The company, which develops and manufactures thin-film photovoltaic modules, signed a definitive agreement with the government of the municipal city of Suqian to form a joint venture entity to establish their manufacturing facility in the area.
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. will be building their newest manufacturing plant in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, China.
The company, which develops and manufactures thin-film photovoltaic modules, signed a definitive agreement with the government of the municipal city of Suqian to form a joint venture entity to establish their manufacturing facility in the area.
«The signing of this definitive agreement is a strong endorsement of Ascent’s industry leading flexible CIGS technology,» said Victor Lee, president and chief executive officer of Ascent. “This partnership enables us to accelerate our transformational consumer-centric strategy with the EnerPlex consumer brand and specialty off-grid applications given China’s huge and growing consumer base and readily available contract manufacturers.”
The joint venture will build the factory, which will have a production capacity of 100 MW of solar products, over the next six years.
Suquian will inject approximately $4.8 million in cash into the joint venture and have majority interest at 75 percent. Ascent will inject around $1.6 million and hold a minority interest of 25 percent.
During 2014, Suqian will further inject the balance of a committed $32.5 million while Ascent will contribute its proprietary technology and intellectual property as well as equipment increasing its shareholdings progressively up to 80 percent ownership.
Under the definitive agreement, Suqian will also be providing approximately $32.5 million in cash for the facility. Suqian will also provide five year, rent-free use of approximately 331,000 square feet of factory and office space for the facility in the Suqian Economic and Industrial Development Science Park.
«The Suqian Government is fully committed to this partnership and shall provide the utmost support and incentives to Ascent. We are convinced that CIGS, and more specifically Ascent’s proprietary CIGS technology utilizing a flexible plastic substrate, is the next breakthrough in photovoltaics. The aim of our alliance with Ascent is to build a state of the art industrial park in Suqian for solar and solar-related products, anchored by Ascent’s manufacturing presence, as well as equipment suppliers, contract manufacturers and other supporting industries,» said Mr. Lan Shao Min, Top Leader & Governor of the Municipal City of Suqian.
Suqian will also be providing a package of additional incentives which will include a 5-year corporate tax holiday and a further 50 percent tax rebate over the next 5 years; full rebate of value-added tax for the first 2 years and a 50 percent rebate for the subsequent 3 years; and free accommodations for up to 5 years for key personnel of the J.V.
Within five years, Ascent will purchase the factory at the initial construction cost. During the same time period, it will also hold the right to purchase Suquian’s ownership interest in the J.V. at 1.5 times of Suqian’s cash cost.
Ascent will also have the option to purchase approximately 215,000 square feet of land zoned for commercial usage at a favorable price at 10 percent above the government’s prevailing cost at the factory site. – EcoSeed Staff
