Neo Solar Power confirms it will gradually exit polycrystalline production

The Taiwan-based solar cell producer Neo Solar Power (NSP) has confirmed it will exit the polycrystalline business. In a statement, the company said that it is actually planning to focus on higher-margin monocrystalline products, especially mono-PERC solar cells, and to gradually lower its multicrystalline capacity.

“We will also increase additional 200 MW module capacity in Taiwan this year for the increased domestic demand,” added the company in its statement. Furthermore, Neo Solar Power said it will put more company resources to the development and sale of downstream solar system projects.

For some time NSP has been increasing its module assembly capacity and, on the back of an expanding domestic PV market, has been turning its hand to project development.

Last week the Taipei Times, citing an unidentified company official, had revealed that NSP intended to focus on higher-margin monocrystalline products, especially passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cells and to gradually exit the polycrystalline business.

Mono-PERC adoption is becoming increasingly mainstream, while challenges with potential light and heat degradation in multi-PERC making the technology less attractive to some manufacturers.

According to the Taipei Times article, the company was compelled to make the move as a result of low average selling prices for multi products. The article also reports that Neo Solar Power has currently an annual production capacity of 2.2 GW for its polycrystalline products and of 900 MW for its monocrystalline products.

In its latest financial report for the third quarter of last year, NSP said that a weak solar demand had driven average selling prices to unreasonably low levels. As for its downstream business, the company announced in mid-February that it signed off the agreements to invest $44 million in the solar IPP (“Independent Power Producer”) company, Clean Focus Yield (“CFY”). The company also invested around $4 million in Clean Focus GP Limited (“CFGP”), which is the management company of CFY. These investments, the company said at the time, will enable CFY to acquire around 300MW to 400MW solar system projects.