China-based solar module manufacturer Amerisolar is planning to open a solar module factory in Brazil via a joint venture with local renewable energy company Nova Renováveis.

The multinational, which until now only imported and sold PV systems, will begin producing solar panels in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the Minas Gerais state. The factory was completed at the beginning of the year, and is located at the Belo Horizonte International Airport. Production activities are planned to start nex month.

In a statement released, Amerisolar said it will have an initial production capacity of between 100 and 200 MW, and will manufacture modules based on its current technology. While it did not provide further details, the company’s website states that it manufactures bifacial and half cut modules using mono and multi-crystalline cells; and amorphous silicon thin film modules.

In an interview with the financial newspaper Brazilian Diário do Comércio, CEO of Amerisolar Brasil, Gustavo Henrique de Almeida said the Belo Horizonte facility will be company’s seventh factory, adding to its units in China, Australia and the United States. The location of the factory at the airport will allow the company to import and use the necessary materials for the modules in a tax-free environment, which will directly influence the final product cost.

According to Almeida, with the contracts in force and the new financing, the company is already seeing great demand for both exports and commercialization in the domestic market. “The idea is to achieve revenue of 100 million reais (US$17.8 million) in this first year of operation alone,” he said.

When built, the new factory will be the third largest PV module manufacturing facility in Brazil. The largest two factories are the 380 MW facility owned and operated by Canadian Solar and the 300 MW factory operated by China-based BYD.

Modules produced in Brazil are being given a strong advantage in the Brazilian solar market, as projects incorporating locally made components have access to financing from Brazilian development bank BNDES, and the Banco do Nordeste.