CHINA SOLAR PV NEWS UPDATE: WEEK 49

Our Weekly China Solar PV News Overview provides select stories on solar developments in the world's largest PV market, which 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

NDRC releases 1st batch of Carbon Peak Pilot Cities and Zones: China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has unveiled the 1st batch of names for the Carbon Peak Pilot program. The list includes 25 cities, such as Zhangjiakou, and 10 zones like the Changzhi High-tech Industrial Development Zone as the initial pilot cities and zones for the Carbon Peak initiative. The notice outlines that the designated pilot cities and zones must adhere to the deployment requirements outlined in the “National Carbon Peak Pilot Construction Plan” and the “Guidelines for the Formulation of Carbon Peak Pilot Implementation Plans.” They are instructed to develop their pilot implementation plans based on scientific considerations and in line with their actual circumstances. After the local development and reform commissions review and verify the implementation plans for the pilot cities and zones, they are required to submit them to the NDRC by January 31, 2024. The full list of names can be accessed at this link.

Shanxi Province issues 2023 guaranteed PV grid access plan for 7.17 GW: A recent notice issued by the Energy Bureau of Shanxi Province has laid out the annual construction plan for a total of 143 projects with an installed capacity of 14.77 GW. The 14.77 GW breaks down into: 7.17 GW for solar PV, and 7.6 GW for wind power projects. According to statistics based on project owners, the top 3 in terms of project size are SPIC with 2.26 GW, China Datang with 1.24 GW, and POWERCHINA with 900 MW.

NDRC and NEA support development of renewable energy pumped storage power stations: The joint draft on pumped storage power stations by National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) has been released for public consultation. The draft is titled “Interim Measures for the Development and Construction Management of Pumped Storage Power Stations (Draft for Soliciting Opinions).” It mandates the development and construction of pumped storage power stations to support major basin integrated bases for water, wind and solar energy, as well as large-scale wind and PV bases. Following the consultation, the NEA will coordinate with provincial energy authorities and research institutions to conduct resource surveys and preliminary feasibility assessments for pumped storage development at these integrated bases. These projects will then be made part of the medium and long-term development plans.

BUSINESS

Production / Cells & Modules

Bangjie Share to adjust implementation of n-type solar cell & wafer slicing facility: Recent entrant to the solar industry Bangjie Share has announced that it plans to adjust the implementation sequence of the 16 GW n-type high-efficiency solar cell and 16 GW large-size silicon wafer slicing facility. In May of this year, the company had signed an agreement outlining its construction plans for a 1st phase 16 GW (8 GW + 8 GW) n-type high-efficiency solar cell manufacturing facility and a 2nd phase 16 GW large-size silicon wafer slicing facility. The company has decided to reorganize the implementation sequence considering the current trends in the PV industry, market demands, and the company’s strategic planning. It now plans for a 1st phase that will produce 8 GW of n-type solar cells and 16 GW large-size silicon wafer slicing annually. The remaining 8 GW n-type high-efficiency solar cell capacity will be part of the 2nd phase.

Tongwei plans to build 25 GW cells + 20 GW modules fab in Chengdu: Integrated solar PV manufacturer Tongwei Solar has announced that it has broken ground on the Global Innovation Research and Development Center at its Shuangliu Base. The company said that it has signed an agreement with Shuangliu District, Chengdu City, to initiate the construction of the R&D center and a 25 GW cell + 20 GW module production facility. The company plans to invest RMB 10.5 billion ($1.47 billion) in the fab, while the investment for the R&D center has been set at RMB 1 billion ($140 million).

Recently, Tongwei Green Substrate (Guangyuan) has announced that it has broken ground on its 200,000 tons/year industrial silicon facility in the Cangxi Economic Development Zone (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Production / Silicon Wafers

Canadian Solar to set up 14 GW silicon wafer fab in Yangzhou: Solar PV manufacturer Canadian Solar has announced its plans to use RMB 500 million ($70 million) from its IPO proceeds to invest in the construction of a 14 GW annual silicon wafer facility of Canadian Solar (Yangzhou). The company will invest a total of about RMB 900 million ($126 million) (including working capital) in the facility. The facility will involve the construction of a new silicon wafer slicing workshop, warehouse, wastewater treatment station and other ancillary facilities. Once complete, it is expected to add a high-efficiency solar silicon wafer production capacity of 14 GW/year. In October, Canadian Solar announced a solar cell manufacturing plant in the US with 5 GW annual installed capacity (see Canadian Solar Announces Solar Cell Fab In The US).

