It’s not just niche products that could benefit from a European comeback. As a former head of Centrotherm – once one of the key suppliers of solar production tech – Peter Fath is an industry veteran and is exploring how relocating factories to Europe can work in practice.
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Today, he is CEO of RCT Solutions, which builds solar factories worldwide, primarily in India and the Middle East. “We’re currently building 40 gigawatts of cell and module capacity, plus 30 gigawatts for ingots and wafers.”
Around ten cents on top
In Wilhelmshaven, RCT Solutions plans to establish a new module factory on an old industrial site in the port area. According to Fath’s calculations, higher energy and wage costs in Europe add about ten cents per watt compared to Chinese production. “Using various levers, that difference can be reduced to five cents – that’s realistic.”
Between 500 and 1,000 employees are needed per gigawatt of module output. In China, shifts are 12 hours long, running around the clock. In Germany, production is based on four shifts of 8.5 hours. Given that, it’s no surprise labour costs are significantly higher.
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Utilising capacities for R&D
However, cheap solar and wind energy help keep operating costs down. The modules must outperform similar products from the Far East in both efficiency and performance. This is where Germany’s still-excellent solar R&D may come into play.
The factory is operating under the project name NEW – Neue Elektrizitätswerke Wilhelmshaven – and could begin producing one gigawatt as early as next year, scaling up to three gigawatts by 2028. Realising these plans will require €300 million in equity, 60 percent of which has already been secured. The state of Lower Saxony is contributing €150 million in support. (HS/TF)
More on solar modules and production.
