Chinese PV Industry Brief: JA Solar sells solar farms while Tongwei announces lower cell prices

JA Solar has sold three solar farms in China for RMB 476 million ($72.4 million). The leading Chinese module maker announced on Wednesday that it had made deal with China Power Investment Corporation (CPIC), one of the largest state-owned energy enterprises, for the sale of three sub-companies that own the respective solar farms. The plants, which have government-guaranteed subsidies, are located in western and northern China.

JA Solar said it decided to sell them for “better cash flow” after considering the long-term investment return and “the long time for recovery of subsidy funds”. The deal is expected to contribute a profit of around RMB 110 million ($16.7 million) to JA Solar's 2021 financial result.

Solar cell manufacturer Tongwei on Wednesday released its December cell prices, which have dropped for multiple solar cells compared to November. The company's quoted price for mainstream mono PERC single/double sides cell measuring 158.75 mm was at RMB 0.88 ($0.13) per watt, down by 9 cents. Mono PERC single/double sides cells of 166 mm dropped by 2 cents to RMB 0.95 ($0.14) per watt. Multi-crystalline cells of 157 mm in size remained unchanged at RMB 0.62 ($0.094) per watt. Tongwei for the first time quoted the price of mono PERC single/double sides cells of 210 mm, putting them at RMB 0.99 ($0.15) per watt.

Eight major solar PV players, Trina Solar, Risen, CSI, Tongwei, Zhonghuan Semi-conductor, HSPV, Runergy and Shangji Automation, on Friday jointly published a proposal calling for the standardization of new PV products with a large wafer size of 210 mm.

The companies proposed to use the 210+/-0.25 mm size as the only standard wafer size for solar cell and module products within the scope of 210-220 mm. The proposal also provided size recommendations for both wafers and PV modules.

Two wafer sizes listed include a standard square type with a side length of 210 mm and diagonal length of 295 mm, and a corner cut type with a diagonal length of 285 mm. They also recommended two module sizes, the 6×10 half-cut type with a size of 2172 mm×1303 mm, and the 6×11 half-cut type with a size of 2384 mm×1303 mm.

China's National Energy Administration announced a new policy on Wednesday that the changes the way renewable energy projects eligible for subsidies are listed. The government will no longer publish lists of renewable energy projects that are eligible for subsidies. Instead, it will now be up to state owned grid companies, including the National State Grid, the Southern Grid and other local grid companies, to determine and regularly publish project lists of the renewable energy projects that will be granted government incentives.

The new policy, which was published on the NEA's official site, also provides specifications and conditions to receive subsidies as well as details on the procedures the grid companies will employ to process examinations and verifications.