Financial Crisis Forces Taiwanese Thin-Film Makers to Quit

TAICHUNG COUNTY, Taiwan -- The financial market meltdown that has pummeled solar companies in Silicon Valley is also leaving its mark in the cluster of solar startups on this island.

“I don’t expect any more thin-film companies in Taiwan,” said Frank O’Young, vice chairman of Sunner Solar. “There are several companies that have decided not to invest more in PV.”

O’Young said a few companies that had already put money into building amorphous silicon solar panels have quietly decided to quit. He wouldn’t disclose names though.

Taiwan has nearly a dozen amorphous silicon solar companies, including Sunner. Located on a large swath of land that the government has designated as the Central Taiwan Science Park, Sunner was founded in June 2007 and began mass production in March this year.

It has a 25-megawatt factory and plenty of space for expansion. Future plans include its second factory, which will produce 100-megawatts and a third factory that will produce 200-megawatts, O’Young said.

The company plans to add more equipment to the 25-megawatt line to turn it into a 35-megawatt line for producing tandem junction amorphous silicon panels. It has purchased factory equipment from ULVAC and Nisshinbo, both in Japan.

Sunner has seen its panels installed in small systems in Taiwan and the Philippines, and it’s waiting for customers who have received the Italian government's approval to build hundreds of megawatts worth of solar projects to line up the financing for installation, O’Young said.

Thin-film companies aren’t the only ones feeling the crunch. Crystalline silicon solar cell maker Gintech Energy is waiting for market conditions to improve before starting to build its third, 840-megawatt factory. It already has 560 megawatts of manufacturing capacity.

Powercom, meanwhile, has decided to scale back its plan build a polysilicon plant that could initially produce 3,000 tons per year. The factory, which is under construction, would produce 1,500 tons per year during its first phase.