Eric NgUpdated on Jun 15, 2007
Suntech Power Holdings, the mainland's largest solar-cell maker by market value, has signed a 10-year contract to buy polysilicon for up to US$678 million to ensure supply for its rapid expansion.
Suntech, based in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, said it had signed the deal with United States-based Hoku Materials, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Hoku Scientific, to buy a fixed amount of polysilicon each year at set prices from mid-2009 on a "take-or-pay" basis.
This means Suntech must take delivery of the undisclosed shipments even if they are not needed. The prices were not disclosed.
This form of long-term agreement usually allows the buyer to take advantage of lower spot market prices, at the risk of holding excess inventory.
"Securing a long-term supply of polysilicon from Hoku will enable us to continue to expand our manufacturing capacity and execute Suntech's strategic plan," Suntech chairman Shi Zhengrong said.
Global demand for polysilicon has outstripped supply since 2004, as high fossil fuel prices and incentives offered by governments to develop solar power drove up demand.
Morgan Stanley last year estimated the supply gap to persist until next year, with polysilicon prices to rise 35 per cent this year.
In July last year, Suntech signed a 10-year deal to buy US$5 billion to US$6 billion worth of the material from MEMC Electronic Materials of the US. Suntech also offered financial support to help MEMC expand output capacity.
Similarly, Suntech has agreed to pre-pay Hoku US$47 million even though Hoku's 2,000 tonnes a year plant in Idaho will not be completed until next year.
Suntech late last month raised its production output target for this year for the second time to 325 megawatts from 250MW.
The company also lifted its planned year-end production capacity to 480MW from 390MW. The company aims to raise capacity to 1,000MW by 2010.
The company exports 90 per cent of its output, as the domestic market is still in the early stages, with growth limited by high equipment costs.
However, this situation may change, as the central government has set an aggressive target to increase the solar generation capacity of the mainland from 80MW to 300MW by 2010 and further to 1,800MW by 2020.
Copyright © 2007 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All right reserved
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Solar Companies of All Sizes Race To Develop Cheap, Efficient Panels
By LEILA ABBOUD June 14, 2007
In a laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif., engineers testing new, super-powerful solar panels shock them with searing heat and deep cold, then blast them with wind, sand and hail.
The year-long battery of tests aims to assess the reliability of new panels being developed by a start-up called SolFocus Inc. The panels contain curved mirrors that magnify the sun's rays up to 500 times, concentrating them onto a tiny solar cell that converts them into electricity far more efficiently than conventional panels. "We even shot them with BB guns," says Nancy Hartsoch, the marketing director for SolFocus.
How the panels stand up has big implications, and not just for SolFocus, which raised $32 million from venture capitalists last year. Also on the line: whether, after decades of unfulfilled promises, solar power will become a cost-effective alternative to coal and natural gas.
Hampered by its high cost, solar power accounts for less than 1% of world-wide electricity generation. It costs 35 to 45 cents to produce a kilowatt hour of electricity from solar panels, compared with about three to five cents burning coal, according to the International Energy Agency. A different approach, known as concentrating solar power, uses huge arrays of mirrors or solar dishes to track the sun and collect its heat to make electricity. Yet even that costs nine to 12 cents to generate one kilowatt hour.
For now, government subsidies are necessary for solar power to develop, and the biggest markets for it aren't the sun-drenched southwestern U.S. but Germany and Japan, whose generous incentives have spurred growth.
But that equation is beginning to change. SolFocus is one of nearly a dozen start-ups competing alongside established solar giants like Japan's Sharp Corp. to develop a solar panel that is both cheap and efficient. Well-known tech venture capitalists like Apax Partners, Benchmark Capital and US Venture Partners, as well as Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, have poured cash into solar start-ups in recent years. Meanwhile, established leaders in conventional solar panels like Sharp, the U.K.'s BP PLC and Germany's Q-Cells AG have well-funded research labs working on their own technology.
Whoever can come up with the answer will be able to claim a large chunk of the solar-power pie, an $11 billion market that is growing by more than 25% a year. "The race is on," says George Scott, who spent 20 years in the solar industry and now runs a renewable-energy consulting firm in England.
Of course, even if solar power explodes, it won't replace coal as the primary source of electricity anytime soon. "Solar will only be a small part of the solution to global warming," says Christian Reitzberger, who has invested in solar companies for Apax Partners. But solar's environmental contribution is considerable even if it provides only a fraction of the world's electricity because it can kick in when demand is the highest. Usually utilities fire up old, inefficient coal plants when demand is high, invariably spewing out higher levels of greenhouse gases. If solar were used at peak times instead, the world's energy grids would be cleaner and more efficient.
For years, solar panels followed a standard design: large blue or black rectangles made of silicon. The panels, which account for about 90% of today's market, do a decent job of making power, converting anywhere from 12% to 20% of the sun's rays into electricity, depending on clouds, weather and location. But the high cost of silicon makes them far too expensive to compete with coal or gas.
With some 20 states in the U.S. calling for programs to increase the use of renewable energy, solar power is already growing rapidly here. California has set up $2.85 billion in incentives to spur solar power, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling for solar in one million homes. The U.S. Congress is also debating a law to encourage renewable energy sources. Nonetheless, most of the spending on solar installations is happening in Europe, where many governments have set up so-called feed-in tariffs that require utilities to buy electricity made from renewable sources at above-market rates.
