The China-based PV manufacturing industry has been in a massive capacity expansion phase since 2019. This intensified in the first quarter of 2020 but had eased off through the year, but the cumulative figures are jaw dropping, which has led to real fears of overcapacity in 2021.
China-based polysilicon producer, Daqo New Energy Corp has secured near-term polysilicon supply deals with SMSL (Solar Module Super League) member, JA Solar and an unidentified existing customer that means it is sold out until a new polysilicon plant is built and operational sometime in 2022.
Leading monocrystalline wafer producer, LONGi Green Energy (LONGi Group) has secured a minimum 270,000MT of polysilicon supply from Xinte Energy over a five-year period.
According to Johannes Bernreuter, head of Bernreuter Research the supply of polysilicon for the PV industry will continue to be constrained in 2021, while significant overcapacity is looming in 2022 and possibly intensify in 2023.
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.
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.
Leading solar module manufacturer JinkoSolar has signed a long-term purchase agreement with solar polysilicon and cell provider Tongwei, worth nearly 100,000MT.
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.
Major polysilicon producer Daqo New Energy has been forced to revise down guided polysilicon sales volumes in the third quarter of 2020, due to customers postponing purchasing orders as market prices hit US$12.5/kg.
State-owned companies in India could be tasked with establishing polysilicon manufacturing facilities to help make domestic solar manufacturing more competitive, reports have claimed.
Polysilicon manufacturer Daqo New Energy has submitted new documents regarding a potential initial public offering (IPO) to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, detailing how proceeds will be spent on new facilities.
The US should aim for 100GW of annual domestic renewable energy manufacturing capacity by the end of the decade, with a focus on solar, wind and energy storage, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has said in a new report.
In the second part of a two-part blog series, Clean Energy Associates’ Joseph C. Johnson examines just how long volatility in polysilicon pricing can continue.
