China's Sichuan Shidi New Energy has launched the construction of what it believes will be the world's largest production facility for solar PV module connectors and junction boxes with a cumulative planned capacity of 200 GW, in China's Hailing district.
Multiple wires and cables electrically connected at the back of the module are covered by junction boxes. These basically act as an enclosure for all electrical connections, protecting them from the weather and also protecting from any electric shocks from visible connectors.
The factory in Taizhou New Energy Industrial Park will be built in 2 phases of 100 GW each. Construction on phase I has begun on ground with July 2024 as the timeline for its commissioning. By the end of 2024, the company expects to reach 60 GW production capacity.
The Hailing District People's Government says the factory will also have a rooftop solar system in place with an approximate installed capacity of 3.72 MW. Over 6,000 modules will generate close to 3.97 million kWh/year, helping make the fab a low-carbon factory.
Sharing details about the project with journalists, the Shidi management said existing junction box companies operating in China are generally small in size, but their plan is to create a highly automated fab based on modern concepts. The company is also operating in the space of copper sheet processing and other supporting components of a PV module.
Shidi expects to invest RMB 2 billion ($274 million) on the 200 GW project that's designed to generate 370 million units annually, added local news reports.