CHINA SOLAR PV NEWS UPDATE: WEEK 9

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/

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MARKETS

Industry Expects Chinese Solar Installation Spree To Slow Down: The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) forecasts the Chinese solar PV installation spree to slow down in 2024 to between 190 GW AC to 220 GW AC, after the country reported a strong annual increase of over 147% in 2023. This will contribute to the global PV additions that it predicts to range from 390 GW to 430 GW. The year will see 53 markets reaching the GW level, up from 39 markets in 2023.?According to the National Energy Administration (NEA), China’s annual solar PV capacity additions in 2023 were 216.30 GW AC. This comprises 120.01 GW AC of centralized PV power stations and 96.28 GW AC of distributed PV projects. Residential solar installations accounted for 43.48 GW AC of the distributed PV capacity. For complete story, please click here.?

China’s Solar PV Output In 2023 Exceeded RMB 1.7 Trillion: The latest statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) show China’s total national output for polysilicon, silicon wafers, cells and modules in 2023 increased by over 21%. Compared to over RMB 1.4 trillion ($195 billion) in 2022, the output exceeded RMB 1.7 trillion ($236 billion) in 2023. The global trend of falling prices and increasing volumes in 2023 impacted Chinese businesses as the price of polysilicon and modules dropped by over 50% from January to December. For complete story, please click here.

Trina Solar foresees substantial growth in Pakistan: Solar module manufacturer 天合光能 has said in a press release that it anticipates substantial growth in the Pakistani solar market. It says solar adoption is most prominent in major cities like Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore, driven by higher population density and increased awareness of solar module technology. The company cites reforms in solar initiatives, fluctuating fuel prices, and rapid advancements in solar technology as the reasons behind this outlook toward the market. Trina Solar will be part of the Solar Pakistan exhibition in Lahore from February 27 to 29, 2024, where it will launch its Vertex N 720W bifacial modules, with an efficiency of 23.2%, in the market. The company says it has ‘impactful presence in Pakistan’s energy sector,’ and has worked on numerous projects across the country, including residential, commercial and industrial (C&I), and utility scale.

CMA releases solar and wind resource report: The China Meteorological Association has released its report on solar and wind energy resources in China for 2023. The report stated that, in 2023, the annual average total horizontal irradiation 1.58% less than the past 30-year average and 1.27% lower than the past 10-year average. In terms of spatial distribution, the country’s western region fared better than the central and eastern regions. For wind, the report said that the average wind speed for the year, at a height of 10 meters, was 0.03% lower than the 10-year average.

BUSINESS

Production / Cells & Modules

Juhe New Energy to build a lightweight module and PV backsheet plant: Manufacturer of lightweight solar modules Juhe New Energy’s environmental impact report (EIA) for a lightweight PV module + PV backsheet plant has been approved by the local government. The company plans to build a facility with 3 GW high-efficiency lightweight modules and 24 GW of solar PV backsheet capacity in Quzhou City. It will be investing about RMB 900 million ($125 million) in the facility that will be constructed in 2 phases. Phase I targets a production capacity of 1.5 GW of high-efficiency lightweight modules (including shingled modules and half-cut modules) and 12 GW of solar PV backsheets annually. The target for Phase II is to double this capacity.

JinkoSolar unveils Neo Green modules produced with renewable energy: Solar module manufacturer Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. has unveiled Neo Green modules, produced with renewable energy. The modules are n-type TOPCon Tiger Neo panels manufactured in the company’s zero-carbon factories. Its wafer, cell and module factories in Leshan, Chuxiong and Shangrao are powered by renewable sources like solar, hydro and wind. JinkoSolar says that it currently has 5 GW of capacity for Neo Green modules. It said that it will continue to expand the use of recycled materials while increasing the use of electric trucks and LNG-powered ships. JinkoSolar was awarded the Zero Carbon Factory certification by TüV Rheinland for its Leshan manufacturing facility in November 2023 (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Aiko Solar’s 10 GW ABC cell and module facility to come up in Jinan: Solar cell and module manufacturer AIKO Energy has announced that it has signed an agreement to build an ABC cell and module manufacturing facility in Jinan. The phase I of this facility involves building a manufacturing facility with a capacity of 10 GW cells and modules each, for an investment of about RMB 9.8 billion ($1.36 billion). The company plans to raise the funding through a combination of its own funds, government subsidies and external financing. Earlier this month, Aiko Solar reported achieving 25.15% conversion efficiency for its ABC modules (see Aiko Solar Announces New World Record Efficiency).

