Sinovoltaics tracks emerging PV manufacturing hubs in Europe, North America

Sinovoltaics, a Hong Kong-based technical compliance and quality assurance service firm, has begun to publish supply chain reports about PV manufacturing in North American and European markets. In the pipeline is coverage of India and Southeast Asia.

Published in the form of infographics and data tables, the supply chain reports are free.

“We have been observing supply chain trends and movements for years and years, for example also witnessing the gradual growth of manufacturing in Southeast Asia, which is why we have nowadays quality engineering teams on-site at the factories in that region,” Sinovoltaics CTO Niclas Weimar told pv magazine. “This new type of report is basically putting our observations into report form, starting from this year onwards, helping to visualize the distribution of manufacturing capacities across different jurisdictions.”

The analysts expects the information to be used by solar developers and other buyers to locate manufacturers in relevant regions, assess the scalability of the supply chain for larger projects, or to source modules for projects more efficiently with an eye on reducing transportation costs and carbon emissions.

“The solar industry needs the most up-to-date module purchasing information,” said Dricus de Rooij, co-founder and CEO of Sinovoltaics in a statement. “Every four months, solar developers will have critical and dynamic data that will enable them to stay informed about emerging PV suppliers and the latest developments in global solar manufacturing.”

The supply chain reports cover current and planned manufacturing activity from 2023 to 2027 for producers of modules, cells, wafers, ingots, polysilicon, and multigrain silicon. It notes capacity at each of a manufacturers’ factory locations. There are also symbols indicating if a company is now bankrupt, or a manufacturing site is closed or on hold.

The first edition of North American report covers 81 sites in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, while the European version lists 91 sites across the region, including companies located in Kazakhstan and Turkey.