China’s Solar Supply Chain Humming With Orders As Local Manufacturers Race To Meet Demand

China’s dominance of the solar supply chain has lifted firms across the sector, from polysilicon to modules. For now, it is firms focused on solar wafers that are grabbing attention, as cell manufacturers have run up against stronger than expected demand.

Firms in Jiangsu province, a key hub for solar manufacturing have been reporting record demand and orders, possibly signaling that the recent price moderation in solar modules might be coming to an end.

One such firm,  Eco-Energy Systems, a key manufacturer of solar wafers, has just announced its fifth order for large-sized photovoltaic wafers in the last four weeks, adding up to deals worth CNY13 billion (USD1.9 billion) during this period.

Shuangliang has signed a fresh order with Jiangsu Xinchao Photovoltaic Energy Development and one of its units for 720 million large-sized monocrystalline silicon wafers for 2023, the Jiangyin, eastern Jiangsu province-based company said yesterday.

The newest deal is expected to be worth CNY4.8 billion (USD697 million) based on the latest market prices tracked by solar market research firm InfoLink Consulting.

Earlier, Shuangliang Eco-Energy had announced long-term wafer supply deals worth more than CNY100 billion (USD14.5 billion) since it began mass production in the second half of 2021.

The firm’s is targeting an output of about 50 gigawatts a year by mid year.

Earlier in March, another firm Dialine New Material Science and Technology, one of the earliest Chinese manufacturers of diamond wires used as saws to cut wafers, had announced a USD 134 million order from an unnamed domestic buyer, a pointer to the hectic expansion underway in Chinese solar manufacturing.

With the established Chinese giants like Longi, Jinko Solar, JA Solar and more reporting record profits in 2022, expansion plans at most have picked up pace, as they seek to make the most of a market environment offering higher margins than those seen previously in the past few years.  How long the situation lasts is the million dollar question really, as manufacturing capacities across key global markets from India to Europe to Even North America are ramped up on the back of the kind of government support China provided its firms all through the first decade of this century.

The solar story looks set to be repeated in Wind Energy, as Chinese firms have started making vital gains in key markets for offshore wind also, after dominating the onshore wind market in recent years.