AE Solar to build solar panel plant in Bulgaria

German AE Solar will invest more than EUR 150 million in the construction of a solar panel factory near Plovdiv in 2022, Bulgarian energy minister Alexander Nikolov said.

AE Solar, headquartered in Königsbrunn, Germany, will be part of a joint venture between the three companies that will implement the project, Nikolov told reporters. He failed to reveal the names of other members of the group.

The investor plans to start begin the works next year, according to the minister. The facility will have an annual production capacity of 1 GW, he added. It will be built in the Trakia Economic Zone (TEZ) near Plovdiv, and include a research and development hub and a carbon-neutral industrial park, Nikolov added.

There has been no word from AE Solar on investing in Bulgaria. The company was founded in 2003. According to the latest update, it has installed and commissioned more than 3,200 solar units. It is active in 95 countries and has factories in Europe and Asia. AE Solar is the winner of the UN Global Compact Partnership for Sustainability Award 2021, in the Planet category.

Earlier this year, AE Solar announced a plan to open a solar panel factory in Kayseri, Turkey. The photovoltaic modules production facility is the result of a joint venture with Energate Corp. from the United States. The company said the plant’s annual output would be 1 GW per year.