Production / Polysilicon

Qiya Group’s Phase I 100,000 tons high-purity polysilicon fab online: Qiya Group subsidiary Xinjiang Qiya Silicon Industry Co., Ltd., has announced that the Phase I of its 100,000-ton high-purity polysilicon fab has been brought online. The facility is located in the Zhundong Economic and Technological Development Zone in Xinjiang. The company is focusing on the core production of 400,000 tons of high-purity polysilicon annually. Phase I of the facility is being built with an investment of more than RMB 9 billion ($1.26 billion) and covers an area of approximately 1,000 acres. The company had started construction on the 100,000 ton Phase II in August of 2022, which is expected to start operation in October 2024.

Supply / Cells & Modules

Guangdong Energy Group tender winners announced: Yiyi New Energy and JinkoSolar have been announced as the first winning bidders for the Guangdong Energy Group’s 2023 PV module procurement tender. The winning bids were for RMB 0.938/W and RMB 0.95/W, respectively. JA Solar and Longi Green Energy were named the second winning bidder, with bids of RMB 0.958/W and RMB 0.965 RMB/W. The winning bids translate to $0.13/W. According to the announcement, the companies will be responsible for the purchase and installation of p-type high-efficiency monocrystalline bifacial double-glass PV modules with a power of ≥550Wp and a purchase volume of 1175.8318MW.

Supply / Cells & Modules / HJT

Shanghai Electric receives 1st batch of equipment for HJT cell & module fab: SPIC owned Shanghai Electric Power Co. has announced that it has received the first batch of equipment for the initial phase of its high-efficiency PV cell & module facility. The fab will be operated under the company’s subsidiary Hengxi Solar and is located in Haimen District, Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. The initial phase aims to achieve 4.8 GW capacity for high-efficiency heterojunction (HJT) cells and modules, with an initial stage capacity of 1.2 GW. The equipment included in this first batch, such as the PECVD main equipment and its automation facilities, constitutes the core equipment for the production of HJT wafers.

Equipment

Autowell showcases innovation in module manufacturing at CIPVIC 2023: Automation equipment manufacturer Autowell showcased its innovation in intelligent module manufacturing at the 6th China International PV Industry Conference hosted by Tongwei Group. Autowell, a partner of Tongwei since 2015, demonstrated its achievements in intelligent manufacturing and technological innovation. The collaboration has evolved from dual-line stringers to various equipment across Tongwei’s locations. Autowell aims to deepen collaboration, contributing to the integration of intelligent manufacturing in the solar industry. Autowell received prestigious awards at the Tongwei Global Partner Conference, highlighting its steadfast partnership and value contribution. Autowell’s MBB PV Cell Soldering Stringer drew attention for its competitiveness in capacity, precision, and compatibility.

China Three Gorges invites bids for perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell and module equipment: China Three Gorges has invited bids for the procurement of equipment related to the development and demonstration application of efficient perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells and modules. The company intends to procure, among other things, 3 large-area high-precision slot coating devices, one set of large-area laser scribing equipment, one set of large-area light source, and solar cell IV testing system, and one set of new PV material physical vapor deposition equipment. The equipment is expected to be delivered within 40 weeks after the signing of the contract, with Beijing and Tianjin as the delivery locations. The full list of equipment to be procured can be accessed here.

Jinchen Corp ventures into perovskite and hydrogen equipment industries: Solar manufacturing equipment manufacturer Jinchen Corp has announced its intention to jointly invest in the establishment of Beijing Hengyi Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. with the Beijing Chen Gong Vacuum Technology Center. Additionally, Jinchen Corp plans to co-invest with Suzhou Dechen Technology Service Partnership to establish Suzhou Jiaheng Intelligent Technology Development Co., Ltd. Hengyi Optoelectronics’ primary focus will be research and manufacturing of vacuum deposition machines for perovskite solar cell coating equipment. Jiaheng Intelligent Technology aims to establish a foundation for the expansion of automated equipment in the hydrogen production equipment sector. The company’s hydrogen production equipment automation production line has completed product design, and is currently in the initial stages of market promotion.

