Singapore bags second solar cell wafer fab

NorSun's US$300m plant, opening in Q3 2009 will be its largest worldwide
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 5 Mar 08;

IT'S 'sunny days' for Singapore's fledgling solar industry which has just attracted a second world-scale solar cell wafer fabrication plant, also from Norway.

NorSun's US$300 million plant will produce monocrystalline wafers - catering to the high-end 40 per cent of the global solar cell market - complementing that of Renewable Energy Corporation's (REC) earlier multicrystalline wafer investment here.

'Our decision to invest in Singapore was independent of REC's move here and was based on the merits of discussions with the EDB. And our product will be complementary to REC's as both involve different technologies and serve different market segments,' said Alf Bjorseth, who was founder and former CEO of REC, and who subsequently retired from REC to found NorSun.

NorSun's planned solar cell wafer fab in Jurong, with a manufacturing capacity of up to 350 MW when operational in Q3, 2009, will be its largest worldwide.

It will add to its existing fab in Vantaa, Finland, and its new fab in Ardal, Norway, which will start operations soon. By end-2010, Singapore will account for over 60 per cent of NorSun's total global capacity.

Scale-wise, its manufacturing capacity is slightly less than one-quarter of REC's S$6.3 billion fab to be built in Singapore. With a capacity of 1.5 gigawatts or 1,500 MW of solar generating capacity annually, REC's facility - whose construction will start in Q1, 2009 - is also the world's largest.

Why is solar important? In the long term, studies project that solar energy will be the largest energy source globally, Dr Bjorseth stressed. Its drivers include high oil prices - which almost hit US$104 on Monday - and technological advances which make solar's use economically feasible.

Earlier reports said that 'grid parity' here - where solar energy becomes as cost competitive as electricity off the grid - could be achieved as early as 2010.

Explaining the rationale for its Singapore investment, CEO Jon Hindar said: 'NorSun has already customer commitments that require a rapid capacity expansion of high quality monocrystalline wafers.' This includes contracts with customers like SunPower of the US whose main manufacturing facilities are in Manila.

'At the same time, NorSun is committed to continue to reduce its manufacturing cost. In this context, both the project execution and costs of construction and operations become crucial.'

'As Singapore is well positioned to provide exactly that, the choice of Singapore for our latest world-scale solar wafer fab is ideal,' he added.

NorSun's Singapore facility - which will employ 300 skilled workers in the initial phase - will source its raw material, polysilicon, from a new joint venture US$350 million facility it is setting up in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

It chose to establish the polysilicon facility there because it is an energy-intensive process.

Besides, it is able to make use of certain chemical streams from the Al-Jubail petrochemical complex, he added.

To ensure that the Singapore facility stays state-of-the-art - in the face of rapid advances in solar technology - NorSun aims to incorporate new processes, as they are developed, into the fab here, Mr Hindar stressed. NorSun said it will also consider Singapore for expected future capacity expansions globally.

Mr Ko Kheng Hwa, managing director of the Economic Development Board, said NorSun's investment is another booster shot for the solar industry here, and will help diversify the industry ecosystem here.

Its monocrystalline wafer fab will be the first of its kind here, adding to other projects here, including equipment suppliers and supporting companies like Oerlikon Solar.

NorSun to light up S'pore solar industry
Company will build its third and largest plant in Singapore later this year
Cheow Xin Yi, Today Online 5 Mar 08;

THE Economic Development Board has drawn yet another solar manufacturing investment for Singapore in its drive to develop a top-notch solar energy industry.

NorSun AS, a Norwegian manufacturer of solar panel components, will build a US$300 million ($418 million) plant in Singapore later this year — the company's third and largest investment ever. Production at the facility is expected to begin in the third quarter of next year, and will account for more than 60 per cent of its global output in 2010.

NorSun's project is the second solar wafer-manufacturing plant announced by EDB after its $6.3 billion-investment prize catch in October last year from Norway's Renewable Energy Corporation (REC).

