Chinese PV Industry Brief: PV additions hit 18.7 GW in January-September period

China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) said this week that developers installed around 18.7 GW of new solar in the first nine months of the year. The total includes 10.04 GW of utility-scale capacity and 8.66 GW of distributed-generation PV. Total power generation hit 200.5 TWh in the first three quarters of 2020, up 16.9% year on year. About 3.4 TWh was lost to curtailment, mainly in Tibet, Xinjiang and Qinghai.

Trina Solar reported solid financial results for the first three quarters of this year. It achieved revenue of RMB 19.93 billion ($2.33 billion), up 18.66% year on year. It posted an operating profit of RMB832 million, up 118.9%. It attributed its strong results to higher sales of modules, trackers and racks.

Longi, meanwhile, registered RMB 33.8 billion of revenue in the third quarter, with year-on-year growth of around 49%. It attributed the increase in sales and shipments to strong demand for its PV module and mono wafers.

Arctech Solar said this week that it has signed an agreement with the municipal government of Wuhu, Anhui province, to build a new production facility for PV racks and trackers, as well as an R&D facility. The new factory will be built in Wuhu and will cost RMB 1 billion to build. Construction of the facility will be completed in 18 months. Arctech Solar has yet to reveal the total capacity of the planned factory.

Jinjing Group has signed an agreement with the government of Shizuishan, in China’s Ningxia Hui region, to build a new PV glass factory with a total capacity of 3,400 MT per day. It will build the facility in three phases, with a total investment of RMB 2.5 billion.

JinkoSolar has announced the completion of a RMB 3.1 billion equity financing deal for its principal operating subsidiary, Jinko Solar Co. Ltd. It said that a group of Chinese investors – including China Industrial Bank Group, CIIT Asset Management, YunShang Fund, Huaho Capital, China Capital Management, and China Securities Investment – now collectively own approximately 26.7% of the group unit.