Soitec, a global manufacturer of semiconductor materials for energy and electronics industries, has acquired a manufacturing facility in San Diego for producing concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules.
Soitec has invested over $150 million to manufacture 200 MW of Concentrix CPV modules. The project will create 450 on-site jobs and over 1,000 indirect jobs. Soitec had purchased the site from Sony Electronics, which includes a 176,000 sq.ft manufacturing center located on 14.8 acres of land. The company intends to upgrade the facilities and plans to commence operations of its first 100 MW production line by 2012’ fourth-quarter. Global engineering and construction partner, M+W, has been selected as the general contractor for the construction.
Reflexite Soitec Optical Technology will be operating within this facility to manufacture silicone-on-glass (SOG) Fresnel lens plates that are used in Soitec's CPV modules.
Jerry Sanders, San Diego Mayor, stated that the Soitec business was a successful collaboration between CleanTECH San Diego, San Diego city, University of California, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. It will create hundreds of jobs, he added.
Soitec has planned over 300 MW of solar power plant projects in the Southwest U.S due to its CPV systems. It has power purchase agreements of 155 MW with the SDG&E, which has received the approval of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The CPUC has also approved a 150 MW power purchase agreement for the Imperial Solar Energy Center West project.