Polysilicon Shortage in China Affecting Market Prices

China imported 5,521 tons of polysilicon in January, representing a year-on-year rise of 74.8 percent, according to the latest statistics released by the General Administration of Customs. The figure is 40 percent above the 2010 average monthly import, which was approximately 3,958 tons, providing evidence that the material is in tight supply across the country.

The domestic supply shortages are attributable to a production halt as a result of routine year-end audits performed by major polysilicon makers in China before the Chinese Spring Festival break as well as the down time during the 9-day break itself, leading to significantly decreased production and stock on hand, according to an industry analyst. The country's polysilicon imports for February are expected to remain at the same high level.

Driven by rising oil prices worldwide, combined with tight supplies, polysilicon, which is used in the manufacture of solar PV modules, is experiencing rapid price hikes. The spot price for polysilicon has reached US$114 per kilogram earlier this month an increase of nearly 100 percent from the end of last year.

Furthermore, the Polysilicon Industry Access Standards jointly released by several Chinese regulators in January of this year significantly raise the bar for entry into the polysilicon sector. As a result, growth in polysilicon production capacity is likely to lag behind that of market demand for a long while as 80 percent of the industry’s players are expected to be squeezed out of the market due to non-compliance with the standards.

Demand in the sector is expected to grow at an annual rate of 30 percent, causing polysilicon prices to continue the upward trend, said Hou Wentao, a senior analyst at Hunan province, China-based Xiangcai Securities.

Some major polysilicon manufacturers are aggressively accelerating their efforts to expand capacity in order to take advantage of higher polysilicon prices and stronger market demand. Hong Kong-listed GCL-Poly Energy H

Chinese PV giants including Hanwha SolarOne have gotten off to a good start this year, and are reporting a substantial inflow of new orders, according to a source that attended the SNEC 5th (2011) International Photovoltaic Power held recently in Shanghai.

A report published by CIConsulting, a leading industry research firm in China, indicated that many European countries have put in place measures to cut subsidies to the PV industry since the second half of last year, leading to the speculation that the global PV market will see steep decline in 2011 given that Europe contributes significantly to worldwide sales of PV products.

However, the soaring prices for polysilicon reflect, at least to some degree, that global PV demand has not seen any dramatic drop for the time being.

Hanwha SolarOne to Build 2GW Solar Cell and Module Complex

As part of the major drive by the former Solarfun Power to capitalise on Hanwha’s major investment in the company, the recently renamed, Hanwha SolarOne is set to build a 2GW solar cell and module complex with Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone, located in Jiangsu Province. An initial 1GW complex under ‘Phase 1’ is to build at a cost of US$500 million over the next three years according to Hanwha SolarOne.

"The Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone is home to some of the country's best employee talent in precision electronic manufacturing,” noted Dr. Peter Xie, President and Chief Executive Officer of SolarOne. “Its location is just north of our Shanghai headquarters, and in close proximity to our manufacturing base in Qidong as well as one of the ten largest sea ports in China, allowing us to share management oversight and manufacturing resources. The new facility, once completed, will also provide much needed expansion of our production capacity."

Dr Xie also noted that the new facilities would add capacity that would lower production costs and provide a competitive cost edge over its major competitors.

Previously outlined production capacity expansion plans for 2001, included increasing ingot capacity from 360MW to 510MW and wire saw capacity from 400MW to 572MW. Solar cell capacity will also be increased from 550MW to 820MW, better matching its module capacity.

Recently, Hanwha SolarOne signed a new long-term wafer and polysilicon supply contract whereby GCL-Poly will provide 2,500MW of wafer and polysilicon products from January 2011 until December 2015.

China's New Rules For Solar Polysilicon Factories Expected To Force Consolidation

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced new policies for solar polysilicon plants in the country.

Under the new rules, factories must be capable of producing more than 3,000 metric tons of polysilicon annually and meet specific standards for efficiency, financing and environmental impact, Bloomberg reports.

