China plans new polysilicon production, 100 GW of solar for desert areas

From pv magazine Global

China president Xi Jinping made an open speech at the fifteenth conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) today in Beijing. Xi said that to realise the country’s targets of carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutralisation by 2060, China will successively release a series of implementation plans and supporting measures in key areas and industries and build a “1 + n” policy system for carbon peak and neutralisation. China will continue to promote the adjustment of both industrial and energy structures, vigorously develop renewable energies, and accelerate the planning and construction of large-scale wind and PV projects in desert areas. The first phase of projects with a total installed capacity of around 100 GW will commence soon, said Xi.

Wuxi Shanghai announced on Tuesday that it will increase capital for a subsidiary located in Inner Mongolia for the annual production of 100,000 MT of granular silicon and 150,000 MT of nano-silicon. Granular silicon is the raw material for downstream ingot and wafer products, while nano-silicon serves the upstream sector for the production of polysilicon and granular silicon. The Inner Mongolian subsidiary is jointly owned by Shangji and Jiangsu Zhongneng – the latter a fully owned subsidiary of GCL group – with Zhongneng holding 65% of the shares and Shanghi the remaining 35%. The total investment will be around RMB 3.14 billion (around US$486 million) with Shangji providing RMB1.02 billion. Shanghai said that 70% of the planned 100,000 MT of granular silicon capacity will be ordered by the company for its wafer factory, which is also located in the same province.

Last weekend, Tongwei raised the prices of its 166 mm and 210 mm sized solar cells to RMB1.12 per watt, up from RMB0.06 and 0.08 from August 30. The price of its 158.75 mm (G1) sized cells recorded no change.Following Tongwei’s move, Longi announced on Monday that prices for all its wafer products would be increased due to cost pressures. The P type M10 (182 mm/247 mm) sized wafers are now priced at RMB6.87 per piece, up 7.18% over its previous quote. Longi’s P type M6 (166mm/223mm) sized wafers come in at RMB5.73 per piece, 7.3% higher than the last quote, while prices for its G1 (158.75 mm/223 mm) sized wafers are now RMB5.53 per piece, up 5.53% up over the previous quote.