LONGi launches global distributed R&D center; Hangzhou First starts construction on PV film factory; TCL Zhonghuan leads ESG report; JinkoSolar hits 100 GW TOPCon module deliveries; China's PV power utilization rises in May 2024.
LONGi launches global distributed R&D center: Vertically integrated solar company LONGi has inaugurated its global distributed research and development (R&D) center in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. Spread over 20,000 sq. m., the first phase of the R&D center will house the central testing lines, application materials and product reliability labs, a joint innovation space, and offices for R&D personnel. LONGi states that its central research institute's doctoral team will also converge here to focus on product development for various distributed application scenarios.
In parallel, LONGi also hosted a partnership co-creation conference where its central research institute officially launched the Partner + LONGi collaborative innovation ecosystem. This system aims for "collaborative sharing and innovation for mutual benefit," with cooperation schemes including partner assessment, model selection, technology empowerment, and value sharing. To ensure partner benefits, LONGi also introduced a standard for calculating partner benefits.
LONGi recently announced that it secured 2 national technology awards (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Hangzhou First starts construction on PV encapsulation film factory: Leading EVA and backsheet manufacturer Hangzhou First has started construction on its new PV encapsulation film factory in Guangdong Province. As per a July 2023 announcement, the company planned to invest RMB 702 million ($96.6 million) in this facility through a wholly-owned subsidiary. At the end of its 3-year construction period, the manufacturing facility is expected to produce 250 million sq. m. of PV encapsulation film annually.
In May, Hangzhou First reported that its Q1 2024 net profits increased 43.13% year-over-year (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
TCL Zhonghuan ranks 1st again, named among China's ESG Pioneer 100: Leading solar wafer supplier TCL Zhonghuan has announced that it has ranked 1st among the PV industry, for the 2nd consecutive year, in the recently released 2024 ESG Action Report. The report is a joint effort by the Finance Program Center of China Media Group, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the Institute of Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the China Enterprise Reform and Development Research Association, among others. The company says this accolade comes on the back of its outstanding ESG performance and continuous ongoing efforts. TCL Zhonghuan said that it was also named in the list of China ESG Listed Company Pioneers 100.
JinkoSolar completes 100 GW TOPCon module deliveries: JinkoSolar has announced that it has achieved the 100 GW shipment milestone for its n-type Tiger Neo modules. The company says that it has achieved this milestone in only 18 months. The company says that it has more than 4,000 Tiger Neo customers in nearly 150 countries and regions. JinkoSolar claims that the 100 GW installed capacity of Tiger Neo generates 735.5 billion kWh more electricity than PERC modules in its entire life cycle, reducing CO2 emissions by 761.97 million tons, equivalent to planting 34.6 billion more trees.
China's PV power utilization rate up 0.4% in May 2024: According to the latest report from the National New Energy Consumption Monitoring and Early Warning Center, China's PV power utilization rate was up 0.4% month-on-month in May 2024. While the national PV power generation utilization rate reached 97.5% for the month, it was 96.7% for the period through January to May 2024.
10 provinces, namely Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Chongqing, Sichuan, Hainan, Guangxi and Guizhou, achieved a utilization rate of 100%, which is up by 3 provinces over April 2024. Tibet logged the lowest utilization rate in the country at 78.4%, with Qinghai following up at 90.7%. Liaoning with 93.1%, Gansu with 93.3%, Heilongjiang with 93.4%, and Xinjiang with 94.2% were the other provinces that had a utilization rate of below 95%.
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