On Wednesday, the new module production plant in Freiberg was launched.
Only one week after the virtual opening of the Meyer Burger solar cell plant in Thalheim, the new module production in Freiberg will be opened on Wednesday, May 26. In addition to Saxony's Prime Minister, Michael Kretschmer, other guests from politics and business will be present to discuss the future of the solar industry in Saxony in a live broadcast panel discussion.
But before that, the new plant at the historic site in Freiberg will be symbolically opened - Corona compliant with three red buzzers pressed simultaneously by Meyer Burger CEO, Gunter Erfurt, Prime Minister Kretschmer and Saxony’s Minister for the Environment, Günther.
"This is the ideal time to revitalize the solar industry in Europe: With new technologies, it can play a key role in overcoming the recession after the Corona pandemic, while helping to combat the climate crisis. For this to succeed, we urgently need the right political framework and incentives," emphasizes Gunter Erfurt.
A lot has happened since Meyer Burger announced in August last year that it would reactivate the Freiberg solar site. In the factory hall as well as in the logistics center in the Saxonia Industrial Park, months were spent rebuilding and setting up, assembling, researching and testing. The plant is still the largest for the production of solar modules in Europe - now with state-of-the-art technology for the manufacture of highly efficient SmartWire modules. The first products destined for sale are scheduled to roll off the production line in Freiberg in July. The heterojunction solar cells used for this purpose will soon come from the Meyer Burger cell plant opened last week in Thalheim (City of Bitterfeld-Wolfen). The set up of industrial production in the photovoltaics sector, together with the associated value chain, will not only create new prospects but also numerous jobs in the region.
Top-class panel discussion
What kind of perspectives the renaissance of the solar industry means for Saxony and the energy turnaround in Germany and Europe will be the topic of the high-profile discussion panel taking place on the occasion of the site opening in Freiberg. On the panel around moderator Kristina zur Mühlen will be Michael Kretschmer (CDU), Prime Minister of Saxony, as well as Wolfram Günther (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) and Stephan Lowis, CEO of envia-M. Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of Solar Power Europe, is connected via screen from Brussels. In addition, Udo Engelhardt, an extremely entertaining climate impact researcher, who already presented interesting facts and figures at the plant opening in Thalheim, will be a guest.
The talk session at the plant opening in Freiberg will be broadcast live on YouTube and Facebook between 1.45 and 2.45 pm. Questions on the topic can be put directly to the panelists via the chat.
Image gallery of the Freiberg plant opening
