AUO Corporation ("AUO" or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) today announced that it has completed a solar power plant at the Company’s Lungke site. The plant took less than a year for planning, construction, and was grid-connected on December 24, 2016, making it Taiwan’s largest rooftop solar power plant project(1) that again demonstrated AUO’s all-round capabilities to build utility-scale solar power plants and exceptional execution capacity.

 

The solar power plant at AUO's Lungke site is situated on the rooftop of two TFT-LCD fabs, stretching a module installation area of 8.5 hectares with total capacity of 9.87MW. AUO received the utility power plant application permit for the Lungke solar power plant in February, 2016.The Company then leveraged its profound experience in the planning and building of solar power plants to have finished the project’s development, construction and grid connection within a year. AUO overcame construction difficulties on top of the high-tech fabs. In order not to affect the existing rooftop structure and production lines working underneath, AUO performed on-site mold casting and 50 meters high altitude operation. Aside from strictly controlling vibrations during construction, the project was designed to withstand peak gusts of up to scale 17, surpassing industry standard and construction code requirements in its structural design. Approximately 30,000 kWh of electricity is generated each day, equivalent to the amount of electricity sufficient for 3,000 households. It is estimated that 5,780 tons of carbon emissions are reduced annually due to its power generation, the equivalent effect of the afforestation of 1.5 New York City's Central Park.

"As global energy shortage becomes more and more severe, renewable energies, such as solar power, have gained growing attention among countries. In Taiwan where there is energy shortage, renewable energies are especially critical in the pursuit of sustainable development" said Michael Tsai, AUO’s President & Chief Operating Officer. "AUO has engaged itself in the green energy industry since 2008. We are capable of providing not only solar solutions with high reliability and quality, but also all-round capabilities to develop, operate and maintain solar power plants. We are also very familiar with current policies and regulations, which enable us to establish a complete knowledge base and ecosystem for power plant building, heading the industry with rich pragmatic experience. We are truly the most trustworthy utility-scale solar power plant professional.”

 

AUO has long supported the country’s green energy policy. As of 2016, the Company has achieved an accumulated installed capacity of 66MW(2) and owned the largest number of utility- scale solar power plants in Taiwan(1), with solar power plants and systems of various scales, ranging from government-owned buildings, communities to factories. The Company aims to double the installed capacity in 2017 and has so far engaged in 21MW of rooftop and ground-mounted solar projects, scheduled for completion by the end of this year.

友達總經理暨營運長蔡國新 (左四)、友達太陽能事業總部資深協理林恬宇 (右三)、桃園市副市長游建華 (右四)、竹科管理局局長王永壯 (左三) 與經濟部能源局主任秘書蘇金勝 (右二) 等貴賓一同為友達龍科廠太陽能電廠落成剪綵

 

 

AUO's solar power plant at Lungke site is completed, with Michael Tsai, AUO’s President & Chief Operating Officer on the right, and TY Lin, AUO’s Senior Associate Vice President of Solar Business Group on the left.

 

 

AUO’s solar power plant at Lungke site has a total capacity of 9.87MW

   

To accommodate certain types of climate and environmental conditions in Taiwan, AUO has also developed solar modules capable of resisting typhoons, salt corrosion, high temperature and humidity, and also waterproof, fit for severe conditions including solar power plants on the water and saline areas along the seashore. AUO solar modules have passed the PV TAIWAN Plus Technical Specification tests administered by Bureau of Standards, Metrology & Inspection of Ministry of Economic Affairs. In particular, AUO’s high weather tolerant solar modules have passed extremely stringent test standards in aspects including UV exposure, earthquake resistance, and PID-free solutions. The modules boast the highest IP68 industry standard in terms of water and dust proof capabilities(1). In addition, in terms of high efficiency P-type and back-contact N-type mono-crystalline products, AUO leads the industry by offering 15 and 25-year extended warranty respectively(1), ensuring long-term solar power generation with high quality products.

 

In the future, AUO will continue to support customers from all industries to develop green energy with its high efficiency solar modules, all-round solar power plant service, highly integrated energy management platform, and dedicated maintenance crew, generating energy while creating a sustainable and profitable environment for all.

(1) Based on the available market research information as of March 23, 2017.
(2) In 2016 alone the total capacity reached 32MW.