Schott to set up PV facility in the United States

Banking on the U.S. solar energy market, glass manufacturer Schott AG will establish a solar energy technology facility in the U.S. state of New Mexico.

The new production line will manufacture from 2009 receivers for concentrated solar thermal power plants and 64MW of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The Albuquerque plant will manufacture PV cells with ISO surface texture, enabling higher efficiency.

With an investment of about $100 million, the company plans to create 350 jobs. Against the background of rising demand for renewable energy in the United States, Schott has long-term plans to invest $500 million and raise the number of employees to about 1,500. "We expect that the market for renewable energy in the United States will at least double over the next five years," explained Schott CEO Udo Ungeheur.

The planned facility in Albuquerque strengthens Schott's production in the United States. The Germany-based company already runs a PV module production in Billerica, Massachusetts, with a capacity of 15MW. For the next three years, Schott plans to produce crystalline PV cells and modules with a total of 450MW annually. In addition, the company will produce thin-film PV wafers with a capacity of 100MW.

In August 2007, Schott had launched a joint venture with chemical company and silicon provider Wacker Chemie, securing the silicon supply to Schott.

- Christoph Hammerschmidt
EE Times Europe