‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member JA Solar has placed an order with module assembly equipment specialist Suzhou Horad New Energy Equipment Co for a 300MW turnkey module assembly line destined for an as-yet unannounced facility in Brazil.
According to a typically brief statement on Horad’s website, the order was signed on 2 February 2016.
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JA Solar announced its first major overseas integrated cell and module production facility in May 2015. The plant, located in Malaysia, started ramping production in the fourth quarter of last year with an initial capacity of 400MW, but with the scope to be be expanded to 1GW, according to the company.
JA Solar has yet to announce any other overseas production facilities, although management highlighted in the last earnings conference call that it expected to expand its market presence in the Latin American market in 2016.
“We are seeing some solid growth in India, as well as continued progress in Latin America market, where we continue to establish our market presence and expand our footprint in the region,” commented JA Solar's President, Jian Xie in the call. “We expect 2016 to be a strong year for this market.”
JA Solar is currently undertaking capacity expansions through mid-2016 to meet demand, including a 500MW increase in ingot/wafer production to 1.5GW, while solar cell and module nameplate capacity would be increased to 5GW, equating to both being increased by 1.4GW from planned 2015 nameplate capacity levels of 3.6GW.
In December 2015 JA Solar placed a 750MW turnkey module assembly line order with Horad.
Other PV manufacturers such as BYD and Canadian Solar have announced plans to establish module assembly plants in Brazil. The plans by JA Solar in Brazil bring the total announced c-Si module assembly plans in the country to 1.43GW since the beginning of 2014, according to PV Tech’s tracking of PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements.
No further details regarding JA Solar’s manufacturing plans in Brazil were disclosed.