RoboTechnik to supply PV equipment to Shichuang Energy: High-end automation equipment manufacturer RoboTechnik has announced that the company and its wholly-owned subsidiary have signed a sales contract with Shichuang Energy. According to the contract, RoboTechnik will supply automation equipment worth approximately RMB 111.5 million ($15.63 million) to Shichuang Energy. In November, RoboTechnik announced that it has signed a PV equipment sales contract with Tongwei Solar (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

PV Power Plants

Mingr plans to enter PV EPC construction services and BOO projects through subsidiary: Well-known jewelry brand Mingr has announced its intention to diversify its business operations by establishing a subsidiary in the area of photovoltaics. The company said that it will invest RMB 10 million ($1.40 million) in a wholly-owned subsidiary, aimed at creating new avenues for profit growth and improve sustainable development capabilities. Once operational, the new company will engage in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracting services for PV power plants and will also pursue the Build-Own-Operate (BOO) model for the construction and ownership of 3 power stations.

DAS Solar n-type modules at Hainan PV plant deliver power gain of 5.22%: DAS Solar said in an email release that the Hainan PV plant project – grid connected at the end of 2022 and equipped with DAS Solar’s n-type and p-type modules – has achieved a power gain of 5.22%. The release states that based on available statistics from December 2022 to September 2023, n-type TOPCon modules demonstrate a notable average increase in power generation of 5.22% compared to p-type PERC modules under similar conditions. The n-type module’s first year degradation was found not to exceed 1% with annual degradation of less than 0.4%, compared to 2% first year power degradation and 0.45% annual degradation for p-type modules. The power gains for an n-type module compared to a p-type module, from 1% in the first year to 2.45% in the 30th year, helps it achieve a power generation gain of 1.73% over its life cycle, says DAS Solar.

Last month, DAS Solar and Mubang Hi-Tech jointly signed an agreement with the Xinzhou Economic Development Zone Management Committee to invest in a 20 GW n-type monocrystalline silicon ingot fab (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Commercial MW-Level perovskite PV project connected to the grid: China has grid-connected what is claimed to be the world’s first commercial MW-level perovskite ground photovoltaic project. The project, a joint investment and construction effort by China Three Gorges Project Corporation and Elion, is located in the Kubuqi Desert in Hangjin Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia. It is associated with the Kubuqi 2 GW PV sand control project in the western part of Inner Mongolia. The project is said to have an installed capacity of 1 MW, covers an area of 40 acres, and is equipped with 11,200 perovskite solar modules.

Boamax Technologies and BJEI sign agreement for fishery-solar PV power station: CNC sheet metal technology company Boamax Technologies has announced that it has signed a cooperation development agreement with BJEI. The companies will jointly develop a fishery-solar complementary PV power station project in Hushu Street, Jiangning District, Nanjing. The project will consist a total installed capacity of 120 MW. Once complete and grid-connected, the facility is expected to produce approximately 100 million kWh of clean electricity annually. This is equivalent to saving 40,000 tons of standard coal and reducing CO2 emissions by 140,000 tons.

In September, Boamax Technologies and Huaneng Renewables announced a joint agreement with the Huaiyuan County People’s Government to construct a 1 GW distributed PV facility (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Photovoltaic With Inflatable Film

Ultra-large PV + inflatable film project online in Jiangsu: Dubbed as the country’s 1st project of its kind, an ultra-large-scale photovoltaic (PV) + inflatable film project has been brought online in China. Local media reports that the project consists of 4 ultra-large-scale inflatable film greenhouses and is located at the Changzhou Port Lu’an Zhou Terminal in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The project covers a total area of over 270,000 square meters and has a storage capacity for loose cargo of up to 1.5 million tons. The distributed PV installed capacity on the roof reaches 7.66 MW, generating an annual output of 11 MWh, accounting for 52% of the terminal’s total annual electricity consumption. The project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by over 9,500 tons annually.

Acquisitions & Partnerships

TCL Zhonghuan transfers 27% equity stake in Xinjiang Geensi: Leading solar wafer supplier TCL Zhonghuan Co., Ltd. has announced that the company has successfully transferred its 27% equity stake in Xinjiang Geensi to Guotong Trust Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Wuhan Financial Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd. As part of the transaction, the company has received the full equity transfer payment of RMB 697 million ($97.62 million). Xinjiang Geensi is engaged in various activities, including research, production, and sales of polycrystalline silicon and monocrystalline silicon. The company is also involved in engineering consulting and project development related to the photovoltaic industry.

