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GCL System Eyes Australia's Solar Market Amid Output Expansion
Mar 23, 2016 | Bloomberg
GCL System Integration Technology Co., the Chinese solar-panel maker whose production rose fivefold in 2015, is targeting growth in Australia’s solar market as it pushes to expand overseas....The remarks explained why the company plans to buy a 51 percent stake in One Stop Warehouse Pty, which sells solar systems in Australia. GCL System wants to raise panel capacity by more than 62 percent this year and expand its market share abroad. -
GCL System Sees Solar Panel Output Rising Fivefold in 2015
Feb 19, 2016 | Bloomberg
GCL System Integration Technology Co.’s solar panel production rose fivefold in 2015, the first year after its assets were restructured. -
GCL System to Set Up $95 Million Solar Fund With Bank of Suzhou
Mar 15, 2016 | Bloomberg
A unit of GCL System Integration Technology Co., a Chinese solar panel maker, will set up a 620 million yuan ($95 million) fund with Bank of Suzhou Co. to invest in the solar industry. The bank will provide 430 million yuan for the fund and GCL System Integration Technology (Suzhou) Co. the remainder, the parent said in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange on Monday. -
In China’s Struggling Stock Market, a Few Winners Emerge
Sep 23, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Chao Deng
...One big winner emerged from the ashes of Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology Co., the company that holds the distinction of being the first to default on a Chinese domestic bond. After a restructuring, shares of the successor company, renamed GCL System Integration Technology Co. Ltd., have surged more than 900% since the resumption of trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange last month. -
Newest Silicon Module Super League member GCL launches storage products in Australia
May 6, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Andy Colthorpe
GCL Systems Integration (GCL), the Silicon Module Super League’s newest member, has officially launched 2.5kWh and 5.6kWh energy storage systems for the Australian residential market. -
Another global solar giant to launch battery storage product in Australia
May 12, 2016 | Renew Economy
By Giles Parkinson
...GCL subsidiary GCL System Integration Technology, its specialist in the solar and battery storage market, is targeting growth in Australia’s solar market as part of a major push to expand overseas. -
GCL SI buys majority stake in Oz distributor, citing EU-US anti-dumping push
Apr 18, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Andy Colthorpe
GCL System Integration has bought a 51% stake in One Stop Warehouse, an Australian wholesale distributor of solar products, claiming it has been partly pushed by anti-dumping rules affecting its module supply business in Europe and the US. -
GCL joins the exclusive Silicon Module Super League for 2016
Apr 13, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Finlay Colville
GCL Systems Integration (hereafter ‘GCL’) has now been officially inducted into PV Tech’s exclusive Silicon Module Super League (SMSL) for 2016, with our team having previously alluded to aggressive capacity additions by the company in 2015. -
Global PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in March increase to 7.3GW
Apr 11, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Mark Osborne
...SMSL members, including new entrant GCL Systems, JA Solar and Trina Solar were also behind the strong February figures, as nine companies in February had announced new plans to expand capacity, while the higher March figures include just 10 companies. -
New analysis: The real top solar PV manufacturers in 2016
Apr 1, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Finlay Colville
...GCL (incorporating the full portfolio of GCL’s subsidiary and affiliate PV-related companies, including GCL-Poly, GCL New Energy and GCL Systems Integration) has now positioned itself, through its 2015 midstream cell and module capacity additions, to take an even greater hold of the solar industry going into 2H’16 and 2017. -
GCL System, Bank of Suzhou launch USD-95m solar fund
Mar 16, 2016 | SeeNews
By Militsa Mancheva
Chinese firm GCL System Integration Technology Co Ltd (SHE:002506) and Bank of Suzhou Co Ltd this week unveiled plans for the establishment of a CNY-620-million (USD 95.1m/EUR 85.7m) solar power fund. -
GCL plans to set up $95m solar fund, enter Australian PV market
May 12, 2016 | PV Magazine
By Adilya Zaripova
...GCL System Integration Technology, the world’s largest crystalline silicon wafer producer and one of the top-10 module producers, seeks to implement its plans to “aggressively expand market share outside of China”, announced by the supervisory board chairman Shu Hua earlier this year. -
GCL New Energy installs 1,024.5MW of grid-connected solar capacity in 2015
Mar 2, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Finlay Colville
...After PERC, the requests for topics and speakers on n-type and heterojunction were the next big ask for the event, and in addition to SunPower’s opening talk outlined above we have the following companies speaking: Panasonic, Meyer Burger, GCL System Integration, First Solar (TetraSun), Tempress Systems (Amtech Systems) and Yingli Green...Zhang Chun, Senior Director of Cell Technology, GCL System Integration Technology: Progress of GCL's high efficiency HIT cell & module production -
Is GCL the next module super league player?
Feb 23, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Mark Osborne
A recent press release from the PV cell and module manufacturing arm of China-based GCL Group (Golden Concorde), GCL System Integration Technology Co has claimed several important metrics (shipments and capacity) that would not only catapult the company into the top-10 manufacturer rankings for 2015, but also potentially prepare the company for membership of PV Tech's 'Silicon Module Super League' in 2016. -
GCL hits 2.5 GW of module shipments
Feb 22, 2016 | PV Magazine
By Jonathan Gifford
...Since its parent company acquired the ailing Chaori Solar in 2014, GCL has rapidly expanded into solar module manufacturing. GCL System Integration Technology has announced that it shipped between 2.5 to 2.7 GW of solar modules in 2015, a fivefold increase in its 2014 module production. -
Africa: China-Based GCL Enters Distributed Energy Storage Market With Global Launch of New Energy Storage Products
May 4, 2016 | PR Newswire in All Africa
China-based GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd showcased its first E-KwBe energy storage product series on May 4, 2016 at the Solar Energy Exhibition & Conference held in Australia. -
GCL System received CQC's
Apr 25, 2016 | PR Newswire
GCL System Integration Co., Ltd (GCL System) announced on April 22 that its polycrystalline PV modules received the China Quality Certification Center's ("CQC") "Top Runner" Program level-one energy efficiency certification on April 19. -
GCL-SI Strategically Acquires Australia OSW
Apr 18, 2016 | PR Newswire
On 15th April, GCL System Integration Technology (Hereinafter referred to as GCL-SI) signed an agreement with Australia ONE STOP WAREHOUSE PTY LTD (Hereinafter referred to as OSW) that GCL-SI owns a 51% stake of OSW. -
GCL Vice President Shu Hua Meets Bestselling Author Jeremy Rifkin at Global Cleantech Summit 2016
Mar 29, 2016 | PR Newswire
The Global Cleantech Summit 2016 was organized in Beijing by the Climate Group on March 23rd and 24th. Shu Hua, the Vice President of GCL group and President of GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd., was invited to meet Jeremy Rifkin, the founder of the Foundation on Economic Trends and author of bestseller The Third Industrial Revolution, to discuss the role of clean tech in boosting industrial revolution, and GCL's transformation from energy manufacturing to energy service. -
China-Based GCL Sees Its Production of PV Modules Grow Fivefold in 2015, Making it the World's 7th Largest Manufacturer of PV modules
Feb 19, 2016 | PR Newswire
China-based GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd. has become the world's 7th largest PV module manufacturer, according to leading Chinese photovoltaic industry information website Solarbe's recently released list of the world's top 10 photovoltaic module manufacturers for 2015.
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Industry Trades
Press Releases
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GCL System Eyes Australia's Solar Market Amid Output Expansion
Mar 23, 2016 | Bloomberg
GCL System Integration Technology Co., the Chinese solar-panel maker whose production rose fivefold in 2015, is targeting growth in Australia’s solar market as it pushes to expand overseas.
Australia will install more than a gigawatt of solar power this year, compared with about 950 megawatts last year, President Shu Hua said in an interview in Beijing on Tuesday.
The nation is part of our "strategic planning abroad," said Shu.
The remarks explained why the company plans to buy a 51 percent stake in One Stop Warehouse Pty, which sells solar systems in Australia. GCL System wants to raise panel capacity by more than 62 percent this year and expand its market share abroad.
The company also sees opportunities in India, which is currently its biggest overseas market, according to Shu. The Indian market will grow relatively quickly given the nation’s plans to install 100 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2022, said Shu.
GCL System probably sold at least 2.5 gigawatts of panels last year, compared with an output of 500 megawatts in 2014, the company said last month. It was created out of the default of Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology Co.
GCL System’s shares are down almost 21 percent since the beginning of the year after soaring 16-fold in 2015.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-23/gcl-system-eyes-australia-s-solar-market-amid-output-expansion
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GCL System Sees Solar Panel Output Rising Fivefold in 2015
Feb 19, 2016 | Bloomberg
GCL System Integration Technology Co.’s solar panel production rose fivefold in 2015, the first year after its assets were restructured.
