Tongwei makes the Fortune Global 500 list again
Tongwei Group has announced that it has been ranked 467th on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2024. This is the company’s second appearance following its debut last year. It claims to be the only Chinese photovoltaic (PV) company on the list, with a brand value of RMB 230.559 billion ($32.26 billion) and leading the global aquaculture and PV industries. Tongwei has an annual production capacity of 650,000 tons for high-purity polysilicon, 95 GW for solar cells and 75 GW for high-efficiency modules. It claims to have been ranked the top global solar cell supplier for 7 consecutive years, while being ranked among the global top 5 for module shipments in 2023.
Tongwei also recently ranked 127th on the Fortune China 500 2024 list (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Trinasolar passes UV degradation test
Trinasolar has announced that its Vertex N-type 720W series modules have passed UV degradation testing by the China General Certification Center (CGC). The ‘rigorous’ test conditions used UV240, which is 16 times the intensity of the basic UV test (UV15) according to IEC standards. The test report shows that after exposure to 240 kWh/m² of front-side UV radiation, the front-side power attenuation of Trinasolar's Supreme N-type 720W series modules was 1.2%, and the back-side power attenuation was only 1.0%.
Trinasolar recently completed the construction of a 70 MW PV power station in the Arabian Peninsula (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
GS-Solar subsidiary’s plans for 10 GW HJT cell fab
Sichuan Shuoyang Heterojunction New Energy Co., Ltd., a subsidiary Fujian Juneng Power which is a subsidiary of GS-Solar, plans to build a 10 GW high-efficiency heterojunction cell fab in Sichuan Province. The Leshan High-tech Zone management committee released the planning scheme for the 5 GW of this facility, which will be built for a total investment of RMB 3.5 billion ($489.76 million). The facility adopts the company's self-developed second-generation heterojunction HBC technology and plans to purchase and install around 150 major pieces of equipment, including PECVD, PVD, and screen printing machines.
HDHM abandons 10 GW cell manufacturing facility plans
Huadong Heavy Machinery (HDHM) has announced the termination of its investment in a 10 GW n-type high-efficiency solar cell production base in Bozhou City, Anhui Province, and the dissolution of the subsidiary established for this project. HDHM had announced its intent to invest RMB 6 billion ($839.59 million) in this facility in July 2023. The company says its decision to abandon this investment is based on the severe price declines throughout the PV value chain and the sustained low prices of solar cells. It states that continued investment would not achieve the commercial objectives set out in the contract.
China increases non-hydro renewable energy consumption requirements
The General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the General Office of the National Energy Administration (NEA) have said in a joint notice that the consumption responsibility weights for non-hydropower renewable energy in various provinces will increase by 0.7%-7.3% compared to 2023. Provinces such as Heilongjiang, Jilin, Ningxia, and Qinghai need to achieve a non-hydropower renewable energy power proportion of 30%. The notice also sets requirements for the green electricity consumption proportion for the electrolytic aluminum industry in 2024, ranging from 21% to 70%, with the highest requirements in Yunnan province and Qinghai province, both at 70%. This is the first time China has set green electricity consumption requirements for the electrolytic aluminum industry.