Meyer Burger Technology AG (SWX:MBTN) today opened a 400-MW solar module production plant in Freiberg, in the German state of Saxony, targeting to expand its capacity to 1 GW.

The launch of the new site follows last week’s opening of a 400-MW, first-phase solar cell factory in Thalheim, Saxony-Anhalt, where up to 200,000 solar cells will be made daily.

At the Freiberg plant, Meyer Burger will utilise its own Heterojunction/SmartWire cell connection technology to produce about 3,000 modules per day, once the rump-up is completed. Solar cells from Thalheim will go for processing at the Freiberg base, which was formerly owned by insolvent German solar cell manufacturer Solarworld.

The Swiss solar machinery manufacturer, which is making its first steps in the production of solar cells and modules, plans to expand to an annual production capacity of 5 GW by 2026. With the ramp-up of the new production facilities being initiated, the company expects that shipments of solar modules will start in July.

Meyer Burger said it is working on a plan to expand the Freiberg factory to 1 GW, rather than the 0.8 GW previously planned. The execution of the plan will be targeted “as soon as possible.”