Chinese PV Industry Brief: Trina starts building silicon-to-module factory, Jolywood opens TOPCon cell plant

Trina Solar has started construction of a silicon-to-module production base in Xining, Qinghai province. The company plans to manufacture 100,000 tons of industrial silicon per year by 2023, as well as 50,000 tons of high-purity silicon. It said it also aims to produce 20 GW worth of monosilicon, while reaching 5 GW per year of wafer, cell, and module capacity. In addition, it plans to make 7.5 GW of “auxiliaries for modules” per year.  The second phase of the project, due in 2025, will add 200,000 tons of silicon production capacity, 100,000 tons of high-purity product, 25 GW of monosilicon, 7.5 GW of auxiliaries, and another 5 GW of wafers, cells, and modules.

Jolywood has begun manufacturing at its new TOPCon solar cell in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. The facility produces 182 mm and 210 mm cells and has a capacity of 16 GW per year. The company invested CNY 5.6 billion ($836 million) in the factory.

Tongwei said it expects its net profit to grow by up to 321% year on year in the first half of 2022. Net profit attributed to shareholders is estimated to be CNY 12 billion to CNY 12.5 billion. The solar cell and polysilicon manufacturer attributed its strong performance to growing sales volumes and rising polysilicon prices.

JinkoSolar has announced a share-repurchase exercise that will see it buy back up to $200 million worth of its American depository shares over a period of 18 months.

Beijing Energy International will pay two other public bodies CNY 511 million for engineering, procurement, and construction services on a 100 MW solar project in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. The contractors are local government-owned Inner Mongolia Electric Power Survey and Design Institute and state-run China Energy Engineering Group Zhejiang Thermal Power Construction. Beijing Energy’s independent shareholders will vote on a proposal to spin off the project companies for a 300 MW solar project in Yulin, Shaanxi, and a 100 MW park in Hubei province. The developer wants to sell off 49% of its stake in the companies as part of a float on a Chinese stock exchange.