Just one week after revealing plans for an RMB10.2 billion (US$1.42 billion) integrated PV manufacturing project, JA Solar has announced it will also expand its current integrated capacity.
On November 23, JA Solar said that according to the company’s need for strategic development, it plans to expand its integrated production capacity, including the new Yangzhou 10GW cell project and Qujing Phase IV, which will have an annual output of 10GW of cells and 5GW of modules. The total investment is expected to reach RMB7.44 billion (US$1.04 billion).
According to the announcement, the investor of the Yangzhou cell project is JA (Yangzhou) Solar Technology Co. The project includes site rental and purchasing production equipment and corresponding supporting facilities so as to establish an annual production capacity of 10GW high-efficiency cell capacity. Construction is projected to take 12 months.
JA (Qujing) Solar Technology Co is the investor for the Qujing Phase IV project, which is expected to be constructed over 24 months.
JA Solar said that the investment and construction of the above projects are in line with its future strategic plans and will contribute to its vertically integrated industrial chain layout.
Once put into operation, they can effectively improve the output of highly-efficient products to meet market demand, thus improving the company’s profitability.
Earlier this month, JA Solar said it had signed an agreement with the Shijiazhuang Municipal Government and the management committee of the Shijiazhuang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. The company plans to build an integrated smart factory for PV slicing, cell and module production as well as an R&D centre.
JA Solar has been focusing on ramping up its integrated production capacity since the beginning of this year, with a cumulative investment exceeding RMB30 billion (US$4.18 billion).
According to the company’s plan, its module capacity will reach 50GW by the end of 2022 and 75GW by the end of 2023, while wafer and cell capacity will remain at about 80% of module capacity.