L R AS Published on Saturday 29 August 2020 - n° 329 - Categories:China
Clear increase in the production of the Chinese PV industry in the first half of the year
Chinese production of wafers, cells and panels is increasing as the sector moves away from the pandemic. This is evident in thefirst half of the year according to figures from the CPIA (the Chinese PV industry association).
The half-yearly production of silicon reached
205,000 tonnes (+32% on last year).
The production of silicon wafers increased by 19% year-on-year to reach 75 GW. The sharp fall in demand for polycrystalline silicon wafers was accompanied by a sharp increase in demand for larger monosilicon wafers, those of 166, 182 and 210 mm.
Cell production reached 59 GW in the first half of 2020, an increase of 16% compared to the first half of 2019. The CPIA notes the accelerated deployment of heterojunction cells, particularly at Risen and Talesun.
Panel production increased by 13% year-on-year to 53 GW. Double-sided and glass panels experienced particular growth in the market.
While exports of wafers and cells increased in the period to 2019, foreign demand for panels stagnated at 28 GW (-2%).
11 GW were installed in China in the first half of the year (7 GWof large power plants, 4 GW of distributed installations). Recent calls for tenders (for 26 GW and declared grid parity projects for 36 GW) have prompted the CPIA to envisage a national installation volume of between 35 GW and 45 GW for 2020.
PV Tech of July 22nd
Editor's note It is a pity that the importance of exports of platelets and cells is not available. If we had them, we could realise the observation on panels: production is 53 GW. Exports of 28 GW and installations in China of 11 GW leave an unsold stock of 14 GW on 30 June. This stock will certainly be sold out in the second half of the year, particularly in China, where demand will be much higher.
The increase in silicon production should have a depressing effect on prices, while the opposite movement (an increase) is seen in the second quarter. This means that this price rise does not appear to be sustainable.
