SolarWorld's manufacturing division, Deutsche Cell, handed over the one hundred millionth solar cell.

The one hundred millionth solar cell from Deutsche Cell, the cell manufacturing division of SolarWorld, was handed over to the sales and distribution people. The total number of solar cells manufactured since the start of production in the year 2002 is equivalent to the size of 270 football pitches or the area covered by the Duchy of Monaco. With the power generated by the solar cells produced in Freiberg in Saxony some 1.6 million tons of CO2 have so far been saved; over their entire service life it will be more than 40 million tons of greenhouse gases.

“Our objective is to use our highly efficient solar technology to replace the old energy sources step by step and to protect the climate in this way”, says Frank H. Asbeck, Chairman and CEO of SolarWorld.

Since 2002 the production capacity at Freiberg has been consistently expanded. Next year the necessary prerequisites will be created to produce 200 MW and thus more than 50 million highly efficient solar cells every year. Deutsche Cell is one of five subsidiaries of SolarWorld with production activities at Freiberg. More than 1,000 people are employed here at all stages of the solar value chain from wafer production via cell and module manufacture to silicon recycling.

Deutsche Cell itself employs more than 200 people in Freiberg. Under clean room conditions the solar cells are produced here on modern process equipment with the highest possible degree of automation and with strict quality control checks at every stage of production. As of next year only polycrystalline solar cells will be manufactured at Freiberg with monocrystalline production being concentrated within the group at the US site in Hillsboro where SolarWorld is currently building the largest solar production facility in the USA.