May 26 2009
GT Solar, a leading global provider of specialized manufacturing equipment and technology essential for the production of photovoltaic wafers, cells and modules and polysilicon for the solar power industry, today announced that it has received final acceptance for the design, installation and commissioning of the first integrated photovoltaic (PV) solar wafer and cell turnkey fabrication line in Greece.
The state-of-the-art production line, created for Greece-based Solar Cells Hellas S.A., has an annual capacity of 30-megawatts (MW). It delivers a stable production process that produces high-quality multi-crystalline cells of optimum efficiency. With the commissioning of this turnkey solution, Solar Cells Hellas becomes the first PV manufacturer in Greece.
“The successful start-up of this wafer and cell turnkey line is additional confirmation that GT Solar delivers to our customers advanced technological solutions that are efficiently implemented through the application of our extensive process know-how,” said Ron Jones, vice president and general manager of GT Solar’s turnkey business. “We’re proud to have worked with Solar Cells Hellas to open this world-class facility in the Greek port city of Patras, and believe they are well-positioned to help meet the increasing demand for solar energy in Greece and throughout Western Europe.”
GT Solar is one of only a small number of equipment providers that offers turnkey solutions for every process involved in manufacturing PV wafers, cells, and modules. The company’s turnkey solutions, which integrate GT Solar and best of breed third party equipment, are built to increase customers’ productivity, boost quality and improve line yields, all resulting in a low cost of ownership. Comprehensive training and world-class service back each turnkey offering. GT Solar has successfully installed a variety of turnkey line configurations in countries around the globe including China, India, Italy, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.
“Being new to the industry, Solar Cells Hellas needed a partner that we could rely on – one with significant PV manufacturing expertise and experience,” said Dimitris Panagakos, chairman for Solar Cells Hellas. “Not only was GT Solar able to build and deploy our equipment, but they also helped us design and configure our facility, and provided the training that will allow us to realize the best possible results. We’re pleased at how quickly we’ve been able to get our operations up-and-running, and we look forward to expanding relationship with GT Solar as we grow our company.”
A GT Solar turnkey solution is built on the solid foundation of GT Solar’s industry-leading directional solidification systems (DSS) furnace technology. GT Solar’s wafer fabrication line (GT-WAFFABTM) delivers high-quality multi-crystalline ingots to the wafer lines. It features leading-edge equipment technologies for squaring, polishing, chamfering, wafering, cleaning, and inspection. GT Solar’s cell turnkey line (GT-CELFABTM) is designed to produce high efficiency solar cells from round or square, mono or multi-crystalline silicon wafers.