Shanghai, China [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] The Chief Executive Officer of ErSol Solar Energy AG, Dr. Claus Beneking, together with the representatives of other joint venture partners and Chinese authorities, officially opened the module production of Shanghai Electric Solar Energy Co., Ltd. (SESE).

The operating plant located on the Shanghai industrial estate, Songjiang Export Processing Zone, with a total production capacity of 6 MW for 2006, is processing silicon solar cells and modules. To this end, ErSol has been shipping a part of its solar cell production to SESE since the beginning of 2006.

In addition to ErSol, which holds 35 percent of the shares, two Chinese companies are involved in the joint venture established in January 2005: Shanghai Environment Protecton Complete Engineering Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd., with a 55 percent interest and Shanghai Silverstone Terry Investment Co. Ltd. with a 10 percent interest. While Shanghai Silverstone Terry Investment Co. Ltd. is a financial investor, Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd. is a strategic investor.

Test operations at the SESE production line began in December 2005 so that the first solar module left the production plant on 12 December. Currently, about 30 employees are working in one-shift operations at the module production plant. The transition to a two-shift system is scheduled to occur in the second quarter 2006, with three-shift operations planned for three months later. To this end, the company intends to significantly increase the number of staff during the course of the current year.

Furthermore, the certification of the modules and the production plant in accordance with IEC61215 has largely been prepared. The solar modules will shortly be granted the TUV (Technical Control Association) certification mark and thus evidently meet the requirements of the IEC61215 standard in the future.