Chinese PV Industry Brief: PetroChina reveals results of 4.5GW procurement tender

Energy company PetroChina has announced the results of a tender it held to procure 4.5GW of solar panels. Six module makers were selected as preferred bidders with JinkoSolar securing the largest order, for 1.85GW of panels, followed by Risen Energy and Canadian Solar, which secured 1.11GW and 740 MW, respectively. The other successful bidders were JA Solar, GCL Integration, and Longi, with orders for 400MW, 240MW and 160MW of products, respectively. According to PetroChina, the panels will have a power output ranging from 445-540W and will be used for solar farms planned in 24, mostly northern Chinese provinces. PetroChina had issued three sub-tenders in the exercise last month, for the northwest, northeast and north of the country, with capacities of 2.6GW, 1.1GW and 800MW, respectively.

PV module glassmaker Xinyi Solar has completed sale and purchase agreements over the last five days with related Xinyi businesses which will bring in up to RMB95.6 million (US$15 million) this year but commit it to spend up to RMB334 million (US$52.5 million), plus a further RMB15 million (US$2.36 million) annually for the next two years. The income relates to an agreement to supply up to 600,000 tons of silica sand this year to manufacturer Xinyi Glass, whose major shareholders also control Xinyi Solar. That arrangement, announced yesterday, will net Xinyi Solar up to RMB95.6 million, up from the RMB66.2 million (US$10.4 million) ceiling set last year. On the other side of the scale, Xinyi Solar agreed to buy up to 130,000 tons of low-iron silica suitable for use in solar panels from Xinyi Glass this year, with a ceiling value of up to RMB45.6 million (US$7.17 million). Xinyi Solar also, on Wednesday, agreed to pay Xinyi Glass subsidiary Wuhu Jisanshi up to RMB235 million (US$37 million) this year for production equipment, up from RMB232 million (US$36.5 million) last year, and will also spend up to RMB26.6 million (US$4.18 million) on up to 10,000 tons of Xinyi Glass float glass to be used for the rear of solar panels. In addition, Xinyi Solar will take up to 80,000m² of Xinyi Glass architectural products for its buildings this year. The RMB38.2 million (US$6 million) total cap on those two agreements is less than a third of the RMB125 million (US$19.7 million) level set last year. Xinyi Solar also committed, on Friday, to pay the Xinyi Energy business up to RMB15 million this year, to manage its solar parks, with the same ceiling agreed for next year and 2024.

Slippers-to-air conditioning business Golden Solar on Thursday placed 50 million shares to raise an estimated net HK$498 million (US$63.9 million). The company, which is switching its focus to heterojunction (HJT) solar manufacturing, said it will spend HK$192 million (US$24.6 million) on raw materials and sub contracting fees to produce cast monosilicon wafers and solar modules. Some HK$75 million (US$9.62 million) will be spent on modifying casting silicon furnaces and HK$60 million (US$7.69 million) will be devoted to other “peripheral” production equipment. Golden Solar said HK$18 million (US$2.3 million) would fund production equipment for flexible solar modules and HK$3 million (US$385,000) would be spent on the associated raw materials. With the company having announced, on Wednesday, progress with four partners on a joint venture to develop an HJT cell production line in the Zhangjiakou Renewable Energy Pilot Zone, Golden Solar added it would devote HK$50 million (US$6.41 million) of the proceeds of the shares issue to fill a shortfall in the planned HK$120 million needed for equity investments to get partners on board with such projects. Golden Solar will hold a 51% stake in the JV, via solar manufacturer Gold Stone (Fujian) Energy Co Ltd which is a connected party to the investment vehicle which has signed up for 10 million of the new stock issued by the HJT maker. Public body the State Development and Investment Corp Power Holding Co Ltd will own 20% of the cell project with Hua Yuan Power Co Ltd holding the balance. The other project partners are the People’s Government of Zhangjiakou and Zhangjiakou Zhonghe New Energy Group Co Ltd. The cells to be made at the project will feature Golden Solar’s cast mono wafers. The other new investor in Golden Solar is Kwok Tai East International Group Ltd, which has signed up for 40 million of the stock placed.

State-owned solar developer Beijing Energy International paid a nominal RMB5 (US$0.79) and assumed debts totalling RMB5.97 billion (US$939 million) between December 22 and Thursday, to acquire five solar projects across Hebei province owned by Wang Wuwei and Zhang Ping. The company did not reveal the total generation capacity of the projects, at least one of which appears to be rooftop mounted, and said only that each had a generation capacity ranging from 30-400MW. The developer, acting as project principal, has separately contracted engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services from Jiangxi Zeyue and the Wuhan Xiexin unit owned by fellow solar project company GCL New Energy for a 63MW “parking shed PV project” in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. The four-and-a-half month EPC contract, to start tomorrow, will be worth RMB298 million (US$46.9 million), Beijing Energy said on Wednesday.