It probably sold at least 2.5 gigawatts of panels last year, compared with an output of 500 megawatts in 2014, the company, created from the default of Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology Co., said in a statement Friday.
Golden Concord Holdings Ltd., the parent of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd., the biggest polysilicon maker, and eight investors acquired a combined 66 percent stake in Chaori under a restructuring proposal in 2014. Chaori, the first to default on Chinese onshore bonds, was renamed GCL System.
GCL System had an internal panel production capacity of 3.7 gigawatts annually at the end of 2015 and expects to expand it to more than 6 gigawatts this year, the statement said.
GCL System supplies panels to key clients such as developers China Minsheng Investment Corp., Power Construction Corp. of China Ltd. and Kong Sun Holdings Ltd. and also India’s Adani Group.
The company plans to aggressively expand its market share outside China this year, Chairman Shu Hua said in the statement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-19/gcl-system-sees-solar-panel-output-rising-fivefold-in-2015
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GCL System to Set Up $95 Million Solar Fund With Bank of Suzhou
Mar 15, 2016 | Bloomberg
A unit of GCL System Integration Technology Co., a Chinese solar panel maker, will set up a 620 million yuan ($95 million) fund with Bank of Suzhou Co. to invest in the solar industry.
The bank will provide 430 million yuan for the fund and GCL System Integration Technology (Suzhou) Co. the remainder, the parent said in a statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange on Monday.
The unit can choose to exit in one and a half years after the fund is established, according to the statement. The move comes as the parent seeks to raise panel capacity by more than 62 percent this year and expand its market share abroad.
GCL System Integration Technology also plans to buy a 51 percent stake in One Stop Warehouse Pty, which sells solar systems in Australia, for A$9.69 million ($7.3 million), it said in a separate statement Monday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-15/gcl-system-to-set-up-95-million-solar-fund-with-bank-of-suzhou
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In China’s Struggling Stock Market, a Few Winners Emerge
Sep 23, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
By Chao Deng
Amid the carnage of the Chinese stock market, a handful of stocks have posted huge gains, and the reasons why say a lot about how the market operates.
One big winner emerged from the ashes of Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology Co., the company that holds the distinction of being the first to default on a Chinese domestic bond. After a restructuring, shares of the successor company, renamed GCL System Integration Technology Co. Ltd., have surged more than 900% since the resumption of trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange last month.
The reason for the gains, and for the big returns on many of the other winners in the Chinese market over the summer, is the love affair Chinese investors have with initial public offerings. Investors treated GCL as an IPO and, with no IPOs in the offing because regulators stopped approving them during the selloff, the offering was rare and in high demand, said Wu Xia, an analyst from Shenwan Hongyuan Securities.
A spokeswoman at GCL said the market determines prices and declined to comment further.
Only about 200 stocks out of 6,928 companies trading on the Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong markets have risen in value since June 12, the day the Shanghai market peaked, according to data provider FactSet Inc. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index is down 38% since that day.
Nearly a third of the 83 stocks on the mainland that have climbed since June 12 were listed just days before the market tumble began. They include Shandong Synthesis Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., which has roughly tripled since June 12 after debuting on June 2.
Making money without buying IPOs has been nearly impossible. “If you exclude the IPOs, it really gets to stock-picking abilities,” said Gerry Alfonso, Shanghai-based director of trading at brokerage Shenwan Hongyuan Securities. “Some of them are related to speculation,” and “for international investors that’s really very tricky.”
Chinese investors, lacking good investment options, have long rushed to buy into initial public offerings to make a quick profit. The country’s IPO process, in which regulators control the flow of offerings, has suppressed the supply of new listings, while banks tend to underprice the offerings to get a big first-day jump.
China’s stock regulator makes an exception to its usual 10% daily upper limit for stock gains, allowing new listings to trade up as much as 44% on the first day. It doesn’t put boundaries on first-day relistings.
Chaori was suspended from trading in May 2014 and was headed for bankruptcy before a restructuring plan months later brought in 1.46 billion yuan ($229 million) from investors; revenue then grew to 3.6 billion yuan in the first half of 2015 from 229 million yuan in the first half of 2014. It issued new shares when it resumed trading on Aug. 12 under the new name GCL.
On its first day back, GCL surged 1,975%. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange warned investors of risks the same day, briefly halting GCL’s trading twice. GCL’s market value is now 17 billion yuan.
The last batch of IPOs to get approved before the selloff also soared, and some have held their gains. Shares of Zhongxin Information Development Inc. Ltd. have surged 221% since June 12. The firm, which makes software for resources management and listed on June 11, rose by the daily limit in its first 14 sessions, and is up 408% from its IPO price.
In Hong Kong, there are tangible reasons for gains by some of the 113 firms that have climbed in value since June 12, reflecting a more mature market driven by professional investors. The benchmark Hang Seng Index is down 20% during that time, although declines there started earlier. The index is off 23% from its April peak.
Shares of Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd., which makes power tools for home improvement, have notched a 14% gain since June 12. The Hong Kong-based firm manufactures in China but sells mostly to North America. It is expected to benefit from a recovering U.S. housing market and a weakening yuan.
Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd., which produces textiles from the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo and Vietnam, has benefited similarly. The firm’s net profit increased nearly 19% in the first half of the year from the previous period, as it sold more sportswear in Europe and the U.S. Its shares have risen 19% in value since June 12, boosting the wealth of billionaire Chairman Ma Jianrong, who owns more than half of the company.
Some volatile stocks have also had big gains. Shares of Goldin Financial Holdings Ltd. had soared until May, in part because relatively few investors hold the bulk of the company’s shares, allowing for big swings in price. Then the shares dropped as much as 83% from May to July. But as the market’s selloff deepened, Goldin’s shares rose 192%, and they now trade at 97 times the last twelve months of earnings, according to FactSet.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-chinas-struggling-stock-market-a-few-winners-emerge-1442909315?mg=id-wsj
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Newest Silicon Module Super League member GCL launches storage products in Australia
May 6, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Andy Colthorpe
GCL Systems Integration (GCL), the Silicon Module Super League’s newest member, has officially launched 2.5kWh and 5.6kWh energy storage systems for the Australian residential market.
GCL’s new E-KwBe product series made its debut this week at the Australian Solar Council’s 2016 industry exhibition and conference. The devices use lithium-ion batteries which GCL claims have an energy density of up to 125Wh per kg.
While the initial models target the household PV-plus-storage market, GCL hinted that more devices are to follow.
In April, GCL bought a 51% stake in Australian PV product distributor One Stop Warehouse which has four distribution centres nationwide as well as e-commerce platforms. The move was aimed atexpanding GCL’s market share for its products which include inverters and PV panels in Australia and the wider southern hemisphere.
“We aim to create more energy storage products, take a leadership position in influencing market trends and help Australia achieve its renewable energy goals as well as boost energy sustainability worldwide,” GCL chairman Shu Hua said.
The Chinese company was inducted into the rankings for PV manufacturers with the highest production capacities by Solar Media’s Solar Intelligence team last month, in seventh placefollowing “aggressive” capacity additions in 2015.
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/newest-silicon-module-super-league-member-gcl-launches-storage-products-in
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Another global solar giant to launch battery storage product in Australia
May 12, 2016 | Renew Economy
By Giles Parkinson
The nascent but highly prospective residential battery storage market in Australia has drawn another major international player, with Chinese solar giant GCL Poly to make a global launch of its battery storage product in Melbourne early next month.
GCL Poly, which has become the biggest player in the supply of poly-silicon and wafers to the solar PV market, and which is also a major developer of solar farms, will launch its new product at the Energy Storage Conference in early May.
The company recently purchased a majority share in WA-based solar panel wholesaler One Stop Warehouse, paying $US7.3 million for a 51 per cent stake as part of a push into new markets.
It is joining the likes of US companies Tesla and Enphase, German’s Soonnenbatterie and local firmsRedflow and Ecoult to launch their first or their new generation battery storage products in Australia, which is expected to be the first mass-market for residential storage products in the world.
GCL subsidiary GCL System Integration Technology, its specialist in the solar and battery storage market, is targeting growth in Australia’s solar market as part of a major push to expand overseas.
Australia is part of our “strategic planning abroad,” said company president Shu Hua Shu told Bloombergin an interview in Beijing last month. The company has cited anti-dumping regulations in the US and Europe for its pursuit of new markets, which also includes India.
GCL System increased its solar sales five fold in 2015, reaching more than 2.5 gigawatts in 2015 compared with an output of 500MW in 2014.
