Japan - Chinese wind turbine maker buys Japanese thin-film tool maker

A-Power Energy Generation Systems said it has signed a deal to buy Evatech Co., an established seller of factory equipment for making LCD and plasma display panels, for $49.9 million in cash. What really gets A-Power excited about the acquisition is Evatech's solar business. Evatech, based in Kyoto, recently began to offer tools for making amorphous silicon solar panels.

The purchase will allow A-Power to take advantage of the solar incentives announced by the Chinese government earlier this year. The incentives would subsidize the installations of solar energy systems on buildings. A-Power plans to move Evatech's factory to Shenyang by the end of the year to make solar panels for the domestic market, A-Power said. The company expects to start production next year.

Government incentives make a big difference on where solar equipment makers set up factories these days. China and the United States are going to be seeing a lot more new manufacturing plants in the coming years. Evatech already has customers in about 10 countries, excluding Japan. Forty-six of its customers are in China, said A-Power.

For more information please call Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net