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What's Happening from Environmental Building News

November 1, 2007

U.S. Companies Expand Photovoltaic Manufacturing

Solar cells travel along a conveyor belt at a Schott Solar facility. The company has plans to add 60 MW of production capacity in the U.S.

Two companies have announced their intentions to add manufacturing facilities for solar photovoltaic systems in the U.S., nearly doubling the national manufacturing capacity. Evergreen Solar broke ground in September 2007 on a new facility in Devens, Massachusetts, that will add 75 megawatts (MW) of annual production capacity by the end of 2008 to the company’s existing 15-MW plant in nearby Marlboro. Meanwhile, Schott Solar has announced plans to build a new 60-MW facility, although the company has yet to name the location. Schott also has a 15-MW plant in Billerica, Massachusetts.

In 2006, shipments of photovoltaic cells and systems from the U.S. totaled 337 MW (206 MW were domestic shipments), according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). At the same time, imports of photovoltaic cells and systems are growing rapidly, from 91 MW in 2005 to 174 MW in 2006, according to EIA.

The new factories would add 135 MW of capacity by 2009, when the Schott plant is expected to come on line, significantly increasing the national capacity. Jennifer Pecha, marketing and communications manager for Schott, thinks that demand is growing: “The market is ripe for explosive growth,” she told EBN, citing federal and state tax credits as well as a stabilizing supply of solar-grade silicon, the key ingredient for photovoltaic panels that has been in short supply in recent years.

–Allyson Wendt

For more information:

Evergreen Solar
Marlboro, Massachusetts
508-357-2221
www.evergreensolar.com

Schott North America, Inc.
Elmsford, New York
914-831-2200
www.us.schott.com

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