Evergreen Solar just signed a Chinese production contract for its String Ribbon solar wafers. Under the agreement, Evergreen Solar will work with Jiawei Solar (Wuhan) Co. and the Wuhan Donghu New Technology Development Zone Management Committee to manufacture its String Ribbon solar wafer products in Wuhan, China, starting next year. The wafers will be manufactured at a leased facility to be built on Jianwei’s campus. By subcontracting the manufacturing process to Jianwei, Evergreen Solar will benefit from a range of different incentives being offered by the Chinese government. Production will start at 100 MW and is expected to expand to 500 MW by 2012.

In an article posted on SustainableBusiness.com, Richard M. Feldt, Chairman, CEO and President of Evergreen Solar, commented on the agreement:

"We expect that total manufacturing cost of String Ribbon panels produced in China, including Jiawei’s subcontractor fee, will be in the range of $1.40 per watt to $1.50 per watt. As the price of silicon returns to its historic level of about $50 per kilogram and as both companies work together to improve technologies and reduce manufacturing costs, we believe that total manufacturing cost could be reduced to approximately $1.00 per watt by the end of 2012."