Chinese PV Industry Brief: Another 50 GW solar module factory in sight

Solar module manufacturer Gaojing Solar is planning to build a 50 GW solar module factory in Zhuhai, a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong Province. The company wants to invest around RMB 17 billion ($2.05 billion) in the new facility, which will produce panels based on n-type mono wafers with the size of 210 mm. The projects will be implemented in three phases. Phase I will be completed by the end of next year, while phase II and III will be finalized in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

At the annual China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) conference on Wednesday in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, Wang Bohua, the chief secretary of the trade body, discussed the development of the Chinese PV industry in the past thirteenth five-year plan while providing a future perspective of the coming fourteenth five-year plan from 2021 to 2025. The latest figures on newly installed PV systems in the country confirm the new capacity for 2020 might reach 40 GW, according to Wang. When asked about expected growth in the years to come, Wang said China would achieve an average annual installation of 70 GW over the next five years. This figure may increase to 90 GW per year starting from 2026.

Project developer Renesola on Tuesday announced 10 of the rooftop solar projects it completed in China before August 2017 have been approved for subsidy payments, which the company expects to begin receiving next year. The 28 MW of generation capacity concerned is part of 90 MW installed by the developer before August 2017. The remaining 22 projects in that batch are “currently under review” in terms of their eligibility for payments, the company said. China’s Ministry of Finance announced in March it would review the backlog of projects and added late last month that it would review and register for payment projects installed between August 2017 and May 2018. Renesola said it had 25 such arrays, with a total generation capacity of 49 MW.

The board of NYSE-listed PV manufacturer Jinkosolar has agreed on a plan to issue up to US$100 million worth of American depositary shares (ADS’), with each ADS consisting of four ordinary shares.