Norwegian wafer manufacturer NorSun AS has completed the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its monocrystalline silicon wafers produced using the Czochralski process, claiming to have become the first in the world to receive it, certifying its low CO2 footprint. The EPD is a third-party verified and registered document with transparent information about life-cycle environmental impact of products, conducted by The Norwegian EPD Foundation.
NorSun produces high performance monocrystalline silicon ingots and wafers in the formats of 125mm, 156.75mm, 158.75mm, 161.7mm and 166mm at its factory in Årdal village of Norway using hydroelectric power. In June 2019, it raised NOK 515 million to double the company's N-type monocrystalline wafer production capacity to 1 GW annually from 450 MW with an addition of 550 MW under phase 1 (see NorSun Raises NOK 515 Million To Expand Production).
Of this 550 MW, upgrades and debottlenecking of the existing plant will add 280 MW and another 270 MW will come up as new capacity from next generation pullers, block and wafering equipment.
Under phase 2, NorSun plans to expand further to a total of 4 GW to 5 GW within the next few years at the current site in keeping with market demand while ensuring high degree of automation to reduce labor costs and improve end product. NorSun says it sees a 'highly attractive opportunity' to reach world class scale within n-type mono.
"With our wafers having an EPD, it will enable an objective assessment of the carbon footprint from the wafer production. We expect the module producers to follow suite and hence, providing solar energy clients worldwide a tool to assess carbon footprint as part of their procurement processes," said NorSun's Vice President Business Development, Carsten Rohr, while explaining the importance of the certification.