China Sunergy move production into Turkey

China Sunergy opened a factory in Istanbul with Turkish partner Seul Energy Investment Corp. as it seeks to expand access to European customers.

China Sunergy will make solar modules in a 150-megawatt production line starting next month, it said yesterday in a statement. A 100-megawatt solar-cell facility is also being built and is due to start in March, while 200 megawatts of production capacity will be moved from China, the company said.

China Sunergy said the plans will make Turkey its biggest manufacturing base after China, enabling it to “efficiently serve customers across Europe and even the U.S.” Turkey is targeting 600 megawatts of solar-power capacity by 2015, up from fewer than 10 megawatts earlier this year.

“Our cooperation with the strong local partner Seul Energy will help us capture substantial market share in the region,” said Stephen Cai, chief executive officer of Nanjing-based China Sunergy. The partners also plan to invest in other solar projects in Turkey, where solar parks using locally made panels command higher electricity prices, according to the statement.