Dec 22 2010
AU Optronics declared the start up of its new facility AUO SunPower in Malaysia. The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Minister Datuk Seri Najib, K.Y. Lee, Chairman of AUO, Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower and Chief Minister of Melaka, Datuk Seri Ali Rustam.
The solar module manufacturing facility is expected to get completed by 2013 and produce around 1,400 MW worth of high efficiency solar cells every year.
The new AUO SunPower production facility, a joint venture of AU Optronics and SunPower, is situated south of Kuala Lumpur, in a place nicknamed solar valley of Melaka. The production facility planned in two buildings will occupy around 108,000 square meters of area, which can be equated to the size of seven football fields in the USA. When it becomes fully functional, the production facility will have 28 solar cell manufacturing lines. The initial production started in October this year has manufactured around 5 MW of solar cells with around 22.5% power conversion efficiency.
The AUO SunPower office has been constructed environmentally- friendly and has received recognition from the International Energy Agency. The company has currently made an application for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver and gold certifications for its cell fabrication and administrative buildings respectively. Some of the energy efficiency features added to the building include a covered solar parking with facility to produce 2.6 MW power, onsite facilities equipped with rooftop solar systems to generate around 10 MW power, rainwater preserving ponds for water recycling and ecological protection, better HVAC heating and cooling systems for least carbon generation, use of heat recovery air compressors to provide hot water heating and its cooling systems use around 40% less power due to construction efficiency.