AU Optronics ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) announced today that the Company will participate in Solar Power International 2010 to showcase its full lineup of PV products. SunForte PM318B00, a high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar module, will make its debut in the show. The product employs high-efficiency mono-crystalline solar cells and has a conversion rate as high as 19.5%.
Solar Power International 2010 will be held in Los Angeles, USA, from Oct 12-14. The show is organized by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). It is one of the most noted professional PV trade shows in the world.
In addition to the solar module with the highest conversion rate, AUO will be displaying the AC Module for the US residential market. AUO leads the industry by applying an anti-reflection coating to the AC Module, which increases the conversion rate by 4%, maximizing the system's output power. The system is therefore free from output power degradation in case of shadowing, easy to install and maintain, and highly expandable.
The mainstream multi-crystalline solar module EcoDuo PM220P01 is also among the exhibits. The module is on the CEC (California Energy Commission) listing under the solar electricity systems category. Furthermore, EcoDuo PM240P00, the upgraded model of the multi-crystalline solar module PM220, has an output power that is 10% higher than its predecessor, from 220W to 240W. Worthy of note, the PM220P00 of the same series is the world's first PV module to have obtained carbon footprint verification.
AU Optronics comments that as one of the few companies worldwide possessing cutting-edge technology for high quality TFT-LCD panels, the Company's experiences and technologies in TFT-LCD production and yield rate control have been passed on to the development of solar modules. The expertise along the value chain from materials, modules to power system development, is thus better secured. The participation to Solar Power International 2010 will demonstrate AUO's strengths in R&D and its fruits. The occasion will also present enormous opportunities for the Company to further develop the North American PV market.
AUO is currently the only "total solutions" provider that tops the industry in various technological domains of the vertical solar value chain, including the solar wafers that produce the highest efficiency solar cells, the solar cells with the highest conversion rates, and the establishment of solar module plants worldwide. Following the mass production of solar modules in the Taiwan (Taichung) and Czech sites, AUO will also set up its second solar module plant in Tianjin, China for an expected capacity of 1GW. AUO will continue to accelerate its solar development to complete the industry value chain, providing customers with even more satisfactory products and services from upstream to downstream.