Hanergy’s $1bn HanTile announcement has turned out to be a typo

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For the more eagle-eyed pv magazine readers perusing the press releases section of our website, it appeared to be the biggest agreement signed at Intersolar Europe by far, a barnstorming mega-deal that confirmed the arrival of the HanTile on the building-integrated PV market.

About three-quarters of the way down a press release sent to pv magazine last Wednesday, Chinese thin-film manufacturer Hanergy made the stunning announcement it had signed a $1 billion supply deal for its HanTile solar roofing product. Was it a typo? No, there it was again, in a quote attributed to Lv Yuan, VP of overseas sales for Hanergy, lauding a “US$1 billion contract”.

And the recipient with pockets deep enough to place such a blockbusting order? Swedish rooftop solutions provider Sun Lion Solar Ltd.

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It seemed unlikely, so pv magazine got on the case but Hanergy told us the client did not want to reveal further details, such as exactly how many HanTiles $1 billion will buy. Unable to track down a contact at Sun Lion Solar we persisted with our enquiries and Hanergy has now confirmed, eight days later, the release contained an error. The contract referred to is a $1 million deal.

Which still makes for a sizable order of a product Hanergy has high hopes for around the world. However, the order of magnitude mistake begs the question how many other typos have crept into the public announcements made by a company which, for instance, has been silent since February on its plans for Saudi Arabia, after announcing plans for a “$1 billion-plus”, 1 GW thin film industrial park in the kingdom?

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