In October, TCL Zhonghuan signed a Joint Development Agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Vision Industries to jointly build a crystal wafer facility in Saudi Arabia (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Risen Energy signs global cooperation MoU with OSW: Risen Energy has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for global cooperation with the Australian solar and storage integrator OSW. The 2 parties had signed a 1 GW heterojunction PV module supply agreement in June of this year. The MoU was signed at a recent event titled China (Zhejiang) – Australia (Victoria) Trade and Investment Talks, held in Melbourne.

Last month, Risen Energy released data to indicate that its HJT modules generated 5.13% higher power per Watt compared to PERC (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Testing & Certifications

TrinaTracker’s full line of products passes third-party bankability testing: Trina Solar’s tracker making subsidiary TrinaTracker has announced that its product reliability, bankability and product profitability have been recognized by third-party independent review agencies. The company’s single-row flat single-axis tracking bracket Pioneer 1P, Trailblazer 2P, and the double-row flat single-axis tracking bracket Anjie 1P have officially obtained the single-axis tracking system bankability audit report issued by DNV. It says that its 3-in-1 intelligent tracking platform that includes hardware, software and service platform can significantly increase the overall power generation of the tracking power station.

Separately, TrinaTracker has announced that it will release a new upgraded version of its Pioneer 1P product on December 15 in Suqian.

Canadian Solar’s TOPCon series modules receive new IEC standard certification: Solar PV manufacturer Canadian Solar has announced that its TOPCon series modules have received the new IEC61215-2021/IEC 61730-2023 standard PV module certification from VDE. The company says that it is the world’s first company to be certified for the new version of standard tests. The certification is said to further validate the company’s TOPCon series for use in a variety of complex applications. Canadian Solar also said that its photovoltaic testing laboratory has undergone strict audits and it meets the new standards.

UtmoLight large-size perovskite modules achieve 19.5% steady-state efficiency: Solar technology company Wuxi UtmoLight has announced that its 810.1 cm2 large-size perovskite module developed has achieved a steady-state efficiency of 19.5%. The company says that it has been certified by JET, an international testing organization. It surpassed the 18.6% set by Panasonic in June of this year, a record that was held for 3 years. Recently, UtmoLight announced that its 1200 mm x 600 mm commercial perovskite module had received IEC 61215 and IEC 61730 standard certification from TüV SüD (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

GCL Optoelectronics’ perovskite laminated module achieves 26.17% efficiency: GCL Optoelectronics has announced that its perovskite laminated module efficiency has exceeded 26% (26.17% @279 mm × 370 mm), as certified by the China Institute of Metrology. The company says that it will continue to work on both area and efficiency to break the 26% barrier for a 1000 mm × 2000 mm module. Recently, Mellow Energy announced its plans for a 100 MW perovskite production line (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

TAIYANGNEWS ANNUAL FLAGSHIP EVENT: Virtual Conference on High Efficiency Solar Technologies Part-1

As the solar world is turning with high speed and significant technology changes taking place constantly, TaiyangNews will be hosting its annual flagship event on High Efficiency Solar Technologies in December, providing a technology round-up on the latest developments in the fields of solar cells, modules, processing materials and production equipment.

The #firstpart of the online event will take place on #December13/14 with a focus on TOPCon & HJT.

While TOPCon has been accepted as the new state of the art with large capacities already online and much more to come around the world, PERC is a thing of the past. At the same time, several leading companies are also developing HJT, either focusing on HJT exclusively or next to TOPCon as they want to differentiate and believe in the higher efficiencies of HJT.

Sponsored by LONGi Solar , AIKO Energy , Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. , 天合光能 , Astronergy Solar , JA Solar , HUASUN HJT , 东方日升 , Solar Panels , ATW, DK Electronic Materials , DA Solar, Hangzhou First, Jolywood Solar , Solamet , Cybrid Technologies Inc. , Leadmicro, Maxwell, Runergy Solar , SolarSpace, this 2-day event will see leading PV manufacturers, material suppliers and equipment makers present the latest updates on each of these technologies.

#PartII of the High Efficiency Solar Technologies will be held on #December19/20, where we will do a deep dive into Back Contact (XBC) Cell Architecture and Next Generation Technologies, along with more news on TOPCon.

For #FreeRegistration, click here: https://taiyangnews.info/dec-1314-19-and-20-2023-high-efficiency-solar-technologies/

We look forward to seeing you at the conference. Also, watch out for #Part-II of the Conference.

#HighEfficiencyPV, #HighEfficiencyPVModules, #HighEfficiencySolarTechnologies, #SolarPV