Its purchase of One Stop Warehouse is also part of its plan to establish its own distributed PV integration unit and to push into the energy storage market. Hence the formal launch of its product in Australia, where high electricity prices and the rate of solar installations is making it the most attractive market.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/another-global-solar-giant-to-launch-battery-storage-product-in-australia-72561
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GCL SI buys majority stake in Oz distributor, citing EU-US anti-dumping push
Apr 18, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Andy Colthorpe
GCL System Integration has bought a 51% stake in One Stop Warehouse, an Australian wholesale distributor of solar products, claiming it has been partly pushed by anti-dumping rules affecting its module supply business in Europe and the US.
The company said it and One Stop Warehouse had come to an agreement on sales distribution, future business planning and other aspects of strategy going forward. One Stop distributes PV panels, complete kits, inverters and components, with four offices across Australia.
GCL System Integration (GCL SI) is an arm of GCL (Golden Concorde), based in China and the newest Silicon Module Super League member – a term coined by PV Tech to describe the handful of elite PV module makers with end-market shipment guidance of over 4GW for this year. GCLbecame the seventh member of the group less than a week ago, with all seven member companies headquartered in or heavily active in China’s PV market.
According to GCL SI, the acquisition is part of a move to “strategically enter the global market” with its own distributed PV integration unit and said it wishes to develop further business units, including energy storage. One Stop Warehouse made sales of just over AUS$45 million (US$34.71 million), clearing a profit of AUS$1.78 million last year.
A press statement issued by GCL System Integration called European and American rules on ‘dumping’ of competitively priced Chinese imported solar products as a “double anti” policy and said a number of Chinese companies are increasingly focusing on markets besides those two under what GCL SI called “huge pressure”. GCL SI said the EU and US had in place policies of “anti-dumping and anti-subsidy”.
In related news, GCL is scheduled to launch an energy storage product in Australia at the beginning of May. The company is hosting the event on the first day of the Australian Energy Storage Council conference, 4 May in Melbourne.
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/gcl-si-buys-majority-stake-in-oz-distributor-citing-eu-us-anti-dumping-push
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GCL joins the exclusive Silicon Module Super League for 2016
Apr 13, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Finlay Colville
GCL Systems Integration (hereafter ‘GCL’) has now been officially inducted into PV Tech’s exclusive Silicon Module Super League (SMSL) for 2016, with our team having previously alluded to aggressive capacity additions by the company in 2015.
Compared to the SMSL of 2015 – introduced by PV Tech to reflect key changes in PV module supply to the solar industry that have occurred in the past 12-18 months – GCL is effectively replacing Yingli Green Energy in the new elite subset of module suppliers to the industry this year.
For 2016, the entrance conditions are very clear: end-market shipment guidance (matched by our expectation/forecasts) of greater than 4GW this year.
This allows for a clear differentiation between the top module suppliers, and the chasing pack within which there are many guiding module shipments for 2016 in the 1-3GW band.
Currently, there are six companies forming a breakaway group in terms of module supply, collectively setting the bar on price, cost and efficiency metrics for others to aspire to, and this forms the SMSL for 2016:
• Canadian Solar
• GCL
• JA Solar
• JinkoSolar
• Hanwha Q CELLS
• Trina SolarWhile other market observers continue to count historic activity that took place last year in 2015 (in the past), we are choosing instead to focus on the performance of the SMSL for 2016 and what this means for the industry going into 2017.
The SMSL for 2016 will be subject to extensive scrutiny over the course of the year through features and blogs on PV Tech and research analysis within our PV Manufacturing & Technology Quarterly reports.
While the activities of all other PV manufacturers are essential to understand, nothing trumps the collective impact of the big-six SMSL today.What’s at stake having a breakaway module supply group?
PV remains an industry where end-market demand has strong contributions from both upstream and downstream. As such, end-market demand each year is a direct result of two factors:
• Countries that have in place lucrative incentives that stimulate the interest of installers, developers and asset holders.
• Sales-driven initiatives that can rapidly exploit short-term opportunities, often in markets where incentives are uncapped on an annual basis, and where sales focused tactics are generally somewhat ahead of policy makers’ reactive changes.Therefore, when we see a select group of module suppliers focussed on growing module shipment levels north of 4GW, we have to pause and reassess how this could affect the industry as a whole.
For example, if well-organized global sales teams have access to multi-GW of supply (alongside ambitious sales targets), then we potentially hit a point where end-market demand has a much greater degree of elasticity, compared to the rather academic way of tracking government policies and watered-down aspirations.
In the past, this was seen in certain markets that significantly over-performed both analyst forecasts and government expectations, and goes a long way to explaining why almost all market forecasts done by analysts 5-10 years ago are way out in terms of what the industry looks like in 2016.GCL in the SMSL: a wildcard or a massive threat to others?
In a recent blog featured on PV Tech, we summarized broadly that GCL was today the most important and influential PV manufacturer within the solar industry, by some margin, and outlined our methodology and rationale underpinning this claim.
In the past, this should have been widely known. However, purely as a supplier of raw materials (polysilicon and wafers), the company was not then seen, per-se, as one that could impact global ASPs or overall silicon-plus-non-silicon cost metrics at the module supply level.
Therefore, having GCL in the SMSL today is far from a token gesture that has evolved simply because Yingli has been suffering as a manufacturer in recent times.
There is much more at stake here with GCL as a module supplier, as we will outline in future PV Tech articles, drawing specifically from our research data within our PV Manufacturing & Technology Quarterly reports.
For starters, ponder this one: during 2016, almost 50% of all solar module capacity shipped to the end-market could be supplied from just six companies – the Silicon Module Super League. See the attached figure to confirm this.
In the next few weeks, we will be diving deeper into what we think are the extended consequences of having a restricted subset of Asia-centric companies that is supplying every one out of two solar PV panels this year.
What will be the impact on the domestic China market, where considerable cell and module capacity of the SMSL is still located?
How much production is slated for US shipment, and where will the SMSL source all its cells from? Will price and cost levels from this group shift the entrance barriers even higher for n-type or heterojunction-based new-entrants?
Which of the SMSL companies is at risk, if performance falls well short of year-end guidance and expectations?
This and much more on the SMSL for 2016 to follow very soon!
http://www.pv-tech.org/editors-blog/gcl-joins-the-exclusive-silicon-module-super-league-for-2016
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Global PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in March increase to 7.3GW
Apr 11, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Mark Osborne
Total expansion announcements include dedicated crystalline silicon solar cell, integrated solar cell and module assembly and dedicated module assembly, while no thin-film announcements were made in the month, the fifth month in a row.
The 7.3GW of planned future expansions, up from around 5.7GW in the previous (updated figures from 5.4GW) month, is primarily due to several ‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) members (JinkoSolar, Trina Solar and Canadian Solar) adding meaningful capacity to meet expected global demand in 2016.
SMSL members, including new entrant GCL Systems, JA Solar and Trina Solar were also behind the strong February figures, as nine companies in February had announced new plans to expand capacity, while the higher March figures include just 10 companies.
Dedicated solar cell capacity expansions announcements reached 3.1GW in March, compared to 1.26GW in the previous month. The increase was primarily driven by JinkoSolar, Trina Solar and Taiwan-based Tainergy Tech.
Although not technically new capacity additions, both SolarWorld and REC Solar are undertaking complete manufacturing line upgrades to PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology in 2016, which would boost megawatt nameplate capacity due to efficiency gains.
Integrated cell and module planned expansions in March, 2016 totalled 500MW, down from 1.5GW seen in each of the first two months of the year.
Dedicated module assembly capacity expansions announced in March reached 3.7GW, up around 1GW from 2.72GW announced in the previous month. Around 3GW of the total in March can be attributed to three SMSL members, JinkoSolar, Trina Solar and Canadian Solar. Geographical split
In March, expansions were announced for around nine country locations, all in Asia, compared to eight country locations that included the Netherlands in Europe, Algeria in North Africa and Saudi Arabia in the Middle-East as well as Brazil in South America in February.
Despite a continued geographical footprint expansion, China continues to be the dominant location for solar cell and module expansions. In March, China accounted for 2.8GW of total announced expansions.
In February, 2016 only two announcements (Jinneng Group/SunEdison and GCL Systems) were located in China, though totalled 3.8GW. This compares with only one announcement in January (500MW) being located in China.
However, South East Asia continues to attract further capacity expansion plans. PV Tech has previously highlighted that Malaysia and Thailand have been the dominant locations in the region over the last two years, attracting mainly China and Taiwan-based PV manufacturers.
In the last two years, Malaysia attracted over 2.6GW of new capacity announcements, while Thailand attracted over 2.3GW. South East Asia accounted for just over 1GW of planned expansions in February, 2016 and over 2.8GW in March.
An interesting trend under development that started in 2015 is the emergence of Vietnam, primarily for dedicated module assembly, driven by low costs and an alternative location to Malaysia and Thailand.
Chinese PV manufacturers have been behind the Vietnam push, initiated by Powerway Group (Boviet Solar) in 2013 and more recently plans from Tainergy Tech, Canadian Solar and Trina Solar.
Overall capacity expansion announcements in 2016 are continuing to track significantly higher than in the prior year periods of 2014 and 2015.
However, dedicated solar cell and integrated cell and module plant expansions are running almost at the same comparable levels since roughly the second half of 2015, indicating that after a two year period of mainly dedicated module assembly expansions that carried low capital expenditure, PV manufacturers are having to correct major cell to module imbalances or add cell capacity to retain established imbalances as further module assembly expansions are also planned in 2016.
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/global-pv-manufacturing-capacity-expansion-announcements-in-march-increase
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New analysis: The real top solar PV manufacturers in 2016
Apr 1, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Finlay Colville
This article reveals the most important PV manufacturers and suppliers to the solar industry in 2016. The new analysis and methodology explains exactly which companies are currently controlling, shaping and influencing all metrics related to upstream manufacturing trends and final end-market module shipments.
Source data is taken directly from the PV Manufacturing & Technology Quarterly report, released March 2016, by the market research arm of PV Tech’s parent company, Solar Media Ltd.The need for a new approach to upstream manufacturing analysis
The solar industry has struggled for years with how to rank and assess the relative strengths and impact of upstream PV manufacturers, from polysilicon production to module supply, and not to mention how to factor in thin-film companies within the dominant c-Si supply mix.
This is most evident when reading or hearing claims from different companies claiming to be Tier 1 listed on some random and somewhat confusing categories released by certain research firms. In fact, the whole Tier issue has become almost completely irrelevant in the past few years, with entrance criteria typically limited to end-market shipments, regardless of whether any upstream manufacturing even took place, and regularly featuring companies that have limited impact on the sector.
In addition to the Tier listing confusion, companies have also been clinging to third-party survey exercises that seek to offer some kind of badge-of-honour for getting tick-box customer satisfaction credit-ratings and which end up in colourful logos used in marketing related campaigns.
Surely the PV industry deserves better: something that is founded on hard facts; that can be traced back to real-world production that extends back to polysilicon; and a ranking system that offers a clear indication of the relative importance of solar PV manufacturers to overall industry trends going forward.
That said, the main driver for us is to pull out the solar PV manufacturers today that are not just serving existing market demand, but are also directly influencing the landscape in the years to come. By doing this, we are then able to fully understand technology roadmap indicators, market-share outcomes, cost metrics through the value-chain, and module supply variances.
These key objectives have driven our research team at PV Tech and Solar Media Ltd. to devise a brand-new methodology that we believe will help capture industry manufacturing and technology trends, in stark contrast to legacy Tier categorisation and brand-loyalty marketing gimmicks that are more a distraction than an aide.Explaining the methodology employed
Often, when undertaking market research, the most useful analysis is typically the simplest one; where it is crystal clear how the research is done, what input data is used, and what assumptions are made. This simple rule guided our thinking more than anything else over the past six months.
Firstly, we needed to work out a way of how to rank a major pure-play polysilicon maker (such as Wacker) with a dominant cell manufacturer (such as Gintech), a thin-film company such as First Solar, and a multi-GW scale module supplier such as JinkoSolar.
For example, whenever you look at random Tier 1 listings of PV companies, it is always alarming that dominant upstream companies (that have way more influence on the industry) are simply not appearing. Surely a company manufacturing multi-gigawatts of ingots and wafers has a greater influence than a low-tech module-assembly company, say in India, that is simply packaging a couple of hundred megawatts of modules made with cells coming from third-parties?
Therefore, our starting point was to place more value on production than end-market shipments, but to ultimately factor in all aspects of the upstream (or supply side) from raw material manufacturing through to module shipments.
This involved pulling out in-house production only through the value-chain, and removing outsourcing and OEM supply numbers. In this way, we could see clearly who was making things, and which companies were largely shipping components by virtue of having captive sales channels to serve.
In-house production levels were compiled for major companies in the PV industry today, across polysilicon, ingot, wafer, cell and module segments. Of particular note was splitting out ingot production from wafer supply, recognizing that ingot production is critical to driving technologies used in cell manufacturing. In terms of shipments, only module shipments were extracted from our master database to feed into this specific analysis.
Having extracted only the in-house production figures for the companies, in addition to final module shipment levels, the next task was how to link the different parts of the value-chain, and address one of the key questions we outlined earlier: how do you, for example, compare a multi-GW ingot producer with a GW-level module supplier?
Here we introduced simple weighting factors that would finally enable a stack-rank of all companies involved in PV manufacturing and end-market supply today.
In fact, this is the only part of the methodology that is open to question, as putting weightings on the importance, or value, of the different parts of the value-chain will always be debated, depending on where your loyalties ultimately lie.
To set the weightings, we looked closely at the importance of each stage of the value-chain, and took on board a range of inputs from industry experts, many of whom were questioned on this over the two days recently of our inaugural PV CellTech conference in Kuala Lumpur.
As a result, we set the weighting factors as shown in the figure below, placing the highest value on polysilicon and cell production:
In order to correlate thin-film manufacturers/suppliers, we allocated equivalent ingot/wafer/cell weightings to the companies analysed. In reality, this involves only First Solar and Solar Frontier today. Thin-film manufacturing is essentially a mirror image of c-Si manufacturing, if you replace raw material supply with coated glass, and then assume that a thin-film producer is effectively doing the full ingot-to-module production steps that an integrated c-Si manufacturer is engaged in.
Simply multiplying the in-house production and end-market shipments for each company with the above weighting factors brings us to the final output and allows us to rank the importance of the upstream/supply side today in the industry. Role of GCL as number one PV manufacturer confirmed beyond any doubt
When we ran though the analysis across all major solar PV manufacturers, two key outcomes emerged:
• A subset of nine companies is significantly ahead of all others, in terms of having a direct influence on the PV industry today.
• Within this group, GCL is by far the most important company, and is currently increasing its position and scope as potentially the biggest influence on the industry going into 2017.The figure below shows a normalized stack ranking of the leading nine companies, with the magnitude of GCL’s dominance clear to see.
GCL (incorporating the full portfolio of GCL’s subsidiary and affiliate PV-related companies, including GCL-Poly, GCL New Energy and GCL Systems Integration) has now positioned itself, through its 2015 midstream cell and module capacity additions, to take an even greater hold of the solar industry going into 2H’16 and 2017. While nowhere in the league of its polysilicon and ingot/wafer capacity levels, becoming a GW-plus cell and module producer (almost overnight and in stealth mode), creates many possibilities for the company now.
While the scope of separate analysis and commentary, perhaps the biggest issue relates to GCL’s own aspirations and whether the company will simply become the dominant player in China serving the world’s largest upstream and end-market demand territory, or wishes to have a strong overseas presence on both module shipments and project development. Within 12-18 months from now, the answer to this will become much clearer.
While the snapshot above of 2016 is of incredible value, it is also useful to look at what has changed over the past few years, and also which companies (not highlighted above) are making moves to become key players in how manufacturing evolves in the near term.
Performing the same analysis as above, but confined to three years back (2013), the following graphic is obtained, as shown in the figure below:
When comparing 2013 to 2016, it is interesting how the role of the pure-play polysilicon supplier has diminished somewhat, reflected today in the way that almost all polysilicon suppliers to the PV industry (with the exception of GCL) appear to be pulled by midstream company strategies, rather than driving change downstream.
Also of interest is confirmation of the problems at Yingli Green Energy, with the company going from 2013 when lining up sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup Finals in Brazil as the number 1 module supplier to the industry, to 2016 when the company is not featuring on the major producer rankings as shown above in Figure 2.
Finally, the growth from JinkoSolar and JA Solar (through a combination of midstream capacity additions in mainland China and Southeast Asia, and aggressive module shipment targets) can be seen clearly in each company moving closer to attaining the tag of ‘second-most-important solar PV manufacturer after GCL’.
The final output from our new analysis is to look for the companies that are seeing strong growth over the past two years; so looking at changes in power-rankings between 2014 and 2016. The two companies that jump out here are Longi Silicon Materials and Daqo New Energy, with LG Electronics also worth a mention too.
No industry can ever have one definitive rankings list that covers all bases, but in setting up the methodology, analysis and models outlined above, perhaps we are moving one step closer to really understanding what is behind the numbers and the marketing rhetoric appearing in the press on a daily basis.
