Masdar Getting Into Thin Film Solar  

Cleantech.com reports that Masdar is entering the thin film solar business (following an earlier initiative to get into solar thermal power).

If you can't buy it, build it, the reasoning seems to go at the large Abu Dhabi investment and development company. With an eye to becoming a global leader in thin-film PV, Abu Dhabi-based Masdar today announced it's entering the business of making and selling thin-film photovoltaic solar products.

A new $2 billion committment from Masdar—one of the largest single investments made in solar to date, and the second multi-billion committment made to thin film solar in two days—is expected to fund a three-phased manufacturing and expansion strategy to produce the latest generation of thin-film modules, the company said today.

The move would pit Masdar, the Abu Dhabi government's umbrella group for all its renewable projects, directly against an already established and ever-expanding industry of thin film solar companies, which include Nanosolar, Miasole, HelioVolt, Global Solar Energy, Sharp, Ascent Solar, XsunX, DayStar, ECD Ovonics and almost too many others to count. Previously, the company had appeared to be pursuing solar partnerships with established vendors.

According to Masdar, phase one of the new PV project is to involve an investment of $600 million to fund the development of two manufacturing facilities; the first, in Erfurt, Germany is to be operational by Q3 2009, and a second facility in Abu Dhabi, planned to begin initial production by Q2 2010.

The company says the combined annual production capacity of these two sites is expected be 210 megawatts, which is being committed to unnamed "major PV system installers" in Europe and for Masdar's own energy generation needs.