Production / Cells, Modules & Wafers

Canadian Solar to build a wafer-cell-module facility in Jiangsu: Solar PV manufacturer Canadian Solar Inc. has announced its plans to invest in a wafer-cell-module manufacturing facility in Lianshui County, Huai’an City, Jiangsu Province. It plans to invest RMB 9.63 billion ($1.34 billion) in the facility that will be constructed in 3 phases. The company expects to start construction in March 2024, with an investment payback period of 3.15 years. Once complete, the facility will have a capacity of 14 GW of wafers, cells and modules each. Earlier this month, Canadian Solar released a PC tender for the 200 MW/800 MWh independent energy storage power station project in Jiuquan, Gansu Province (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

BAJ Solar starts construction on PV cell and wafer slicing facility: BAJ Solar has announced that it has started construction on an n-type cell and wafer slicing facility. Located in Jiangshan City, Zhejiang Province, the company will invest a total of RMB 8 billion ($1.11 billion) in the facility. When up and running, the facility will have an annual capacity of 8 GW n-type solar cells and 16 GW of large-size wafer slicing. It is also expected to create 3,500 jobs locally.

Production / Cells & Modules / HJT

LONGi develops 57 μm HJT solar cells with >26% efficiency: LONGi Solar , in collaboration with Jiangsu University of Science and Technology and Australia Curtin University, has developed what it calls the world’s first highly flexible, high-power-to-weight-ratio silicon heterojunction solar cells. The research results, titled ‘Flexible silicon solar cells with high power-to-weight ratios,’ were published in the international journal Nature. In this study, the 3 teams collaborated to develop new processes such as surface passivation and doping contact growth. The teams created a 57 μm solar cell with a power-to-weight ratio of 1.9 W per gram, a curvature radius of 19 mm, a power-to-weight ratio 2-3 times that of existing products, and an efficiency exceeding 26%. The related data has been certified by the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin (ISFH) in Germany. Recently, LONGi signed a contract with UK’s Ferroglobe for the supply of high-quality quartz and silicon (see Non-Chinese Silicon Supply For LONGi Under Global Strategy).

Supply / Trackers

TrinaTracker wins 200 MW order for Shandong fishery-solar project: TrinaTracker , the tracker manufacturing arm of Trina Solar, has signed a supply agreement with China Energy Construction Group. Per the agreement, it will supply 200 MW of Vanguard 2P trackers and supporting software to the project that is part of Dongying Huiyang Clean Energy National Large-Scale Wind and Solar Base. Recently, Trina Tracker upgraded its Vangurad 1P smart tracker, offering added features and modifications (see TrinaTracker Expands Its Vanguard 1P Tracker Series).

Supply / String Inverters

Sungrow and Ginlong win Datang inverter bid: Datang Group has announced Sungrow Power and Ginlong Technology as the winners of its 2023-2024 PV inverter framework bidding section 3. This bidding section was specifically for distributed string inverters, for an estimated capacity of 1 GW. Sungrow Power is also one of the winners in section 1, which was for string inverters of 196 kW and above. Once signed, the contract will be valid till June 30, 2024, with an option to extend it for an additional 3 months.

Supply / Equipment

Autowell wins RMB 270 million solar module equipment order from LONGi: Solar automation equipment manufacturer Autowell and its subsidiary have won an order from LONGi for solar module manufacturing equipment. While a contract is yet to be signed, it is believed to be in the amount of RMB 270 million ($37.53 million). Given an average equipment acceptance period of 6 to 9 months, Autowell stated the contract may not positively impact its performance in 2024. However, it does expect a positive impact in 2025. Last month Autowell announced a purchase contract with Trina Solar for integrated solar module cutting & soldering equipment (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

PV Projects

Boamax to collaborate with BJEI on 1.5 GW PV and wind projects: HJT cell and module maker Boamax has announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with Beijing Energy International Holdings (BJEI). The 2 companies plan to establish a comprehensive cooperative relationship in the fields of clean energy and integrated energy. They intend to develop 500 MW of PV and wind power projects annually for a total of 1.5 GW over 3 years. Additionally, they plan to collaborate on 20 MW of charging and swapping station projects annually for a total of 60 MW over 3 years.