And last but not least, getting the industry weaned off using the highly misleading Tier and customer-satisfaction lists that are simply not aligned with an industry trying to be taken seriously as a mainstream source of energy over the next few decades.
http://www.pv-tech.org/editors-blog/new-analysis-the-real-top-solar-pv-manufacturers-in-2016
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GCL System, Bank of Suzhou launch USD-95m solar fund
Mar 16, 2016 | SeeNews
By Militsa Mancheva
Chinese firm GCL System Integration Technology Co Ltd (SHE:002506) and Bank of Suzhou Co Ltd this week unveiled plans for the establishment of a CNY-620-million (USD 95.1m/EUR 85.7m) solar power fund.
The industrial investment fund will seek strategic renewable energy targets both at home and abroad in order to quickly tap into available solar energy resources and to form synergies with the company's existing businesses, GCL System explained.
Under the terms of the agreement, the larger part of the sum, or some CNY 430 million, will be supplied by the financial institution. In the meantime, the photovoltaics (PV) maker has committed to provide the rest though its local unit GCL System Integration Technology (Suzhou) Co Ltd, a statement published on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange shows.
GCL System, former Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology, makes solar cells and modules and is also active in the downstream solar segment. It will have the option to exit the fund 18 months following its establishment, it noted.
Last month, the firm announced that it will aim to boost its in-house production capacity for PV modules by some 62% year-on-year to over 6 GW by the end of the current year whilst aggressively expanding its share in markets outside of China in 2016. In pursuit of this strategy, GCL System is currently working on its Australian debut via the acquisition of a 51% stake in domestic PV array distributor One Stop Warehouse Pty for AUD 9.7 million (USD 7.2m/EUR 6.5m).
(CNY 1.0 = USD 0.153/EUR 0.138)
(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.746/EUR 0.672)
http://renewables.seenews.com/news/gcl-system-bank-of-suzhou-launch-usd-95m-solar-fund-517085
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GCL plans to set up $95m solar fund, enter Australian PV market
May 12, 2016 | PV Magazine
By Adilya Zaripova
The GCL Group plans to buy a 51% stake in Australian solar power system supplier One Stop Warehouse; company sets up $95 million fund with Bank of Suzhou Co. to invest in the solar industry.
GCL System Integration Technology, the world’s largest crystalline silicon wafer producer and one of the top-10 module producers, seeks to implement its plans to “aggressively expand market share outside of China”, announced by the supervisory board chairman Shu Hua earlier this year.
In its statement to the Shenzhen stock exchange on Monday, GCL reveled its plans to purchase a 51% stake in One Stop Warehouse Pty, which sells solar systems in Australia, for $7.3 million.
Another statement delivered on the same day announced that the company would set up a $95 million fund in a partnership with China’s Bank of Suzhou Co. to invest in the solar industry. The bank will provide 430 million yuan (about $66 million) for the fund and GCL the remainder.
GCL System Integration Technology has shipped between 2.5 to 2.7 GW of solar modules in 2015. The manufacturer has module production capacity of 3.7 GW and plans to reach 6 GW in 2016. It aims to be present in 17 solar markets globally by the end of this year.
http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/gcl-plans-to-set-up-95m-solar-fund--enter-australian-pv-market_100023732/#axzz48PmTrDmv
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GCL New Energy installs 1,024.5MW of grid-connected solar capacity in 2015
Mar 2, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Finlay Colville
The PVCellTech conference in Malaysia is just two weeks away, on 16-17 March 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, and the wait is almost over for the solar industry’s first dedicated event focused on real-world solar cell manufacturing.
The event is poised to finally explain the roadmap of solar cell manufacturing from the production standpoint, covering the topics that matter in the industry today, and presented by the companies that are ultimately shaping the performance specifications of modules that will be used in the industry for the next few years.
Cell technology remains the single most important stage of the PV value chain, in terms of efficiency levels, cost reduction targets and materials supply. However, for many years the rapid growth of the industry, coupled with the financial troubles of the manufacturing sector during the past few years, largely put cell manufacturing on the sidelines.
Over the past 12 months, this situation has changed radically and, during 2016, average power levels for 60-cell p-type multi modules will be pushing towards 270W, with 260-265W becoming industry-standard. Just a few years ago, solar farms were being specified with these panels rated at just 250W.
There are many drivers for cell technology advances, but one of the key issues is the profitability of the sector and the ability to allocate spending on R&D and capex.
Local policy and trade-related issues are also helping technology today. For example, deployment of p-type multi modules in China now has increased requirement to hit cell efficiency levels; overseas manufacturing is also becoming a necessity to access the growing US market for Chinese and Taiwanese producers; and the need to differentiate from mainstream China production has also gained in prominence.Solar cell capex is back, and dominating value-chain investments
The figure below – taken from the newly released PV Manufacturing & Technology Quarterly report from PV-Tech’s parent company’s research arm – clearly illustrates the increased emphasis on solar cell manufacturing, with capex across the whole PV value chain firmly shifting to the cell stage during 2015 and 2016.
Understanding the profile of capex is key to explaining why cell manufacturing is now moving into pole position, in terms of the solar industry.
Much of the investments during 2013 to 2015 were based on final payments for polysilicon expansions that were signed off before 2013 and pushed out (or cancelled) as polysilicon ASPs crashed to the record lows of today.
Wafer and ingot spending has yet to pick up, largely due to the multi wafer segment having the greatest backlog of tooling that dated back to 2010-2012, coupled with the fact that multi market-share was increasing and the wafer quality improving drastically.
Module capex has been increasing, but spending here is a fraction of the $/W levels a few years ago, and increasingly dominated by Chinese tool suppliers and their multi-gigawatt order pipelines.
Cell capex growth, combined with increased R&D spending here, sets the backdrop perfectly for the companies, speakers and topics for PVCellTech.Topics and speakers lined up for PVCellTech
When we look at the topics to be covered over the two days at PVCellTech, it shows a direct match with the issues pushing up cell capex and R&D spending, and the cell manufacturers that are really driving this change at the gigawatt-scale and beyond.
Let’s run through some of the agenda for the event now, reviewing key issues that will be presented, discussed and hotly debated in Malaysia in two weeks’ time, and revealing the star-studded line-up of companies and speakers that will take to the stage.
The introductory plenary session largely sets the scene for cell manufacturing today and some of the big questions that are being hotly debated across the industry, when internal strategies and competitive tactics are being reviewed.
• Pierre Verlinden, Chief Scientist & Vice-Chair of the State Key Lab. of PV Science & Technology, Trina Solar: The prospect of mass-produced multi-crystalline cells above 20% efficiency: how high can p-type multi go?
• Peter Cousins, Vice President Research, Development and Deployment, SunPower Corporation: Taking 25% n-type back contact cells from lab to GW-fab
• Xie Tian, Director of Wafer Quality Management, Longi Silicon Materials: The next generation of high quality & low cost mono c-Si wafers: enabling cell manufacturers to increase mono cell production levelsThese three talks really sum up the competing forces at play in cell manufacturing right now. Can the mainstream industry stick to p-type multi going forward, accessing the massive installed capacity for casting and wafering that has been accumulated in China over the past few years? And move p-type multi in mass production close to the 20% level, while having a cost structure that simply cannot be challenged by mono (either n-type or p-type).
As one of the leading low-cost multi-GW cell producers in the industry today, Trina Solar has been tempting us with record cell efficiency levels for 6” p-type multi cells over the past 12-18 months, and many people are dying to know just how high can p-type multi go in volume manufacturing.
The roadmaps of the industry in the past are now being shown to clearly underestimate the limits of p-type multi, and as the dominant cell technology used today by some margin, kicking the show off in this manner is entirely fitting.
Having SunPower headline the event right after opens up one of the other themes underpinning cell technology today, as the leading proponent of advanced n-type cell manufacturing. SunPower remains in a league of its own with regards high-efficiency mass-produced cells, but getting there has been a journey that goes back decades. As much of the cell manufacturing sector retains aspirations to have mass-produced cells in the mid-20% range, it is important to understand that the route from R&D to volume production here is not something that happens overnight.
Finally, for the plenaries, the p-type mono question has to be featured, and today there is no better company across the c-Si value-chain to present on this than Longi Silicon Materials. Longi has probably been the most vocal advocate of driving p-type mono adoption across Asia in the past few years, made even harder by the tens of gigawatts of casting furnaces meeting wafer demand in China.
However, the tide is certainly changing on this, and over the past 12 months, Longi’s plans for GW expansions, covering also midstream cell and module production, have been critical to keeping mono firmly on the table as one option to take market share away from p-type multi. Just recently also, SunEdison announced a multi-GW mono module supply deal with Longi that provides yet another indicator that mono production is going to continue to challenge p-type multi for many years ahead.
