Repurposed brownfield location to produce solar panels

The challenge

The company is investing $61 million to repurpose a 75,000m2 site to produce its high-efficiency PV products for North America’s transition to a low carbon economy.

Design maximises production capacity within existing building

At an early stage in the process, Royal HaskoningDHV was asked to advise whether the process equipment would fit in the brownfield location and achieve environmental requirements. Following this, Royal HaskoningDHV continued to work in an advisory capacity supporting the client and the local design team in developing a detailed design which maximises production capacity and makes use of existing utilities where possible. The utility capacities were identified through contacts with equipment suppliers, which also enabled the layout to be optimised for logistics. Large volumes of water are needed in the process, and circular operations were explored with an aim of achieving 70% reuse.

The solution

Phase one targets 350MWp utility grade PV cells ensuring cost-efficient operations

The concept design optimises capex, while ensuring cost-efficient operations. Permits have been submitted and it is expected that rebuilding and retrofitting will be ready for production to move in during 2023. In the first phase, the site will produce 350MWp of utility grade PV cells which theoretically could power 50,000 average sized homes. The site will also produce 1.5MWp advanced space grade cells for aerospace customers.

The reuse of a former industrial building and its associated utilities for this highly efficient new factory saves waste and resources,” says Ad Schrijvers, Project Manager at Royal HaskoningDHV. “

The result