Drinda New Energy’s Q1 solar cell shipments surge; CECEP Solar to raise RMB 2.95B; JA Solar postpones HJT pilot plant to December 2024; SPIC initiates over 72 GW of clean energy projects; China Huaneng starts construction on 850 MW offshore PV project.
Drinda New Energy’s Q1 cell shipments rise 109.56%: Jietai Solar’s parent company Drinda New Energy has released its financial results for Q1 2024. The company reported solar cell shipments of 10.08 GW for the quarter, an increase of 109.56% year-over-year (YoY). P-type cells accounted for 1.52 GW of the total shipments, with n-type accounting for the remaining 8.56 GW. The company reported revenues of RMB 3.714 billion ($515.83 million) for the quarter, with overseas sales accounting for 11.62% of the total. Its net profit came in at RMB 19.754 million ($2.74 million) for the quarter. Currently, the company’s TOPCon cell conversion efficiency exceeds 26.2%, and it states that it is actively conducting BC (back contact) cell pilot research to promote the mass production of BC cells.
Previously, Drinda had reported a 179.43% YoY increase in its shipments for FY 2023 (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
CECEP Solar to raise RMB 2.95B for 900 MW PV power plants: CECEP Solar has announced its plans to raise convertible bonds for RMB 2.95 billion ($408.71 million) to construct 6 PV power plants. These include 2 PV + energy storage projects totaling 450 MW in Xinjiang, a 150 MW fishery-PV project in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, and 3 agricultural PV projects totaling 300 MW in Guizhou Province. By the end of 2023, the company’s power plant portfolio was 10.682 GW. This included 4.674 GW of operational projects, about 2.465 GW under construction, 2.364 GW planned, and 1.179 GW with signed pre-acquisition agreements.
JA Solar’s HJT pilot plant postponed: Vertically integrated solar module manufacturer JA Solar has announced an extension to the commencement date of its high efficiency solar cell R&D pilot project. It is now expected to be commissioned in December 2024. Consisting of 2 pilot lines, the first pilot line has been installed and debugged, while the second is undergoing process debugging. Originally expected to be operational by January 2023, the company had postponed the heterojunction (HJT) plant’s commencement to December 2023. JA Solar blames longer equipment lead times and long installation and commissioning cycles for the delay.
Recently, JA Solar reported that its FY 2023 operating income increased 11.74% annually (see JA Solar’s 2023 Annual Revenues Improved 11.74 Percent).
SPIC initiates over 72 GW of clean energy projects: The Chinese State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has launched construction on more than 200 projects. The company is investing over RMB 500 billion ($69.27 billion) for a total installed capacity of over 8 GW. These projects focus on nuclear power, renewable energy, dispatchable power sources, hydrogen energy, and renewable energy storage, with clean energy projects accounting for over 90%. As of the end of March this year, SPIC’s total installed capacity was 239 GW, with 167 GW of clean energy capacity accounting for over 70%. In 2024, SPIC plans to add over 25 GW of electricity generation capacity.
In February, SPIC subsidiary China Power and Trina Solar completed the equity delivery for a 69.3 MW floating PV project in Malaysia (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
China’s 1st offshore PV project with confirmed marine area rights starts construction: Power sources developer China Huaneng has commenced construction on an 850 MW offshore PV project. The project is said to be the country’s first offshore PV project with confirmed marine area rights and defined boundaries. It is also said to be the only marine PV project approved by the State Council in 2024 so far. Located in Binzhou City, Shandong Province, the 850 MW fishery-PV project will be built for a total investment of RMB 3.489 billion ($484.38 million), spread over 1039.8 Ha of tidal flats. Invested, constructed, and operated solely by China Huaneng, the plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2024. Once up and running, it is expected to generate 1.282 billion kWh of clean energy annually.
