CHINA SOLAR PV NEWS UPDATE: WEEK 14

Here is our Weekly China Solar PV News Overview, which provides select stories on solar developments in the world's largest PV market that have been published on?TaiyangNews - All About Solar. If you are interested in weekly solar updates on China, please subscribe. For our global daily newsletter, check our website https://taiyangnews.info/

MARKETS

China’s PV utilization rate falls below 95%: A recent report from China’s National New Energy Consumption Monitoring and Early Warning Center has stated that the country’s PV electricity utilization rate was 93.4% for February 2024. A 4.7% decrease from January 2024, this is said to be the first time that China’s PV utilization rate has fallen below 95% since 2021. The report says that this is as a result of the country’s new installed capacity ‘far exceeding expectations.’ It forecasts further that this could remain the case for 2024, with the overall utilization falling to about 90% by 2030.

China Longyuan granted 330 MW new energy project development quota: The Hebei Provincial Development and Reform Commission has granted China Longyuan development quotas for the Shijiazhuang wind + solar power project. All projects from this batch are located in Xingtang County, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. The 130 MW wind power part of the project would entail installing 9 wind turbine units with a single unit with 7.5 MW capacity and 10 units with a capacity of 6.5 MW each. For the 200 MW PV project, it plans to install 458,224 PV modules rated for 540 W power. The project, when complete, is expected to supply 630 GWh of clean electricity to the power grid annually, saving approximately 205,000 tons of standard coal and reducing 500,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year.

BUSINESS

Production / Cells & Modules

Drinda to build 14 GW solar cell fab in Vietnam: Drinda New Energy, JTPV’s parent company, has announced its plans to build a solar cell factory in the Hoang Mai II Industrial Park located in Nghe An province, Vietnam. Drinda intends to lease 58 hectares of land within the Hoang Mai II Industrial Park to build the solar cell factory with a designed capacity of 14 GW, to be developed in 2 phases. The first phase will use 30 hectares of land with a total investment of $450 million, expected to be completed in Q4 of this year and create employment opportunities for approximately 4,000 workers. Last month, Drinda reported a 58.65% YoY increase in its FY2023 revenues to RMB 18.397 billion ($2.56 billion) (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Production / Cells & Modules / TOPCon

Qingdian Changxin’s TOPCon cell production line fully operational: Qingdian Changxin, part of the clean energy company Qingdian Group, has announced that its TOPCon cell line is now operational. The company claims that the production line up to speed 20 days earlier than its peers. It is said to produce more than 210,000 pieces/day with a production line yield of 95.8% or more and a fragmentation rate of <1.20%. The company claims a cell efficiency of 26.2% or more for cells produced from this line.

Runda Solar receives equipment for 10 GW TOPCon cell manufacturing fab: PV module manufacturer Runda Solar has announced that it has received the first batch of production equipment for its TOPCon solar cell factory. The company has invested a total of RMB 3 billion ($416.67 million) in the facility that covers about 216,666 sq. m. It includes 180,000 sq. m. for the construction of factory buildings and related facilities. The facility, when complete, is expected to produce 10 GW of TOPCon solar cells annually, generating over RMB 8 billion ($1.11 billion) in revenue.

Production / Silicon

Risun Group starts construction on integrated silicon solar manufacturing base: Large-scale enterprise China Risun Group has announced that it has started construction on its integrated silicon solar production base in Baotou Park. Located in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, the project encompasses 5 main projects: a 150,000-ton industrial silicon project, a 120,000-ton polysilicon project, and a 40 GW solar wafer project in Tuyou Banner, along with a 10 GW solar cell and a 5 GW solar module project in the Rare Earth High-Tech Zone.

