French-based Saint-Gobain SA & Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell have inaugurated a 20 MW photovoltaic panel plant in the town of Torgau, eastern Germany. The EUR 65M factory will be operated by Avancis, a 50/50 joint-venture set up by Shell & Saint-Gobain. The annual production capacity of the facility is expected to be 165,000 PV panels, each of 1.0 square meter. Moreover, Avancis plans to book revenue of between EUR 600-700M in 2013. The investment in Germany is in line with Saint-Gobain's strategy of improving its positions in the solar energy market & increasing the revenue from its solar energy business to EUR 2.0BN by 2013. According to Saint-Gobain CEO Pierre-Andre de Chalendar, Shell & Saint-Gobain may invest in an even larger PV facility in Torgau, but the final decision will be made at the end of 2008.
