Zhonghuan Semiconductor

Manufacturers Longi and Zhonghuan Semiconductor have both raised the price of their 182mm wafers while holding the cost of their other products as rival Shuangliang Eco-energy signed deals for more wafer production equipment.

PV manufacturing giant Trina Solar says it has agreed with other industry players on a set of standard dimensions and other technical specifications for PV modules utilizing 210mm wafers – the largest currently available on the market. The manufacturer says it expects the China Photovoltaic Industry Association to formally release the standard before the end of October.

Polysilicon manufacturer Xinte Energy has signed a deal to supply 181,000 tons of poly to module manufacturer JA Solar from next April until December 2026. Anhui-based heterojunction module manufacturer Huasun announced this week that cells produced at its factory in Xuancheng City have achieved a maximum efficiency of 24.39%.

Daqo has secured another big supply deal, Xinte is pushing to build a new factory in Inner Mongolia and the board of JA Solar has approved a proposal to deploy 20 GW of wafer production capacity in the autonomous region.

Goodwe and Irico have both announced rising revenue and profits for the fiscal year 2020. Zhonghuan Semiconductor intends to produce thinner wafers to respond to increasing polyisilicon prices. The southwestern province of Yunnan wants to add another 15 GW of clean energy to its power generation mix.

The 275,000 metric tons of annual polysilicon production facilities pushed out of the industry by the expansion of big Chinese producers is more than double the capacity lost in the last great poly market shake-out, between 2010 and 2013.

The PV manufacturer announced the development of the new solar panels, which feature new M12 series monocrystalline wafers, at a conference on Thursday in the Chinese city of Ningbo. The 50-cell modules are actually slightly bigger than 72-cell designs with 156.75 mm wafers, it said.

The manufacturer says its Kwafoo product improves efficiency and, if used in the optimal p-type PERC type of panel, could boast a module output of 610 W.

There was plenty of innovation on display at this year’s SNEC, which closed yesterday afternoon at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. The three-day exhibition ran from Tuesday to Thursday, was well attended and still ranks as the world’s largest solar energy trade show.

The joint venture of the two giant manufacturers will expand its capacity from around 30 GW currently to 55 GW over the next three years. This plan is expected to require an overall investment of $1.34 billion.