Ascent Solar Agrees To Build New Manufacturing Plant In Suqian, China

(RTTNews) - Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. (ASTI, ASTIU) Thursday announced the signing of a definitive agreement to establish a joint venture entity with the Government of the Municipal City of Suqian in Jiangsu Province, China.

Under this definitive agreement, Suqian will provide $32.5 million as well as five year rent-free use of 331,000 square feet of factory & office space in the Suqian Economic and Industrial Development Science Park.

The JV will build a 100 MW factory over six years to manufacture Ascent's proprietary thin-film Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenium photovoltaic modules on flexible polyimide, in addition to related consumer products.

Ascent can purchase the factory within 5 years at the initial construction cost, and will also hold the right to purchase Suqian's ownership interest in the JV after 5 years at 1.5 times of Suqian's cash cost.

In the initial phase of the project, Ascent and Suqian will form a JV in which Suqian will inject $4.8 million in cash and have majority interest of 75 percent. Ascent shall inject approximately $1.6 million in cash and hold a minority interest of 25 percent.

Subsequently, during 2014 Suqian will further inject the balance of the committed $32.5 million while Ascent will contribute its proprietary technology and intellectual property, as well as some equipment from its Colorado facility, thereby increasing its shareholdings progressively up to 80 percent ownership.

By the first quarter of 2016, the JV is expected to operate an end-to-end manufacturing plant of 25 megawatts capacity and related consumer products.