The agreement calls for Emcore and San'an to register and operate their previously announced joint venture, Suncore Photovoltaics, in Huainan City to develop and manufacture concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) components and systems for terrestrial solar-power applications.

(December 7, 2010) -- Emcore Corporation (NASDAQ: EMKR) has entered into an investment and cooperation agreement with San'an Optoelectronics Company (Huainan, China) and the municipal government of Huainan. The agreement calls for Emcore and San'an to register and operate their previously announced joint venture, Suncore Photovoltaics, in Huainan City to develop and manufacture concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) components and systems for terrestrial solar-power applications.

On July 30, 2010, Emcore entered into a joint-venture agreement with San'an for the purpose of developing, making, and distributing CPV receivers, modules, and systems for terrestrial solar-power applications. Suncore will be owned 40% by Emcore and 60% by San'an. Emcore and San'an had previously planned to establish Suncore's primary manufacturing operations in Wuhu City, Anhui province of China, but Suncore's new location is expected to speed up the schedule for construction and start of operations, and will provide other economic incentives for the joint venture, says Emcore.

The operation will be established in the Economic and Technology Development Zone of Huainan City. Suncore is expected to establish 1,000 MW of manufacturing capacity in Huainan over the next five years, with 200 MW of capacity to be ready by the end of 2011, 300 MW by the end of 2013, and the remaining 500 MW by the end of 2015. At that capacity, the total capital expenditure and working capital investment is estimated to be eight billion RMB (approximately $1.2 billion).

To support start-up and ongoing operations of Suncore, Huainan will provide a land grant of 1,600 mu (approximately 263 acres), extended tax holidays, and other financial incentives. Huainan will also provide 500 million RMB (approximately $75 million) to Suncore within three days of the start of the construction of the Suncore manufacturing plant in Huainan. For the first 1,000 MW, Huainan will provide a 1.4 RMB (approximately $0.21) cash rebate to Suncore for every watt of CPV systems manufactured in Huainan and sold in China.

Emcore and San'an plan to start building the facility in early 2011.