China PV News Snippets: Trina Solar, Akcome

• Trina Solar has put into production 4 GW module capacity under phase I and broke ground for another 4 GW under phase II
• Akcome Technology will be investing up to RMB 2 billion in developing high efficiency HJT solar cells and modules
• Chinese report suspects new COVID-19 related lockdowns being imposed in Xinjiang to tighten polysilicon supply and impact project completion for want of manpower

4 GW Yiwu Manufacturing Base of Trina Solar In Production: Trina Solar has started operations at its Yiwu located manufacturing facility. Phase I includes  4 GW annual module capacity for which it uses 210 mm wafer technology. Trina's management calls it the world's first large scale production base of ultra-high power modules superimposed on 210 mm wafers (G12). Simultaneously, the cell/module manufacturer also broke ground for phase II which will also have 4 GW annual capacity. Trina Solar started manufacturing large-size PV modules using G12 wafer formats since January 2020 (see Trina Solar Begins Producing Modules With 210mm Wafer). The company discussed its production capacity roadmap at TaiyangNews' Virtual Conference on 500W+ Modules aiming for 31 GW of its high-performance Vertex solar modules by 2022, including both 550W and 600W modules.

Akcome to invest in 2 GW HJT production: Akcome Technology will be investing in high-efficiency heterojunction (HJT) solar cell and module production with a combined capacity of 2 GW. The planned investment will not exceed RMB 2 billion ($285.6 million). It will be making this investment through its wholly-owned subsidiary Zhejiang Akcome Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. in the first phase. The management said it has invested about RMB 570 million ($81 million) in these projects of which 900 MW module capacity has been put into operation.

Resurgence of COVID-19 in Xinjiang impacting PV bidding: A local media report claims resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, with Xinjiang being badly affected, is showing its impacts on the solar market as well. With the virus flaming up again locally, some regions are again forced into lockdown again. Due to this, project work onsite for some PV projects has been 'suspended' and the industry isn't too hopeful of these getting grid connected this year, according to the report.

Even though several PV bidding projects that are eligible for state subsidies need to start deploying modules from August 2020 unavailability of manpower in Xinjiang is now posing a problem. Xinjiang is also a polysilicon production hub with at least 4 out of the 5 top producers stationed here. With lockdowns and other restrictions in place, the industry fears tight supply for the raw material putting pressure on PV bidding projects. In recent reports, market analysts had said they expect strong demand in H2/2020 in China.