Energy Storage Systems (ESS)

APsystems unveils Ocean Series string-connected liquid-cooled ESS: APsystems’ subsidiary Advanced Energy Storage has launched the Ocean Series string-connected liquid-cooled energy storage system (ESS). The company says that the ESS is a solution developed in-house for various applications, and boasts high security, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. It is available in a 200 kWh to MWh range and is said to be suitable for commercial and industrial (C&I) storage, shared storage, renewable energy storage, and microgrids.

JinkoSolar delivers 6 MWh liquid-cooled ESS in Taishan: Solar PV and ESS manufacturer Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. has announced that it has supplied 6 MWh liquid-cooled energy storage systems (ESS) for a 6 MW / 6 MWh project in Beidou, Taishan City, Guangdong province. The company says that its SunTera liquid-cooled ESS features the lowest temperature variance of ±2.5 °C, which extends battery life by 20% vs. air cooling. The liquid-cooled system is also said to enable higher energy density per cell while reducing power consumption by 10%. Earlier this month, JinkoSolar announced that it will be providing its SunTera 100 MWh liquid cooling ESS to a project located in Jiande, Zhejiang (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Financial Results

Jinko releases preliminary 2023 financial results: Solar PV manufacturer JinkoSolar’s principal subsidiary Jinko Solar Co. Ltd. has announced its preliminary results for FY2023. The company reported a revenue of RMB 1,186.82 billion ($164.85 billion), growing 43.55% YoY. Its net profit was RMB 74.86 billion ($10.40 billion), a YoY growth of 154.97%. Jinko attributes its substantial growth to the continuous leadership in n-type TOPCon technology and products, operational and manufacturing efficiencies, and increased shipments over last year.

Arctech reports close to 73.8% rise in FY2023 revenues: Solar tracking and installation solutions provider Arctech has released its FY2023 financial results. The company reported an operating income of RMB 6.435 billion ($894.4 million), a YoY increase of 73.79%; net profit of RMB 353.8 million ($49.2 million), a YoY increase of 696.31%. The company cites strong demand for new installed capacity and the company’s competitive advantages as the drivers of this growth. In December 2023, Arctech signed a strategic cooperation agreement with green energy solutions provider Yingli Solar (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Gaoce reports 85.32% YoY increase in 2023 net profits: Wire cutting machine manufacturer Gaoce has reported positive financial results for FY 2023. It reported a 73.19% YoY increase in operating income to RMB 6.183 billion ($859.1 million), while its net profit increased 85.32% YoY to RMB 1.461 billion ($203 million). The company cited strong global demand for PV equipment, diamond wire, and silicon wafer cutting and processing as the reasons for its strong performance in the year. Gaoce had reported a whopping 201.27% YoY increase in net profit for H1 2023 (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Drinda reports 16% increase in 2023 net profits: Solar PV cell and automotive instrument panel assembly manufacturer Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology Co. Ltd. has announced the financial results for FY 2023. The company’s revenues increased 58.65% year-on-year (YoY) to RMB 18.397 billion ($2.56 billion) and a 16% YoY increase in net profits to RMB 832 million ($115.6 million). As of the end of the year, Drinda had a total cell production capacity of over 49 GW (p-type 9.5 GW, n-type 40 GW), which increased 180% YoY. The company shipped 29.96 GW of cells for the year (p-type 9.38 GW, n-type 20.58 GW), which was a 179.43% increase YoY. The company cites capacity expansion and increased proportion of overseas sales, among other things, as the reasons behind its positive performance. Last month, Drinda had reported that it is expected to become the 1st PV cell company to have both A and H shares listed simultaneously (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Trina Solar’s revenue exceeded RMB 100 billion in 2023: Solar module manufacturer 天合光能 has reported its FY 2023 earnings results. For the period, the company reported revenues of RMB 113.51 billion ($15.78 billion), an increase of 33.46% over the previous year. Its net profit was RMB 5.561 billion ($773 million), an increase of 51.12% over the previous year. The company attributed its positive performance to increased sales volumes, the higher proportion of TOPCon module sales, in-house n-type silicon wafer capacity resulting in reduced costs, etc. Trina Solar, along with China Power, recently completed the equity delivery for a 69.3 MW under-construction floating PV project in Sarawak, Malaysia (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Awards & Recognitions

