INTERVIEW – Lithuanian solar developer sets foot in Malaysia eyes

Mar 4, 2015 16:19 CET by Linas Jegelevicius

March 4 – With local partners and banks BOD Group, a Lithuanian solar projects developer, intends this year to invest over EUR 11 million (USD 12.3m) in Malaysia, a company official told SeeNews Renewables.

The Baltic company aims to reach 100 MW of combined solar capacity there. It just completed the first leg of a pilot solar energy project in the Malaysian town of Ipoh, the administrative center of Perak state, where it installed PV modules and glass panes worth EUR 1.2 million.

“In comparison with similar standard PV module operational efficiency, our solar installations, manufactured by affiliate SoliTek, even during cloudy and rainy days generate electric power at the capacity of 90%, i.e. demonstrating roughly 15% better results than the others,” Vidmantas Janulevicius, head of Global BOD Group Holding, told SeeNews.

The company says “the Malaysian Government has shown interest” in enhancing the collaboration with the Baltic solar developer, which is what BOD Group strives for. “The Malaysian Government wants us to stay and carry on the activity. We plan on supplying solar plants-generated electricity for 2,000 Malaysian households this year,” Janulevicius said.

PERAK AS A FIRST STEP

The Lithuanians first set their foot in Malaysia back in mid-2014, when JSC BOD Group signed in Malaysia an agreement with the Perak state-based company Majuperak Energy Resources. It envisaged the development of a joint pilot solar energy project in the region. The Lithuanian company supplied PV modules and glass panes for the solar plant.

The CEO says company’s Perak presence is “a first step” in securing BOD Group’s long-term expansion into Asia’s southeastern region.

“It’s hard to assess company’s expansion possibilities in Asian market, but it is becoming increasingly fed up with cheap Chinese solar production. Notably, good quality Chinese PV modules and cells are more expensive than those made by Germans there, so the Lithuanians have entered the market at the right time. BOD Group has been very bullish in the market and is eagerly – and successfully – engaging in different high-tech businesses,” Edmundas Zilinskas, vice-president of Lithuania’s Solar Energy Association, told SeeNews.

MANUFACTURING AND R&D CAPACITY

The company produces yearly over 16 million solar cells of a combined capacity of 70 MW. Its manufacturing capacity is expected to go up after planned investments.

BOD Group’s administrative and manufacturing complex was opened in Visoriai, the northern part of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, in late 2013. It does not only produce solar cells and modules, but also accommodates a research center of German solar equipment supplier Singulus Technologies AG, a business partner.

According to Janulevicius, solar power plants using BOD Group glass panes and modern glass technology can produce electricity for 25-30 years.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.117)

Share this story

Recommends: