Chinese PV Industry Brief: 600 MW of unsubsidized PV in Shanxi, incentive cuts in Shanghai
Longi will build 600 MW of unsubsidized PV in Datong, Shanxi province. The Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, meanwhile, has unveiled new 2020-21 FITs. Yingli is undergoing restructuring, while Trina had a solid listing debut in Shanghai.
Longi will build a 600 MW unsubsidized solar project in the city of Datong, Shanxi province. The the energy department of the municipal government has finally confirmed rumors about the projects, which started to emerge in April. China outlined its plan to spur the development of subsidy-free PV projects at the beginning of 2019. In May, the Chinese government introduced the Mandatory Renewable Energy Consumption Mechanism, a mandatory requirement from this year for the purchase of renewable energy by state, provincial and private grid operators. It also applies to electricity retailers, industrial entities with their own power generation facilities, and large electricity consumers involved in bilateral energy trading.
The Shanghai Development and Reform Commission has promulgated the 2020 version of its financial incentives scheme for renewable energy. For solar PV projects developed in 2019, the financial support was RMB0.30 ($0.04)/kWh for ground-mounted PV and RMB0.15/kWh for distributed-generation solar. The tariffs will be lowered by one-third this year and by two-thirds in 2021. For example, the tariff for utility-scale PV will be RMB0.20/kWh in 2020 and RMB0.10 in 2021. For all projects that will be connected to the grid by end of June 2020, the 2019 tariffs will be applied, the municipal government said.
Yingli Solar has confirmed that parts of its main Chinese solar panel making division will be parceled off to creditors after a court in Hebei province accepted a petition to restructure the business. Wang Yiyu, CFO of Yingli Solar, said that the restructuring would have no impact on operations. Wang stated that the company would return to “a healthy development track” after the restructuring process is wrapped up. It is estimated that the transition will be implemented within a period of five months.
Panda Green, will now face the scrutiny of KPMG, as an investigative committee has enlisted the Beijing office of the global accounting giant to help its probe. The committee is examining RMB1,022 million in missing deposits paid by the solar developer in 2017 for the rights to develop PV projects that were never actually built. KPMG is set to deliver its findings on July 3.
Trina Solar officially went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Wednesday, under the 688599 trading code. The issuing price was RMB8.16 per share. On the first day of trading, the price rose by 110% at one point, closing at RMB17.21 per share.
Xinyi Solar said this week that it expects its first-half consolidated net profit attributable to shareholders to jump by 35-50% year on year from the HK$953 million ($123 million) it banked in the first six months of 2019. The PV glass producer said this is due to rising demand for solar glass for use in bifacial and double-glass PV modules. It also noted that solar glass prices are now higher than they were in the first half of last year, despite a dip in the current quarter. In addition, lower costs for raw materials, energy and production, as well as a growing production focus on high-value products, are driving its bullish earnings outlook.