Solar Systems (Russia), SCHMID Group (Germany) and Pekintas Group (Turkey) signed an agreement for establishing a new cell and module manufacturing line in SEZ (special economic zone) Alabuga, Russia, with the annual capacity of 200MWp to be commissioned in two phases. Under the terms of the arrangement, SCHMID and Pekintas will act as the general contractor for setting up the manufacturing lines, building and facilities.

With this project SCHMID and Pekintas are extending their existing collaboration in PV manufacturing, started with SCHMID-Pekintas in 2012, a Turkey-based joint venture.

"Solar Systems has a leading position in Russia's emerging PV market, and we are proud to be the technology partner of Solar Systems," said Christian Schmid, president and CEO at the SCHMID Group. "As a result of our partnership with Pekintas we are able to support our customers with reliable and inclusive integrated manufacturing solutions, enabling highly competitive local manufacturing".

Özhan Olcay, president and CEO at the Pekintas Group, views the agreement as a "perfect example" of multinational understanding and cooperation in the renewable energy field. "We believe this project will be setting new standards in turnkey integration and will put Solar Systems into an undisputed leadership in quality and efficiency in Russia," Olcay noted. "This development shall be integrated into and supported in various ways by our existing partnership with SCHMID Group in Turkey, successfully operating since 2012." 

Mikhail Molchanov, CEO of Solar Systems, expressed his assurance that with SCHMID's and Pekintas' expertise the project with its scheduled start of production in Q2 2016 has an excellent perspective to meet the growing demand for solar panels in the Russian Federation.