MIIT says Chinese production of polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules went up by over 30% in H1 2024
Module production of 271 GW increased by 32.8% over 204 GW reported a year back
Polysilicon output went up by 74.9% to 1.06 million tons, while wafer production increased 58.6%
The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released the industrial production data of the country’s solar PV value chain according to which China produced 271 GW of crystalline silicon solar modules during the period between January to June 2024.
The module production volume is Year-over-Year (YoY) increase of 32.8% over 204 GW in H1 2023, and over 119% growth over 123.6 GW in H1 2022 (see Chinese Solar PV Industry’s Output Growing).
Of the 271 GW, China exported 129.2 GW volume representing an annual growth of 19.7% which means a large capacity was used up domestically. Recently, the National Energy Administration announced 102.48 GW of new solar PV installations in China during 1st half of this year (see China Exceeds 100 GW Solar Installations Mark In H1/2024).
Chinese crystalline silicon solar cell production totaled 310 GW during the reporting period representing 38.1% annual increase. Last year, the volume it produced was 224.5 GW. According to InfoLink Consulting, the top 5 solar cell producers in H1 2024, all from China, shipped 78 GW capacity (see Top 5 Solar Cell Manufacturers, All Chinese, Shipped 78 GW In H1 2024).
Silicon wafer production went up by 58.6% annually to 402 GW vis-à-vis 253.4 GW in H1 2023, whereas the country exported only 38.3 GW in H1 2024.
Polysilicon production also continued its upward trajectory with YoY 74.9% increase to 1.06 million tons.
Overall, the total Chinese output of polysilicon, silicon wafers, cells and modules increased by more than 30% YoY, according to the MIIT.
At its H1 2024 review meet recently, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) pegged Chinese solar PV export volume of $18.67 billion declined by 35.4% YoY during the period. It attributes this to oversupply in the market even though the domestic export volume of silicon wafers, cells and modules went up (see H1 2024 Chinese PV Export Volume Dropped By 35.4 Percent Annually, Says CPIA).