New High-Tech Solar Company for Saudi Arabia

October 18th, 2012 by Zach

A new high-tech company for the solar energy sector is going to be created in Saudi Arabia, courtesy Saint-Gobain (in particular, Jean-Pierre Floris, Senior Vice-President and President of the Innovative Materials Sector) and Prince Faisal Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

A MOU was signed at a ceremony in Torgau, Germany, this week. That’s where “Saint-Gobain’s Avancis affiliate operates one of the world’s most modern thin film Photovoltaic (PV) module plants,” a news release published this week noted.

Here’s more from the release:

“Under the terms of the Memorandum, Saint-Gobain shall provide technical assistance and engineering expertise to build and operate a CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) thin film PV module manufacturing facility in KSA. This project is part of a larger program which includes the construction of solar power plants in the Kingdom.

“This strategic alliance will lay the foundation for other businesses in the field of solar. Furthermore, it will accelerate the development of solar power plants equipped with modules manufactured in Saudi Arabia using Avancis CIGS technology. The solar electricity generated using sunlight could lead to a reduction in the consumption of crude oil. Fully aligned with K.A.CARE’s* strategic priorities, this program will enable the development of a competitive manufacturing base in the Kingdom. K.A.CARE has been established in April 2010 byRoyal Decree and is in charge of developing nuclear and renewable energy in the Kingdom. It has set itself the target to install 41 GWp of solar power by 2032 – of which 16 GWp should be contributed by PV power generation.”

For more information, check out the Saint-Gobain news release [PDF].

Image Credit: Saudi Arabia by NASA Goddard Photo and Video (some rights reserved)

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Tags: Avancis, saint-gobain, saudi arabia

About the Author

Zach is the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular cleantech-focused website in the world, and Planetsave, a world-leading green and science news site. He has been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and he has been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, and wind energy since 2009. Aside from his work on CleanTechnica and Planetsave, he's the founder and director of Solar Love, EV Obsession, and Bikocity. To connect with Zach on some of your favorite social networks, go to ZacharyShahan.com and click on the relevant buttons.