Existing plants must also comply with the rules, and those that do not are expected to be shut down by the end of the year.

Johnny Lau, an analyst at Hong Kong-based SW Kingsway Capital Holdings Ltd., told Bloomberg that the new policies are expected to benefit large polysilicon producers (e.g., GCL Poly) by driving out rival companies that are less energy-efficient. Industry consolidation is also predicted as a result of the rules.

SOURCE: Bloomberg

KYOCERA Solar Module First in the World to Pass Major Testing of TUV Rheinland’s Independent Long-Term Sequential Test

Kyocera Corporation (President: Tetsuo Kuba) has recently announced that its main 210-watt solar module is the first in the world to have passed the major sub-tests of the new “Long-Term Sequential Test” performed by TUV Rheinland Japan Ltd. which independently evaluates solar module quality and reliability.

The Long-Term Sequential Test which is conducted by the third party certification organization, TUV Rheinland, evaluates solar modules with four sub-tests: Damp Heat, Thermal Cycling, Humidity Freeze, and Bypass Diode. These test the module’s overall performance and quality by putting it under harsher conditions than those standardized by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Furthermore, while conventional testing dictates that a separate individual module be used per sub-test, the Long-Term Sequential Test carries out all four sub-tests on the same module, thereby evaluating it under conditions closer to those a product faces over its actual lifetime.

The company’s main 210-watt solar module (comprised of 54 multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells; mass-produced since 2008) has passed TUV Rheinland’s major sub-testing for Damp Heat and Thermal Cycling — and Kyocera’s module has proven to maintain a constant level of power output throughout. Furthermore, compared to conventional industry testing methodology, these two sub-tests evaluate modules over a longer time period. Currently, the company’s module is undergoing the remaining sub-tests — Humidity Freeze and Bypass Diode — with the full Long-Term Sequential Test planned to be completed by December 2010.

“With many years of experience in the solar energy business dating back to 1975, Kyocera was the first company in the industry to successfully mass-produce multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Evidence of the long-term quality and reliability of our modules can be found in a 43kW solar power generating system that we installed in 1984 on our research center which is still generating electricity at an extremely high level compared to its original power output. The results of TUV Rheinland’s new test further support Kyocera’s own data collected over the years from actual installations,” stated Tatsumi Maeda, vice president and general manager of Kyocera Corporation’s Solar Energy Group. “TUV Rheinland’s test results and data from our own long-standing installations prove the reliability of Kyocera modules, and provide our residential- and large-scale-use customers peace-of-mind in their solar investment.”

“Now that the market is promising up to 25 years of life for a PV module, end users are asking for more evidence to give them confidence in a solar investment,” says Mr. Stefan Kiehn, head of the PV testing facilities at TUV Rheinland Japan. “TUV Rheinland’s Long-Term Sequential Testing does not guarantee that the product will be as perfect in 25 years as when it was purchased, but it can help manufacturers to better understand how their modules may behave after being in use for a long time. Until now this was only possible through real outdoor lifetime testing.”

Kyocera provides products with outstanding reliability, assessing its product quality in-house and with third-party testing, in order to contribute to further development and expansion of solar energy use. As a manufacturer, Kyocera will continue to develop its solar cell technologies to create solutions for the energy and environmental problems our world is currently facing.

Source:  Renewable Energy Source

Yingli Starts Operation of In-House Polysilicon Facility

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. says its in-house polysilicon manufacturing facility, Fine Silicon Co. Ltd. has begun commercial operation. Fine Silicon announced it has commenced trial production and reached certain key technology and operating milestones in December 2009.

With monosilane-based polysilicon manufacturing technology, the polysilicon plant, with a designed capacity of 3,000 metric tons per year is capable of producing solar-grade and electronic-grade polysilicon through energy-efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, Yingli says. No trichlorosilanes or chlorides are used in the manufacturing process.

SOURCE: Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd.