CHINA SOLAR PV NEWS UPDATE: WEEK 15

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/

BUSINESS

Production / Cells & Modules

1st 210R module rolls out from Tongwei’s Nantong Base: Vertically integrated solar manufacturer Tongwei Solar’s Nantong Base has rolled out the 1st 210R large rectangular module from its production line. The company says these 210R modules are designed to be optimized on traditional 182 products. The length of the 210R-66 version module has been increased from 2278 mm to 2382 mm to maximize packaging utilization and reduce transportation costs. Its width remains the same at 1134 mm. Reaching a maximum power of 630 W, the 210R modules generate over 40 W of additional power and a 0.5% improvement in efficiency compared to a 182-72 module. Tongwei says the 210R series products deliver better BOS and LCOE compared to 182 mm products. Late last month, Tongwei Solar 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 ).

Sunergy’s Guangxi solar module factory starts operations: Solar module manufacturer Sunergy has announced that its solar module manufacturing facility in Baise City, Guangxi Province is now operational. The factory, involving an investment of about RMB 1.75 billion ($243.06 million), is expected to generate RMB 6 billion ($833.33 million) in annual revenues once fully operational. The factory is part of Sunergy’s Baise Photovoltaic Equipment Industrial Park.

JA Solar to build 5 GW solar module fab in Inner Mongolia: JA Solar has signed an agreement to build a 5 GW solar module manufacturing facility in Bayan Nur, Inner Mongolia. JA Solar will collaborate with Inner Mongolia Naoer Energy Development Co., Ltd. in this joint venture. The facility is planned for a total investment of RMB 1.4 billion ($194.44 million) and will also involve the construction of supporting facilities. Once completed, it is expected to generate RMB 5 billion ($694.44 million) in revenues. JA Solar recently released long-term test results from its demonstration plant in Hainan that showed that its n-type modules delivered a 3.5% gain in electricity over p-type modules (see China Solar PV News Snippets ).

Seraphim starts construction on 10 GW solar module fab: Seraphim has announced that it has started building its 10 GW solar module manufacturing facility in Huadu District, Guangzhou. To be constructed in 2 phases, the facility involves a total investment of about RMB 6 billion ($833.33 million). With construction planned to start in June this year, it is expected to hit trial production in December 2025 and full production in 2026. Once operational, the project is expected to generate about RMB 10 billion ($1.39 billion) in annual revenues. In February, Seraphim announced that it had received the 1st batch of equipment for its TOPCon cell fab in Yingshang, Anhui (see China Solar PV News Snippets ).

Production / Cells & Modules / Perovskite

GCL Perovskite to build fab for 2 sq. m. perovskite tandem module: Perovskite module maker GCL Perovskite has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Towngas Energy to jointly construct a manufacturing facility. It claims that it will be the world’s first industrialized demonstration project for 2 sq. m. size perovskite tandem modules, to be built within this year. Earlier this month, GCL announced hitting 26.36% efficiency for its 1.71 m2 perovskite tandem module (see China Solar PV News Snippets ).

Production / Cells & Modules / Silicon Wafers

Construction begins on Shijing solar cell manufacturing base: Construction on the Shijing high-efficiency and solar cell manufacturing base in Ziyang, Sichuan has officially started. The base, being jointly constructed by Shijing Technology and JinkoSolar, involves RMB 10 billion ($1.38 billion) in investment. The total construction area for this facility spans 443,000 m2. The base will consist of an intelligent manufacturing factory, auxiliary buildings and supporting facilities with an annual output of 20 GW of high-performance monocrystalline silicon wafers and 20 GW of high-efficiency solar cells. The facility, once fully up and running, is expected to generate RMB 20 billion ($2.76 billion) in revenue while creating over 4,000 jobs.

Supply / Cells & Modules

Yingli Solar wins in each bid section of Xinhua Hydropower’s tender: Xinhua Hydropower recently announced the winning bidders for its 2024 photovoltaic module procurement. Yingli Solar figured as a shortlisted candidate in all 3 bidding sections. The 9 GW total scale of the tender was split into 3 sections, with the first 2 sections relating to P-type modules for 2 GW and Section 3 for 7 GW of n-type modules. The volume of these bids has not been disclosed as of this time.

