News Article
Soitec to help boost solar energy in Saudi Arabia
Soitec will use its triple junction compound semiconductor cells to take advantage of the region's hot temperatures
Khaled Juffali Company (KJC), a Saudi Arabian investment company, and Soitec, a supplier of semiconductor materials for the electronics and energy industries, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
The two companies will cooperate in driving solar industry growth in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
Under the MOU, the two companies will create a joint venture to market and sell concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Soitec will provide the technical and commercial solar expertise, while KJC will facilitate access to key local and regional stakeholders and share managing international joint ventures.
Soitec claims its CPV technology, which uses triple-junction cells mounted on a glass plate, achieves at least twice the performance of conventional photovoltaic technologies, making it the most cost efficient solution for high-volume power generation in regions with high direct normal irradiation.
The KJC-Soitec MOU is in line with the on going thrust of Saudi Arabia to explore and tap into renewable energy sources, as shown by the white paper recently published by the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) which outlines the competitive procurement process for solar, wind, geothermal and waste to energy projects in Saudi Arabia.
Sheik Khaled Juffali, founder and chairman of KJC, commenting on the deal, says, “Soitec holds a leading position in the CPV industry with a pipeline of projects totaling hundreds of megawatts in the USA and South Africa and operates in 14 countries around the world, including a demonstration system at the Medina College of Technology (MCT) in Saudi Arabia.”
He adds, “Soitec has already demonstrated its ability to industrialise disruptive innovations with high-quality standards. Thanks to Soitec’s leading CPV technology, our partnership will have a true competitive advantage and help to realise the Kingdom’s high solar potential. CPV is indeed perfectly suited for countries which benefit, like Saudi Arabia, from intensive solar radiation.”
