ReneSola Ltd plans to begin manufacturing its Virtus II modules in Japan through a joint venture, Vitec Global Solar, in partnership with Vitec Co., Ltd. (Vitec), a Japanese trading company that specializes in the sale of semiconductor and electrical products.

"This is an important strategic step for ReneSola as we continue to prioritize our growth in Japan, one of our most important target markets. This joint venture will enable us to meet government requirements for local manufacturing, a core advantage of our OEM model," said Mr. Xianshou Li, chief executive officer of ReneSola. "Our partnership with Vitec will also increase our cost competitiveness in Japan and enable us to provide our customers with an increased level of support. We are confident in our decision to collaborate with Vitec for this joint venture, given Vitec's reputation for offering seamless support to its partners."

The manufacturing plant is located in Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, and will have total annual production capacity of 80MW. Production is scheduled to begin in April 2014.