Dupont invests $120 million to boost production of a popular solar cell product. The move is part of a broader push by the achemical industry to supply solar cell producers with technologies to make the renewable energy source more efficient. Dupont hopes sales of all its solar products will exceed $1 billion by 2012. The project will help Dupont produce more Tedlar, a product used in the backing of solar cells. The U.S. based company will spend about $100 million to boost production capacity at existing plants in Louisville, Kentucky, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, starting in 2010. About $20 million will be used to build a production plant at a site yet to be determined, a company spokesperson said.
When combined, the projects are expected to boost Tedlar production by 50 %. Earlier this year Dupont completed a similar expansion project that more than doubled Tedlar production.