Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Feedstock Shortages Constrain the Development of China's PV Industry

The growth in production capacity in China's PV industry seems unstoppable; however, actual production is limited by the availability of solar grade silicon (SGS) and wafers on the world market. Since things move and grow fast in China, these international shortages have inspired several new Chinese companies and have resulted in new initiatives for silicon and wafer production. Despite these new silicon manufacturers and a production capacity covering about 20% of the world's production of solar ingots and wafers, China's PV industry is still heavily dependent on the import of solar feedstock. And yet, as a result of worldwide shortages and attractive market prices, part of China's current production of silicon and cells is being exported. Taking into consideration the ambitions of the companies known at present to be involved in the production of solar grade silicon (SGS), wafers, cells and modules, it is anticipated that even by 2010 China will still need to import feedstock to maximise its production of cells and modules.

China is No.3 in the PV Production Industry

China is a country of big numbers. And it seems the growth virus has infected the Chinese PV industry as well. Growth over the past few years has been impressive and shows even more ambition. In the 30 major companies involved at present, total available production capacity for cell and module production already exceeds 20% of the world’s total. 5 years ago, it was less than 1%. China is now the world's third country (just after Japan and Germany) in terms of solar cell production capacity, and this industry is still growing at more than 50% per annum. Based on the ambitions of the 20 cell manufacturers already active in this market, production capacity is expected to grow to 820 MW per annum in 2006. Several new cell and module manufacturers have started production over the past 4 years and are now growing towards the top-ten ranking of the world’s largest manufacturers. Currently, over 90% of all PV products produced (cells, modules) are being exported to Western countries, such as Germany, as well as to Japan and the rest of the world.

Top PV Brands Identified

SunPower make the best solar panels in the world, Kaco make the best inverters in the world and Direct Power and Water make the best mounting systems in the world. These are findings from new research among directors of photovoltaic installation companies in 45 different countries.

The directors were asked to name which brands of photovoltaic components they have purchased in the last 12 months, and rate the products for their quality and value for money. An average of these two scores has been used to find the companies whose customers thought most highly of their products. The top ranking companies receiving awards are:

Solar Panels
No.1 in World – SunPower (USA)
No.2 in World – Schott Solar (Germany)
No.3 in World – SolarWorld (Germany)

Best Product Quality – Sanyo (Japan)
Best Value for Money – Suntech (China)

Solar Inverters
No.1 in World – Kaco (Germany)
No.2 in World – OutBack (USA)
No.3 in World – Mastervolt (Netherlands)

Best Product Quality – OutBack (USA)
Best Value for Money – Kaco (Germany)

Solar Mounting Systems
No.1 in World – Direct Power and Water (USA)
No.2 in World – UniRac (USA)
No.3 in World – Schüco (Germany)

Solar Trackers
No.1 in World – Zomeworks (USA)

Solar PV Systems
No.1 in World – Sharp (Japan)

Solar Panel Price in China

The lowest Solar Panel price is about Euro 3.20/watt, and the retail price for Solar Panel in Europe is about Euro 4.80/watt in April 2007 according to Solarbuzz.

While in China the price for Solar Panel is about Euro 2.80/watt and the lowest Solar Panel price for 1 megawatts is about Euro 2.65/watt.

Chinese Solar Panel manufacturers have some cost advantage over their overseas competitors, at present there are hundreds of Solar Panel manufacturers in China.

I am familiar with some major manufactures in China, I may help you to get the best quote from these manufacturers if you want.

2007 Asia Solar Energy and PV Project Exhibition

2007 Asia Solar Energy and PV Project Exhibition was held March 15-17, 2007 in Shanghai. About 200 exhibittors from over 20 countries attended this show, it attracted about 5000 Chinese visitors and 1500 international visitors.

Here is a brief exhibitor list:

Alcatel Vacuum Technology (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd.
ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH
ANALOG Ltd.
aleoSolar
ANZSES Ltd.
Anji DASOL Solar Energy S&T Co., Ltd.
BBT Thermotechnik GmbH
Beijing Corona Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
BEIJING EASTWEST ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD.
Beijing Plastics Research Institute
Beijing Oriental Jicheng Co.,Ltd.
BRAVE PRECISION MFG SUZHOU CO.,LTD.
Boostsolar Photoelectric Equipment Co.,Ltd
BSW-Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft
BOSS PRO-TEC GmbH
BOC Trading
BTU Overseas (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd.
Cairns Solar Equipment
CEEG (Nanjing) PV-Tech Co., Ltd
Chang Zhou Trina Solar Energy Co.Ltd
Changzhou Kindersolar Energy Co.,Ltd.
Chinalight Solar Co., Ltd.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Citel Electronics GmbH
EKO INSTRUMENTS CO., LTD.
EMERSON NETWORK POWER CO., LTD.
EnergoSolar S.A.
ENERECO S.r.l.
EPIA European Photovoltaic Industry Association
ET SOLAR INDUSTRY LIMITED
FRONIUS
FIAMM
Fuji Electric Systems Co.,Ltd
GP Solar GmbH
HAWI ENERG-ETECHINK
Hamilton Precision Metals
Heraeus Noblelight GmbH
Hekeda Group
IBC SOLAR AG
JiangSu Shuangdeng Group Co.,Ltd
Jiangyin Hairun Science &Technology Co.,Ltd
Jiangsu Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd.
Jiangyin Jetion Science And Technology Co., Ltd
KACO
Keepahead Ultrasonic Cleaning Equipment Co., Ltd.
KIS Co.,LTD
Komax Systems York
Kroea Institute of Energy Research
Kroea KPE CO.,Ltd
Kroea Electric Power Corporation
Kroea STX Engine CO.,Ltd
Kroea Kid solar Co., Ltd.
KYOCERA FINECRAMICS GMBH Solar Division
Lingyun Photoelectronic System Co., Ltd. (LYPE)
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC
NingBo Solar Electric Power Co. Ltd
OC Oerlikon Balzers Ltd.
OKO INVEST-Verlag
PHILIPS LIGHTING
OTB Solar
REC Solar (ScanCell AS)
REINECKE + POHL SUN ENERGY AG
Ritter Solar GmbH & Co.KG
SANYO Component Europe GmbH
SCHOTT Solar
Shandong Sacred Sun Power Sources Industry Co., Ltd
SEMILAB Semiconductor Physics Laboratory, Inc.
SHANGHAI ELECTRIC POWER DESIGN INSTITUTE CO.,LTD.
SinoSola CO.,Ltd
Shanghai Topsolar Green Energy Co., Ltd.
SHENZHE TOPRAY SOLAR CO.,LTD.
Solar Systems Pty Ltd
Solart-Schmuck Aus Solarzellen
Solar tec AG
Solartec Sro
SolarWorld
SPECIAL METALS WELDING PRODUCTS COMPANY
Solland Solar Holding B.V.
SPECIAL METALS WELDING PRODUCTS COMPANY
SPIRE-NISSHINBO
Sputnik Engineering GmbH
Tianwei Yingli New Energy Recourses Co., Ltd
SUNSET (China) Solar Energy Co.,LTD.
SUNTECH POWER CO., LTD. (SUNTECH)
Systech Energy Engineering (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
SunTechnics
Taiwan Apollo Solar Energy Co., Ltd.
Taiwan BIG SUN Energy Technology Incorporation Co., Ltd.
Taiwan Higherway Electronic Co., Ltd
Taiwan E-TON SOLAR CO., LTD.
TaiZhou Sopray Solar Co.,Ltd.
Taiwan LUCKY POWER TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd.
Ulbrich Precision Flat Wire LLC
TEMPRESS SYSTEMS,INC.
United Solar Ovonic
Ulica Solar Energy Science and T&D Co., Ltd.
VIESSMANN
VON ARDENNE Anlagentechnik GmbH
Wagner&co Solartechnik
Wuxi Guofei Green Power Sourse Co.,Ltd
Zhejiang Global Solar Energy CO.,LTD.
Yunnan Tianda Photovoltaic Co., Ltd.
Renesola
WIKORA GmbH
Hiteck International Co., Ltd.
Solartec S.A.
Rosenthal mfg.Co.,INC
GE ENERGY
Alanod-Sunselect Gmbh & Co.KG
DREAM POWER TECH
Neo Solar Power Corp.
Qinhuangdao Orient Science & Technology Co.,Ltd.
Beijing Baodiwei Scientific & Technology Trading Co., Ltd.
Vesuvius Solar Crucible (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.
Suzhou Sigmatek Trading CO.,Ltd
Solar Energy Institute of Xi'an Jiaotong University
Opto Electronics Technologies(Shanghai) Ltd

2006 World PV Industry


From Solarbuzz report:

World solar photovoltaic (PV) market installations reached a record high of 1,744 megawatts (MW) in 2006, representing growth of 19% over the previous year.


