China's Yingli eyes French PV market

Visitors are seen at the stand of Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd during a fair in Shanghai, Feb 23, 2011. [Photo/dfic.cn]

SHIJIAZHUANG -- A leading photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer in China will cooperate with a French PV module manufacturer to satisfy the demands of the French national tender program, the company said.

According to an initial agreement, Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd, based in the city of Baoding in north China's Hebei Province, will provide solar cells to the unidentified French partner.

With the tender program requiring that a certain amount of successful bidders' products be manufactured in France, the two companies' co-branded equipment will be made in the European country and powered by Yingli high-performance solar cells. A detailed agreement will be signed later.

The French partner will manufacture PV modules in France using Yingli's polycrystalline cells with optimized carbon footprint technology, said Yingli in a press release.

In the French national tender program launched by the French Government, 38 companies won tenders to meet around 380 MW of capacity, around half of which will use Yingli's locally produced modules, said Arnaud Catrice, managing director of Yingli's French branch.

The French partner won large-volume tenders under the program, said Yingli in a press release.

"The cooperation with our French partner will not only help us explore the French market, but is also helpful for the long-term development of the local solar industry," Catrice said.

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