Hanwha sets up solar energy center in U.S.

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Hanwha Group, a South Korean family-controlled conglomerate, said Friday that it has established a solar energy research center in Silicon Valley in the United States.
The solar energy research center, called "Hanwha Solar America," will develop next-generation solar energy technologies including solar cells, the group said in a statement.
Hanwha Chemical Co., a unit of Hanwha Group, took over Solarfun Power Holdings, a Chinese solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules manufacturer, in August and renamed the company "Hanwha SolarOne."
Hanwha SolarOne will expand its solar cell production capacity to 1.3 gigawatts from the current 500 megawatts and its production capacity of solar-cell modules to 1.5 gigawatts from the current 900 megawatts by the end of the year, the group said.
Hanwha Group also said Hanwha SolarOne plans to set up a solar cell and solar-cell module production line with a production capacity of 2 gigawatts in Nantong, a city in China's Jiangsu Province.
In October, Hanwha Chemical bought a 6.3 percent stake in 1366 Technologies Inc., a U.S. solar silicon wafer manufacturer, for US$5 million.