LG to venture into solar energy market

By siliconindia   |   Monday, 28 December 2009, 18:48 IST   |    3 Comments
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Seoul: In order to cash in on the opportunities available in the solar energy market, electronics giant LG has announced that from next month onwards it would start commercial production of solar cells and modules. According to Kwan-shik Cho, Vice President of the Solar Business team at LG Electronics, the company aims to become a global player in the global solar industry. LG plans to manufacture around 520,000 solar modules annually using silicon wafers, at a plant 200 kilometers to the south east of Seoul with a total capacity of 120 megawatts (MW), reports BusinessGreen. It further plans to set up another production line for operation by 2011, which can increase total output to 240MW. "While we recognize this is a crowded playing field, LG has the necessary skills, know-how and business strategy to make this a profitable venture for the long-term," Cho said. With this move the company will directly compete with a host of solar energy firms, as well as electronics rivals Sharp and Mitsubishi, both of which already operate large solar energy divisions. LG claims that it has been preparing to enter the solar market since 2004, after looking at the market potential. In July this year, the company had achieved the most energy efficient large-area thin-film solar cells in a trial. The company will be manufacturing large-area thin-film solar cells, as well as the more widespread crystalline solar cells. LG says, currently the solar market is estimated to be around $11 billion in 2010, with crystalline solar cells forecasted to make up 80 percent of the market.

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