Centrotherm signs Yanbu polysilicon plant agreement

08 February 2012

Plant to be built at Yanbu Industrial City in Saudi Arabia

Germany’s Centrotherm Photovoltaic has signed an agreement to provide technology and equipment for a new $4bn solar-panel plant at Yanbu Industrial City in the west of Saudi Arabia.

The agreement was signed on 6 February with Saudi Arabia’s IDEA Polysilicon Company (IPC). Centrotherm will provide the technical advice and basic engineering design, according to the Saudi Gazette.

A raw materials supply agreement for the project was also signed between the two parties. A tender for engineering services and supervision of the project has been released and the winning firm will be selected in the coming weeks. No details were available on the bidding firms.

The plant will produce 10,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of high-quality polysilicon, and convert 2,500 t/y of this into wafers for solar panels.

IPC estimates the plant will provide as many as 1,000 local job opportunities and will form the nucleus of a solar industry cluster at Yanbu.

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