Solar cell maker SunPower sets P9-B expansion of facility in the Philippines. SunPower Corp., the second largest American solar cell manufacturer, is investing P9 billion in the Philippines to expand its existing manufacturing facility in Batangas. The Philippine Economic Zone Authority has already approved the additional investment with incentives to its local unit SunPower Philippines Manufacturing Ltd. The SunPower expansion is one of the major projects approved by PEZA in the first half of the year. PEZA Director-General Lilia B. De Lima told reporters that SunPower has the highest efficiency rate among solar panel producers in the world. The multinational company headquartered in San Jose, California, USA, SunPower is a global leader in the design and manufacture of highest-efficiency, highest-reliability solar panels and systems for residential, business, government and utility customers. It maintains two manufacturing facilities in the country — one at the Laguna Technopark in Binan, Laguna, and another at the First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. The two facilities have a combined workforce of 2,700 — 1,100 in Laguna and 1,600 in Sto. Tomas. All of their production are for export. The Department of Labor and Employment earlier cited SunPower for having stopped subcontracting of employees but moves to regularize its workers instead. This SunPower decision is part of this publicly-listed company at the New York Stock Exchange to keep its corporate social responsibility of giving back to the society. An earlier report by Bloomberg has quoted Chief Executive Officer Tom Werner saying that SunPower was planning a new factory to increase share as global demand swells. The company’s Fab 4 in the Philippines will begin production in the first half of 2015, and will eventually have 350 megawatts of capacity. SunPower hasn’t determined where to build Fab 5, which Werner said will be at least twice that size. He wouldn’t say how much the new facility may cost, the report said. The report did not mention any project and location, but said the new factory that will expand production capacity by more than 50 percent from current levels, in an effort to increase market share. Based on the report, SunPower may start production in 2017 and will eventually be able to make at least 700 megawatts of solar panels a year, more than double the size of a plant due to start up next year, The company aims to double its market share in five years. (c) Yahoo Philippines
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:00:13 +0000
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