WEEKLY CHINA SOLAR PV NEWS UPDATE: WEEK 39

China's August electricity consumption grows 8.9% YoY; LONGi Solar ranks 95th among top 500 Chinese manufacturers; Autowell secures consecutive major orders for monocrystalline furnaces; Zhongqing Group starts construction on 6 GW n-type cell fab. All these and a host of other news stories from China in our Weekly China Solar PV News Overview.

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MARKETS

Chinese solar installations expanded by 16.46 GW in August 2024: The National Energy Administration (NEA) of China has released the latest official statistics for the country’s power generation capacity addition for the period between January and August 2024. For solar PV, the total capacity during the reporting period stood at 139.99 GW, taking the cumulative to 750 GW, a 48.8% increase year-over-year (YoY).?This is an increase of 26.83 GW from the 113.16 GW the country installed during 8M 2023, including 16 GW in the month of August (see China Exceeds 100 GW Annual Solar Milestone).?To read the complete story, click here.

China's August electricity consumption grows 8.9% YoY: Data released by China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) shows that the country’s total electricity consumption for August grew 8.9% year-over-year (YoY) to 964.9 TWh. Primary industries consumed 14.9 TWh, up 4.6% YoY. The consumption for secondary industries was up by 4.0% YoY to 567.9 TWh, while the tertiary industry consumed 190.3 TWh, up 11.2% YoY. Residential consumption across urban and rural areas was a total 191.8 TWh, which was up 23.7% YoY. From January to August, China’s cumulative electricity consumption was 6,561.9 TWh, up 7.9% YoY. By sector, primary industries consumed 91.4 TWh, up 7.0% YoY; secondary industries consumed 4,200.6 TWh, up 6.3% YoY; and tertiary industries consumed 1,230.1 TWh, up 11.0% YoY. Total urban and rural residential consumption was 1,039.8 TWh, up 10.9% YoY.

BUSINESS

Production / Cells & Modules

Zhongqing Group starts construction on 6 GW n-type cell fab: Solar PV manufacturer Zhongqing Group held a launch ceremony for its 6 GW n-type high-efficiency cell smart manufacturing facility. Located in Kaili City, Guizhou Province, the factory involves a total investment of RMB 3 billion ($427.35 million), covering approximately 213,333 m2. It will consist of 10 smart production lines for n-type high-efficiency PV cells which, when complete, will have an annual production capacity of 6 GW. It is expected to be completed and commissioned in June 2025 with official operations starting in August 2025.

SANY Silicon’s 2 GW solar module factory starts construction: PV manufacturer SANY Silicon Energy has announced the groundbreaking on its Nanjiang 2 GW high-efficiency solar module production base project. Located in Nanjiang County, Bazhong City, Sichuan Province, the company plans to invest a total of RMB 500 million ($69.4 million) in the 66,667 m2 manufacturing base. It is expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of March 2025. SANY Silicon says it is now an integrated solar product manufacturing enterprise, having established a 5 GW integrated manufacturing base in Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province from crystal pulling to modules.

Production / Cells & Modules / Perovskite

Liyuan New Energy to build 100 MW perovskite solar cell pilot line: Perovskite manufacturer Liyuan New Energy has announced its plans to build a 100 MW perovskite solar cell factory in Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province. The first phase will involve a RMB 200 million ($28.36 million) investment to build a 1,200 × 600 mm pilot line that is expected to become operational by the end of this year, followed by a GW production line planned for 2026. In 2016, the company collaborated with a research team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University to develop a 36 cm2 perovskite solar cell and an energy conversion efficiency of 12.1%, which was certified by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) of Japan.

Supply / Cells & Modules

Grand Sunergy wins CGN’s 639 MW module supply contract: Heterojunction (HJT) cell and module manufacturer Grand Sunergy has signed a 639 MW solar module supply contract with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese energy developer China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN). Grand Sunergy will supply these modules to CGN at a unit price of RMB 0.755 per watt ($0.1076/W), for a total amount of about RMB 482.6 million ($68.76 million). These modules will be used for CGN's 500 MW photovoltaic desertification control project in Luopu County, Hotan Prefecture. In 2023, Grand Sunergy won the bid under Section 7 of CGN New Energy's 2023-2024 photovoltaic module framework procurement project. The current contract is part of the formal contracts signed based on the above-mentioned bid. Earlier this month, Grand Sunergy announced that its 5 GW high-efficiency HJT solar module manufacturing fab received EIA approval (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Supply / Mounting Systems

