polysilicon

China-based polysilicon and wafer producer Daqo New Energy is feeling the significant impact from the recent change in the Chinese government’s solar deployment policies as multicrystalline wafer shipments have been slashed by as much as 50% for the second quarter of 2018.

REC Silicon is further reducing its workforce in Moses Lake, Washington due to the ongoing solar trade war between China and the US.

The past few weeks has seen some of the most dramatic knee-jerk, naïve and misinformed PV market reporting seen in recent times, with the headlines often resembling nothing more than tabloid sensationalism.

China-based integrated polysilicon and merchant PV manufacturer Tongwei Group has signed a major 55,000MT polysilicon supply deal with leading integrated high-efficiency monocrystalline module manufacturer and ‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Green Energy Technology.

China-based polysilicon producer Daqo New Energy is accelerating the pace of its Phase 3B capacity expansion project as well as starting Phase 4A that will increase annual polysilicon capacity by 35,000MT.

Kyocera Corporation a multinational electronics and related components manufacturer has made a significant US$459 million impairment charge on long-term polysilicon supply contracts, as well as downsizing its solar operations in the US, which were the primary reason for its Life & Environment Group (solar PV included) reporting a large operating loss in fiscal 2018.

Polysilicon producer Wacker Chemie plans to restart production at its Charleston US facility in the second quarter of 2018, after an explosion on September 7, 2017.

Leading polysilicon and solar wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings has reported a significant increase in nameplate wafer capacity in 2017, going from 18.5GW in 2016 to 30GW at the end of 2017, a 62.2% rise.

Specialist solar PV equipment supplier centrotherm International’s woes have multiplied in the second-half of 2017 as the company plans to liquidate a segment of its polysilicon equipment and engineering subsidiary, SiTec GmbH and deconsolidate the entire subsidiary.

Consumption of polysilicon used by the solar industry will decline to below 4g/W during 2018, hitting 3.92g/W at the end of Q4’18, according to a new value-chain model developed by the in-house market research team at PV Tech.