At an event held earlier this month, Jinko, LONGi and JA Solar stated that manufacturing capacity of modules featuring 182mm wafers stood to reach 54GW next year, but even those estimates may prove to be conservative. PV Tech’s Carrie Xiao analyses the impact of industry competition on expansion plans
Solar Module Super League (SMSL) member LONGi has issued a clarification regarding recent patent invalidation proceedings between it and Hanwha Q CELLS, insisting no legal judgements have been passed.
‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Canadian Solar has stopped tweaking manufacturing capacity expansion plans and guided major plans for 2021 that encompass ingot, wafer, solar cell and module assembly.
Quotes for PV glass have soared this month, reaching a price of RMB43/㎡ according to prices compiled by PV InfoLink, with some small-scale suppliers even quoted prices of RMB50/㎡.
Trina Solar and Tongwei have unveiled a multi-billion-dollar collaboration which will see the two companies invest in and co-develop multi-gigawatt solar supply facilities.
There may not be a ‘Green Deal’ planned in China but plans are in the making for a resurgence in solar installations as part of the forthcoming 14th Five-Year-Plan (2020-2025).
The PV industry is on track for strong growth in 2020, despite 10 months of the year being shrouded in uncertainty and perennial pessimism. And while almost all in the sector have been lamenting supposed softness in demand this year, attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, it turns out that the limiting factor to production and shipment volumes this year simply comes down to the supply of raw materials, namely polysilicon.
Major polysilicon and merchant solar cell producer Tongwei has resumed production at its 20,000MT polysilicon plant in Leshan City, Sichuan province after damage, due to severe flooding in the region forced the plant to close in mid-August, contributing to a spike in polysilicon prices at the time.
‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) member First Solar is undertaking capacity expansions at its two existing manufacturing plants in Ohio, while evaluating several new international locations to grow its global module sales business as initial Series 6 CdTe thin film module expansion plans come to an end, effectively becoming capacity constrained again from 2021, onwards.
