Soitec gains warranty assurance with Munich Re deal
Soitec has announced the signing of a performance-warranty insurance contract with Munich Re, one of the world's leading reinsurers. This contract will cover all concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules manufactured by Soitec. Soitec's customers will therefore benefit from a greater degree of business certainty, which will help them to secure financing for projects based on Soitec's CPV technology.
Soitec already provides its customers with a module power output warranty that guarantees its products' performance for 25 years. From now on, thanks to this agreement and in the unexpected event of an excessive loss of output from the CPV modules, Munich Re, through its subsidiary Great Lakes Reinsurances, will indemnify Soitec for its warranty obligations. This performance-warranty insurance contract covers the long-term warranty risk and therefore gives the CPV modules manufacturer additional financial protection. In addition, Soitec's customers will have the option of directly taking out insurance policies for specific projects with Munich Re, allowing the projects to become direct beneficiaries of the insurance. Since this insurance contract provides additional risk protection, it may also allow banks and financing institutions to provide project financing at more attractive conditions.
Before signing the contract with Soitec, Munich Re conducted an in-depth review of Soitec's modules as well as its manufacturing and quality control processes. Gaetan Borgers, executive vice president of Soitec's Solar Energy Division, explained: "Our CPV modules have proven to be extremely durable and reliable. We have already installed our products in 18 countries worldwide and have yet to receive any warranty claims due to module degradation. The contract with Munich Re, following their due diligence, is another element supporting our high confidence level with regards to the robustness of our product."
Combined with the high reliability and durability of Soitec's CPV modules, the new warranty-protection insurance will further facilitate photovoltaic projects. As Borgers explained: "Thanks to the contract signed with Munich Re, we are not only protecting our balance sheet, but also giving additional protection to our customers. As the performance of our modules is reinsured, the economic security of CPV projects is reinforced. Our customers will therefore have one more argument to put to banks and investors to negotiate favorable financing conditions for their solar power plants.