DMEGC Solar forecasts n-type shipments to exceed 80% in 2024: Vertically integrated solar module manufacturer DMEGC Solar forecasts a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase of over 20% in photovoltaic (PV) product shipments for Q1 2024. It expects slightly higher average selling prices than the industry since a higher proportion of its shipments are to the distributed market. It forecasts n-type product shipments to exceed 80% of the targeted total PV product shipments of 15 GW in 2024. The European market is expected to account for nearly half of these shipments, with the Chinese market accounting for one-third, Japan and Korea about 10%, and the US and other markets about 10%. In terms of prices and profits, the highest can be seen in the US market, followed by Japan and Europe.

LONGi says European business unaffected by EU’s FSR Investigation: Vertically integrated solar manufacturer LONGi has stated that the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) investigation will not affect its European business materially. LONGi Solar Technologie GmbH, the German subsidiary of LONGi Green Energy Technology, is part of one of the 2 consortiums subject to the investigation (see EU Investigation Of Chinese Bidders In Romanian Solar PV Auction ). The investigation is to assess whether the winning bidders of a 110 MW solar PV auction in Romania were helped by foreign subsidies that distort the internal market. LONGi says that its ‘business operations and delivery capacity in the European market will not be materially affected in any way’ and that its business will continue without interruption throughout the investigation.

Module Efficiency

GCL’s large-area perovskite tandem modules achieve 26.36% efficiency: GCL Perovskite has announced that its 1.71 m2 perovskite tandem modules achieved a steady-state efficiency of 26.36%, certified by the China National Institute of Metrology. The company said that this is another world record for the efficiency and size of tandem resistance by the company. In November 2023, GCL Perovskite announced achieving 18.04% efficiency for 2 m2 perovskite single-junction modules, 26.17% efficiency for 1032 cm2 tandem modules, and 26.34% efficiency for 2048 cm2 tandem modules.

Test Results

JA Solar’s update on Qionghai field test results: Vertically integrated solar PV manufacturer JA Solar has released another set of results from its demonstration plant in Qionghai City, Hainan Province. The plant consists of 5 kW each of DeepBlue 4.0 n-type bifacial modules and p-type PERC bifacial modules, using fixed mounts (19° tilt). The test results for the period of February 2023 to January 2024 showed that the n-type modules generated a total of 3.5% more electricity than the p-type modules. The company says the results demonstrate the superior performance of DeepBlue 4.0 modules in real-world operations. The 3.5% gain is higher than the 2.9% power gain reported in September 2023 (see China Solar PV News Snippets ).

Certifications

Tongwei receives 2 certificates from TüV Nord: Tongwei Solar has been awarded the IEC TS 63209-1 enhanced testing certification and the new IEC standard certification by TüV Nord. The IEC TS 63209-1 enhanced testing certification is an international standard for extended stress tests on solar modules, detailing testing methods and requirements for ground-mounted modules, especially for harsh certification tests for special climatic conditions like those in the Middle East, characterized by high temperatures and UV radiation. The new IEC standard certification, IEC 61730:2023, updates the requirements for the safety design of modules based on the previous IEC 61215:2021 standard, applicable mostly outside North America. This new standard sets higher requirements for module R&D and production technology levels, applying stricter evaluations on product reliability and safety. Last week, Tongwei Solar announced that its 182-72 version TNC module achieved a module front power of 613.2 W (see China Solar PV News Snippets ).

Fundings

Letian Perovskite secures angel financing: Shanghai Letian Perovskite has announced that it has secured tens of millions of RMB in an angel round financing. The investors remain undisclosed. Founded in January 2023, the company specializes in the research and development of perovskite solar cells and modules. It completed its first round of angel financing in April 2023. The company claims that it has applied for over 20 related patents since the beginning of this year, and achieved a small-area perovskite cell efficiency of 26.25% in November 2023.

