Reden Solar has launched a 200 MW solar panel production line in France, with the capacity to produce up to 300,000 modules per year, mainly for its own renewable electricity projects.
Reden Solar has opened a 200 MW solar panel production line at its factory in Roquefort, Lot-et-Garonne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in south-west France.
The new line replaces a 65 MW production line that was installed 15 years ago and was outdated. The new line allows for improvements such as 166mm half-cells and 10 to 16 rail connection points, replacing the previous 72-cell modules with five rails, said Tony Proutier, operations director at Reden Solar.
The company invested €4 million ($4.2 million) in the new equipment. The modular line, designed by Spanish manufacturer Mondragon, again includes adapted machines from Eastern European countries, especially for cell welding. About 10 employees are needed to work the line, which produces up to 300,000 panels per year.
The factory produces mono-passivated emitter and back cell panels (PERC) with an efficiency of over 21.7%, which have been rigorously tested for performance. The low-carbon certified panels are available in four ranges, from 405W to 545W, tailored for different applications such as power stations, shade houses and agricultural voltaic systems.
Reason Solar chairman and CEO Frank Demaille said the company could eventually consider tunnel oxide passivated contact technology (TOPCon).
“Our new production line will be able to adapt to that,” he said pv magazine France. “But TOPCon is only in its early stages, so it is better for us to have some perspective for its production.”
While the cells are manufactured in Asia, the copper comes from France and Belgium. The glass comes from Austria and the EVA manufacturer is German.
“We are not passive when we buy panels or their components,” says Proutier. “We choose our raw materials that we want to transform, by defining quality criteria together with our partners and by carrying out preliminary on-site checks. This is particularly the case for diodes, the small boxes that house the modules and are crucial for good connectivity.”
With Chinese solar panel prices falling, Reden Solar is facing questions about the feasibility of producing the more expensive modules in France.
“The additional costs are 50% to 70%, but the ‘panel’ part of a solar power plant represents only a quarter of the total price,” says Demaille.
The additional costs for using French-made panels – ranging from 15% to 25% depending on the type of power plant – are always manageable. Producing its own panels gives Reden Solar an important advantage as an energy producer: full control over the PV value chain.
“It is a differentiating factor that guarantees a certain independence from large manufacturers,” says Demaille. “It also allows us to be in a stronger position when it comes to negotiations with our Chinese suppliers, because we know their activities in detail.”
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