Solar Panels

China's solar panel industry has consistently registered 25% annual growth in exports for the past 10 years, and this rate is expected to continue in 2005.

The industry is dominated by 20 key suppliers who account for almost 90% of exports. In this authoritative report, you'll get in-depth profiles of 15 of these 20 major producers.

You'll also get a firm understanding of the manufacturing processes involved in panel production, the impact of the solar-cell shortage on products and prices, and much more.

Plus you'll see how your sourcing opportunities will be affected by the industry's move toward next-generation panels with higher efficiency ratings.

What you'll get

In-depth profiles of 19 leading solar panel makers, based on factory tours and interviews with senior managers. These provide detailed information on suppliers' manufacturing capabilities, product offerings and future plans

The results of Global Sources' latest supplier survey, forecasting price, product, production and R&D trends for the next 12 months

Details of 40 top-selling solar panel products from China, with full color pictures and key specifications

Supplier rankings by production capacity, export capability, sales and more

How you'll benefit

Get a sound understanding of the differences between crystalline and amorphous solar panels in terms of durability and performance

Learn why suppliers prefer to import solar cells even in the midst of rising costs

Find out which manufacturers are expected to keep export prices stable despite increasing raw-material prices

Get full company contact details, including phone numbers, e-mail addresses and website URLs

Executive summary

China's solar panel industry has consistently registered 25 percent growth in exports for the past 10 years, and this growth rate is expected to continue in 2005. At US$496 million, exports from January to October 2004 already increased 50 percent over the US$329 million worth of exports for the entire 2003.

The severe shortage of solar cells, the main component of solar panels, has limited China's production of solar panels. Suppliers, nevertheless, have found ways to deal with the shortage that have enabled them to turn out an overwhelming 150MW of solar panels in 2004 compared to a mere 13MW in 2003.

The following are some of the key trends we see in China's solar panels export industry:
• The European Union is a growing market for China-made solar panels. In the next 12 months, Germany will lead the list of importing countries in the EU as member countries implement a directive that promotes renewable energy in the region. In addition, suppliers will also focus on the United States as they continue their move towards upscale markets.

• Most suppliers will increase prices in 2005 but will limit adjustments to within 10 percent. They will do so by cutting production costs through improved and more efficient manufacturing processes.

• Suppliers will spend more on R&D this year with most of the spending focused on ways to cut down on production costs and boost solar panel efficiency. Makers aim to market second-generation solar panels that match efficiency ratings of commercial panels from industry leaders.

• With demand forecast to surge in 2005, almost all solar panel suppliers in China are preparing to increase capacity. Large-scale makers are targeting up to tenfold increases in capacity to reach up to 100MW annually from the current average of 10MW with help from new computerized equipment or upgrades of existing machinery.

China makers produce both crystalline and amorphous solar panels. Crystalline panels account for 90 percent of the country's total output and can be further broken down into monocrystalline and polycrystalline types. Amorphous panels are an emerging line although more suppliers are starting to offer the product because these are less expensive to make than crystalline panels.

This report covers both crystalline and amorphous solar panels. The Products & Prices section discusses the features and price ranges of both types of panels from China. The Manufacturing module explains the differences in the production processes of the two varieties, while the Materials & Components section details the raw materials used by China suppliers and how these affect product performance and prices. It also elucidates how China suppliers are coping with the severe shortage of solar cells.

China's base of solar panel makers is quite small, numbering only 200, mostly privately owned companies. About 100 of these manufacturers are capable of exports. Of this figure, 20 makers monopolize the industry by accounting for 90 percent of China's total solar panel exports. This report includes in-depth profiles of 15 of the 20 key makers.

Industry overview

Three decades after China first began solar panel production, the country has developed into a key maker and exporter of the product.

The past two years, in particular, have seen commendable export growth rates. According to China's Renewable Energy Development Center of the Energy Institute, the country's output of solar panels grew phenomenally in 2004, reaching 150MW as compared to a mere 13MW in 2003. Capacity also increased substantially from 50MW in 2003 to 300MW last year, as suppliers rushed to meet soaring demand from Europe.

Customs statistics for China's exports of solar panels and cells are not available. However, figures for the combined exports of a variety of electric components including PV cells show shipments totaling US$496 million in the 10 months to October 2004. This is a whopping 50 percent increase over total exports in 2003, which totaled US$329 million.

China suppliers produce both crystalline (in mono- and polycrystalline versions) and amorphous solar panels, but crystalline panels account for 80 percent of the country's total solar panel output.

Makers focus on crystalline panels as their higher efficiency rating (the ratio of output energy to input energy) means a wider range of applications, and thus a bigger target market.

Crystalline panels have an average efficiency rating of 14 to 14.8 percent, considerably higher than the 4.5 to 8 percent rating of amorphous panels.

Material shortage deals industry a hard blow
On average, the solar panel export industry in China has grown by 25 percent each year for the past 10 years.

But while the country's growth rates appear to be very high, they are actually lower than worldwide demand growth rates of solar panels and products.

One of the main reasons for this is a severe lack of solar cells, which is the result of a worldwide shortage of hyperpure or semiconductor-grade silicon, the base material for solar cells. Since the material is also extensively used in the electronics industry, solar cell makers have had to compete with chip makers for the material.

Due to this extreme shortage, solar cells are mostly available only to those solar panel suppliers capable of purchasing them in bulk. These makers sometimes buy up to a year's supply of solar cells in advance. As a result, many small and midsize makers in China with limited capital have either closed down in the past year or have switched to other products.

Apart from the shortage of solar cells, the high start-up investment for solar panel making is keeping new makers from venturing into the industry.

Companies need to invest substantially in specialized production and testing equipment such as laminators, laser cutting machines and solar simulators.

The short supply has also resulted in an increase in the cost of solar cells, which has risen by up to 20 percent in the past year, pushing up production costs substantially. Consequently, export prices of solar panels have risen 5 to 8 percent in the past year.

Samples of supplier profile

Baoding Tianwei Yingli New Energy Resources Co. Ltd
Established in 1998 as part of the 3MW polycrystalline solar cells/module project of China's State Development Planning Commission, Baoding Tianwei Yingli is today one of the world's top 10 PV producers. This, despite the fact that it began mass producing solar panels only in 2004.

After a total investment of US$36 million in 2000, which included the cost of three imported production lines, the company now has an annual capacity of 6MW for solar wafers, 10MW for solar cells and about 50MW for modules. It exports 90 percent of modules to Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Canada. For 2004, the maker estimates total exports of large modules to reach 5MW, while small modules will be mainly sold to the domestic market.

Products
Baoding Tianwei Yingli produces polycrystalline solar cells and modules, with almost its entire output of solar cells used in-house to make panels.

The company offers small modules to domestic buyers, who then use these to power their application products, such as home appliances, telecom products and solar lights. However, the majority of output is of 160W to 300W solar modules, which are incorporated into power grids. The company began manufacturing polycrystalline solar modules in 2004 with efficiencies of 14 to 15 percent, and a 25-year service life. Single modules produced by the company have capacities that range from 5 to 300W, with 300W being the highest capacity module available from China. Its top selling modules, however, have capacities of 160 and 120W. All products bear CE, IEC, TUV and UL approval.

Apart from panels, the company also offers solar products, such as solar charge controllers, power inverters, and PV application products that are used in telecom applications, solar power stations and portable power supplies. Current R&D focus is on producing solar cells with efficiency ratings higher than 20 percent.

Manufacturing
Baoding Tianwei Yingli currently maintains three production lines, two of which are for solar wafers and cells and one for encapsulation.

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