The North Carolina Department of Commerce, declared that Semprius, a company engaged in the production of high concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) solar modules, has obtained an incentive package valued over $7.88 million to construct a pilot manufacturing facility in Henderson, N.C.
Earlier this month, Semprius in its first tranche of Series C venture capital raising undertaken by Siemens Venture Capital has secured $20 million. The company has plans to utilize venture funding and incentives package for building the pilot HCPV module manufacturing plant.
The first phase construction of the pilot will occupy 50,000 sq ft and provide 60 job positions. The company has plans to increase its production facility to 150,000 sq ft in the coming years, which will offer employment opportunities to 256 people. The company proposes to invest $89.7 million as capital in the pilot plant and the plant is anticipated to draw around $120 million in the form of other investments to the region.
Semprius utilizes a new production process in the manufacture of its HCPV modules that combines the use of very small solar cells along with cheaper and efficient optics to improve the long-term dependability and functionality of the solar modules. The automated production process of the company utilizes normal production equipment and materials to bring down the capital and labor costs involved.
The proposed pilot production plant with an initial manufacturing capability of 5 MW is anticipated to become functional in 2012 August. The production capability can be increased to 35 MW if required.