China has Increased Polysilicon Imports in 2011

According to a Nanjing Shanglong Communications paper released this week, China imported 5,521 tons of polysilicon in January, representing a year-on-year rise of 74.8%. The paper is getting these latest statistics released by China's General Administration of Customs. The figure is 40% above the 2010 average monthly import, which was approximately 3,958 tons, providing evidence that the material is in tight supply across the country.

A production halt from the routine year-end audits caused the China domestic supply shortages just before the Chinese New Year. The down time during the audit exacerbated the situation, leading to significantly decreased production and stock on hand. The country's polysilicon imports for February are expected to remain at the same high level.

Driven by rising oil prices worldwide, combined with tight supplies, polysilicon, is experiencing rapid price hikes. The spot price for polysilicon has reached US$114 per kilogram earlier this month: an increase of nearly 100% from the end of last year.

The Polysilicon Industry Access Standards jointly released by several Chinese regulators in January significantly raised the bar for entry into the polysilicon sector. As a result, growth in polysilicon production capacity is likely to lag behind that of market demand for a long while. 80% of the industry’s players are expected to be squeezed out of the market due to non-compliance with the standards.

Demand in the sector is expected to grow at an annual rate of 30%, causing polysilicon prices to continue the upward trend, said Hou Wentao, a senior analyst at Hunan province, China-based Xiangcai Securities.

Some major polysilicon manufacturers are aggressively accelerating their efforts to expand capacity (Wacker, Samsung/MEMC, etc.) in order to take advantage of higher polysilicon prices and stronger market demand. Hong Kong-listed GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, for example, recently announced an HK$17.7 billion (approx US$2.3 billion) expansion of its polysilicon and wafer facilities in China.

Chinese PV giants including Hanwha SolarOne have gotten off to a good start this year, and are reporting a substantial inflow of new orders, according to a source that attended the SNEC 5th (2011) International Photovoltaic Power held recently in Shanghai.

A report published by CIConsulting, a leading industry research firm in China, indicated that many European countries have put in place measures to cut subsidies to the PV industry since the second half of last year, leading to the speculation that the global PV market will see steep decline in 2011 given that Europe contributes significantly to worldwide sales of PV products.

However, the soaring prices for polysilicon reflect, at least to some degree, that global PV demand has not seen any dramatic drop for the time being.

Yingli Americas with GRID Alternatives to Install 1 MW of Systems for California Low-income Houses

Yingli announced on 21 March 2011 that its US subsidiary, Yingli Americas, has formed a strategic partnership with GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit solar installer. Under the terms of the agreement, Yingli Americas will provide the largest donation in GRID Alternatives' history, and will become the organization's official solar module provider.

Combined with a network of community volunteers and green job trainees, Yingli Americas and GRID Alternatives will work together to install 1 MW of solar energy systems for 400 low-income families across California during 2011 using a combination of donated modules and modules purchased from Yingli at fair market value. These solar energy systems will generate $10 million worth of renewable energy over their lifespan, while eliminating 40,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the projects will provide hands-on job training opportunities in solar PV installation to thousands of individuals looking to enter the solar workforce, through direct participation in the installations.

"GRID Alternatives is grateful to Yingli for helping us make solar power available to the working families that need the savings the most, while helping build the clean energy workforce of the future. We are also proving that if solar is a viable technology for low-income families, it can work for anyone anywhere," said Erica Mackie, Executive Director and Co-Founder of GRID Alternatives. "We are thrilled to announce this partnership – which is the first of its kind in our organization's history – and commend Yingli Americas for their vision and dedication to helping disadvantaged communities in the US."

"Social responsibility is a key pillar in our mission, and we're very proud to announce this partnership with GRID Alternatives," said Robert Petrina, Managing Director of Yingli Americas. "At Yingli, we believe in making solar power an affordable option for everyone, and addressing our local underserved communities is an important step in achieving this -- we're delivering clean energy and job training where it's required most."

Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yingli Green Energy, commented, "We have a long-standing commitment to global social responsibility and to improving the lives of our future generations. That's why we seek out collaborations such as this one with GRID Alternatives in order to make a tangible difference."

3U SOLAR Signs PV Purchase Agreement with Canadian Solar

3U SOLAR Systemhandel AG, a subsidiary of 3U HOLDING AG, has signed a framework contract for the purchase of PV modules with Canadian Solar. This framework contract includes the procurement volume for PV modules with a capacity of 25 megawatts peak (MWp), with a value of up to EUR 30.0 million for the year 2011. 3U HOLDING AG is guaranteeing the financing.

Parallel, a framework contract to purchase PV modules was signed with a trading and project company from Berlin. This provides for the sale of PV modules with a value of up to EUR 18.5 million in the year 2011.

Based on these contracts, 3U HOLDING AG increases its sales forecast for the segment of renewable energies in 2011 from lastly communicated approximately EUR 10.0 million to more than EUR 30.0 million and expects to reach break even in this segment already in the current year.

The Annual Report 2010 of 3U HOLDING AG with audited financial results and an updated outlook for the current fiscal year is published on March 31, 2011

Solar Cells were Jiangxi's Biggest Export for 2011 First Two Months

Solar cells were the largest export product for Jiangxi Province in the first two months of the year, according to statistics released by the province's customs office on March 20

Shandong Penglai's Liaoning Project

Been asking around but haven't heard any news about eSolar's CSP project in Yulin, Shaanxi. The company's partner in the project, Shandong Penglai Electric Power Equipment Manufacturing (SPEPEMC), recently signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Fuxin City for the construction of the Fuxin Solar Thermal Power Project in Liaoning on March 12, 2011.

Canadian Solar, Skypower Announced Agreement for 10.5 MW Ontario Project

Chinese PV company, Canadian Solar and SkyPower announced 16 March 2011, a third engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement to build a 10.5 MW solar park in Thunder Bay, Ontario. SkyPower is Canada's largest owner and developer of large-scale solar projects and most recently was awarded 148.3 MW through thirteen power purchase agreements by the Ontario Power Authority under the Feed-in Tariff Program.

This EPC agreement is in addition to two previous EPC agreements signed by both companies in December 2010. SkyPower closed financing with Deutsche Bank on these projects late last year. The previous 18.5 MW EPC agreement consists of a 10.5 MW solar park in Napanee, home to First Light I, (SkyPower's first solar project and Canada's first fully operational solar park). The second project is an 8.5 MW solar park located on Thunder Bay International Airport Authority land with the third being the 10.5 MW project in Thunder Bay on Fort William First Nation land.

Once fully operational, the combined total for these projects is approximately 30 MW of nameplate capacity and are expected to create hundreds of new clean energy jobs to further accelerate both the Canadian Solar EPC turn-key business and the successful completion of these SkyPower solar parks in Ontario.

"In continuing with the growth of Canadian Solar and our working partnership withSkyPower, this next collaboration strengthens our position as a leader in turnkey solution providers for utility scale and commercial systems in Ontario," said Dr. Shawn Qu, CEO and President of Canadian Solar. "We see great synergy in manufacturing the solar panels and incorporating them into an overall system design to optimize performance and value for our customers while contributing to the reduction of our carbon imprint as a by-product of our joint achievements."

The construction of all three projects is expected to reach completion by third quarter 2011. Together, they are expected to generate approximately 28 million KWh in their first full year of operation and almost 600 million kWh total over the next 20 years. This is equivalent to producing enough electricity to power almost 50,000 homes and a CO2 offset of removing almost 90,000 cars off the road over the initial 20 years of the project.

Evergreen Solar’s whopping net loss of $400 mln Spurs Analysts to Drop Price Targets

Bad news continues for Evergreen Solar. Earlier this week the company reported a net loss of $411.0 mln for the fourth quarter of 2010, largely based on a write-down related to its announced closing of its Devens, MA manufacturing facility. The news, though expected, made some analyst drop their target stock prices or ratings.