Singsun delivers 1 GW fixed mounting systems to Kubuqi desert project: Solar mounting systems supplier Singsun has announced that it has successfully delivered the fixed mounting systems for Huaneng’s 1 GW Kubuqi Desert Southern New Energy Base. Singsun is the sole supplier of mounting systems for this pilot project. This 1 GW pilot project is part of the larger Ordos South New Energy Base Project and is meant to serve as the first step of the project. The Ordos project is said to be China Huaneng’s single largest investment and largest capacity project in recent years, with a planned total capacity of 16 GW, including 4 GW of wind, 8 GW of solar, and 4 GW of coal-fired thermal power.

Supply / Junction Box

Huasun's junction box supplier commences production: Solar junction box maker Shengyu Solar celebrated the first product delivery from its junction box manufacturing base located in Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. The company, with a daily production capacity of over 100,000 units, is a core supplier for Huasun Energy. The delivery of the first batch of junction boxes marks the localization of yet another core raw material in the HJT industry chain in Xuancheng City, says Huasun, which follows the in-house production of key raw materials such as silver pastes.

Supply / Equipment

Autowell Secures consecutive major orders for monocrystalline furnaces: Automation equipment manufacturer Autowell Technology announced last week that it signed a sales contract through its wholly-owned subsidiary with an internationally renowned photovoltaic company. Autowell will supply monocrystalline furnaces (CZ puller) and related auxiliary equipment to this customer for a total sales amount of approximately RMB 400 million ($56.98 million). Deliveries will begin in 2025. The announcement did not disclose further information about the customer. This is Autowell's second major order disclosed this month. Earlier, the company announced that it had signed a procurement contract worth RMB 900 million ($128.21 million) with another unnamed leading overseas PV company to supply CZ pullers and related auxiliary equipment (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Floating PV

Mibet New Energy and Silvery Dragon to jointly develop new FPV system: Offshore floating photovoltaic (OFPV) systems manufacturer Mibet New Energy has announced that it has signed a cooperation agreement with a subsidiary of Silvery Dragon Shares, a pre-stressed steel producer. The 2 companies have agreed to cooperate on 3 projects: (1) jointly develop an anti-dust floating PV (FPV) system based on the mechanical characteristics of large-scale floating objects under the action of wind, waves, and currents; (2) develop a pre-stressed steel platform OFPV system based on the concept of windproof PV pre-stressed system, which will have the characteristics of both rigidity and flexibility and improve its ability to resist risks; (3) develop an amphibious ecological PV system, which enables the floating body to have both ground piles in the dry season and float on the water in the rainy season, and utilize the shading effect of solar modules to control Spartina alterniflora, an invasive plant species extremely harmful to the ocean.

Energy Storage System

Seraphim enters energy storage market with strategic partnership: Solar cell and module manufacturer Seraphim has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Xiamen Xiangyu New Energy and CRRC Zhuzhou Institute to enter the global energy storage market. Through this partnership, the 3 entities aim to develop and research international energy storage projects. The 3 stakeholders will bring their respective strengths to the partnership to build a demonstration energy storage project and optimize the energy supply chain. This collaboration positions Seraphim to integrate solar and storage solutions and capitalize on opportunities in the evolving global energy system. Earlier this month, Seraphim announced that it had supplied modules for a 776 MW high-efficiency solar PV project portfolio under construction in Yunnan Province (see China Solar PV News snippets).

China's 1st solar thermal storage + PV + wind project fully online: The 100 MW solar thermal storage part of China National Nuclear Corporation's (CNNC) Yumen Solar Thermal Storage + Photovoltaic + Wind Power project has been successfully connected to the grid. With this, China's first project combining solar thermal storage, PV and wind power is now at operational at full capacity. Built for a total investment of RMB 4.9 billion ($680.56 million), the project has a total installed capacity of 700 MW. The 400 MW solar PV and 200 MW wind power projects were grid-connected in December 2022. Once commissioned, the project is said to be able to provide an average annual on-grid electricity of about 1.735 TWh, saving approximately 521,000 tons of standard coal annually and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.353 million tons per year.

