"Hungary's solar module maker Heliogrid will start production at its new plant in Rétság (some 60 km north of Budapest) in the autumn, more or less in line with original plans, Ottó Luda, head of sales at the company has said.Heliogrid Magyarország Napelemgyártó Kft., the Hungarian subsidiary of Switzerland's Energosolar, announced in March last year that it would build a 50-megawatt (per year) photovoltaic (PV) plant in Nógrád county at a cost of HUF 16.5 billion, creating 800 jobs.
Production at the thin-film solar module facility was scheduled to start in 2008 and Ottó Luda told business daily Világgazdaság on Tuesday that the first production line could be put into operation already this autumn, with an annual capacity of 6 MWp. Another three lines are to be added later, boosting capacity to 24MWp. Setting up the first production line cost EUR 10 m, Luda said, adding that the plant would initially make experimental solar panels and later on shift focus to exports.
Luda said interest for the produce of Heliogrid was building up also in Hungary, and while they would take this into consideration in sales plans, orders were still low, as government subsidies are scarce in the area of renewable energy.
Genesis Energy, which is listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE), also plans to build a thin-film solar module factory in Tatabánya, with initial annual capacity of 98 MWp. The project is to consume more than EUR 150 million.
Genesis plans to boost the above capacity to 200 MWp in the second phase of the project, and the company also has an option to set up another 200 MWp plant. Inauguration of the first Genesis PV plant is expected in early 2010 at the earliest."
Source: Portfolio Online Financial Journal
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06.08.2008