3B euro Norwegian investment to churn out solar modules.

(SINGAPORE) More than 200 locations in 18 countries were considered, but Singapore has trumped them all and is now poised to build the world’s largest integrated solar plant on its shores.

The plant will have the capacity to make solar modules with an annual output of 1.5 gigawatt (GW) - enough to power several million households.

It stems from a projected investment of three billion euros (S$6.3 billion) by Norway’s Renewable Energy Corp ASA (REC) - a world leader in the solar energy field. As oil prices climb and environmental concerns grow, solar energy is expected to become increasingly popular.

‘It’s a very significant project,’ said Economic Development Board managing director Ko Kheng Hwa. ‘It’s a queen bee that will help us kick-start this whole new industry.’

In a video conference with the media yesterday, REC president and CEO Erik Thorsen said that the new plant in Singapore will help the company meet rising global demand for solar energy, which is projected to hit 20 GW in 2010. Worldwide power output by solar products was a mere 2 GW last year.

‘So our expansion is critical in order to realise this demand,’ he added.

The Singapore plant will be located in a greenfield site in Tuas View. It will make wafers, photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules.

BT understands that a sizeable plot of land - larger than what an average pharmaceutical plant needs - has been allocated for this project. Besides manufacturing, the site will also incorporate infrastructure and support facilities, an onsite supplier park, and space for expansion, R&D, process innovation and factory automation development activities.

The plant will hire up to 3,000 workers. Of that, more than 2,000 will be highly-skilled positions, such as electronics and mechanical engineers, technicians, specialists in IT, physics and other sciences.

Although solar technology has been around for some time, the industry has yet to take off globally, primarily due to its high cost compared to existing prices of electricity. A number of countries like Germany offer government subsidies to offset the higher costs and encourage technological advancements in the field.

‘The development of this site will enable us to continue expanding in a cost efficient manner and will support REC’s ambitious cost target,’ said Mr Thorsen. ‘Our future cost position will determine our ability to deliver solar products that can compete with traditional energy sources in the sunny areas of the world without government incentives.’

The choice of Singapore was decided after nine months of screening more than 200 possible sites in 18 countries on three continents. Twenty locations were shortlisted. EDB even deployed three teams in Singapore, Europe and the US for the courtship, before a team was sent to Oslo in August for a ‘beauty parade called by REC for the final shortlisted sites’.

EDB is providing a comprehensive support package, but Mr Ko said that that was not the tipping point for REC’s decision in choosing Singapore.

‘Yes, we have given incentives but our incentives are not the best compared to the competition,’ said Mr Ko. ‘And we cannot compete based just on incentives.’ It was the total value proposition offered by Singapore that clinched the deal for it.

Acknowledging this, REC’s Mr Thorsen said that Singapore represents the ideal balance between financial return, risks and future opportunity. It cannot claim to have the cheapest labour or land, but ‘it’s a combination of all factors and reliability . . . which have been important in this decision process’.

REC is expected to invest up to three billion euros over the next five years. The investment is seen as a boost to the nascent clean energy industry that Singapore sees as a key growth area.

Source: Business Times

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