Swiss solar firm sets up plant, Asian HQ in Singapore

Chew Xiang, Business Times 12 Jan 08

A SECOND solar equipment manufacturer is moving into Singapore, following Norway's Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) which announced a $6.3 billion plant last October.

Oerlikon Solar, a unit of the Swiss technology group OC Oerlikon, is investing at least 30 million Swiss francs (S$38.9 million) in a facility here.

The plant, to be completed by the first quarter of 2009, will develop and produce equipment to manufacture thin-film solar modules comprising arrays of individual solar cells.

The facility will be Oerlikon Solar's Asian headquarters and will house sales, research, logistics and operations centres, as well as a thin-film pilot line for product certification.

The company is now recruiting up to 100 people, mostly highly qualified engineers and other professionals. Singapore 'is a unique environment from a business perspective', said the company's chief executive, Jeannine Sargent.

Its infrastructure 'can handle the demands of this very strong growth market' and it has 'a very strong academic environment' supported by research institutions, she added.

The company already has two customers from Taiwan. It expects Asian demand for solar panels to grow to more than double that of the US and Europe by 2010.

Oerlikon Solar has an existing facility in Truebbach, in Switzerland, and the new plant here will double the company's production capability when it is ready.

The facility will support a different solar technology from REC's. Thin-film solar modules use only a very thin layer of photovoltaic material - that converts light to electricity - sandwiched between panels of glass. This means less raw material is needed compared to traditional solar technology which uses silicon wafers - the kind that REC is producing.

Economic Development Board (EDB) managing director Ko Kheng Hwa said: 'The Oerlikon project is expected to generate a strong demand for the component suppliers and equipment contract manufacturers.

'Oerlikon's facility here will create significant spin-offs for our supporting industry and provide opportunities for them to upgrade, diversify and enter the new high-growth area.'

The EDB expects the clean energy industry to contribute $1.7 billion to Singapore's economic output and create 7,000 jobs by 2015.