AU Optronics finishes Taiwan’s biggest rooftop PV project

The vertically integrated PV manufacturer secured a government permit to build the project in February 2016, according to an online statement.

The arrays are expected to generate enough electricity to cater to the needs of 3,000 households per year.

In February, AU Optronics finished building a 3.87 MW rooftop solar plant on top of a factory in the southwestern city of Tainan.

It plans to complete an additional 21 MW of rooftop and ground-mount solar capacity by the end of this year.

Last summer, it released its new SunVivo P-type monocrystalline solar modules. It claims its solar panels can withstand typhoon-level winds and corrosive air conditions in coastal areas.

The company posted a net profit of NT$8,375 million ($274.8 million) in the fourth quarter of 2016, from a quarterly net loss of NT$8,239 million a year earlier.

In September, AU Optronics agreed to sell its stake in an 800 MW solar cell factory in Malacca, Malaysia, to its joint venture partner SunPower for $170 million.

In early 2016, M. Setek — a Tokyo-based subsidiary of the Hsinchu-based manufacturer — announced that it would stop manufacturing solar-grade polysilicon so it could instead focus on the production of ingots.

The Taiwanese government is targeting cumulative PV installations of 1.52 GW by mid-2018, including more than 900 MW of rooftop capacity.