Chinese PV Industry Brief: January-June solar installations hit 78.42 GW

The NEA says China's cumulative installed PV capacity reached 470 GW at the end of June. In the first six months of this year, the country added 78.42 GW of new PV systems, with 17.2 GW deployed in June alone. New solar power installations hit 20.37 GW in the first two months of 2023, followed by 13.29 GW in March, 14.65 GW in April, and 12.9 GW in May.

The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) says that polysilicon production increased by 65% year on year in the first half to more than 600,000 tons, while silicon wafer production rose by 63% to 250 GW. Solar cell production jumped 62% to over 220 GW in the first six months of 2023, and PV module production surged by 60% year on year to about 200 GW. China also exported more than $29 billion of PV products, for a year-on-year increase of about 13%. Europe was the largest module market for Chinese exports and Asia was China's largest market for silicon wafers and solar cells.

Canadian Solar says that its majority-owned CSI Solar subsidiary has signed an agreement with the government of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, to invest CNY 11.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in a vertically integrated factory. The facility will produce 40 GW of ingots, 10 GW of wafers, 10 GW of cells, and 5 GW of modules. Ingot production is expected to start in March 2024, with the rest of the production lines to open in the second half of 2024.

The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNMIA) says that polysilicon prices rose this week for the first time since February. N-type monocrystalline polysilicon prices currently stand at CNY 70,000 to CNY 82,000 per metric ton, up 2.01%. Prices for p-type monocrystalline polysilicon currently stand at roughly CNY 65,000/MW to CNY 76,000/MW, up 2.67%.