The cell packages will be used for the first phase of two SunPower™ C7 Tracker (C7) projects, which includes a 20-MW project in Saihan and a 100-MW project in Wuchuan (both are located in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia). Completion of the project is expected in 2015.

"This is a first step in our aggressive efforts to break into the Chinese market," said Tom Werner, SunPower president and CEO. "Working together with our strong local partners, we believe that we can deploy significant volumes of our SunPower C7 Tracker power plants to help serve China's growing need for clean power."

The definitive agreement for the Huaxia Concentrated Photovoltaic Power JV was initially signed in December of 2012, and officially approved and registered in November of 2013. The JV includes SunPower, Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co., Ltd., Inner Mongolia Power (Group) Co., Ltd. and Hohhot Jinqiao City Development Company, Ltd. Its focus is to manufacture and deploy SunPower's proprietary C7 concentrator technology¹ in the Chinese market.

To date, a 300-MW C7 receiver manufacturing facility has been set up in Jinqiao Development Zone, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, and a 50-MW production line is now in operation.

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1. The C7 combines single-axis tracking technology with rows of parabolic mirrors that reflect light onto SunPower's high efficiency, third-generation Maxeon solar cells with efficiencies of up to 24.5 per cent. These mirrors will reduce the number of cells required to generate electricity, lowering the levelized cost of energy when compared to competing technologies.