China PV News Snippets: Risen, Tongwei, Suntech

Risen Energy to develop 5 GW cell and 5 GW module capacity: Risen Energy has signed an agreement with local administration of Chuzhou region in Anhui to develop high efficiency solar cell and module manufacturing capacity of 5 GW each here. To be developed in phases, the project will be located in the Chuzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. The entire project is expected to cost around RMB 4.377 billion ($632 million), however final numbers will depend on downstream market demand and availability of project construction financing, the company added.

Risen Energy is also expanding internationally. Recently it commissioned 132 MW Merredin Solar PV Project in Australia through its EPC services as the largest PV project in Western Australia. It deployed its own modules for the project to generate around 281 GWh annually.

Tongwei plans restarting polysilicon production in 15 days: A tight supply of polysilicon in the market is not good news for the solar module makers who’d have had sleepless nights of late. However, Tongwei whose polysilicon production capacity had been down due to floods in Leshan city, reassured the industry that it can quickly go back to usual business within 15 days if the flood can recede quickly (see Flood Warning Halts Tongwei’s Polysilicon Production).

PVMen reported Tongwei’s responded to an investor query recently on the matter saying the old production capacity of Leshan is 20,000 tons and the new one has 30,000 tons while Baotou’s annual capacity is 30,000 tons. Production was stopped only for the old capacity, but manufacturing continues at the new site. Monthly output at the site is about 2,000 tons. A Tongwei spokesperson reportedly said the shut down due to the flood will affect only up to 1,500 tons of output.

Suntech commissions 3.5 GW module expansion project: Suntech has started production at its 3.5 GW high efficiency solar module expansion project in Changzhou. The RMB 700 million ($101 million) production lines are compatible with multi-busbar cells of various formats from 166 mm to 182 mm, fitting 78-cell modules with upgrade space for 210 mm large format cells. These can even produce over 450 W high performance modules in batches. In the near future, Suntech said it will upgrade the production line with artificial intelligence (AI) intelligent inspection and IV automatic testing. This month, Suntech launched several new products in 500W+ and 600W+ range as it aims to expand its capacity from 6 GW today to 13 GW by the end of 2020 (see Suntech Expands & introduces 600W+ Module).