Tiendas Soriana and Hanwha Q CELLS has announced a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 31 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) solar power at 120 retail locations across Mexico that will create significant long-term energy savings for Soriana.

The agreement lays the foundation for a long-term partnership, which could lead to new installations at additional Soriana stores in the future.

Hanwha Q CELLS will partner with Mexican developer and construction company ILIOSS to install rooftop and carport systems in Soriana's stores in Mexico City and the states of Mexico, Jalisco, Queretaro and twelve others. Soriana will reduce a significant portion of their energy demand by using onsite solar power while fixing its long-term energy cost. Hanwha Q CELLS will finance all 31 MW.

Hanwha Q CELLS and ILIOSS have already begun construction on the first seven solar systems in Baja California Sur, which will feature more than 12,000 high-efficiency, German engineered Q CELLS Q.PRO-G3 250 W panels to provide approximately 3.05 megawatts of combined generation capacity. Construction on all 120 sites is expected to be completed by early 2015.

"Soriana is an ideal partner for a solar project of this scale in Mexico," said Alejo Lopez, Hanwha Q CELLS Country Manager for Mexico. "Solar power makes strong economic sense for many large retail and industrial energy users in Mexico, even without any government subsidies."

"With great solar resources and a positive investment outlook, Mexico is a prime growth market for Hanwha Q CELLS," said Moon Hwan Cha, Hanwha Q CELLS USA President.

"The robust financial standing of the Hanwha Group allows Hanwha Q CELLS to establish long-term partnerships with customers in key markets like Mexico and other emerging markets in Latin America."

"With this association Hanwha Q CELLS, Soriana and ILIOSS join forces to provide the most advanced technology to obtain clean energy at preferential costs. This project allows Soriana to meet both its sustainability and cost saving goals" said Aurelio Adan, CFO of Soriana.

"It is a privilege for ILIOSS to partner with such great companies as Soriana and Hanwha Q CELLS on this ambitious project, the biggest rooftop project in Mexico and Latin America. Our experience and professional capacity will provide certainty on the quality of the design and construction of the solar systems." said David Arelle, ILIOSS CEO.