OREANDA-NEWS. On 27 August 2009 was announced, that Nano Solar Technology Ltd. (NST), a newly formed Russian High-tech firm, had ordered a 120 MW end-to-end Oerlikon Solar’s Micromorph® line for production of thin film solar modules. NST is a Joint Venture between Renova Group and the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RUSNANO). With the envisaged production capacity of one million solar modules annually, this is the largest equipment order in the worldwide thin film silicon photovoltaic (PV) market in 2009 to-date.

The order includes Oerlikon Solar’s Micromorph® technology which raises module efficiency by up to 50 percent over prior generation technologies. The equipment will be delivered in 2010 to the new site currently under construction in Novocheboksarsk (Chuvash Republic). The start of production is scheduled for 2011.

“Oerlikon Solar emerged from a thorough evaluation process to identify the best technology partner for our project, because of its leading technology” said Yaroslav Kuznetsov (no relation to OC Oerlikon’s Chairman), CEO of NST. “This is a win-win situation for all parties involved. Oerlikon Solar can establish a strong presence in the Russian market and the Russian economy has made another step as a state-of-the-art production site”, continued Yaroslav Kuznetsov. Establishing production of thin film solar modules in the Chuvash Republic is part of RUSNANO’s strategy to develop the high tech economy in Russia by co-investing in nanotechnology industry projects. Through acting as a catalyst for private co-investments, RUSNANO aims at creating conditions favourable to developing cutting edge nanotechnology in Russia, the joint venture with Renova being a good example.

“The solar module production will catalyze growth of Russian high-technology ventures involved in the production cycle of NST. The company will create approximately 300 new direct jobs, and about a thousand indirect jobs will be stimulated in related branches such as production of glass and clean gases” said Chairman of NST and RUSNANO Managing Director Sergey Polikarpov.

In addition to the planned production line, RUSNANO plans to set up a major research center that will focus on increasing the effectiveness of the solar modules in cooperation with the Ioffe Physical Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

NST will deliver Micromorph® PV modules to serve the growing market for solar PV applications. The company will address PV markets such as Spain, Italy, Greece and Germany. Avelar Energy Group (part of the RENOVA Group), which installs and adjusts solar modules in Europe, will handles product sales. In the long term, the Russian market is aimed to take a substantial part of NST sales.

According to a recently published study by New Energy Finance, new investments in clean energy worldwide rallied in the second quarter of 2009, reaching USD 24.3bn., almost double the amount invested worldwide during Q1 2009. According to New Energy Finance, this improving trend in Q2 was led by investments in asset finance for large solar and wind energy projects.