Next Solar, a solar-panel production company based in Greece, is constructing its first thin-film solar module factory, scheduled to start production in early 2009. The initial annual capacity will be 30 MWp, and Next Solar has the option to upgrade to 60 MWp. Oerlikon Solar is delivering a turnkey production line to the facility this year.
‘We will provide Next Solar with our proprietary micromorph tandem technology, enabling them to quickly enter the thin-film solar market with a highly competitive and proven product,’ says Jeannine Sargent, CEO of Oerlikon Solar. ‘The micromorph tandem cell can achieve up to a 50 percent increase in module efficiency, as well as module yield in comparison to amorphous technology.’
The production plant site will occupy over 16,000 square meters and is currently being built in the industrial zone of Tripoli, in Peloponnesus, Greece. Next Solar expects to sell products within Greece and in other European markets, such as Germany, Spain and Italy.
