Saturday, October 27, 2007

China Solar Power Enters Thin Film Solar Module Market in China by Forging Strategic Alliance with ULVAC Inc. of Japan

October 25, 2007 07:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Charles E. Johnson, Managing Director of Tano China Capital Management, Inc. (TCCMI), announced today the signing of a three-way strategic alliance between its affiliates China Solar Power (Holdings) Ltd. (CSP), Tano China Private Equity Fund II (TCPEF II) and ULVAC Inc. of Japan. The parties signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement in Chigasaki, Japan on October 17, 2007. With the establishment of this strategic alliance, CSP enters the thin film solar module market in China by partnering with ULVAC, a leading manufacturer of thin film solar cell production lines (2.2 billion Yen annual revenue).
Messrs. Charles E. Johnson and Frank Liu, co-founders and Managing Directors of CSP, and their delegation were hosted by Chairman Dr. Kyozu Nakamura, President and CEO Mr. Hidenori Suwa and senior executives of ULVAC.

Mr. Johnson stated at the signing ceremony:
“We are all very excited to have formed this strategic alliance. We have spent the last twelve months evaluating emerging thin film solar technologies, and believe that by partnering with ULVAC, a research and development oriented design and turnkey manufacturer with impeccable credentials, we will quickly be in position to realize our goal of becoming the leading manufacturer of thin film solar modules in China.”
Manny Krakaris, the co-founder of the project, added:
“After an exhaustive review of the PV market and various technologies for manufacturing solar panels, we are convinced that thin film technology will lead the industry’s push to make the cost of solar energy competitive with electricity rates generated from conventional sources. We are very impressed with ULVAC’s amorphous silicon manufacturing technology and are excited to be partnering with ULVAC to help make solar a significant component of the world’s energy mix.”
The goals of the strategic alliance are to both develop CSP into the leading manufacturer of thin film solar modules in China and to enhance ULVAC’s position as a leading provider of thin film photovoltaic (PV) production lines worldwide.
In the second phase of the collaboration, CSP intends to purchase a complete turnkey thin film PV fabrication plant from ULVAC. An extensive search of thin film technologies led CSP to conclude that the world is on the cusp of seeing large-scale, low cost thin film PV manufacturing becoming a profitable growth business. CSP chose this technology and equipment supplier due to ULVAC’s successful track record in the technologically-similar LCD manufacturing industry, and in the PV industry in Japan, where they are the dominant supplier of manufacturing equipment to the world’s largest PV module manufacturers.
CSP plans to build its first plant in Yantai, China to capitalize upon low manufacturing costs, among other benefits, and to establish a presence in what most industry observers expect will become the largest PV market in the world. CSP’s plant, relying upon tandem junction technology, will be among the first and largest of its kind in Asia. The project’s initial two manufacturing lines will initially have a rated annual capacity of 50 MW which is expected to be upgraded to 64 MW within a short time.
This technology’s reliance on abundant, low-cost raw materials, the equipment’s scalability and the manufacturing process’s high yield and reliability will enable CSP to quickly establish a strong position in the worldwide PV module market.
CSP was founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of Tano China Capital Management, Inc. TCCMI is a private equity investment management company focusing on Chinese companies and industries. It is jointly owned by Tano Capital, LLC (Mr. Charles E. Johnson of the U.S.) and an investment group headed by Mr. Chi-Jen Frank Liu of Taiwan.

China Technology Development Group facilitates SA with Terra Solar Global

SmallCapInvestor.com Staff Oct 25, 2007 9:12am EDT

China Technology Development Group Corp. (Nasdaq: CTDC), which provides network security for solar energy businesses in China, said that it has created a strategic partnership with Terra Solar Global Inc., a U.S. photovoltaic technology research and development company.

Under the agreement, Terra Solar will provide support in research and development of solar energy technologies based products and applications and establish distribution channels of SnO2 base plate and solar products in North America. CTDC will manufacture solar products and applications and continuously identify market opportunities to introduce advanced solar energy technologies, products and systems to China.

The partnership is said to be driven by technological advantages of Terra Solar's status in the building integrated photovoltaic market place and the cost advantages that CTDC offers through product and applications offerings and market opportunities in China.

