According to Zhito Finance APP, TrendForce released a statement saying that in October 2024, prices in the photovoltaic industry chain remained generally stable, but the mismatch between supply and demand still exists, and the profitability of photovoltaic companies continues to be under pressure. In October, domestic expansion showed a significant cooling, and the pace of Chinese photovoltaic companies going overseas accelerated, with an increase in projects under construction and put into production compared to last month, and N-type and 0BB technology continue to increase in volume. In October 2024, there were six contracted photovoltaic projects, including a contracted scale of silicon material of 0.15 million tons, a contracted scale of battery of approximately 2GW, and a contracted scale of modules of approximately 5.5GW. In addition, there were eight photovoltaic projects put into production in October 2024, with a production scale of silicon wafers of 8GW, a production scale of solar cells of 1GW, and a production scale of modules of 13GW. Among the projects with announced technological routes, N-type capacity accounted for as much as 90%.

01 Contracted / Planned Projects

Involves silicon materials, solar cells, and modules, with continuous increases in overseas factory construction.

In the silicon material sector, there is one contracted project in October, with Lihau Qingneng building a polysilicon plant in Africa. On October 18, Angola's national oil company signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Qinghai Lihau Qingneng, which will build an annual production of 0.18 million tons of metallurgical silicon and 150,000 tons of polysilicon in Angola, with initial capacity of 0.05 million tons.

In the solar cell sector, there are two contracted projects in October, with Shijing Photovoltaics going overseas to Mexico. On October 10, Xiehang Energy discussed a 2GW perovskite / crystalline silicon tandem solar cells and 5GW high-efficiency photovoltaic components manufacturing project in Dechang County; on October 28, Shijing Photovoltaics announced a photovoltaic battery project in Mexico, located in the city of Huejoatango, Puebla State, expected to reach production capacity in 2025. Establishing a factory in Mexico not only allows for enjoying local government policy incentives, a high premium market, and lower production costs, but also allows Mexico to serve as a springboard to further explore the North American market.

In the module sector, there are three contracted projects in October, with Trina Solar Co., Ltd. co-building a factory in Australia with SunDrive Solar. On October 10, Xiehang Energy discussed a 2GW perovskite / crystalline silicon tandem solar cells and 5GW high-efficiency photovoltaic components manufacturing project; on October 16, Avcon Information Technology signed a 500MW perovskite module project in Zibo, Shandong; in addition, SunDrive Solar signed a memorandum of understanding with Trina Solar Co., Ltd. to plan the establishment of a commercially scalable solar module production facility in Sydney.

Figure: Contracted / Planned Photovoltaic Projects in October 2024

02 Projects Started

Focusing on solar cells and module production, Bohai New Energy has commenced a scale of 20GW.

According to incomplete statistics from TrendForce, by October 2024, there were six photovoltaic projects started, among which the scale of solar cells reached 20GW, module production reached 10GW+2000 tons, and the scale of solar cells and module production reached 3GW.

In the solar cell sector, only Bohai New Energy started operations in October, with a massive scale of 20GW. On October 8, Bohai New Energy's 20GW efficient solar cell production project commenced, which plans to construct 16 production lines, expected to officially start production in the first half of 2025.

In the module production sector, four companies started operations in October, including Sailafer, Yuhui Solar Energy, Suzhou Jiede Bao, and Weifang Xingtai New Energy. On October 8, the Jiangsu Sailafer (Langzhong) 2GW photovoltaic module and bracket production base project commenced construction. On the same day, the Yuhui Solar Energy Henan Anyang 3GW photovoltaic module production base project held a groundbreaking ceremony, and the Suzhou Jiede Bao Henan Zhengzhou 5GW high-power heterojunction copper metallization photovoltaic module project started operations; on October 24, the Weifang Xingtai New Energy Shandong Changle annual production of 2000 tons photovoltaic module construction project officially began.

In the solar cells and module production sectors, the largest perovskite solar cell production base in the southwest has begun construction. On October 10, the Zhongneng Energy Storage 3GW perovskite solar cell module southwest base project officially started, with the project being constructed in two phases.

Image: Photovoltaic projects started in October 2024

03 Projects Launched

The quantity and scale have increased compared to last month, with N-type production capacity reaching 90%.

In the silicon wafer sector, on October 8, the 8GW high-efficiency monocrystalline rod slicing project of Sihai Solar in Inner Mongolia's Xilin Gol League officially started running. The project is being constructed in three phases and primarily produces N-type high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon wafers of 182mm and 210mm.

In the solar cell segment, two companies, BOE and Huasheng, commenced production in October, accelerating mass production of HJT. On October 18, the first batch of samples was produced at the perovskite pilot line of Hefei BOE; on October 25, the first solar cells of the 1GW large-capacity heterojunction project of Huasheng in Xuancheng officially came off the production line.

In the module segment, five projects were launched in October, with N-type capacity continuing to increase. On October 3, the 2GW photovoltaic module factory of Runyang in the USA was launched; on October 10, the first unit offline ceremony was held for Jingao's 5GW high-efficiency module in the Na’er base, on the same day, the first 0BB-TOPCon photovoltaic module of Mulei Jiasheng Energy was successfully offline; on October 28, the first module of the 5GW high-efficiency solar module project of Hengdian Group DMEGC Magnetics in Jiangsu Lianyungang Port was officially offline; on October 31, the first 0BB+HJT high-efficiency module product of Hengxi Photovoltaic was successfully offline at the Nantong base.

Figure: Photovoltaic projects launched in October 2024.

04 Other project progress.

In the silicon wafer sector, on October 16, the energy-saving report for the 23.7GW slicing technical improvement project of Lufeng Longi was approved, increasing the capacity from 11.7GW to 23.7GW after expansion.

In the solar cell segment, on October 11, the environmental impact assessment public participation first notice for the 2.35GW heterojunction photovoltaic battery and 2GW module production line project of Xinjiang Silk Road New Energy Development Co., Ltd. was released; on October 15, Runyang's 13GW N-type high-efficiency solar battery base in Yunnan Qujing resumed production; on October 23, the 5GW TOPCon battery project of ST Lingda Jiayue Phase II was temporarily suspended; on October 31, Suzhou Medicalsystem Technology announced the termination of the 9GW TOPCon battery manufacturing project in Mianyang, Sichuan; on local time October 31, Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology successfully signed a "land lease contract" with Sohar Free Trade Zone Co., which marks that the 5GW high-efficiency N-type battery production base project in Oman has met the conditions for official commencement, expected to be completed and put into production in 2025.

In the module production stage, on October 11, the environmental assessment for the project of 2.35GW heterojunction solar cell and 2GW module production line by xinjiang silk road was publicly announced for the first time; trina solar co., ltd. received support from the EU's fourth round of innovation fund for its 1.5GW HJT solar module project in Spain.

Figure: Progress of other photovoltaic projects in October 2024.

Overall, in October 2024, the photovoltaic industry chain prices remain sluggish, the investment enthusiasm of enterprises has noticeably weakened, domestic contracted projects have significantly decreased, while overseas factory construction continues to intensify. The projects under construction are concentrated in solar cells and module production stages, and GW-level perovskite projects have commenced; the number and scale of completed projects have increased, with N-type capacity dominating, HJT mass production accelerating, and 0BB technology being rapidly introduced.