Germany's grid connect PV market grew 16% to 960 Megawatts in 2006 and now accounts for 55% of the world market. While Japan's market size barely advanced last year, Spain and the United States were the strong performers. The Spanish market was up over 200% in 2006, while the US market grew 33%.


World solar cell production reached a consolidated figure of 2,204 MW* in 2006, up from 1,656 MW a year earlier. Japanese producers lost ground over the past 12 months, dropping from 46% to 39% share, to the benefit of Chinese cell manufacturers.


Polysilicon production rose 16% in 2006, which, when combined with aggressive PV industry procurement, allowed a marginally higher market growth rate than projected twelve months ago. Nonetheless, polysilicon supply issues will still constrain cell production in 2007.


In respect of industry pricing, 2006 was a year of transition. In the first six months, prices rose through the PV chain in most markets. However, by mid year, customer response led to falls particularly at the module factory gate in Europe.


Global industry revenues were $10.6bn in 2006, while capital investment through the PV business chain totalled $2.8bn. The industry raised over $4bn in equity and debt financing, up from $1.8bn the previous year.

Solar Module Price Highlights- April 2007

From http://www.solarbuzz.com/

Price Summary

Over the lifetime of this index, which started back in 2000, one way of analyzing the results is identifying periods of price rises from price declines from periods of stable pricing. Often this simple picture analysis is only fully evident many months after the trend has changed.

In other words, a single month or even 3-6 month period now is a relatively short span of time, when reviewing nearly 7 years of data.

The current peak in the US index at $4.88 per watt was reached in November 2006. The European peak of €4.84 power in May 2006.

In terms of the US market, stability in the index has been evident since reaching a peak. However, this month there has been a small drop of one cent per watt. This is the first drop in the US index since May 2004. Within this data, it should be noted that some product lines are still showing net increases in retail price.

After the significant drop in the European index in February 2007, this index has recorded little movement since that time. The European index does not carry as wide a market representation in the survey as the US retailers.

The one thing Solarbuzz has learnt over the past 7 years is that characterizing the "real" market movements requires analysis by a wide range of research approaches. Over the short term (i.e. 3 months or less), the online survey results often accord with independent research, but sometimes they do not. Of course, one of the checks on module prices is also what is happening at what the industry calls "the factory gate" - this is the price charged by module manufacturers at their first point of sale.

So, where does this leave the current big picture? In Europe, there has been clearer evidence of price declines from the May 2004 peak. In the US market, one month result is not enough to conclude any other than the fact that US retail pricing overall is still stable near its current peak. Certainly, it would still be premature to conclude that the US index will not yet reach a level higher than that first achieved in November. At the same time, the November result may represent the peak. It is going the depend on the weighting of individual product lines in the overall result, given the diversity of price direction by company line at the present time.

Returning to the global retail module April price survey result, there was a total of 41 price increases compared to 56 price decreases. This compares with 57 price increases compared to 28 price decreases in the March surrvey result.

And finally this month, it is always worth reminding those that follow this survey to undertake additional research, whether your own, another consultancy or utilizing Solarbuzz services to ensure you cross-check the results against other data sources. Any result from a single month's survey should be viewed with caution.

Lowest Prices ($/Wp)

Following the run up in prices over the last two years, the tracking of the lowest price band in the survey is now measured against the number of prices below $4.75 per Watt (previously analyzed to below $4.50 per Watt).

