DuPont to Increase Capacity for PV Module Materials   

By Clarissa Zhang  

DuPont is providing further details of a multi-phase production expansion for its high-performance polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) product line. This phase of the expansion represents more than US$120 million in investment which increases, by over 50%, the capacity of monomer and resin used in producing Tedlar R films, which serve as the critical backsheet component, providing long-term durability for photovoltaic (PV) modules in all-weather conditions. The leading supplier of materials to the solar PV industry said on August 24th.
   Site selections for this phase of the capacity expansion are complete. Construction has begun for new monomer and resin facilities at the DuPont Louisville, Ky., and Fayetteville, N.C., sites, respectively. The facilities are scheduled to start up in mid-2010.
   DuPont anticipates that the PV market will grow rapidly over the next several years, and this growth will drive the demand for Tedlar R and other new materials that increase the lifetime and efficiency of solar cells and modules. DuPont expects that overall sales of its family of products into the PV industry will exceed US$1 billion by 2012.