Unlike REC's integrated solar manufacturing complex, which makes wafers, cells and modules for the final production of solar panels, however, NorSun's plant will concentrate on the production of monocrystalline silicon wafers, a product that is more efficient in converting sunlight into energy.

"This world scale facility will produce monocrystalline silicon wafers, the first of its kind in Singapore, and will diversify our solar industry ecosystem here. It will also generate significant spin-offs to our supporting industry and provide opportunities for them to upgrade, diversify and enter to new high-growth area of solar energy," said EDB's managing director Ko Kheng Hwa.

Founder of Norsun Dr Alf Bjorseth said Singapore was chosen from among 10 locations, including Norway, for its "total package, good economic conditions and excellent research facilities". With its tropical climate, Singapore is "also well-suited for applications of solar energy", he added.

Situated on a 7-ha plot in Jurong, the 300,000 sq m facility will have a production capacity of 350 megawatt and is expected to hire up to 300 staff by early 2009.

The company added that NorSun also plans to increase its global capacity in the next few years and Singapore will be considered for such expansions.

Norwegian group to open $419m solar facility
Solar wafer maker NorSun is the latest entrant in the fast-growing industry in S'pore
Jessica Cheam, Straits Times 5 Mar 08;

SINGAPORE is hotting up as a centre for global solar industry players.

The latest company to join the burgeoning sunrise industry in the Republic is Norwegian solar wafer manufacturer NorSun.

The private firm yesterday announced that it will build its biggest solar wafer manufacturing plant in Singapore at a cost of US$300 million (S$419 million).

The 30,000 sq m facility in Jurong will employ 300 professionals - mostly local.

It will eventually be able to produce enough solar wafers each year to generate 350 megawatts of electricity.

NorSun, established in 2005, is the latest in a string of solar firms to set up shop here.

Last year, Norwegian solar firm Renewable Energy Corp (REC) chose to locate a giant manufacturing plant in Singapore at a cost of $6.3 billion. Then, Swiss-based Oerlikon Solar unveiled plans for a $39 million manufacturing and research and development (R&D) facility.

NorSun's factory, which specialises in mono- crystalline silicon wafers, is the first of its kind in Singapore, said Economic Development Board (EDB) managing director Ko Kheng Hwa.

These wafers serve the high-end solar market and have a higher efficiency than traditional multi-crystalline silicon wafers - which REC focuses on. NorSun's founder, Dr Alf Bj�rseth, was REC's former president.

Chief executive Jon Hindar said NorSun's products will 'complement REC's, with different technologies serving different parts of the market'. He added that the decision to locate in Singapore was unrelated to REC's decision to set up a facility.

'Our move is due to Singapore's highly skilled workforce and its strengths in the semiconductor and logistics sector. We can see it is also strongly committed to growing the solar industry,' he said.

NorSun has also found a Singaporean to head its local operations - Mr Ong Eng Kian, who was formerly vice-president of semiconductor firm Systems on Silicon Manufacturing.

NorSun recently formed a joint venture in Saudi Arabia to build a polysilicon complex.

Polysilicon is the raw material used in all solar panels. NorSun has two other manufacturing plants in Norway and Finland, and sells to solar firms from the United States and Europe.

NorSun's news comes on the heels of the setting up of the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, which has a $130 million budget for the next five years for solar R&D.

A clearer picture of Singapore's stature as a global energy hub is emerging. the EDB aims to get all solar industry players to be located here.

This will enable Singapore to compete with market leaders such as Japan and Germany.

Germany's Freiburg, for example, known as a 'solar capital', is well-known for its solar panels and the presence of solar firms and institutes.

Mr Ko said the recent slate of investments and initiatives 'clearly show the Singapore solar industry gaining strong momentum'.

Minister of State (Trade and Industry) S. Iswaran announced on Monday a new $20 million Solar Capability Scheme which will help offset part of the cost of installing solar panels in new, green buildings.

This will help lead users such as developers and building owners adopt solar energy, and more importantly, help Singaporeans build up capability and skills in solar applications, said Mr Ko.