Indeed, we have also set up a dedicated session for PVCellTech on the p-type mono versus multi cell manufacturing issue, with the following companies/speakers/talks:
• Finlay Colville, Head of Market Intelligence, PV-Tech & Solar Media Ltd: Understanding the market-share dominance of p-type multi & strategies of leading p-type cell manufacturers
• Bob Chen, Corporate VP & Head of Cell Business Unit, Neo Solar Power: The cost analysis of using PERC: mono vs. multi
• Mike Barker, DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions: The evolution of p-type cell technology and the implications for metallization development
• Paul Gupta, President, IndoSolar: Capacity additions & technology choice for new c-Si fabs in South Asia & IndiaPERC cell technology is the hot topicBeyond any doubt, the biggest request we got for PVCellTech was on PERC. Lots of people wanted to speak about PERC, their plans and the advantages and opportunities of putting rear passivation layers on p-type cells. It is likely going to be the most widely discussed topic over the two days, and the speaker list represents the leading companies in mass production of PERC today: Hanwha Q CELLS, REC Solar, Gintech, Sunrise Global Solar & SolarWorld.
• Markus Fischer, Director R&D Processes, Hanwha Q CELLS: Leading edge Q.ANUTM technology in GW scale mass production
• Hannes Rostan, Director Cell Technology, REC Solar: Reducing LID and improving the temperature coefficient for mass manufactured multi-crystalline Si PERC cells
• Walt Huang, CTO, Gintech: A general discussion of P-PERC in the mass production environment
• Budi Tjahjono, CTO, Sunrise Global Solar
• Holger Neuhaus, Managing Director, SolarWorld Innovations GmbH: Progress and perspective in high-volume manufacturing of mono- and bi-facial PERC solar modulesIt should be noted that we also have Neo Solar Power and others speaking about PERC as part of other session talks over the two days.
Right now, the solar industry is gripped with PERC, and production of p-type cells could easily see 20% made with PERC technology during 2016. It will be fascinating to see how PERC evolves and whether rear passivation simply becomes a default process flow stage for tomorrow’s standard p-type cells.
Already, many are asking: What comes next after PERC? But for now, PERC still has some way to go and there are many challenges to much of Chinese p-type multi making this switch and getting a recipe that Hanwha Q CELLS and REC Solar have perfected outside of China, to work in mainland China at companies not known for R&D excellence yet.N-type and heterojunction seeing increased focus
After PERC, the requests for topics and speakers on n-type and heterojunction were the next big ask for the event, and in addition to SunPower’s opening talk outlined above we have the following companies speaking: Panasonic, Meyer Burger, GCL System Integration, First Solar (TetraSun), Tempress Systems (Amtech Systems) and Yingli Green.
• Akira Terakawa, R&D Project Leader, Panasonic Corporation: Silicon heterojunction solar cells: current status & future technology drivers
• Gunter Erfurt, Managing Director, Technology and Product Centre, Meyer Burger: Readiness of equipment for mass production of heterojunction cells >22% average efficiency
• Zhang Chun, Senior Director of Cell Technology, GCL System Integration Technology:Progress of GCL's high efficiency HIT cell & module production
• Denis de Ceuster, Director R&D crystalline silicon PV, First Solar (TetraSun): Status of First Solar’s high-efficiency n-type silicon 100MW pilot line
• Jan Marc Luchies, R&D Director, Tempress Systems (Amtech Systems): Cost effective high-efficiency passivated contact cells for production
• Shi Jinchao, Cell R&D Senior Director, Yingli Green Energy: Opportunities for n-type bifacial cell production in high volumeFor many, seeing how n-type can stay ahead of the advances in p-type manufacturing is one of the most important cell issues of the next few years. There are still different approaches for n-type, with no single industry standard yet. Indeed, having been the only company to have mastered heterojunction until now, can others emulate Panasonic’s achievements, or take things to the next stage in terms of performance and cost?
The output from the talks above will also provide some key indicators into assessing what we can expect from SolarCity’s Silevo plans in 2017 and beyond, or indeed where LG Electronics fits into the overall mix of n-type module availability in the next few years.PV roadmap output
While the sessions and talks will themselves provide the basis for the overall PV cell roadmap of the industry in the next few years, we are also delighted to have Markus Fischer choosing to unveil the brand new ITRPV roadmap at PVCellTech.
Seeing how ITRPV maps out the future, alongside many of the companies at the heart of GW-level cell production, will be interesting from a compare-and-contrast standpoint, and is a perfect complement to the main aims of PVCellTech as a whole.
The final session at PVCellTech includes several talks on the whole 'What Next' question, including findings from our own research at PV Tech as part of the new PV Manufacturing & Technology Quarterly report, released this week:
• Markus Fischer, Director R&D Processes, Hanwha Q CELLS: The new edition of the ITRPV roadmap: findings, trends & conclusions
• Finlay Colville, Head of Market Intelligence, PV-Tech & Solar Media Ltd: Forecast for PV cell production & capex: 2016-2018http://www.pv-tech.org/editors-blog/cell-technology-regains-leading-status-in-solar-industry-key-themes-feature
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Is GCL the next module super league player?
Feb 23, 2016 | PV-Tech
By Mark Osborne
A recent press release from the PV cell and module manufacturing arm of China-based GCL Group (Golden Concorde), GCL System Integration Technology Co has claimed several important metrics (shipments and capacity) that would not only catapult the company into the top-10 manufacturer rankings for 2015, but also potentially prepare the company for membership of PV Tech's 'Silicon Module Super League' in 2016.
GCL System Integration Technology Co, more recently referred to as GCL Systems, is also part of GCL Group's downstream EPC and project developer operations, though different to the separately publicly listed GCL New Energy that is also involved in PV power plant development.
Indeed, the PV manufacturing roots of GCL Systems come from GCL Group's acquisition of bankrupt PV module manufacturer, Chaori Solar.New claims
GCL Systems' recent statement makes three main claims:
1. PV module shipments for 2015 are forecast at 2.5GW to 2.7GW .
2. That the company had the sixth highest PV module production capacity in China, with an internal capacity for module production reaching 3.7GW, including 3GW of high-efficiency modules.
3. That it expects its in-house capacity for module production will continue to grow and exceed 6GW in 2016.PV module shipmentsBased on GCL Systems' financial filing of its 2015 first-half-year results it had shipments of 753MW and sales of around US$559.2 million. Almost 2GW of shipments would be required to meet its forecast in the second half of 2015. And not all revenue can be attributed to module sales.
In its third-quarter 2015 results, GCL Systems reported revenue of around US$331.9 million, but did not disclose shipment figures or provide shipment guidance for the full year.
Previous financial filings (pre-2014) by Chaori Solar had indicated it had 300MW of solar cell capacity and 500MW of module assembly capacity.
According to PV Tech’s research, after the acquisition by GCL Systems, the former Chaori Solar facilities were expanded in 2015, including a further 220MW of solar cell capacity bringing the total to 520MW and a further 300MW of module assembly capacity to give a total nameplate capacity of 800MW per annum.
An obvious aspect of GCL Systems' first-half-year shipments in 2015 indicates shipments were running ahead of capacity by almost a factor of two, according to our modelling. As PV Tech has previously highlighted, several of the leading ‘Silicon Module Super League’ members (Trina Solar, Canadian Solar and JinkoSolar) were guiding shipments in 2015 higher than internal nameplate capacities, supplementing output with third-party modules to meet demand. It should not be regarded as unlikely GCL has been doing the same.
Based on GCL Systems' financial filing of its 2015 first-half year results, no forecast of full-year shipments was given and it would seem that subsequent financial filings also make no reference to a full-year forecast.
Interestingly, GCL Systems' first full-year 2015 shipment forecast mentioned in the press release was actually cited to have first been reported on Chinese language PV media website, Solarbe, in an article releasing the website's expected top 10 module manufacturer rankings by shipments in 2015.
Solarbe’s rankings, like the top 10 rankings PV Tech released in January 2016, take module shipment guidance ahead of official shipment figures released by companies when reporting fourth quarter and full-year results or until releasing annual reports.
Although the Solarbe figures are not the most up to date (upward and downward revised forecast ranges) from some of the key companies ranked, GCL Systems is reported to be ranked seventh given the confirmation by the company to the Solarbe figures in their press release.
It should be noted that GCL Systems had previously reported in financial filings that it had acquired a 30% shareholding in Solarbe in 2015, the first transaction of its kind we believe has taken place between a dedicated solar trade media organisation and a PV company.
It should also be noted that PV Tech had been in dialogue with GCL Systems over shipments and capacity expansions before the Solarbe figures and company press release was issued.
At this moment, PV Tech understands that GCL Systems is withholding official shipment figures for the second-half and full-year 2015, until issuing its annual report.
