Chapter 12. Globalization, Innovation, and 21st Century Organizational Trends{0}
China Solar Panel Maker Sets First U.S. Plant
The largest solar panel installation is at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. It was produced by China’s Suntech Power, and it accounts for about a third of the 15 megawatt solar farm. Suntech is part of the largest, fast-growing global solar market due to its price and scale. It now has a manufacturing plant in the Phoenix area, and began production in October. Suntech has now become the first major Chinese cleantech player to bring factory jobs to the U.S. By doing so it strengthens the collaboration between Chinese and American leaders in the renewable-energy industry.
When Suntech’s first U.S. facility opened it was very modest. It had a capacity to make 30 megawatts of solar panels per year, enough to outfit around 7,500 homes (Aston). And eventually it will grow to boost output of about 200 megawatts per year. Suntech could not have picked a better place to build its plant. Arizona has very strong encouragement of solar energy and research and the sun’s resources are highly available.
Another benefit of Suntech is shorter delivery but have a lower cost. Even though they started with 75 workers the fact that they are now located in the U.S. will lower delivery time and cost, as well as reduce the overall carbon footprint of getting finished panels to the U.S. Also, the cost of finished panels has collapsed by about 50% in the past year, this was great news for customers, but it hurt the solar stock prices.
The way this article relates to chapter 12 is by the subject of going green. This article shows how the world is coming together to make this a greener world since it is a social responsibility.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2009/tc20091115_970512.htm