LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it will invest 527.2 billion won (US$435 million) to expand its solar module production facilities as part of an effort to secure a new growth engine. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it will invest 527.2 billion won (US$435 million) to expand its solar module production facilities as part of an effort to secure a new growth engine.
Under the plan, LG Electronics will add six more production lines to its solar module plant based in Gumi, 261 kilometers southeast of Seoul, by 2018, which will raise the number of lines to 14.
The investment will allow the facilities’ production capacity to reach 1.8 GW upon completion, up from the current 1 GW, the company said.
The capacity of solar module plants is usually calculated in terms of power generation over production units.
LG Electronics said it also plans to push up the figure to 3 GW by 2020, which equals the annual power consumption of 1 million households. The company, however, did not reveal its investment plan after 2018.
Around 870 staff members will be hired for research and production following the investment, the company also said.
LG Electronics first tapped the solar module industry in 1995, starting mass production in 2010. Its products are sold around the globe, including in the United States, Japan, and Australia.
(Yonhap)