Of course should shipments and other criteria such as revenue support shipment claims then under PV Tech’s ranking table, the company would also be included below First Solar and occupy the seventh position.Production capacity
However, at the beginning of 2015, GCL Group, which is not publicly listed, had separately planned to set up two 1GW module assembly lines in Zhangjiagang and Chenguang, China in 2015. The plants were legally registered entities in January 2015.
Reports on GCL Group’s website last year indicated that the Zhangjiagang facility officially opened in late May 2015 with the Chenguang facility cited to be operational later in the year but without any detailed timelines provided.
The second reported reference to these facilities was included in GCL Systems' 2015 first-half-year financial results, which noted that these facilities would be integrated with full ownership from GCL Group to GCL Systems. Reference was also given that as part of a reorganisation planned in June 2015 GCL Systems would have solar cell capacity of 1GW and 3GW of module assembly nameplate capacity, also indicating further solar cell expansions at the former Chaori Solar facilities of 480MW to match the claimed 1GW post-reorganisation and a further 200MW of module assembly capacity to bring nameplate capacity to 1GW.
At this point it is prudent to highlight that both the expansions at the former Chaori Solar facilities and the pair of 1GW module assembly plants would have to ramp up to these nameplate figures, which as far as can be determined at this time would not have happened in time to provide 3GW of module assembly cumulative capacity by GCL Systems said it had at the end of 2015.
Taking the example of the 1GW module assembly facility in Zhangjiagang, which officially opened in May 2015, it would technically achieve its nameplate capacity ramp by May 2016, bearing in mind that nameplate capacity is based on annual output. Similarly, The Chenguang facility would not reach its nameplate capacity ramp until later in 2016, based on it opening sometime later in 2015.
However, it is less clear what the timelines would be for the former Chaori Solar facilities to go from 300MW of solar cells to 1GW and 500MW of module assembly capacity to the 1GW figure due to lack of clarity around when expansions started but in general terms such expansions should have only started after the acquisition, indicating perhaps a March 2016 timeframe for the capacity expansion ramp to have been completed. Again, these are assumptions at this point due to lack of details in the public domain.
As can bee seen in the chart below, a rough ramp profile based on the above information has been created. There are obviously several moving parts to this ramp profile that could shift more or less capacity in or out of 2015.
Without greater clarity, especially in relation to the 1GW Chenguang facility actually starting production, we have modelled this facility to have started ramping in August 2015. Issues also remain over whether the Zhangjiagang facility has a planned capacity of 2.35GW, rather than the cited 1GW. This higher figure has come to light in dialogue between PV Tech and GCL Systems, even though no official company statements have so far cited it. PV Tech has sought clarification on this and other points with the company.
The second chart below shows PV Tech’s estimated cumulative capacity ramp of all the facilities covered above, indicating nameplate module assembly capacity could have reached around 2GW by the end of 2015. Again, these are not intended to be absolute figures but provide a guide to GCL Systems' possible nameplate capacity range by the end of 2015.
Without any further capacity expansion announcements, GCL Systems should have ramped to effective nameplate module capacity of around 3GW by mid-2016.
Another part of the total capacity conundrum is that GCL Systems would require around 1.7GW or more of external solar cells to match forecasted module shipments in 2015, bearing in mind it currently has 1GW through the expanded Chaori facility.More expansions in 2016
The final aspect to cover is the claim of further expanding in-house module production beyond 6GW in 2016. It should be noted that no such plans have been announced in financial filings to date, except a recent announcement of an MOU joint venture between Golden Concord (GCL Group) and India’s Essel Infra to invest US$2 billion in developing 5GW of module manufacturing capacity by 2020 in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Should 2016 shipment figures be in line with nameplate capacity in similar proportions to those of the current SMSL members, entry into the top classification of manufacturers would be assured.
However, barring further non-public financial support from GCL Group, expansion ambitions in 2016 should be more transparent through capital expenditure figures, capital raising exercises and shipment figures at the halfway point of the year.
Continued lack of transparency would put such expansion claims from 2015 and technically a doubling in capacity in 2016 under further scrutiny. PV Tech will report further details on this and other aspects of the company’s manufacturing situation as they become available.
http://www.pv-tech.org/editors-blog/is-gcl-the-next-super-league-player
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GCL hits 2.5 GW of module shipments
Feb 22, 2016 | PV Magazine
By Jonathan Gifford
The world's largest crystalline silicon wafer producer has entered into the ranks of the top-10 module producers. The move confirms just how rapid its transition into module manufacturing has been, putting further pressure on multicrystalline wafer supply to PV cell manufacturers.
Since its parent company acquired the ailing Chaori Solar in 2014, GCL has rapidly expanded into solar module manufacturing. GCL System Integration Technology has announced that it shipped between 2.5 to 2.7 GW of solar modules in 2015, a fivefold increase in its 2014 module production.
The expansion in module output now places GCL as the seventh largest module producer globally in 2015, according to a ranking produced by Chinese website Solarbe.
GCL now has module production capacity of 3.7 GW, and it claims that its Zhangjiagang module facility is the most highly automated of mainland China manufacturers.
The company's ambitions do not stop there, with GCL having announced plans to reach 6 GW in 2016.
GCL System Integration Technology lists its major customers as being China Minsheng Investment, Power China, Kong Sun Holdings Limited and ZTE Corporation and the Indian Adani Group. It aims to be present in 17 solar markets globally this year.
"[GCL will] aggressively expand market share outside of China," said supervisory board chairman Shu Hua in a statement on Friday. Plans to execute new production facilities are in progress including a new factory in India, which GCL reports is already in full production.
GCL has benefited from Chinese solar initiatives, including its Top Runner Program. Its acquisition of Choari Sun may have been viewed favourably by Chinese authorities, with Chaori taking out the unwanted title of being the first Chinese company to be unable to pay back its bond to domestic bondholders in March 2014.
The Solarbe ranking, based on 2015 shipments, has Trina Solar in first place with 5.5 to 5.6 GW of shipments, followed by Canadian Solar, Jinko Solar and JA Solar. Hanwha Q-Cells and First Solar. Behind GCL is then former market leaders Yingli and Suntech, with Renesola rounding out the top ten.
An intriguing consequence of GCL System Integration Technology expansion into module manufacturing is that it will likely exacerbate the current multicrystalline wafer shortage. GCL Poly currently producers around one-quarter of the solar industry's crystalline silicon wafers.
http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/gcl-hits-25-gw-of-module-shipments_100023316/#axzz48PmTrDmv
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May 4, 2016 | PR Newswire in All Africa
China-based GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd showcased its first E-KwBe energy storage product series on May 4, 2016 at the Solar Energy Exhibition & Conference held in Australia. The E-KwBe series became the highlight at the event this year, attracting much attention. The new energy storage product series improves user experience with a wide array of industry-leading specifications and features, including high energy density, high compatibility, an advanced battery management system, long service life, as well as being light weight, noise-free and easy-to-install.
As part of the new series, GCL System initially rolled-out two attractively designed home energy storage products with respective capacities of 2.5KWh and 5.6KWh. Both products were developed with high-energy and long-lifetime lithium ion battery technologies and provide an energy density of up to 125Wh/kg. GCL's proprietary intelligent battery management system (BMS) ensures secure and precise control. In addition to the integrated aluminum backplane design, the two products are powered by passive cooling technology and able to intelligently identify series-parallel connection, allowing a series-parallel connection of up to eight devices.
At the launch event held during the expo, GCL chairman Shu Hua said, "GCL has a strong team engaged in research and development of our proprietary technologies, supported up by collaborative work efforts with several research organizations, including the Industrial Application Research Institute. We aim to create more energy storage products, take a leadership position in influencing market trends and help Australia achieve its renewable energy goals as well as boost energy sustainability worldwide."
http://allafrica.com/stories/201605061012.html
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Apr 25, 2016 | PR Newswire
GCL System Integration Co., Ltd (GCL System) announced on April 22 that its polycrystalline PV modules received the China Quality Certification Center's ("CQC") "Top Runner" Program level-one energy efficiency certification on April 19. With this, GCL System becomes one of the first companies receiving CQC's "Top Runner" program level-one energy efficiency certification in China.
"Top Runner" program is a PV support program introduced by China's National Energy Administration (NEA) in 2015 to facilitate the application of advanced PV technology and upgrading the industry, aiming at encouraging the R & D and promotion of "Top Runner" PV products. In 2015, the program requested that the conversion efficiency of polycrystalline and monocrystalline modules must reach 16.5% and 17% respectively.
"Receiving TOP Runner Program level-one certification indicated that the national authorities have recognized the quality of our products," said Mr. Shu Hua, the Chairman of GCL System. "Since the re-constructing and re-listing in last year, GCL System has been focusing on technology development and strict production control. We have achieved a qualitative leap in the field of modules manufacturing by successfully developing a series of high-efficient products including King Kong module, double glass module, 96-cell module and heterojunction module."
