Chinese PV Industry Brief: New PV capacity exceeds 10 GW in H1

China deployed more than 10 GW of solar in the first half of 2020, according to new data from different sources. The China Electricity Council (CEC) reports that 10.15 GW was installed in the January-June period, or about 1.5 GW less than a year earlier. The National Energy Administration (NEA), meanwhile, said on Tuesday that around 10.2 GW was installed. And the Center for Renewable Energy Development (CRED), a think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has released data showing that 11.5 GW of solar was installed in the first six months of the year. CRED expects the country to add 40 GW of fresh PV capacity by the end of December.

Trina Solar said in a profit warning on Thursday that it expects to record a net profit of RMB450 million ($64.1 million) to RMB540 million in the first half, up 216% to 280% year on year. The PV module manufacturer said that three major factors contributed to its performance: strong global PV module sales, higher TrinaPro Mega sales, including trackers and racks, and its growing market share in several key overseas markets.

Longi has announced prices for M6 and G1 wafer prices for August. P-type M6 wafers with a thickness of 175 μm (166/233) are RMB2.73 each, up 4.2% from RMB2.62 in July. G1 wafers at 175 μm (158.75/233) thickness are RMB2.63 each, up 3.95% from July. The price gap between M6 and G1 remains RMB0.10. Several key issues drove the price changes. Recent explosions at GCL Xinjiang’s fab have worsened the poly supply situation, driving up poly prices by more than 10% since Monday. Analysts told pv magazine that this will likely remain the trend for the rest of the year.

Guizhou, a province in southwestern China, will auction off 5.22 GW of solar capacity this year, according to the local authorities. The province's cumulative installed PV capacity hit 5.35 GW by the end of June. Proposals to develop around 8.82 GW of PV capacity in the round were actually filed last year, with a total projected investment of RMB40 billion. Most of the projects will need to be completed and connected to the grid by the end of June 2021.