Solar Power said Monday it has inked a deal to deliver more than $20 million worth of solar panels to a South Korean company starting this year.
The panels, which all together have the capacity to produce up to 5 megawatts of solar power, are slated to be installed in a 10-megawatt solar park under development north east of Seoul. Shipments are scheduled to begin in June and end in August next year. The company declined to name its new customer.
The news is another indication that South Korea is becoming a hot market for solar panel and system makers. The country’s strong electronics manufacturing and shipbuilding industries – and its citizens’ love of advanced technology – have led to a 7 percent growth in energy consumption each year.
South Korea could see over 1 gigawatt of new installations by 2012, said Travis Bradford, president of the Prometheus Institute and a partner of Greentech Media.
The South Korean government has set up incentive programs modeled after Germany’s in an effort to promote renewable energy at home. Just last week, German firm Epuron said it had completed its first 2-megawatt plant in South Korea (see Epuron Expands into South Korea).
Solar Power, based in Roseville, Calif., makes solar panels and installs solar-power systems in the United States.
Its stock, which trades under the ticker “SOPW” on the over-the-counter bulletin board, rose 3.7 percent to $1.40 per share in recent trading.