Perhaps the only bright spot in the company’s earnings report was increased revenues. During the fourth quarter of 2010, revenue increased to $89.3 mln up from $86.5 mln in the third quarter and from $74.5 mln from the previous year’s fourth quarter.

"Today, we are focusing all of our energies and resources in delivering an industry standard size and high performance low cost wafer," said Evergreen CEO Michael El-Hillow in a press release this week. “In-depth negotiations to obtain significant financing for expansion and customer support for our industry-standard wafer are attracting very strong interest, and we are expecting to have more details to share on our progress by early summer.”

“There is still a lot of execution risk,” Krop said—for instance, the financing of $1 billion in new capital and development of an industry-standard wafer.

“They’re transitioning their technology from a non-standard wafer size. They’re working on a 156 millimeter wafer that will easily integrate into customer’s cell and module lines,” said Krop. “The standardization will make their product more appealing to downstream customers. That’s another piece of the puzzle.”

But while the move to China is set in stone, the company’s new home overseas still hasn’t been paid for.

“They have to line up the financing for the Chinese facility. That’s up in the air. The company’s success really depends on the financing of the facility,” Krop said.

Yingli Continues Building Global Brand via Football/Soccer

Yingli's sponsoring football/soccer teams around the globe is money well spent, in my opinion. It will be hard to quantify the payoff in the short term but I think that planting the company's logo in people's brains will lead to a recognition that will ultimately be beneficial.

On 9 March 2011, Yingli announced that it will host a "Switching On" Ceremony for the Mathare Football for Hope Center in Nairobi, Kenya.

Yingli is providing its expertise to power "20 Centres for 2010", the official campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. This campaign is part of the Football for Hope movement, which is "using the power of the game for positive social change". It is led by FIFA and streetfootballworld, a social profit organization that links relevant actors in the field of development through football/soccer.

Yingli has provided the Mathare football pitch/field with solar-powered lighting systems, the state of the art off-grid lighting system will provide more than 1000 hours each year of pitch/field lighting at nighttime which allows the center much greater flexibility in its opening hours.

The construction of the "20 Centres for 2010" began in 2009. During 2010, work progressed steadily at four centers in South Africa, Mali, Namibia and Kenya, which have been opened and are already hosting young athletes.

JA Solar-MEMC in to Build Jiangsu Solar Cell Facility

JA Solar Holdings and MEMC Electronic Materials's affiliate, MEMC Singapore, formed a 50-50 joint venture to build and operate a solar cell production facility in Yangzhou, Jiangsu.

The Phase One of the project will involve the building of a production facility with a capacity of 250 MW of PV cells located at JA Solar's Yangzhou site. In the following phases, total production capacity may be expanded up to 1GW. Phase one of the project is expected to begin in 2011.

The solar companies are spending heavily to increase their production capacity and capturing a larger market share. JA Solar is one of the most cost-efficient solar producers in the world, with a geographically diverse customer base as well as silicon wafer supply agreements in place to feed its production.

In the near term, however, apprehensions over the tepid module demand in Europe, rising competition, wafer dependency, the financial stability of its customers and the oversupply of solar cells in the market will restrain the valuation of the company.

SkyFuel constructs 50 MW CSP plant in Huludao, Liaoning

SkyFuel will construct a 50 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) parabolic trough plant near Huludao, Liaoning Province. Interesting location choice. First I have heard of utility level solar projects in China's Northeast.

SkyFuel is constructing the CSP plant using its SkyTrough parabolic troughs for project developer Huludao Ruixinda Industry, the state-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission (SASC) and the US-China Economic and Cultural Development Alliance (US-China ECDA).

Together with SASAC and US-China ECDA, SkyFuel says it is pursuing other opportunities throughout China for solar power. Other projects in development include fuel switching of existing fossil-fired power plants with solar energy.