The Sunman Group by Dr. Zhengrong Shi was conditionally granted a wad of cash to set up a solar panel manufacturing plant in New South Wales.
What does the Hunter Valley Solar Foundry project involve?
Sunman Group will receive up to $151 million1 under the Albanian government’s Solar Sunshot program to build a module manufacturing facility in the Hunter Valley capable of producing 500 MW of modules annually. The support is subject to conditions including the signing of a funding agreement from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The Hunter Valley Solar Foundry project will produce a range of solar panels for use here in Australia and international export. It will also include an innovation center to support the commercialization of new solar technologies and function as a solar manufacturing foundry, providing production capacity to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Additionally, the project will work with an accredited training partner to provide an advanced manufacturing training program.
Construction of the facility is expected to create up to 200 jobs, with another 100 to be retained once the factory is operational.
“Solar Sunshot is about building on Australia’s world-leading solar research to expand manufacturing capacity, strengthen supply chain resilience and create local jobs and skills,” said ARENA CEO Darren Miller. “The Hunter Valley Solar Foundry project reflects these goals, combining advanced technology, local workforce development and long-term economic benefits for regional communities.”
More about Dr. Zhengrong Shi and Sunman Energy
Dr. Zhengrong Shi (pictured above: right) has a long-standing association with Australian PV research and development. He studied at Shanghai University and turned to Dr. – now Professor – Martin Green (also known as the “Father of Photovoltaics”), to work for his young research team at the University of New South Wales. Instead, he was offered a research fellowship and helped bring groundbreaking solar technology developed in Australia to the world.
Dr. Shi obtained his doctorate in electrical engineering and Australian citizenship2 here.
Later efforts by Dr. Shi’s attempts to start a solar company in Australia were unsuccessful as he was unable to attract investors or government support. So he returned to China and founded the solar module manufacturer Suntech in 2001. Suntech became a global market leader and was called the “Sun King” during this time.
But financial mishaps, including the company’s fraud of 560 million euros, led to a worsening of Suntech’s situation. The company survived after being acquired by Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited in 2014, but without Dr. Shi at the top; who had left the company the previous year.
Dr. Shi wasn’t done yet and founded another solar panel manufacturer, Sunman Energy, in 2014. Sunman’s specialty is flexible panels (eArc), which are a fraction of the weight of their traditional counterparts. eArc panels replace glass with durable polymers, making the panels up to 70% lighter, easier to transport and quicker to install. They are aimed at C&I applications, including roofs with low loads and structural constraints.
Here is an example of an installation in Australia combining traditional glass panels (left) and Sunman Energy’s lightweight, flexible panels (right):
We are not yet seeing widespread use of Sunman Energy’s flexible modules in Australia, but last year Dr. Shi said the company could manufacture modules here if the company could receive support from the Solar Sunshot initiative. And it is envisaged that the Hunter Valley Solar Foundry will also produce glass panels.
Commenting on the project, Dr. Shi:
“As a proud Australian and University of NSW trained solar professional, my long-standing goal has been to establish solar panel manufacturing in Australia and I hope that over time the foundry will support the establishment of a vertically integrated solar supply chain in Australia. This is an important milestone in Australia’s energy transition.”
Dr. Shi has been a member of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering since 2009 and was appointed Associate Professor at the University of NSW in 2012.
Other funded projects
Back in August, Australia’s only module manufacturer with products on the market – Tindo Solar – and several local polysilicon contenders also received funding from Solar Sunshot. And Sydney-based Sundrive announced last year that it was leading an application for funding in a joint venture with China’s Trina Solar, but as far as I know there have been no further developments on that application.
Are you thinking about solar power for your home? How to choose the best solar panels for your circumstances.
Footnotes
- MP Sonia Hornery also mentioned an additional $20 million investment by the New South Wales Government. ↩
- Given his citizenship, contributions and decades-long association with Australia, it was very disappointing to read some critical Facebook comments about this project, which claimed that Dr. Shi is “not Australian”. ↩
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