Spire, GreenBrilliance in solar deal

Bedford, Mass.-based Spire (Nasdaq: SPIR) said today it signed a deal to supply a solar module manufacturing line for the India operations of Herndon, Va.'s GreenBrilliance.

Spire said the turnkey photovoltaic module assembly line will provide GreenBrilliance with a semi-automated crystalline silicon module manufacturing line capable of producing up to 12 megawatts of solar modules per year.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

"The photovoltaics market is both growing and moving rapidly in India and is expected to rise even faster than the world market in the coming years," said Roger Little, chairman and CEO of Spire, in a statement.

"Spire is focusing and enhancing its efforts in India and is well positioned to cover the expanding needs of its growing customer base there."

Spire said it will provide the process technology and training to operate the factory, as well as offer assistance in qualifying the factory and its modules to international standards and certification. The company said the line is designed to be easily expandable at a later date and will integrate Spire's key assembly, lamination, and testing machines, along with intermediate tooling stations.

In June, Spire made another India deal, announcing that it would provide a turnkey solar photovoltaic line to PLG Power, the energy and power division of India's PLG Group (see Spire to send solar line to India). Under that contract, Spire will supply a semi-automated crystalline cell module manufacturing line capable of producing up to 25 MW of solar modules per year.