Thursday, December 4, 2008

China Yingli sees panel shipments up 60 pct in 2009

HONG KONG, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Chinese solar cell maker Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd expects its shipments of solar modules to rise 60 percent next year, with demand for solar panels likely to exceed supply despite the global economic downturn.

Yingli expects shipments of solar modules to reach 400 megawatts (MW) next year from about 250 this year, Cherradi Nabih, Yingli Green's vice president for manufacturing, said on the sidelines of the Clinton Global Initiative conference.

"In a way the crisis has helped the industry. Because of the crisis, there has been big pressure on the price of materials, including polysilicon, which is down about 50 percent this year from last year," said Nabih.

The fall in the price of polysilicon, a key material for solar cells that turn sunlight to electricity, has made Yingli's production more cost efficient, he said.
(Reporting by Leonora Walet)

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