The state-owned Japan Railway Group has relied on Siliken as a supplier of photovoltaic solar panels for the first facility that this Japanese rail transport group will implement. Specifically, Siliken will provide its solar modules to Kyushu Railway, one of nine companies in the Japan Railways Group. The project begins with the construction of a 2 MW photovoltaic plant, which will be supplied by Siliken along with two other international distributors of solar photovoltaic solutions. The construction of the plant on the Kyushu island (Japan) started last July, and is scheduled for completion in March 2013. The plant will supply electricity to Miyakonojo Station, with over a thousand passengers daily.
Siliken has made a strategic commitment to the Asian market, meeting the demands for quality photovoltaic solutions, a segment where Siliken is positioned against low-cost competitors. As noted by Ugo Portillo, Director of the Asia-Pacific Area “countries like Japan and Australia reach growth rates close to 100%, driven by increased demand due to government support for the promotion of renewable energy use” .
Siliken’s main commercial efforts are targeted to the residential segment and commercial areas, concentrating more than 70% of the installations carried out and where both performance and quality of the modules are key. However, the company’s offering also covers ground facilities, a segment evolving at very high rates. Another factor motivating Siliken bet for the Asian market was the high price of electricity in retail market and the fact that in countries like Australia and Japan ” the ”grid parity” has almost been reached, which implies it can be expected that the photovoltaic market will grow at the expense of traditional energy sources, “says Portillo.
Company Restructuring
Siliken recently made the decision to restructure its assets to undertake payments to suppliers and banks. This decision, according to its president Carlos Navarro, will improve competitiveness and strengthen the product offering. The company began its restructuring plan earlier this year with the closure of modules factories in Casas Ibáñez (Albacete) and Ontario (Canada). These adjustments are coupled to the recent collective dismissal in Rafelbuñol (Valencia) factory and the upcoming termination of activities of its plant in Tijuana (Mexico), definitely consolidating its production operations in Europe. Thus, the entire module production will rely on its Spain and Romania factories.
