Hanwha to sell NextEra solar panels in record 1.5 GW deal

LONDON -- Hanwha Q Cells Co., the Korean solar panel maker, will supply panels to a unit of U.S.-based NextEra Energy Inc. as part of the world’s largest single solar order. Hanwha Q Cells will supply 1.5 gigawatts of panels from the fourth quarter through the same period next year, the Seoul-based company said Monday in a statement. Financial details weren’t disclosed.

The “unusually big” agreement will “account for 30 to 40 percent of shipments going into 2016” to meet demand for projects NextEra is building, Seong-woo Nam, chief executive officer of Hanwha Q Cells, said in a telephone interview. By comparison, the company expects more than 20 percent of its shipments will go to U.S. customers this year, he said. Nam, who joined Hanwha last year from Samsung Electronics Co., said he’s worked since becoming CEO on optimizing the company and making it more competitive.

NextEra Energy Resources is expanding its solar business, which accounts for 4 percent of its generation assets. More than 10 gigawatts of wind power projects make up greater than half its generation capacity. “As the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun, we continue to invest in large-scale solar projects,” Armando Pimentel, chief executive officer of NextEra Energy Resources, said in the statement. Hanwha Solar Holdings merged Hanwha SolarOne and Hanwha Q Cells Investment Co. to form Hanwha Q Cells. The transaction was completed on Feb. 6.

Copyright 2015 Bloomberg

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