Motech Industries, a Taiwanese solar photovoltaic company, announced this week that it will buy General Electric's PV plant in Glasgow, Delaware.
GE decided earlier this year to shutter the crystalline silicon panel plant, citing high production costs. The company added that it will shift its solar development into thin-film technology, which is far cheaper to produce; it bought thin-film company PrimeStar Solar in 2008.
"We are pleased to announce this agreement to purchase the solar module operation from GE Energy," noted Motech chairman and CEO Dr. Simon Tsuo.
The Glasgow facility can produce 34 megawatts of solar panels each year. Seventy-five employees currently work there, Motech said. The Taiwanese firm will be able to use GE's module trademark for two years, and it will assume responsibility for warranty services on GE-produced panels.
In the last few decades, Western companies sought to produce goods in China. Now renewable energy companies are shifting production the other way: in November, Chinese solar PV maker Suntech said it would open a plant in Arizona.
Foreign firms are seeking to both bolster their image and avoid a potential tariff hike. Tariffs on solar panels may be increased 2.5 percent, the New York Times reported in October.
