Headstart for CSUN in Turkey

CHINA, GERMANY & TURKEY: CSUN, a specialized manufacturer of solar cells and modules took the next step in its globalization approach and celebrated the grand opening of its factory in Istanbul, together with the Turkish Minister of Energy Taner Yildiz, the VP of the government party and parliament member Salih Kapusuz as well as the Chinese consul general, Zhang Qingyang.

The inauguration was celebrated with about 200 invited guests, including high-ranking government officials, customers, financial institutes and media representatives. The event was highlighted by the ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Turkish Energy minister, Taner Yildiz, VP of the government party Salih Kapusuz, CSUN’s chairman Lu and JV partner Seul Energy’s chairman Cargi Seymen.

Additionally, a framework agreement with EPC and project developer Sybac for 100 MW of module supply and a cooperation agreement with TÜV Rheinland were signed. Furthermore the local banks AKBANK and ISBANK officially confirmed their support for CSUN Eurasia and its business in the Turkish and European markets.

During his speech,Taner Yildiz expressed his support for the local PV industry and underlined the importance of solar power for Turkey. On CSUN’s factory he comments: “I would like to congratulate CSUN because they invested not only in module production but also in cell manufacturing in our country. With this local production investors will benefit from higher feed-in-tariffs.”

CSUN invested into a cell and module production facility in Istanbul-Tuzla in 2012 and operates this factory as CSUN Eurasia together with its local joint venture partner Seul Energy. The new production location will put CSUN in a good market position to serve the growing Turkish and Middle East solar markets as well as its many European customers.

Tingxiu Lu, CSUN’s chairman, explains: “Together with CSUN, I believe that the photovoltaic industry will see a brighter future. Our objective is to provide benefits to mankind and future generations.  We are very proud of establishing CSUN’s first manufacturing plant outside of China here in Turkey. This marks a very crucial and important step in CSUN’s continued drive for globalization. We continue to strive for excellence in product quality, security and good service to strengthen our position as a trusted and preferred partner.“

Chairman of Seul Energy, Cagri Seymen, adds: “Due to the increasing electricity prices and falling module prices all around the world, solar energy is becoming more and more attractive. Especially with the new regulations and tariffs, the solar energy sector is booming in Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East. Istanbul is at the heart of this region and CSUN Eurasia eases the investment decisions for solar investors by helping with legal barriers, logistics and local incentive issues."

Operational since January 2013, the factory in Istanbul mainly produces polycrystalline cells and modules based on CSUN’s well developed technology and equipment. After June this year, the annual production capacity for modules will total 300 MW. In addition to module production the manufacturing site provides a cell manufacturing capacity of 100 MW.

To offer Turkish customers higher feed-in-tariffs, CSUN is currently also evaluating locally produced materials such as glass, frames and backsheets and expects to be compliant with Turkish local content regulations by the Q4 2013.