California solar company gets $50 million to build solar plant in China

California solar company gets $50 million to build solar plant in China  California-based Sunpreme secured $50 million financing recently to build a manufacturing plant in China.

The company produces solar cells using metallurgical grade silicon rather than the more expensive electronic grade silicon typically used in solar cells, Sunpreme spokesman Jeff Ettles said.

The lower-grade silicon is typically used to make cast iron and aluminum.

Sunpreme was able to make the inferior silicon function at a higher level by depositing an ultra-thin film stack on top of it, Ettles said. The film cost one tenth of what conventional thin-film solar technology costs.

Sunpreme has been successfully manufacturing its SmartSilicon solar cell for 18 months.

“And it is extremely scalable,” Ettles said.

The company’s Research and Development facility is located in Sunnyvale, Calif. in Silicon Valley.

While Sunpreme is a California-based business, the company aims to expand production of its affordable and efficient solar technology to emerging markets like India, Latin America, Africa and China, Ettles said.

“China is one of the top three major markets for Sunpreme,” said Sunpreme co-founder and vice president of global operations and finance David Fried.

The $50 million in financing for the new plant in Jiaxing, China, came from a collection of investors. They include International Finance Corporation, which is the private sector investment arm of World Bank Group along with existing investors California-based Capricorn Investment Group and Beijing-based China Environment Fund III.

Sunpreme expects to be able to start work on the new facility before the end of the year.

As the world supply of solar grows and prices continue to fall, Sunpreme’s founders believe the company is well-positioned, with its low-cost process, to gain market share.

Several solar panel manufacturers from around the world have recently built new manufacturing facilities or relocated existing ones to Jiaxing, China, near Shanghai. The town has a growing draw for solar industry development as China becomes the world’s leading exporter of solar panels.