News Article
Spark Solar Builds Factory And Creates Jobs
$70m solar cell factory to create 115 new jobs in Canberra region.
More than one hundred new jobs would be created in Canberra under a plan to build a $70 million high tech solar cell factory in the area. The factory will produce 19 million solar cells each year, enough to power about 20,000 Australian homes.
The company, Spark Solar Australia, last week completed the first round of its capital raising with a Swiss investment fund. The factory will be built next year and the first cells will be produced in early 2010.
“The market for solar cells is enormous and there are not enough cells being made globally to meet demand”, said Interim CEO, Dr Michelle McCann. “Even before the factory is built, we expect to pre sell almost all of our output for the first five years.”
Photovoltaic solar cells convert sunlight to electricity and are used in the manufacture of solar panels. Last year the global market for photovoltaics grew by a massive 70%, to 4.3 Giga Watts ($21 billion). Within Canberra, potential sites have been identified in Mitchell and Hume. The company is also considering sites in Queanbyean and Wollongong.
“We would prefer to be close to the ANU for collaboration purposes, but of course we have to consider other business factors, including state or territory government incentives,” said Dr McCann.
The company also has plans to develop its own new high efficiency technology, the Angled Buried Contact cell or ‘ABC cell' for short. With two production lines planned, the company has forecast revenues of more than $150 million per annum. The bulk of the cells will be exported to Germany and elsewhere, but some of the output will be sold into the smaller Australian market.
“Once the Australian market grows, we will be well placed to expand and meet domestic demand”, Dr McCann said.
The company says that the operation will inject $84 million into the local economy in its first five years.
The company, Spark Solar Australia, last week completed the first round of its capital raising with a Swiss investment fund. The factory will be built next year and the first cells will be produced in early 2010.
“The market for solar cells is enormous and there are not enough cells being made globally to meet demand”, said Interim CEO, Dr Michelle McCann. “Even before the factory is built, we expect to pre sell almost all of our output for the first five years.”
Photovoltaic solar cells convert sunlight to electricity and are used in the manufacture of solar panels. Last year the global market for photovoltaics grew by a massive 70%, to 4.3 Giga Watts ($21 billion). Within Canberra, potential sites have been identified in Mitchell and Hume. The company is also considering sites in Queanbyean and Wollongong.
“We would prefer to be close to the ANU for collaboration purposes, but of course we have to consider other business factors, including state or territory government incentives,” said Dr McCann.
The company also has plans to develop its own new high efficiency technology, the Angled Buried Contact cell or ‘ABC cell' for short. With two production lines planned, the company has forecast revenues of more than $150 million per annum. The bulk of the cells will be exported to Germany and elsewhere, but some of the output will be sold into the smaller Australian market.
“Once the Australian market grows, we will be well placed to expand and meet domestic demand”, Dr McCann said.
The company says that the operation will inject $84 million into the local economy in its first five years.