Research & Development

JA Solar and UNSW establish joint laboratory: Vertically integrated solar module manufacturer JA Solar has collaborated with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to establish a joint laboratory. Jin Baofang, Chairman of JA Solar; Vlado Perkovic, Executive Vice President of UNSW; Professor Martin Green of UNSW; and Sean Li, Dean of the School of Materials and Future Manufacturing at UNSW, attended the unveiling ceremony and witnessed the signing of the first batch of R&D projects at UNSW in Australia. JA Solar stated that this joint laboratory signifies a further deep integration of industry-university-research cooperation between the 2 parties. The company said it will accelerate the development and application of more advanced technologies by leveraging UNSW's PV research resources. Separately, JA Solar and China Three Gorges Renewables have jointly established Qujing Jingrui New Energy Co., Ltd (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

GCL Smart Energy to set up global R&D headquarters in Wujiang, Suzhou: At a conference held by Suzhou City to promote AI+ innovation and development pilot zone, GCL and the local government of Wujiang signed a contract to set up the GCL Smart Energy Global R&D Headquarters in the city. The R&D center will promote innovation in new energy technologies and other fields to develop differentiated and competitive products for the industry. The R&D center will also serve as a pilot base for new products. A GCL Group subsidiary, GCL Perovskite, promoted its latest perovskite product offerings at Intersolar Europe 2024 (see GCL’s Latest Module-Level Perovskite Product Offerings At Intersolar Europe 2024).

Company Performance

Solis’ global cumulative inverter shipments breach 100G W in H1 2024: Solar PV inverter manufacturer Ginlong Technologies (Solis) has announced that its cumulative global shipments reached 100 GW. The company says this achievement is a reflection of its commitment to innovation, quality, and string technology. The milestone supports residential and commercial clean energy goals. The company says it continues to expand globally across the residential, storage, commercial, and utility sectors. Last month, Solis announced that it was rated at the top of Wood Mackenzie’s 2024 Global Solar Photovoltaic Inverter and Module-Level Power Electronics Market Share Report (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Certifications & Recognitions

LONGi ranks 95th among top 500 Chinese manufacturers: Vertically integrated solar manufacturer LONGi has announced that it has been ranked among the top 500 Chinese manufacturing companies for the 7th consecutive year. The list released by the China Enterprise Confederation and the China Entrepreneur Association at the 2024 World Manufacturing Conference held in Hefei ranked LONGi at the 95th spot. LONGi says this recognition is an acknowledgment of its ‘outstanding performance in advanced manufacturing and technological innovation.’ LONGi highlights a few of its achievements that it believes have earned it this accolade. To name a few: LONGi's Jiaxing base was recognized as a ‘Lighthouse Factory’ by the World Economic Forum in December 2023, thanks to its adoption of advanced technologies like AI, big data, and digital twins. LONGi says it has implemented over 30 digital use cases, advancing from traditional manufacturing to smart manufacturing. Owing to its reliability, LONGi claims it has received the highest AAA rating for PV-Tech financing 18 times. LONGi, along with Golden Solar New Energy and HJT cell manufacturer JP Solar, plans to form a joint venture to produce HBC solar cells (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

GCL’s granular silicon sets new world record for low carbon emissions: Leading polysilicon supplier GCL Technology has announced that the granular silicon produced at its Leshan base has received carbon footprint certification from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME). The company said that the carbon emissions per kilogram of its granular silicon were found to be only 24.913 kg CO? equivalent. GCL says this is a significant reduction of 33% compared to the 37.000 kg CO? equivalent carbon footprint from its Xuzhou base in 2021, and is a new global industry record. GCL Technology stated that it uses 100% clean energy for granular silicon production at the Leshan base, having already obtained the Clean Energy Consumption Certificate from the Sichuan Electric Power Trading Center. GCL and the local government of Wujiang recently signed a contract to set up the GCL Smart Energy Global R&D Headquarters in the city (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

JA Solar's Yangzhou base achieves 4-Star Zero-Carbon Factory certification: JA Solar has announced that its Jing Shan Park manufacturing base, located in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, has received a 4-Star Zero-Carbon Factory Certification from TüV SüD. The factory passed the audit conducted by TüV SüD based on the Chinese Energy Conservation Association standard T/CECA-G 0171-2022 "Evaluation Specification for Zero-Carbon Factories," to be certified as a Type I zero-carbon factory. The company plans to build fully recyclable green products by 2030 and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. JA Solar recently received the IEC TS 62994:2019 Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Risk Assessment Certificate from TüV SüD (see China Solar PV News Snippets).