New polysilicon blow as flood forces closure of Tongwei facility

Severe floods in southeastern China have forced the closure of a polysilicon facility owned by Tongwei, dealing yet another blow to the solar industry’s supply chain.

Tongwei has confirmed the closure of a 20,000-tonne polysilicon plant in Leshan City, Sichuan, after a Level 1 flood alert was issued by authorities. China’s Yangtze River runs through Sichuan, while Leshan itself sits on the interjection of a number of rivers and waterways.

Tongwei said in a statement issued to Reuters that it was told to stop production immediately by the province’s local emergency management bureau, confirming that it had evacuated all workers from the facility pending further instruction.

The company declined to comment further when contacted by PV Tech.

It serves as a fresh blow to an upstream solar sector already hit by incidents at facilities belonging to GCL-Poly/JZS and Daqo which have impacted polysilicon supply, increasing price volatility and hitting module manufacturing cost control.

Both Tongwei and LONGi have increased prices in recent months, triggered by the underlying seasonality of polysilicon supply moving into H2 but exacerbated by incidents affecting supply.

Yesterday PV Tech reported that project developers and module manufacturers alike had urged caution over recent price volatility and called for greater collaboration within the industry to help limit its impact.

Tags: tongwei, polysilicon, manufacturing, flood, pricing, leshan