Chint to start construction on 200 MW PV module factory in Brazil in February

The government of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte announced that the solar module factory planned by the Chinese manufacturer Chint will have an annual capacity of around 200 MW, and that it will be located in the municipality of Extremoz.

The planning of the factory was presented by the Latam director of the company, Jackie Xiang, in a meeting with the governor Robinson Faria.

Chint has confirmed it will committ BRL 112 million ($34.2 million) for the new manufacturing facility, and that this project would create around 1,300 direct and indirect jobs. “”The location is close to the airport, which will facilitate the transportation of materials, logistics and the arrival of visitors and customers to the factory,” Xiang stressed.

Construction on the facility will start in February, with commercial operations scheduled to begin in November this year, the local government said. The factory would be used by Brazil and other markets in Latin America.

Under Brazil’s current regulation for solar, the low-interest rate of local development bank BNDES are only granted to solar and renewable energy projects that meet local content requirements. Currently the largest module factory in Brazil is a 400 MW manufacturing facility of Chinese-Canadian solar producer Canadian Solar. Production at the factory began at the end of 2016.