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FREIBERG, Germany, July 26, 2006 (Refocus Weekly) SolarWorld AG has moved into the ‘top three’ providers of solar power with its acquisition of the solar silicon activities of the Shell Group.
All Shell assets in the area of crystalline solar silicon technology became part of the SolarWorld Group this month, and will operate under the name SolarWorld. With the integration of solar activities, SolarWorld will be among the world’s three largest providers of solar power.
“After the closing of the deal, SolarWorld AG will be represented with its own production and sales activities in the world’s most important solar regions,” says chairman Frank Asbeck. “In the USA, which is heading for a solar boom in view of the many new funding programs like those in California, we have now become the largest producer of solar power technology.”
SolarWorld will also be represented more substantially in Asia and Africa by an agreement with the Shell Group on the supply of solar power equipment to meet rural demand. The agreement will last until 2008 and the volume is in the “double digit million dollar range.”
“For SolarWorld, this is the entry into the business with off-grid solar power applications,” adds Asbeck. “In this process, we are taking solar energy to the place where it makes most sense for development aspects.”
“The less developed countries are located along the earth’s sun belt where solar energy can be used particularly efficiently,” he says. “In this way, solar power can become the motor of sustainable economic development for millions of men and women.“
Rural installations will include smaller solar plants that provide electricity for lighting or for the operation of electrical equipment, as well as self-contained solar concepts for schools and hospitals. Grid-independent solar modules also supply electricity to remote telecommunications facilities and cross-country pipelines.
The new SolarWorld Industries America has two production sites in the U.S.: a silicon crystals growing production site in Vancouver, Washington, and the integrated production of solar silicon wafers, cells and modules in Camarillo, California. New sales offices have also been opened in Singapore and South Africa.
In Germany, the former Shell solar cell production in Gelsenkirchen and its office in Munich are added.
“SolarWorld still will continue to expand its position in the international solar power markets after the integration of these new locations,” says Asbeck. “Our global course of expansion will be continued against the background of a substantial market growth to be expected in the long term.”
SolarWorld operates production facilities in Freiberg, Gelsenkirchen, Sweden and the U.S. In Freiberg, in Saxony, it operates an integrated solar production facility to convert solar grade silicon into solar wafers, cells and modules. Since an IPO in 1999, the company has increased its workforce to 1,300 and acquired Bayer Solar in 2000 and the crystalline silicon activities of the Shell Group in 2006.
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