tongwei

Upstream solar major Tongwei has forecasted for profits to more-than-double in its 2021 financial year on the back of increased material and cell prices experienced last year.

The first manufacturing line at a 15GW solar wafer and cell manufacturing facility in Chengdu co-owned by Trina Solar and Tongwei has begun to ramp.

‘Solar Module Super League’ manufacturer JinkoSolar is to invest RMB450 million (US$70.3 million) in Tongwei Solar subsidiary Sichuan Yongxiang Energy Technology to help finance a 100,000MT “high-purity” polysilicon facility.

Recent solar wafer and cell price increases from both LONGi Solar and Tongwei, which have seen prices rise by between 5.6 – 7.7%, have underscored heightened volatility in the solar supply chain.

Solar manufacturer Tongwei increased the prices of its cells for the second time in a month on Monday, with polysilicon pricing also edging upwards this week.

Tongwei reported a near-trebling of profit in the first half of 2021 as prices rose throughout the solar value chain.

LONGi has increased its wafer prices for the first time in nearly two months with the industry braced for continued high prices throughout the rest of the year.

PV Tech’s Carrie Xiao provides an extensive overview of the solar modules on display at this year’s SNEC PV Power Expo in Shanghai, comparing all of the major product launches, exhibitions and technologies that took centre stage.

PV Tech's live coverage of SNEC 2021 continues on day three of the exhibition, featuring interviews with industry heavyweights such as Tongwei, Trina Solar and JinkoSolar.

The solar polysilicon sector is experiencing a changing of the guard, and all four of the top manufacturers will be Chinese next year, research firm Bernreuter Research has predicted.