Sungrow is a market leader in the manufacture of PV inverters. The Chinese giant is also increasingly focused on the supply of energy storage systems and how these can be best coupled with inverters for improved performance. pv magazine caught up with Jack Gu, Senior Vice President of Sungrow to understand how the manufacturer has dealt with the recent solar supply chain challenges and what the company’s focus is on going forward.

Solar manufacturer JinkoSolar announced on Wednesday that its 8 GW TOPCon cell factory in the Anhui Province has started manufacturing activities. Polysilicon supplier and solar cell maker Tongwei announced on Thursday it expects to achieve a net profit of up to RMB 8.5 billion ($1.33 billion) with a YoY increase of around 136%.

The energy company will buy panels from JinkoSolar, Risen Energy, Canadian Solar, JA Solar, GCL Integration and Longi. Elsewhere, Xinyi Solar and Golden Solar have both announced new transactions to strengthen their business.

Growatt has been on an upward trajectory, recording an over 60% revenue increase in 2021, despite the many challenges posed in the solar industry. Lisa Zhang, global marketing director tells pv magazine how the Chinese PV inverter manufacturer overcame semiconductor chip shortages and rising costs amidst a global pandemic in addition to discussing key markets and new inverter products.

Solar manufacturer Zhonghuan Semiconductor has further decreased the prices of most of its PV wafers, while Beijing-based project developer Jingneng Clean Energy Co., Ltd (JNCEC) announced on Wednesday that its board has approved an investment plan for the construction of a 1GW renewable energy project in Inner Mongolia.

Furthermore, speaking about its joint venture with Trina Solar for the development of 15GW of ingot manufacturing and 15GW of wafer cutting projects, Tongwei said all work will be finished and put into production in H1 2022. PV prices are also seeing declines along the solar supply chain.

The lithium-ion battery producer began manufacturing activities at its new factory in Ningde city, Fujian Province. Aiko Solar has also secured 4,515,000,000 wafers for the next three years through three different supply deals.

The polysilicon maker has announced it wants to build another factory in in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia. Elsewhere, the National Energy Administration has said new PV installations for the first 11 months of the year totaled 34.83 GW.

The world’s biggest solar market is expected to add between 45 and 55 GW of new solar in 2021, the head of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association has revealed. Furthermore, Longi has further lowered its wafer prices and Xinyi Solar said it wants to build a new US$942 million solar glass factory in Yunnan Province.

Fuxing New Energy is building a wafer factory in Anhui Province and Tongwei is moving forward with its plan to increase polysilicon capacity to 430,000 metric tons by the end of 2023.