Hanwha unit bags biggest export deal

Hanwha SolarOne will supply solar modules for South Africa’s new photovoltaic plants.

Hanwha Group said yesterday the solar unit signed a deal to provide 155 megawatts of solar modules for two new photovoltaic plants that were recently approved by the government of the African country.

At $116 million, this is the largest export deal in the Hanwha subsidiary’s history.

The two solar plants will be built nearby Cape Town by a Spanish consortium including Cobra and Gran Solar. The order was placed by a consortium made up of Chinese solar company CGM and America’s Solar Reserve.

Hanwha will ship out 5-megawatt modules every week from mid-January. It will complete shipments by next August. The 155-megawatt modules can produce power for 268,000 households in South Africa.

The South African government plans to double its power capability to 89,500 megawatts by 2030. About 17,800 megawatts of the expansion is planned to be filled by renewable energy like solar power.

“Hanwha will keep going as a solar business by pursuing Chairman Kim Seung-youn’s vision to make it a world leader in the global photovoltaic market,” said Kim Min-su, president of Hanwha SolarOne.

Hanwha now ranks as the world’s third-largest solar business after it took over German Q.Cells recently.

The group has been making continuous investments in the solar field, forecasting the market will recover in the next two years.

A U.S. market researcher said in October that Hanwha will become one of eight solar businesses that will survive the current market slump.

By Song Su-hyun [ssh@joongang.co.kr]