Solar Systems, SCHMID and Pekintas agree on partnership
Freudenstadt, SCHMID Group and Pekintas Group signed an agreement for establishing a new cell and module manufacturing line in SEZ (special economic zone) Alabuga, Russia, with the annual capacity of 200MWp to be commissioned in two phases. SCHMID and Pekintas will act as the general contractor for setting up the manufacturing lines, building and facilities.
Mikhail Molchanov, CEO of Solar Systems, expressed his assurance that with SCHMID's and Pekintas' expertise the project with its scheduled start of production in Q2 2016 has an excellent perspective to meet the growing demand for solar panels in the Russian Federation.
In 2013, a new governmental program for renewable energy development support was set up in Russia (so-called CSA - capacity supply agreements, the right to submit the CSA is traded every year via special auction). Being a newly built entity, Solar Systems (established by Chinese shareholder Amur-Sirius in 2014 specifically for the development of the renewable energy market in the country) managed to win the biggest amount of CSA quotes among all the participants on the tender held in May-June, 2014 by Russian Market Council (175 MW of solar parks to be commissioned by the company in 2016-2018). Solar Systems also plans to participate in upcoming tenders to be held in years 2015 and 2016 and to offer solar modules to other market players in Russia together with the plans to export the production.
With this project SCHMID and Pekintas are extending their existing collaboration in PV manufacturing, started with SCHMID-Pekintas in 2012, a Turkey based joint venture.
Christian Schmid, President and CEO at the SCHMID Group, regards this agreement as another milestone for SCHMID in maintaining its position as the leading supplier of turnkey manufacturing solutions in the emerging PV markets: "Solar Systems has a leading position in Russia's emerging PV market and we are proud to be the technology partner of Solar Systems. As a result of our partnership with Pekintas we are able to support our customers with reliable and inclusive integrated manufacturing solutions, enabling highly competitive local manufacturing".
"As Pekintas Group we value and honor this important agreement as a perfect example of multinational understanding and cooperation in the renewable energy field. We believe this project will be setting new standards in turnkey integration and will put Solar Systems into an undisputed leadership in quality and efficiency in Russia. This development shall be integrated into and supported in various ways by our existing partnership with SCHMID Group in Turkey, successfully operating since 2012", states Özhan Olcay, President and CEO at the Pekintas Group.