So far, GCL System has obtained the certifications for its all series of products, including monocrystalline, polycrystalline, cast-mono, double glass, N-type high efficiency and 1500V modules. Meanwhile, the company also received the certificates in various countries, including JET, MCS, TUVUS and CEC.
With over 2.5GW shipment in 2015, GCL System has been listed in Global Top 10 PV manufacturers. Passing the test of CQC's Top Runner test marks that products of GCL System have met the global leading level both in performance and quality.
About GCL System Integration Co., Ltd
GCL System Integration Technology Co. Ltd (002506 Shenzhen Stock) (GCL System) is part of GOLDEN CONCORD Group (GCL) which is an international energy company specializing in clean and sustainable power production. The group, founded in 1990 now employees 20,000 people. GCL supplies 35% total worldwide wafer capacity yield, represents 30% silicon market shares, and owns global assets worth nearly 16 billion USD.Based on a fully-integrated Vertical PV industrial chain capacity operation, GCL System establishes its business foundation on the development of a state-of-the-art solar solutions package which incorporates DESIGN-PRODUCT-SERVICE.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gcl-system-received-cqcs-top-runner-program-level-one-energy-efficiency-certification-in-china-300256475.html#
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GCL-SI Strategically Acquires Australia OSW
Apr 18, 2016 | PR Newswire
On 15th April, GCL System Integration Technology (Hereinafter referred to as GCL-SI) signed an agreement with Australia ONE STOP WAREHOUSE PTY LTD (Hereinafter referred to as OSW) that GCL-SI owns a 51% stake of OSW. Both have also come to an agreement in sales distribution, strategic development and future business planning, etc.
Under the huge pressure of Europe and America's "anti-dumping & anti-subsidy" policy to the photovoltaic industry, an increasing number of PV corporations inChina strive to march into overseas markets in avoidance of Europe and America's "double-anti" policy. GCL-SI's successful acquisition of OSW is a crucial step for GCL-SI to enter the global market.
The aim of GCL-SI's acquisition of OSW is to strategically enter the global market and develop its own product layout and distributed PV integration unit. Apart from the core business segments, GCL-SI strives to develop new businesses, such as carbon emission reduction and energy storage, etc. for new profit growth and its rapidly sustainable development.
OSW is an Australian PV corporation active in PV system. Its four distribution centers are widely scattered in the whole of Australia. Besides, OSW develops e-commerce, operation and mobile platforms by itself. In the first 11 months of last year, OSW, with sales of 45.145 million Australian Dollars, reported a net profit of1.78 million Australian Dollars.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gcl-si-strategically-acquires-australia-osw-300252702.html#continue-jump
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GCL Vice President Shu Hua Meets Bestselling Author Jeremy Rifkin at Global Cleantech Summit 2016
Mar 29, 2016 | PR Newswire
The Global Cleantech Summit 2016 was organized in Beijing by the Climate Group on March 23rd and 24th. Shu Hua, the Vice President of GCL group and President of GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd., was invited to meet Jeremy Rifkin, the founder of the Foundation on Economic Trends and author of bestseller The Third Industrial Revolution, to discuss the role of clean tech in boosting industrial revolution, and GCL's transformation from energy manufacturing to energy service.
GCL's readiness to transform from manufacturing to service
"The five prominent elements in Rifkin's The Third Industrial Revolution, including transformation of renewable energy, distributed manufacturing, new storingmethods, the energy internet and zero-emission transport, were the exactly ones that the GCL group persisted in and practiced on," Shu said.
GCL group, as a private power-generation business with renewable energy, is the largest manufacturer of solar materials in the world. With the installed capacity being over 10 million kW in China, and clean energy production combined with thecurrent energy internet, GCL group has become a distinctive supply center of green energy.
He revealed renewable energy focusing on photovoltaic tech was largely applied by GCL group; besides, the GCL group were exploring the mode of integrated application by complements of multiple clean energies based on the smart grid to improve the efficiency of manufacturing and consuming of energy for urban, industrial, commercial and civil use.
GCL group has been committed to the smart traffic system and developed a profit model integrating electric automobiles, charging piles, parking lots, energy storage, media, time-sharing rent, cloud platform and finance, accelerating the transformation from manufacturing to service.
With regard to this, Rifkin said clean energy would play an increasingly important boosting role in the third industrial revolution with horizontal and flat developmenttrends and features of interconnection, communication and transparency. He also acknowledged GCL's digital reform in smart traffic system and distributed photovoltaic tech.
"Zero Marginal Cost" of energy consumption
As Rifkin spoke, now China and the U.S. are talking about the Sharing Economy; in fact, almost everyone has an analysis tool for computing the big data of "Internet+",like the smart phone, which costs little. This means each company possesses low-cost tech to improve its productivity, which will largely reduce the marginal cost. InEurope, clean energy tech with zero marginal cost is being used, and power generated by distributed solar energy is fed to the grid by most European countries nearly at no cost.
As to the zero marginal cost, Shu expressed that the government encouraged launching a new energy layout, especially in promotion of distributed energy; and the State Grid began to license regional electricity-selling during which independent power manufacturers and sellers were expected to emerge. China had made substantial progress in distributed generation, as had GCL group.
During the discussions, Shu said, "we would build a new clean-energy world woven by big data, internet, cloud platform and intelligent micro grid, and we would make green energy available for numerous households through multi-element creation and energy-efficient ways."
Shu mentioned that in the broad context of energy developing, we strongly held that with tech innovation and updating, as well as the establishment of the energy internet, GCL would continue to boost global energy production, consumption and revolution.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gcl-vice-president-shu-hua-meets-bestselling-author-jeremy-rifkin-at-global-cleantech-summit-2016-300242589.html
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Feb 19, 2016 | PR Newswire
China-based GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd. has become the world's 7th largest PV module manufacturer, according to leading Chinese photovoltaic industry information website Solarbe's recently released list of the world's top 10 photovoltaic module manufacturers for 2015. GCL's module sales volume is expected to reach up to between 2.5 GW to 2.7 GW in the first year following its asset restructuring, five times its output of 500MW in 2014.
As of the end of 2015, GCL had the 6th highest PV module production capacity inChina, with an internal capacity for module production reaching 3.7 GW, including 3 GW of high-efficiency modules. Its Zhangjiagang plant is China's largest and most automated production plant for high-efficiency PV modules. GCL expects that its in-house capacity for module production will continue to grow and exceed 6 GW in 2016.
GCL, which supplies highly efficient PV modules for key clients such as China Minsheng Investment, PowerChina, Kong Sun Holdings Limited and ZTE Corporation as well as India-based Adani Group, made a strong entry into the market and is increasingly competitive in product differentiation. At the same time, GCL has released advanced products, including the 96-cell high conversion efficiency module as well as monocrystalline and polycrystalline batteries that utilize PERC solar cell technology, and developed several service offerings including system integration design, financial insurance, product operation and maintenance among others, all of which served to considerably boost the sales of the modules.
GCL board chairman Shu Hua said the firm plans to aggressively expand its share in markets outside of China in 2016. GCL has already created a sales network that covers 17 countries and seen breakthrough progress in the opening of production plants around the world. The facility in India has just gone into full production and is expected to contribute to overall production capacity this year.
China's National Energy Administration (NEA) has embarked on a series of initiatives in 2015, including implementation of the "Top Runner Programme" as well as the roll out of the plan to construct several solar PV demonstration bases, among other policy initiatives. These efforts serve to demonstrate the active role that the Chinese government has assumed in promoting the development of PV products that are both efficient and of high quality. As a result of these initiatives, GCL's sales of integrated modules are expected to show further growth in 2016. GCL, on the back of the expansion plans for each of the main module factories, is hopeful that it will continue to advance its status in the industry and climb into 5th place in terms of production volume.
According to one of GCL's previous announcements, the firm saw a net profit of 376 million yuan from January to September, a year-on-year increase of 175.24%. Judging from GCL's production expectations for the year and current market conditions, it appears promising that GCL will deliver on its commitment to achieve a net profit of 600 million yuan for 2015.
About GCL
GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd (002506.SZ) is committed to creating the world's leading one-stop intelligent integrated energy system integrator. The company aims at becoming an incorporate 'design + product + service' pack supplier based on technology research and development; it regards design optimization as the support, system integration as the carrier, financial services support as the bridge and smart operational support services as the backup to build a differentiated leading business model.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-based-gcl-sees-its-production-of-pv-modules-grow-fivefold-in-2015-making-it-the-worlds-7th-largest-manufacturer-of-pv-modules-300222809.html
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