Silfab Ontario 180 MW Module Production Facility Under Construction; Site Accommodates OEM Manufacturers

September 5, 2010 – Vol.15 No.25

Silfab Ontario 180 MW Module Production Facility Under Construction; Site Accommodates OEM Manufacturers.

Silfab Ontario, with an investment of $15 million (CAD) in its first phase, is building a 100,000+ square foot, 180 MW solar module manufacturing plant in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The division of Silfab SpA of Italy has also announced a broadening of its business model to accommodate Ontario based PV module OEM manufacturing to share its production capabilities with domestic and international solar companies seeking to enter the Ontario market. According to the company's timeline, Silfab Ontario is on track to start production in early 2011 with a capacity of 60 MW, ramping up to 180 MW by 2012.

Silfab’s own high-efficiency mono and multi-crystalline silicon modules will absorb over half of the plant's capacity, the rest of the production will be devoted to OEM partners who seek to fulfill the fast-growing demand for renewable energy products in Ontario complying with the domestic content requirements set by the Ontario Government. OEM partners will have access to Silfab founding team's 30 years of experience in the photovoltaic modules production and a certified process that guarantees the full compliance with the production criteria set by the Ontario Feed-In-Tariff Law.

Silfab Ontario has already started the negotiations of OEM contracts with several leading companies which will provide their own component materials to build PV modules at the new Mississauga plant which will be distributed under their own brands.

The new fully automated manufacturing facility, operated by about 200 Canadian skilled workers (at plant full capacity) and equipped with the most advanced technologies, will be part of Silfab's network of strategic synergies with global partners and shareholders Pan Asia Solar Ltd. (PAS) and Sino-American Silicon Products Inc. (SAS). Thanks to these partnerships, Silfab Ontario will have access to a secure supply chain that not only will guarantee consistent availability of raw material throughout the production period - including high-performing ingots, wafers, and cells - but will also enable the new Canadian company to be one of the few companies to offer competitive products at a secure locked price.

"We are now expecting to install the first production line within the next few months," commented Traverso - early this Fall we will proceed with the training of the first 70 workers with the assistance of our Croatian partner, Solaris d.o.o., a solar module manufacturing company which I founded 10 years ago," added Traverso.

Silfab solar modules will be produced with 60 and 72 high-efficiency mono and multi crystalline cells, with a power up to 300 Wp, suitable for both rooftop and ground-mounted applications. Silfab modules have already received UL and ULC certification by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and have been tested to withstand extreme weather conditions, such as 25 mm hailstones traveling at 83 km/hour (51 mph), temperatures down to -40ƒC (-40 F), and wind loading up to 130 km/hour (161 mph). (9/3/10)

Links:

Silfab SpA
http://www.silfab.eu

Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: No