Production / Silicon Paste

DKEM plans to raise RMB 264.5 million for conductive silver paste facility: Solar metallization paste manufacturer DKEM has announced its intention to raise RMB 264.5 million ($36.81 million) for the construction of a set of R&D and manufacturing facilities. These include a 2,000-ton per year conductive silver paste manufacturing facility and an R&D and production facility with a capacity of 50 tons per year of low-temperature conductive silver paste for semiconductor packaging. The former will be built with a total investment of RMB 150 million ($20.83 million), primarily aimed at the R&D and production of conductive silver paste for n-type TOPCon and heterojunction (HJT) cells, with a planned project construction period of 24 months. The second project will involve a total investment of RMB 250 million ($34.72 million), with a planned construction period of 36 months. DKEM recently reported a 154.94% YoY increase in its FY2023 revenues (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Production / Films

HIUV’s 30 GW PV film facility starts operations: PV film manufacturer HIUV New Materials has announced that its 30 GW PV packaging film manufacturing base in Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province has officially started operations. The facility is expected to produce 300 million sq. m. of PV films once fully up and running. The company has reportedly invested about RMB 2.5 billion ($345.93 million) in the facility being built in 2 phases, targeting 200 million sq. m. capacity in the 1st phase and 100 million sq. m. capacity in the 2nd. HIUV announced its expansion plans for the Pinghu facility last September (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Supply / Cells & Modules / TOPCon

Astronergy wins 1.05 GW TOPCon module order from CNPC: PV module manufacturer Astronergy Solar has announced it has won a 1.05 GW n-type TOPCon module order from China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). The order is part of CNPC’s centralized procurement project for n-type solar modules in 2024, with a total capacity of 7 GW. Astronergy secured a 15% share of the total, equivalent to 1.05 GW. The company says that the order would be fulfilled using its ASTRO N series modules.

Supply / Granular Slicon

LONGi to buy 425,000 tons of granular silicon from GCL Technology: Global polysilicon supplier GCL Tech has announced that its subsidiary has signed a long-term purchase agreement with LONGi Solar . As part of the contract, LONGi will purchase 425,000 tons of polycrystalline silicon (granular silicon) from GCL’s wholly-owned subsidiary Jiangsu Zhongneng Silicon over a period of 3 years. The volume of purchase will be 125,000 tons in 2024, 150,000 tons in 2025, and 150,000 tons in 2026, with an allowable fluctuation of 10% in actual purchase volumes.

Module Efficiencies

Tongwei’s 182-72 TNC module achieves 613.2 W power at 23.74% efficiency: Vertically integrated solar PV manufacturer Tongwei Solar has announced that its 182-72 version TNC module achieved a module front power of 613.2 W. The module, measuring the standard size of 2278 mm × 1134 mm, was tested by TüV Rheinland. It says that the TNC module produced about 20 W more power than a commercially available module of the same. It also delivered a conversion efficiency of 23.74%.

Certifications

Trina Solar gets ISO 37301:2021 compliance management system certification: 天合光能 has announced that it has received the ISO 37301:2021 compliance management system certification from the British Standards Institution (BSI). The company stressed that all its overseas subsidiaries need to adhere to their local regulations. Alongside ISO 37301:2021, Trina Solar holds certifications in information security, occupational health and safety, energy management, and environmental management, demonstrating its comprehensive approach to quality and compliance standards.

Astronergy gets WTDP Certification from UL Solutions: Solar module manufacturer Astronergy has announced that it has received the UL Witness Test Data Program (WTDP) certificate from UL Solutions. The company says that its PV Testing Center, established in 2016, is able to carry out more than 30 types of tests to ensure the effective operation of PV modules under all kinds of harsh conditions before mass production. The lab also has been certified as a CNAS Accredited Laboratory, a CTC Accredited Laboratory, and a TüV Rheinland Witness Test Laboratory. The company says that the WTDP certification will significantly reduce sample shipment costs, testing wait time, and other relevant problems, thereby shortening product testing cycles, enhancing testing efficiency, accelerating new product launches, and facilitating rapid entry into target markets.

PV Power Projects

Tongwei Solar-CGC (United) Yancheng outdoor demo station online: The MW-scale photovoltaic (PV) outdoor demonstration power station at Tongwei Solar’s Yancheng base is now online. The 1 MW station, a collaboration between Tongwei and CGC, uses the 30,000 sq. m. roof of a material warehouse and is designed with 198 arrays. The power station is said to be able to meet the outdoor power generation and reliability research tests of different types of modules in different system configurations. Tongwei Solar recently announced that its Meishan Phase IV solar cell manufacturing fab has rolled out the 1st cell from the line (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Yingli Solar’s Tangqu 700 MW PV power project grid-connected: Yingli Solar’s Tangqu 700 MW photovoltaic power generation project has been successfully grid-connected. The project consists of 5 photovoltaic power station projects located in Quyang and Tang County. The transmission is completed through the newly built 220 kV booster station in Baishan Village, Tang County. The project uses Yingli’s Panda 3.0 series modules to generate more than 770 million kWh of electricity every year. It claims to save about 240,000 tons of coal and reduce more than 600,000 tons of CO2 emissions.