SPS completes Series A financing: Slit coating equipment developer and manufacturer Shanghai Precision Systems, Inc. (SPS) has announced that it has completed Series A financing for an undisclosed amount. The company says it has 5 of the 6 perovskite pilot lines in China use SPS’ slit coating technology, with the remaining one using Japan’s Toray solution. It claims that it is part of the supply chain in nearly 20 perovskite and PV companies, including GCL Optoelectronics.

Chint subsidiary raises funds for PV inverter and ESS facility: Tongrun Industry, a subsidiary of Astronergy’s parent company Chint Group, has announced plans to raise about RMB 1.7 billion ($236.11 million). Of the proceeds, the company plans to use RMB 1.38 billion ($191.67 million) to construct an 18 GW PV and energy storage inverter expansion facility, and a 5 GWh energy storage system facility. It plans to use the remaining funds for supplementary working capital and debt repayment. The facility, located in the Songjiang District of Shanghai, is expected to fully constructed in 24 months.

Partnerships

Risen Energy signs MoU with CW Enerji: Risen Energy has announced that it has signed an MoU with Turkish photovoltaic enterprise CW ENERJI MUHENDISLIK TICARET VE SANAYI ANONIM SIRKETI (CW Enerji). CW Enerji provides investment and technical consulting services for solar power plants, project and system design, installation of licensed and unlicensed power plants, obtaining licenses and operation, as well as project planning, design, finance, implementation, and post-installation technical maintenance and repairs. Risen Energy expressed that this cooperation will leverage CW Enerji’s localized resources to better meet the market demands of Turkey and surrounding regions. Risen recently reported data from its Saudi demonstration base that showed Hyper-ion modules deliver up to 3.58% gain vs. TOPCon (see China Solar PV News Snippets ). Separately, Risen has also announced that its 730W heterojunction (HJT) Hyper-ion modules have obtained the TüV SüD IEC new standard certification.

2 companies to jointly build integrated PV manufacturing facility in Inner Mongolia: The People’s Government of Baotou City, Inner Mongolia has signed a joint agreement with Lihao Semiconductor and Yingfa Group for a silicon-to-module integrated facility. The total investment for this facility is pegged at RMB 57 billion ($7.92 billion). Lihao Semiconductor plans to construct a 200,000-ton of high-purity silicon facility, supporting 250,000 tons of industrial silicon, in 2 phases for a total investment of RMB 25 billion ($3.47 billion). Yingfa Group plans a facility with 40 GW ingot capacity, 20 GW slicing, and 20 GW high-efficiency crystalline silicon cells, to be built in 3 phases for a total investment of RMB 32 billion ($4.44 billion).

Market Foray

Huasun enters the Turkish market with HJT: Solar panel manufacturer Huasun Energy presented its Everest G12R Series and Himalaya G12 Series modules, cells, and wafers at Solarex Istanbul, making its debut in Turkey. Turkey’s increasing energy consumption and abundant solar resources make it a promising market for PV installations. The company says that heterojunction (HJT) solar cells, with their symmetric structure and efficient power generation, suit Turkey’s industrial, commercial, and ground-mounted applications. Huasun claims that its HJT products attracted attention for their high efficiency and potential to drive green energy growth in Turkey. Last month, Huasun Energy announced it had won CGDG’s bid for HJT solar modules (see China Solar PV News Snippets ).

Company Performance

TBEA’s renewable energy installations hit 2.19 GW in 2023: Polysilicon and solar inverter manufacturer TBEA has reported FY2023 revenues of RMB 98.123 billion ($13.62 billion), an increase of 1.79% year-on-year (YoY). The company’s net profit was RMB 10.703 billion ($1.49 billion), down 32.75% YoY. For the year, the company sold 202,900 tons of polysilicon and completed 2.19 GW of wind and PV project installations. The company said that its polysilicon production capacity reached 300,000 tons/year by the end of 2023. It also reported that it has connected 3.41 GW to the grid cumulatively.