JA Solar’s next manufacturing expansion in US or Southeast Asia

China-based tier-1 integrated PV manufacturer, JA Solar expects the next phase of its manufacturing expansions to be in 2015 that are expected to include new facilities in either the US or Southeast Asia.

JA Solar management said during its second quarter earnings call that no further capacity expansions would be made in China in 2014. Although not ruling out further capacity expansions in China next year, management noted that it was planning overseas expansions in 2015, which could include the US or Southeast Asia.

Management noted in the call that it had increased PV module shipments to the US in the second quarter ahead of the anti-dumping decision, yet the extra 50MW or so of shipments would not last long.

Module shipments to the US in the first quarter of 2014 accounted for only 4.1% of total shipments, while shipments to the country accounted for 11.2% in the second quarter.

However, management noted that the strong US market, which it expected to remain so for several years to come, required an alternative strategy to avoid new duties, which was under consideration with production or sourced components outside China and Taiwan.

No timelines or capacity details were discussed in the call.

However, JA Solar noted that it had completed in latest capacity expansion phases in China with annual wafer production capacity reaching 1GW, cell production capacity reaching 2.8GW, and annual module production capacity reaching 2.8GW.