Markets & Policy

Chinese PV Industry Brief: Lingda scraps investment in 20 GW solar cell factory

Lingda Group says it is dropping plans to invest in a 20 GW solar cell factory due to poor macroeconomic conditions, challenges in the PV industry, financing constraints, and other external factors.

By

Valerie Thompson, Vincent Shaw

19 Mar 2024

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Image: pv magazine

Lingda Group has announced its decision to scrap its investment in the construction of Tongling’s 20 GW solar cell production base. Initially, Lingda had planned to invest approximately CNY 9.150 billion ($1.27 billion) in Tongling for the phased construction of a PV cell production project. The first phase aimed to establish a 10 GW TOPCon cell production line, followed by a second phase focusing on a 5 GW TOPCon cell line and a 5 GW HJT cell line. Lingda cited adverse macroeconomic conditions, challenges in the PV industry, financing constraints, and other external factors as reasons for terminating the investment project.

GCL Technology has announced its audited results for the year to Dec. 31, 2023. Annual revenue hit CNY 33.7 billion, down from CNY 35.3 billion a year earlier, due to lower polysilicon prices. It recorded a profit of CNY 2.51 billion, down from CNY 16.03 billion a year earlier. The company said its granular silicon production sites in Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, and Sichuan achieved full production capacity of 420,000 tons. Separately, it also announced a CNY 680 million share repurchase plan over the three years to Dec. 31, 2026.

CATL has unveiled a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Sinopec Group in Beijing. The agreement focuses on collaborative efforts to develop PV storage and charging microgrid technology, drive the growth of power exchange services for electric vehicles, and explore the viability of power exchange solutions for commercial vehicles. The partnership also aims to set standards for battery applications. The two entities will collaborate on research to develop methods for assessing the carbon footprint of petrochemical products, focusing on acquiring accurate data. They will also extend their collaboration to sectors such as industrial and commercial energy storage, refinery energy provision, and integrating energy storage systems to replace diesel generators. CATL said aims to support Sinopec in enhancing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions with its advanced energy storage solutions.

JA Solar has unveiled plans to invest in the development of two distributed PV generation projects in Yangzhou Enterprise Park in Jiangsu province with capacities of 11.56 MW and 11.68 MW. It will also build an 18 MW distributed PV project in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, with an estimated total investment of CNY122 million. JA Solar said it remains committed to expanding its portfolio of solar projects under its “development, holding, and transfer” business model.

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