The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) recently announced plans to build three photovoltaic solar energy arrays in northern China, as part of a project worth 1.3 billion U.S. dollars.

The 240-megawatt project is IEC's first such solar energy project and is its most ambitious development overseas, according to the Globes business newspaper.

The world's largest photovoltaic panel manufacturer, China's Suntech Holdings, is to make the panels for the project.

The IEC spokesman refused to comment on the reports when contacted by Xinhua.

The company's vice president Yakov Hain and Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz visited China in April and met with Suntech's officials.

"Suntech is very interested in cooperating on subjects connected to photovoltaic technology and may be interested in financing R&D and joint projects," Hain said at the time, according to Businessweek.

Hain said IEC and Suntech may develop a joint R&D team to investigate methods of raising the efficiency of solar panels, pointing out that the current average energy output rate of 19 percent is "rather low."

IEC's Technology Innovation Center is studying ways of boosting the electric output efficiency to at least 40 percent, according to Hain.

"We can use our creative minds and their experience to develop new equipment based on new materials," he said.