Risen Energy receives SolarProsumerAward for Poland: Solar module manufacturer 东方日升 has been awarded the 2023 Poland SolarProsumerAward by EUPD Research. The company says that it has been awarded the top photovoltaic brand honor in Europe, America and other related markets for many years in a row. As per the EUPD Research website, this award is based on the prosumers’ perception of a company, its products and services. Earlier this month, Risen Energy said in a release that its HJT Hyper-ion modules generate up to 6.86% higher power compared to PERC modules (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Sunova Solar still a BNEF Tier 1 module manufacturer: Sunova Solar has announced that it continues to be listed as a Tier 1 module manufacturer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The company said that it met the new criteria of supplying to at least 6 projects with 5 MW or larger size, enabling it to feature in BNEF’s recently released Q1 2024 report. Sunova Solar made the list despite the removal of 43% of module manufacturers based on the new criteria. The company says that it currently has 9 GW of cell manufacturing capacity and 5.5 GW of modules, with another 4.5 GW of module production capacity under construction.

DAS Solar’s n-type modules perform well in PVEL testing: PV cell and module supplier DAS SOLAR has announced via a press release that its N-type bifacial double glass module performed exceptionally in PV Evolution Labs’ (PVEL) Product Quality Program (PQP) testing. The tests included various environmental stressors like thermal cycling, damp heat, and mechanical stress. The company said that its module performance remained significantly unaffected throughout the 600 thermal cycles at temperatures ranging from -40°C to 85°C and 2,000 hours of Damp Heat testing at 85°C and 85% RH. Recently, DAS Solar reported achieving 26.36% efficiency for its TOPCon 4.0 Plus high efficiency cell (see DAS Solar Announces 26.36 Percent TOPCon Cell Efficiency).

IEC international standard proposed by China Huaneng and Canadian Solar approved: The new IEC international standard proposal Coupled-Stress Acceleration Test Sequence for PV Modules and Materials has been officially approved. The proposal was led by China Huaneng’s Clean Energy Technology Research Institute, Canadian Solar, and the National Solar PV Product Quality Inspection and Testing Center. Labeled IEC TS 82-2212, this standard provides a standardized comprehensive accelerated stress testing method for modules and small modules. It superimposes ultraviolet factors under each test condition of damp heat, thermal cycling, and damp freeze, more realistically simulating outdoor actual application environments. This method can rapidly reproduce various real outdoor aging failure cases, effectively evaluate the risk of module failure, significantly reduce testing costs, and shorten testing time.

Efficiency Records

Astronergy’s TOPCon cells achieve over 26.9% efficiency: Astronergy Solar announced a breakthrough in its n-type TOPCon solar cells. The 4.0 version of the TOPCon solar cells, incorporating low-corrosion paste + LIF (Laser Induced Firing) technology and multi-layer Poly-Si/POML technology, achieved an average production efficiency of 26.15%. The average efficiency during the R&D trial production exceeded 26.6%, with the highest efficiency reaching 26.9%. The company said that it is officially entering the mass production era with TOPCon 4.0 technology. With the adoption of the latest technology, cell efficiency has been improved by 0.3%-0.5%. Separately, Astronergy has announced that it has delivered the first order of ASTRO N7s modules. These n-type TOPCon modules are based on its ZBB (zero busbar) technology platform. Since starting ASTRO N7s production in December 2023, the company says its production capacity has reached GW level and its yield rate has reached over 99.6% within one month.

Partnership

Tongwei Solar and Midea Group sign strategic cooperation agreement: Tongwei Solar has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the consumer appliances company Midea Group. The 2 companies aim to strengthen cooperation in the PV industry by focusing on digitization, robotics, logistics automation, logistics transportation, building equipment, and supporting home appliances. They aim to jointly create a model for intelligent manufacturing in the PV industry.

IPO

YONZ Technology’s IPO registration approved: The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the initial public offering (IPO) registration of YONZ Technology. According to YONZ Technology’s prospectus, the company’s main products include solar module frames, BIPV products, and solar mounting system structural components. The company claims to be one of the leading domestic manufacturers of aluminum alloy solar mounting structural components. Currently, the company has 3 major production bases in China, with an annual production capacity of nearly 80 million sets of solar module frames. YONZ Technology achieved total revenues of RMB 2,499.44 million ($347.34 million) in H1 2023.