Yingli Solar announced last month that its Panda n-type modules have received the CRE4 and PPE2 certification from CRE (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

3D Warehouse

JinkoSolar’s smart 3D warehouse starts operations: Solar module manufacturer Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. has announced that its first intelligent 3-dimensional warehouse is now officially operational. The Jianshan warehouse, located at the company’s Haining base, is spread over 38,000 sq. m. with more than 31,000 cargo spaces, a storage capacity of 62,000 boxes with a 25-day turnover. It features various automation equipment such as rotary tables, disassembly and off-line conveyor lines, elevators, loop-through RGVs, and stackers, and is equipped with digital intelligent platforms. The company says that it covers the entire process of production logistics, finished product storage, and sales logistics. It claims that the warehouse can achieve a 63% increase in labor efficiency and a 79% increase in equipment efficiency vis-à-vis traditional warehousing models. Last month, JinkoSolar reported that its 2023 module shipments soared due to increasing demand for solar energy (see 2023 A Strong Operational & Financial Year For JinkoSolar).

Partnerships & JVs

JA Solar signs strategic cooperation deal with Paramount Group: Solar PV panel manufacturer JA Solar has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with the Paramount Group. The latter is a Bangladesh-based enterprise with business interests spanning energy investment, textiles, and other sectors. Under the agreement, JA Solar will supply advanced photovoltaic (PV) products and solutions to support Paramount Group’s strategic goals in the renewable energy sector. In September 2023, JA Solar and Paramount Group signed an agreement to be the sole supplier of modules for a 150 MW solar project in Bangladesh. Expected to be completed within the year, this project is set to be the second-largest solar PV plant in Bangladesh upon completion. Recently, JA Solar shipped the 1st batch of its DeepBlue 4.0 Pro n-type modules for the “HKGE 48MW PV Plant” in Bangladesh (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

CEPIC joins CR Power to develop a 6 GW RE project: Chinese renewable energy developers Gansu Energy Development (CEPIC) and CR Power have announced that they plan to establish a joint venture (JV) named Gansu Electric Power Investment Run Energy. The JV, with a registered capital of RMB 600 million ($83.33 million), will primarily be responsible for investing in and developing mega-base projects. CEPIC will own a 51% stake in the JV with CR Power holding the remaining 49%. CEPIC stated that the joint venture would mainly be responsible for investing in and developing a 6 GW renewable energy project in the Tengger Desert for local consumption.

IPO

Laplace’s IPO application approved: Solar production equipment manufacturer Laplace’s application for an initial public offering (IPO) has been approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The company reported revenues of RMB 1.26 billion ($175 million) in 2022 and had an order backlog of RMB 8.732 billion ($1.21 billion) as of April 2023. Its clients include leading PV enterprises such as LONGi, JinkoSolar, and Aiko Solar. According to Laplace’s June 2023 prospectus, it plans to raise RMB 1.8 billion ($250 million), mainly for constructing a solar equipment R&D and production headquarters base, and a semiconductor and solar equipment R&D and manufacturing base.

Company Performance

Ancai Hi-Tech financial results: PV ultra-white rolled glass manufacturer Ancai Hi-Tech has released its financial results for FY2023. The company reported a revenue of RMB 5.196 billion ($718.1 million) for the year, up 25.38% year-on-year (YoY). However, it reported a net loss of RMB 19.287 million ($2.67 million), which was down 124.9% YoY. The company’s PV glass production was 107.33% YoY, at 200 million sq. m., generating RMB 3.771 billion ($521.1 million) in revenue that was up 87.6% YoY. The company stated that its gross profit margin of 13.06% for the year was at historically low levels. It cites squeezed profit margins on PV glass due to declining prices throughout the PV value chain as the reason for the decline.

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