As of April 2007, there are currently 202 solar module prices below US $4.75/Wp (€3.56/Wp) or 12.0% of the total sample. This compares with 192 prices below $4.75 per Watt in March.
The lowest retail price for a multicrystalline solar module is $4.31/Wp (€3.23/Wp) from a US retailer. The lowest retail price for a monocrystalline module is $4.30/Wp (€3.23Wp), from a retailer in Germany marketing a Chinese module. A more normal relationship would be lower multicrystalline pricing than mono. However, when you cross regions and company lines, it is a little more complicated than that.

The lowest thin film module price is at $3.00/Wp (€2.25/Wp) per Watt from a US retailer. As a general rule, it is typical to expect thin film modules to be at a price discount to crystalline silicon (for like module powers). This thin film price is represented by a 42 Watt module.

Note once again, that these prices are based upon the purchase of a single solar module and prices are exclusive of sales taxes. Information on volume discounts, factory gate and PV system pricing is available as part of our consultancy services.

Price Index Context

The module cost represents around 50 - 60% of the total installed cost of a Solar Energy System. Therefore the solar module price is the key element in the total price of an installed solar system. All prices are exclusive of sales taxes, which depending on the country or region can add 8-20% to the prices, with generally highest sales tax rates in Europe.

It should be noted that there was an increase in sales tax rate at the beginning of the year in Germany from 16% to 19%. This change does not effect the index itself, since it is calculated pre-sales taxes.

125 Watts and Higher Module Index
Retail Price Per Watt Peak

USA Europe
US$/Watt Euro €/Watt
Apr 2007 4.87 4.80
Mar2007 4.88 4.80
Feb2007 4.88 4.79
Jan2007 4.88 4.82
Dec2006 4.88 4.82
Nov2006 4.88 4.82
Oct2006 4.87 4.83
Sept2006 4.86 4.83
Aug2006 4.86 4.83
July2006 4.85 4.83
June2006 4.83 4.83
May2006 4.82 4.84
Apr2006 4.77 4.82
Mar2006 4.73 4.82
Feb2006 4.73 4.81
Jan2006 4.71 4.80
Dec2005 4.70 4.80
Nov2005 4.68 4.80
Oct2005 4.66 4.79
Sept2005 4.64 4.79
Aug2005 4.63 4.79
July2005 4.56 4.76
June2005 4.54 4.75
May2005 4.53 4.75
Apr2005 4.51 4.75
Mar2005 4.49 4.75
Feb2005 4.47 4.73
Jan2005 4.43 4.73
Dec2004 4.42 4.71
Nov2004 4.42 4.70
Oct2004 4.38 4.67
Sept2004 4.37 4.67
Aug2004 4.36 4.68
July2004 4.34 4.66
June2004 4.32 4.64
May2004 4.32 4.64
Apr2004 4.35 4.67
Mar2004 4.38 4.69
Feb 2004 4.42 4.68
Jan 2004 4.45 4.71
Dec2003 4.47 4.73
Nov2003 4.52 4.74
Oct 2003 4.56 4.75
Sept2003 4.60 4.78
Aug2003 4.62 4.80
July2003 4.67 4.80
June 2003 4.71 4.85
May2003 4.75 4.88
Apr2003 4.78 4.91
Mar2003 4.79 4.97
Feb2003 4.84 5.02
Jan2003 4.87 5.03

Note: As a guide, the industry is looking to drive module prices down to $1.5-2Watt over the next decade, if it is to make large inroads in to the grid tied electricity market, without subsidy.

The All Module Index is volume weighted to take account of the fact that the majority of market demand (in Megawatt terms) occurs in the high power module segment.

Planned Solar Cell Production and Capacity for 2005 and 2006


China Sunergy File for IPO

China Sunergy Co. Ltd., via operating subsidiary Nanjing PV, makes photovoltaic (PV) cells used in the manufacture of solar energy panels, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of up to $100 million in American Depositary Shares.
The company's Wednesday filing didn't disclose how many shares will be offered, nor did it provide an estimated price range for the offering.
China Sunergy said it intends to use the net proceeds from the IPO to purchase raw materials, expand manufacturing facilities, expand research and development efforts and for general corporate purposes and acquisitions.
Merrill Lynch & Co., Cowen & Co. and Jefferies & Co. are listed as underwriters for the offering.
The company has applied to list on the Nasdaq Global Market, under the symbol CSUN.

