment of the new factory will further strengthen its position as a global leader in the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic modules. Short Solar GmbH also recently announced the establishment of a joint venture with WACKER Chemie AG to produce polysilicon ingots and wafers for use in solar cell manufacturing. This partnership will ensure a reliable supply of polysilicon raw materials for Short Solar Co., Ltd., serving as a solid foundation for its expected growth. The production capacity of solar wafers at this joint venture will be expanded in phases, reaching 1 billion watts by 2012.