Chinese PV Industry Brief: Tongwei halts polysilicon output due to flood threat

Tongwei has stopped polysilicon production at a factory run by its Yongxiang unit in Leshan, in Sichuan province, due to an unspecified flood threat. The production halt was requested by local authorities. The shutdown will shave 25% off the group’s 80,000 MT annual production capacity. Tongwei said the remaining 60,000 MT of production lines are still running at full capacity. Production at the Leshan plant will likely resume within 10 days, depending on the flooding situation, the company said.

JinkoSolar said on Friday it will provide 1 GW of its Swan bifacial modules to Shanghai Electric. The Chinese power group will use the solar panels for a project in Dubai.

The National Energy Administration said on Friday, China added 886.7 MW of residential PV last month, with 2.94 GW added in the year-to-date. Shandong province installed the most new solar in July, with 385 MW, followed by Hebei, with 174 MW.

Longi announced on Friday, it has signed a long-term supply agreement with polysilicon supplier Asia Silicon. Longi has agreed to buy 124,800 MT of polysilicon over the next five years. The purchase price will be negotiated by the two parties monthly.

SFSY issued a positive first-half profit notice this week – far better than some of its Hong Kong-listed solar rivals. Xinte Energy and Solargiga, for example, both announced negative earnings outlooks.

Panda Green has raised much-needed short-term funds by arranging two sale-and-leaseback deals related to three of its solar projects. The developer raised RMB500 million ($72 million) through a one-year deal with fellow state-owned entity CITIC Financial Leasing, for 100 MW of solar capacity. Panda Green will pay around RMB512 million to CITIC over the next year to lease back the projects. The other arrangement is a nine-year agreement with Shenzhen Jingneng Leasing – a company owned by Panda Green’s main shareholder, Beijing Energy.