Wafer Manufacturer Renesola Reports Preliminary Results to December 31, 2006

April 30, 2007
London, United Kingdom: Wafer Manufacturer Renesola Reports Preliminary Results to December 31, 2006
Chinese wafer manufacturer, ReneSola has reported its consolidated preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2006, as well as provide a trading update incorporating output guidance for the first and second quarters of 2007.
In only the second year of operations, the Company generated revenue of US$87.6 million, profit before tax of US$22.8 million and profit after tax of $25.5 million. The results exceed forecasts made at the time of the IPO in August. On 16 February 2007, the Company indicated that the consolidated profit before and after tax for 2006 would be in the range of US$22-23 million. Reported profit before tax is $22.8 million.
During 2006, ReneSola's annualized production capacity grew from 14 MW to 80 MW.
Li Xian Shou, CEO of ReneSola, commented "2006 has been an outstanding year for ReneSola. We successfully implemented the expansion plan set out for the remainder of 2006 at the time of the IPO in August and have substantially increased our plans for 2007, which we are on track to deliver. Demand for our products remains extremely strong and our procurement program is delivering the necessary feedstock. We believe that ReneSola is making a valuable contribution in addressing the wafer shortage in the market and is well placed to grow its position as a major player in the global solar sector, which is continuing to benefit from political support around the world."
On 30 November 2006, the Company announced an increase in its target for 2007 year-end capacity from 180 MW to 265 MW. Construction of a new 24,000 m² facility to house the multicrystalline capacity is also expected to be completed during May 2007, ready for the installation of the two multicrystalline furnaces, which will be in trial production during June. A further 18 multicrystalline furnaces are planned to be installed before the end of the third quarter.
Demand for solar wafers has continued to grow. ReneSola has signed sales contracts for approximately 91 MW of monocrystalline wafers for 2007 delivery, representing approximately 83% of planned 2007 monocrystalline wafer output.
The silicon feedstock procurement programme for 2007 is well advanced with approximately 410 tonnes currently in stock, 800 tonnes to be delivered in 2007 under procurement contracts, approximately 200 tonnes to be supplied by customers under tolling arrangements and ongoing monthly purchases of between 60 and 90 tonnes.
Total production output is anticipated to be approximately 150 MW in 2007, more than three times the output in 2006. Production in the first quarter of 2007 was approximately 15 MW and is expected to rise to approximately 25 MW in the second quarter as production from the new monocrystalline furnaces comes on stream.
Further details about: Renesola

JA Solar and Canadian Solar Sign Solar Cell Supply Agreement

April 2, 2007
Jiangsu, China: JA Solar and Canadian Solar Sign Solar Cell Supply Agreement
JA Solar and Canadian Solar today announced a supply agreement valued at approximately US$50 million to US$60 million from April to December 2007. Under the agreement, JA Solar will supply solar cells to CSI for use in CSI's solar modules. Initial deliveries will start immediately.
Dr. Shawn Qu, CSI's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "JA Solar is an important strategic supplier to CSI. Securing this additional solar cell supply at a cost meeting our internal target will allow us to fulfill the increased demands from our key customers. CSI continues to ramp up its in-house solar cell manufacturing while maintaining long-term strategic purchasing from a couple of selected supply partners. We believe this balanced supply strategy helps to create a win-win situation and provides us with the ability to quickly respond to demand surges from our customers."
Samuel Yang, JA Solar's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "CSI is a good example of the fast growing, high-quality, global manufacturer we continue to successfully partner and grow with. This is an important agreement for both companies."
Further details about: JA Solar and Canadian Solar

