Solar JV focuses on concentration PV

EMCORE Corp. has formed a joint venture with China LED chip and epitaxial wafer maker San'an Optoelectronics Co. Ltd, to develop, manufacture and distribute concentration photovoltaic (CPV) receivers, modules and systems for terrestrial solar power applications. The JV, named Suncore Photovoltaics Co. Ltd, will be 40 percent owned by EMCORE and 60 percent owned by San'an Optoelectronics.

All operational activities and business for CPV receivers, modules, and systems currently residing at both San'an and EMCORE's Langfang, China manufacturing facilities will eventually be transferred to Suncore, and its primary manufacturing operations will be located in Wuhu city, Anhui province of China. The economic development organization of Wuhu city has agreed to provide Suncore with significant economic incentives, including land, subsidies, grants and other incentives.

Xiucheng Lin, chairman, San'an Optoelectronics, will serve as chairman, and Charlie Wang, senior VP, EMCORE Corporation, will serve as the general manager of Suncore.

Suncore will serve as EMCORE's primary low-cost / high-volume manufacturing base for CPV receivers incorporating EMCORE's CPV solar cells, and for CPV modules and systems to support both EMCORE's and San'an's worldwide sales efforts. Subsequent to the establishment of Suncore, the company will commence work on the production of 12MW of CPV systems for San'an's current customers and 2MW of CPV components for projects sourced by EMCORE. In addition, EMCORE and San'an are aggressively pursuing multiple CPV project opportunities, including the 280MW solar energy plan in six western regions of China recently announced by the Chinese government.