Shares of China Technology Development Group (CTDC) rose 3.99%, or $0.37, to $9.65 in pre-market trading. Shares of China Technology Development Group have been trading in the range of $2.60 to $11.98 for the past 52 weeks.

Suntech Announces $1.5 Billion Seven-Year Polysilicon Purchase Contract with Asia Silicon

October 25, 2007: 08:00 AM EST

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. one of the world's leading manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, today announced that it has entered into a definitive contract with Asia Silicon Co., Ltd. to purchase high purity polysilicon from Asia Silicon with a total value of up to $1.5 billion over a seven-year period.

The polysilicon supplied by this agreement during the seven-year period is subject to the acceptance of product deliveries and other conditions. The contract provides for the delivery of a volume range of polysilicon each year at fixed prices, using a take-or-pay approach, with delivery beginning in the second half of 2008. A predetermined annual price reduction curve will provide Suntech with high purity polysilicon at prices lower than any of Suntech's other contracts.

''This contract with Asia Silicon will form a critical element of Suntech's polysilicon supply portfolio as the average price paid under the contract is so low that we believe that it reflects what is essentially grid parity pricing for Suntech, when combined with our high efficiency solar cells and world class low cost of production,'' said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO. ''We believe that this is truly transformational, with the price decreasing to substantially below $40 per kilogram, as it enables Suntech to be at the forefront of leading the solar industry towards an environment without government subsidies or incentives.''

Asia Silicon is deep in the process of building a state-of-the-art polysilicon plant in Qinghai, China with polysilicon production capacity targets of 2,000 metric tons by July of 2008 and over 6,000 metric tons by the end of 2010. The polysilicon plant will utilize the low-risk, well-proven trichlorosilane-based advanced Siemens production process and has already achieved impressive milestones in its development. Plant design started early last year and orders for equipment and engineering services from industry leading vendors including GT Solar Incorporated, Centrotherm GmbH/SiQ GmbH/Solmic GmbH, and Chemical Design, Inc. have been in the pipeline for almost a year. Up to 80% of electricity used in Asia Silicon's production of polysilicon will be supplied from renewable energy hydropower sources with a pricing structure that is among the lowest industrial electricity rates in China.

''The new polysilicon plant will employ best of class production equipment and processes, and is headed by Dr. Tihu Wang, one of the world's leading polysilicon material scientists. Dr. Wang has built a formidable team of talented scientists, engineers and operations professionals to execute on Asia Silicon's aggressive growth plan and we are very confident in their ability to produce high purity polysilicon,'' said Dr. Shi.

Dr. Tihu Wang, Asia Silicon's CEO said: ''We are delighted to enter this partnership with Suntech, one of the world's premier solar cell and module producers. This agreement is a milestone achievement for Asia Silicon and will support our development over the long term. With Suntech's impressive growth as an example, we look forward to rapidly developing and expanding our production capacity of high quality polysilicon.''

Commenting on the progress of the plant development, Dr. Wang said: ''I am very pleased with the progress we have made so far. Plant construction has been underway during 2007 achieving impressive milestones and we are on- schedule to complete the construction work and to start polysilicon production in the second half of 2008. We believe that we will have among the lowest production costs in the industry with our 20 year low cost electricity agreement as well as a capex plan that is half the cost of some other polysilicon producers.''

Asia Silicon has assembled an expert technical team that has over 150 years of combined experience in the research, development and production of polysilicon and the precursor gas ultra-pure trichlorosilane. Dr. Wang is a veteran silicon scientist of over 25 years and spent 18 years at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy in Colorado where he was the leading silicon material scientist and a project leader. He received his Ph.D in applied physics from the Colorado School of Mines in the United States.

About Suntech

Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. is a leading solar energy company in the world as measured by both production output and capacity of solar cells and modules. Suntech provides solar solutions for a green future. Suntech designs, develops, manufactures, and markets a variety of high quality, cost effective and environmentally friendly PV cells and modules for electric power applications in the residential, commercial, industrial, and public utility sectors. Suntech's majority-owned subsidiary, MSK Corporation is one of the top-ranked companies in the building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) space. Suntech's customers are located in various markets worldwide, including key markets throughout Europe, North America, Japan and China. For more information, please visit http://www.suntech-power.com .