Solarfun Announces 140 Megawatt Module Supply Contract

January 16, 2007
Shanghai, China: Solarfun Announces 140 Megawatt Module Supply Contract
Solarfun Power, a manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules in China, today announced a significant new sales agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Solarfun will sell approximately 140MW of photovoltaic modules to UB Garanty Project S.L. in Spain over the next three years. The contract is expected to have an estimated value of between US$40 million and US$50 million in 2007.
Solarfun Power Holdings Co, Ltd., is an established manufacturer of both PV cells and PV modules in China. Established in August 2004, Solarfun conducts substantially all of its business through its operating subsidiary in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Jiangsu Linyang Solarfun Co., Ltd., or Linyang China, and two majority-owned subsidiaries of Linyang China, Shanghai Linyang Solar Technology Co., Ltd., which provides system integration services in China, and Sichuan Leshan Jiayang New Energy Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of PV modules. Solarfun sells its products both through third-party distributors and directly to system integrators.
Mr. Yonghua Lu, Chairman and CEO of Solarfun commented, “I am pleased to announce this new contract with UB Garanty Project S.L. We believe it will expand our existing market share and enhance our brand name in Spain and we are confident that Solarfun will continue to penetrate high growth PV markets such as Spain, Italy and other emerging markets in Europe.”
Further details about: Solarfun Power

Canadian Solar Officially Opens Cell Manufacturing Facility

April 17, 2007
Jiangsu, China: Canadian Solar Officially Opens Cell Manufacturing Facility
Canadian Solar Inc. (CSI) celebrated the grand opening of its subsidiary, CSI Cells Co., Ltd. in Suzhou, China on Sunday. The first phase of CSI Cell's new facility, with an area of about 10,000 sq meters, has an annual capacity of 25 MW, and is expected to be ramped up to 100 MW by the middle of Q4 of 2007.
''The manufacturing of cells is another step in CSI's move towards vertical integration, and the timing of the new cell line is perfect as we face increased demand for CSI's modules,'' said Dr. Shawn Qu, the CEO of CSI. ''The new cell facility will further strengthen CSI's competitive edge in the current consolidation of solar industry.''
''It took just 6 months from the ground breaking to the production of first batch of cells. This in itself exemplifies CSI's ability to execute its strategy to become a top 10 solar player in the world,'' said Dr. Shawn Qu.
The celebration was attended by Mr. Qinghua Han, Provincial Minister of Economy and Trade, Li Yan, Mayor of Suzhou and other dignitaries, including CSI's suppliers, customers and financing partners.
Futher details about: Canadian Solar Inc. (CSI)

Major Solar Cell Vendors in China

In China there are too many companies that are producing the solar cells now, and please see the brief list for the major solar cell suppliers below:

1.Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd
They provide solar cells and solar modules.

2.CEEG (Nanjing) PV-tech Co., Ltd
They produce mono-crystalline silicon solar cells and multi-crystalline silicon solar cells.

3.Yinglisolar
They offer ingots and wafers, PV cells, PV modules and integrated PV systems.

4.Yunnan Tianda Photovoltaic Co., Ltd
They provide solar cells, solar modules, controller and inventer.

5.Shanghai Topsolar Green Energy Co., Ltd
They provide solar cells, solar modules, and PV systems.

6.Jiangsu Linyang Solarfun Co., Ltd
They offer PV cells, PV modules, PV systems and BIPV.

7. NingBo Solar Electric Power Co.,Ltd
They provide solar cells, solar modules, and PV systems.

8. Tianjin Jinneng Solar CELL CO.,LTD
They offer Solar Module with Glass Substrate, Flexible Solar Module and PV systems.

9. JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd
They produce solar cells.

10. Shenzhen TRONY Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd
They provide solar cells, and solar modules.

11. Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy
They offer solar cells, solar panels, and solar lamps.

12. Trina Solar
They provide solar cells, and solar panels.

13. Jiangyin Jetion Technology
They offer solar cells, and solar panels.

14. Jiangsu Shunfeng Photovoltaic Technology
They produce solar cells, and solar panels.

15. Shanshan Ulica Solar Energy
They provide solar cells, and solar panels.

16. Wuxi Shangpin Solar Energy
They offer solar cells, and solar panels.

17. TaiZhou Sopray Solar
They provide solar cells, solar panels, and PV systems.

18. Jiangsu TianBao Pv Energy
They offer solar cells, solar panels, solar light, and PV systems.

19. Shenzhen Topray Solar
They manufacture solar cells, solar panels, and solar light.

20. EOPLLY New Energy
They provide solar cells, and solar panels.

And if you would like to know more about the solar cell suppliers in China, please feel free to contact me at solar-in-china@hotmail.com.

