Alliance Consulting: The expansion of domestic photovoltaic production in October has cooled significantly, and the pace of Chinese photovoltaic companies going overseas has accelerated.

TrendForce reported that in October 2024, the prices of the photovoltaic industry chain upstream and downstream remained stable, but the phenomenon of supply-demand mismatch still exists, and profitability of photovoltaic companies continues to be under pressure. In October, domestic expansion cooled significantly, while Chinese photovoltaic companies accelerated their overseas pace. The start-up and production projects increased compared to the previous month, with the continuous expansion of N-type and 0BB technology. In October 2024, there were 6 signed photovoltaic projects, including a 150,000-ton silicon material project, a 2GW cell project, and a 5.5GW module project. Additionally, there were 8 photovoltaic production projects in October 2024, including an 8GW silicon wafer production project, a 1GW cell production project, and a 13GW module production project. From the announced technology routes of production projects, N-type capacity accounted for as high as 90%. 01 Signed/Planned Projects Involving silicon materials, cells, and modules, overseas factory construction continues to increase In the silicon materials sector, there was 1 signed project in October. Li Haoqing Energy will build a polycrystalline silicon plant in Africa. On October 18, Angola's National Oil Company signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Qinghai Li Haoqing Energy. Li Haoqing Energy will invest in Angola to build a plant with an annual production capacity of 180,000 tons of metallurgical silicon and 150,000 tons of polycrystalline silicon, with an initial capacity of 50,000 tons. In the cell sector, there were 2 signed projects in October. Shijie Energy will launch a 2GW perovskite/crystalline silicon stacked solar cell and 5GW high-efficiency photovoltaic module manufacturing project in Dechang County on October 10; on October 28, Shijie Energy announced a photovoltaic cell project in Mexico, located in Viejo Chingo, Puebla State, with production expected to start in 2025. Setting up a plant in Mexico can not only benefit from local government incentives, high premium markets, and lower production costs but also use Mexico as a springboard to further expand into the North American market. In the module sector, there were 3 signed projects in October. Trina Solar Co., Ltd. and SunDrive Solar are jointly building a factory in Australia. Avcon Information Technology signed a 500MW perovskite module project in Zibo, Shandong on October 16; in addition, SunDrive Solar and Trina Solar Co., Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a commercial-scale CECEP Solar Energy module production facility in Sydney. 02 Start-up Projects Focus on cells and modules, BoHai New Energy has a start-up capacity of 20GW According to incomplete statistics from TrendForce, there were 6 photovoltaic projects started in October 2024, with the cell sector starting with a capacity of 20GW and the module sector starting with 10GW + 2,000 tons, with a combined start-up capacity of 3GW for cells and modules. In the cell sector, only one enterprise, BoHai New Energy, started in October, with a capacity of up to 20GW. On October 8, BoHai New Energy started a 20GW high-efficiency CECEP Solar Energy cell production project, which plans to build 16 production lines and is expected to start production in the first half of 2025. In the module sector, four companies including Sela Fu, Yu Hui Guang Neng, Suzhou Jie De Bao, and Weifang Xingtai New Energy started construction in October. On October 8, Jiangsu Sela Fu (Langzhong) started the construction of a 2GW photovoltaic module and frame support plant; on the same day, Yu Hui Guang Neng started the construction of a 3GW photovoltaic module plant in Anyang, Henan; Suzhou Jie De Bao started the construction of a 5GW high-power heterogeneous junction copper metal photovoltaic module project in Zhengzhou, Henan. On October 24, Weifang Xingtai New Energy started the construction of a 2,000-ton photovoltaic module production project in Changle, Shandong. In the cell and module sector, the Southwest's largest perovskite CECEP Solar Energy cell production base is under construction. On October 10, Zhongneng Guangchu started the construction of a 3GW perovskite CECEP Solar Energy cell and module project in the Southwest, which is planned to be built in two phases. 03 Production Projects The number and scale increased compared to the previous month, with N-type capacity accounting for as high as 90% In the silicon wafer sector, Sihe Guangchu's 8GW single-crystal rod slicing project in Xilinguole League, Inner Mongolia officially started production on October 8. This project, constructed in three phases, mainly produces 182mm and 210mm N-type high-efficiency single-crystal silicon wafers. In the cell sector, JD and Huasheng, two companies, started production in October, with HJT mass production accelerating. On October 18, the trial line of JD's perovskite in Hefei produced the first batch of samples; on October 25, Huasheng's 1GW heterojunction high-production cell project in Anhui Anxin County officially started production. In the module sector, there were 5 production projects in October, with ongoing production of N-type capacity. On October 3, Runyang's 2GW photovoltaic module factory in the United States started production; on October 10, Jingao's 5GW high-efficiency module project in Naoer Base had a ceremony for its first offline product, while Mulei Jiageneng's first 0BB-TOPcon photovoltaic module successfully started production; on October 28, Hengdian Group DMEGC Magnetics and Jiangsu Lianyungang Port's 5GW CECEP Solar Energy high-efficiency module project had its first component officially started production; on October 31, Hengxi Photovoltaic's first 0BB+HJT high-efficiency module product successfully went offline in Nantong. 04 Other Project Progress In the silicon wafer sector, on October 16, Lufeng Longji's 23.7GW cutting project energy-saving report was approved. After the expansion, the capacity of the project will increase from 11.7GW to 23.7GW. In the cell sector, on October 11, Xinjiang Silk Road New Energy Development Co., Ltd. had a public participation in the environmental impact assessment of a project to produce 2.35GW heterogeneous junction photovoltaic cells and 2GW modules.Public announcement; on October 15th, Runyang Yunnan Qujing 13GW N-type high-efficiency CECEP Solar Energy battery base resumed full production and work; on October 23rd, Lingda Group's Jiayue Phase II 5GW TOPCon battery project temporarily suspended work; on October 31st, Suzhou Medical System Technology announced the termination of the Sichuan Mianyang 9GW TOPCon battery manufacturing project; on October 31st, local time, Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology and Suhaer Free Trade Zone Limited successfully signed a "Land Lease Contract", marking the formal start-up conditions for the company's Oman annual production of 5GW high-efficiency N-type battery production base project, with expected completion and production in 2025.Component link, on October 11th, the environmental impact assessment of Xinjiang Silk Road's annual production of 2.35GW heterojunction solar cells and 2GW module production line project was publicly announced; Trina Solar Co., Ltd.'s 1.5GW HJT photovoltaic module project in Spain received support from the fourth round of EU innovation funds. Image: Progress of other photovoltaic projects in October 2024 Overall, in October 2024, the prices of the photovoltaic industry chain remained depressed, and enterprise investment enthusiasm significantly weakened. The number of domestic signed projects decreased significantly, while overseas manufacturing continued to increase. Construction projects were concentrated in the cell and module links, with GW-level perovskite projects starting construction. The number and scale of production projects increased, with N-type capacity taking the leading position. HJT production speed increased again, and 0BB technology was accelerating its adoption.