In September 2009, Nanosolar announced the launch of production at a rate of 640 MW annually; however, ramp-up to volume production after the announcement took an additional six months, limiting actual production in 2009 to an estimated 4 MW, and as of August 2010 the plant was still ramping up toward its announced capacity. Since the hiring of new CEO Geoff Tate, the company declined to discuss its actual manufacturing capacity, but said that its target for 2010 was to ship panels for "several ... megawatt-size projects" and " panels for projects that have been identified that can help build the case for an operating history and bankability in 2011."