Yunnan Tianda Photovoltaic Co., Ltd

Yunnan Tianda Photovoltaic Co., Ltd. is one of the earliest and largest professional companies which make, design, sell and install solar modules and PV systems in China. It was reformed from Yunnan Semi-conductor Device Factory in 2004, and Yunnan Semi-conductor Device Factory began to research and produce monocrystalline silicon solar cells and modules in 1978. In the recent 30 years, it has installed tens of thousands of high-quality solar cell power stations in the mainland of China and more than 20 countries and regions in the world. These stations are now widely used in households, business and industrial fields. The company has contributed positively for the promotion of solar energy and environment protection in China.

With the support of the government of Yunnan Province, Yunan Tianda Photovoltaic Co., Ltd. is building a new production base which occupies 640.32 acre with a construction area of 18,000 square meters in Kunming National Economic and Technology Development Zone. Then the most advanced technology and equipment will be used to produce the crystal silicon solar cells and modules of high transformation efficiency there. The production capacity of the new base has been 35MW now and 100MW in 2007.

CEEG (Nanjing) PV-tech Co., Ltd.

CEEG (Nanjing) PV-Tech Co., Ltd (NPV) was founded in August, 2004. They are one of the
largest solar cell manufacturing companies in China, with an annual production
capacity of 192MW. They produce both mono-crystalline silicon solar cells and multi-
crystalline silicon solar cells.

Yinglisolar

Tianwei Yingli is a leading vertically integrated photovoltaic product manufacturer. We design, manufacture and sell PV modules, and design, assemble, sell and install "on-grid" and "off-grid" PV systems with an annual production capacity of 100 MW.

Our products and services substantially cover the entire PV industry value chain from the manufacture of multicrystalline polysilicon ingots, wafers, PV cells, PV modules and PV systems to PV system installation. We distributes our products in Germany, China, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands and the United States.

In June 2002, Tianwei Yingli started assembling PV modules.

In December 2003, Tianwei Yingli completed Phase 1 Project, we began producing wafers and cells. The capacities of three lines including wafer, cell and module reached 6 MW, 3 MW, and 30 MW.

In February 2006, Tianwei Yingli completed its Phase 2 Expansion Project. The capacities of three workshops including wafer, cell and module reached 95 MW, 60 MW, and 100 MW.

In April 2006, Tianwei Yingli launched a new expansion project (Phase 3 Project). According to the construction plan, we estimated that total capacities by the end of 2010 will be wafer 600MW, cell 600 MW and module 600MW. We will accelerate our construction progress to release the capacity earlier than estimation.

Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd.

Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. specializes in the design, development, manufacturing and sale of photovoltaic (PV) cells, modules and systems. Founded in January of 2001 by Dr. Zhengrong Shi, a distinguished PV technology scientist, Suntech has rapidly developed into a leading solar energy company. In less than three years of operation Suntech has increased its manufacturing capacity by 12 times, becoming one of the world's top 10 manufacturers of PV cells based on production output according to Photon International, a magazine covering the international PV industry.

Selling its products in almost every major market in the world, Suntech is among the new breed of successful domestic China-based companies with global ambitions.

Today, Suntech's PV systems are used in a wide range of applications, including communications and broadcasting, transportation, housing and military.

As the financial and environmental cost of relying on traditional fossil fuels continues to rise, Suntech is leading the field in developing a renewable energy source that is not only abundant, but affordable.

Suntech is committed to becoming the "lowest cost per watt" provider of PV solutions to customers worldwide. By focusing on technical leadership through leading R&D and a culture based on innovation, cooperation and integrity, Suntech is working daily to realize its vision to be a global energy leader, providing efficient solar solutions for a green future.

Approximately 80% of Suntech products are sold in Europe with Germany being their largest market. Suntech's emphasis on product quality and international management standards has not only helped Suntech obtain a range of operating certificates, meet a range of test standards including IEC 61215:1993, CE certification, TUV certification, ISO 9001:2000 quality system certification but also established Suntech's reputation as a trusted PV manufacturer through out the region. Suntech has developed a line of PV cells with increased energy efficiency without increasing cell manufacturing costs.