Signet Solar, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based solar module manufacturer, has broken ground on its new factory located in Saxony, Germany.
According to the company, the facility – which is scheduled to be complete mid-2008 – will serve as a solar module production line as well as Signet Solar's research and development headquarters. Once complete, the building will hold 130 new employees.
The company chose the area largely because its primary silicon supplier, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied Materials Inc., has a facility in Dresden, Signet Solar says. In addition, the region is known as ‘Silicon Saxony’ because of the concentration of solar and semi-conductor firms nearby.