First Solar Inc., the largest maker of next-generation solar cells, launched its product on the German market in 2003 and has signed major contracts for solar installations in the not-so sunny climes of Bavaria and Saxony.
Founded in Phoenix, Ariz., in 1999 and backed by a venture-capital firm controlled by Wal-Mart heir John T. Walton, First Solar's "thin-film" panels are relatively cheap because they use only 1% of the costly semiconductor material found in conventional solar panels. But engineers at the company's Ohio plant struggled for years to get their manufacturing process to an industrial scale. The method involves feeding a sheet of glass into a pressurized chamber filled with cadmium telluride gas, which condenses in a thin, uniform layer onto the glass.
"Every time you fix one piece of the production line, another part would go out of whack," says First Solar Chief Executive Michael Ahearn. First Solar ended up spending $100 million and six years to get it right, far more than the initial plan of $40 million over three years.
But it's finally paying off. Revenue grew to $135 million in 2006 from $13.5 million in 2004. The company signed long-term contracts with six European solar-project developers totaling 795 megawatts -- about the size of a coal-fired power plant -- that are expected to bring in $1.62 billion in revenue through 2011. The world's biggest -- 40 megawatt -- solar park is now being built in the Saxony region by Juwi GmbH using First Solar's thin-film cells.
When First Solar went public in June 2006, it was listed on the Nasdaq at $20 a share. It closed at $74.36 yesterday. Mr. Ahearn's goal is for First Solar's panels to compete with fossil fuels even without government subsidies by as early as 2010. "It's a big challenge certainly, but it's not a pipe dream any more," he says.
Many other companies are also pursuing thin-film solar cells, which minimize the use of silicon or eliminate it altogether to drive manufacturing costs even lower. Nanosolar Inc. in Palo Alto has attracted $100 million in venture-capital for its method of printing solar cells on rolls of shiny foil. The company spent two years researching how to make ink filled with nano particles of copper indium gallium selenide and another two years designing the manufacturing.
"The ink is basically the secret sauce," says Martin Roscheisen, Nanosolar's chief executive.
Q-Cells, the second largest maker of traditional solar cells after Sharp, is taking a different approach to next-generation solar technologies. The company has bought, invested in or developed joint ventures with four companies researching four different types of thin-cell technologies. Pilot batches of the cells have been made, and scaling up production of some should start this year, says Q-Cells Chief Technology Officer Florian Holzapfel.
Many in the solar industry are betting that the market will make room for products with different prices and efficiencies. "What works for a solar array on a rooftop in Tokyo wouldn't be the best choice for the desert in Spain," Mr. Holzapfel says.
In a laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif., engineers testing new, super-powerful solar panels shock them with searing heat and deep cold, then blast them with wind, sand and hail.
The year-long battery of tests aims to assess the reliability of new panels being developed by a start-up called SolFocus Inc. The panels contain curved mirrors that magnify the sun's rays up to 500 times, concentrating them onto a tiny solar cell that converts them into electricity far more efficiently than conventional panels. "We even shot them with BB guns," says Nancy Hartsoch, the marketing director for SolFocus.
How the panels stand up has big implications, and not just for SolFocus, which raised $32 million from venture capitalists last year. Also on the line: whether, after decades of unfulfilled promises, solar power will become a cost-effective alternative to coal and natural gas.
Hampered by its high cost, solar power accounts for less than 1% of world-wide electricity generation. It costs 35 to 45 cents to produce a kilowatt hour of electricity from solar panels, compared with about three to five cents burning coal, according to the International Energy Agency. A different approach, known as concentrating solar power, uses huge arrays of mirrors or solar dishes to track the sun and collect its heat to make electricity. Yet even that costs nine to 12 cents to generate one kilowatt hour.
For now, government subsidies are necessary for solar power to develop, and the biggest markets for it aren't the sun-drenched southwestern U.S. but Germany and Japan, whose generous incentives have spurred growth.
But that equation is beginning to change. SolFocus is one of nearly a dozen start-ups competing alongside established solar giants like Japan's Sharp Corp. to develop a solar panel that is both cheap and efficient. Well-known tech venture capitalists like Apax Partners, Benchmark Capital and US Venture Partners, as well as Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, have poured cash into solar start-ups in recent years. Meanwhile, established leaders in conventional solar panels like Sharp, the U.K.'s BP PLC and Germany's Q-Cells AG have well-funded research labs working on their own technology.
Whoever can come up with the answer will be able to claim a large chunk of the solar-power pie, an $11 billion market that is growing by more than 25% a year. "The race is on," says George Scott, who spent 20 years in the solar industry and now runs a renewable-energy consulting firm in England.
Of course, even if solar power explodes, it won't replace coal as the primary source of electricity anytime soon. "Solar will only be a small part of the solution to global warming," says Christian Reitzberger, who has invested in solar companies for Apax Partners. But solar's environmental contribution is considerable even if it provides only a fraction of the world's electricity because it can kick in when demand is the highest. Usually utilities fire up old, inefficient coal plants when demand is high, invariably spewing out higher levels of greenhouse gases. If solar were used at peak times instead, the world's energy grids would be cleaner and more efficient.
For years, solar panels followed a standard design: large blue or black rectangles made of silicon. The panels, which account for about 90% of today's market, do a decent job of making power, converting anywhere from 12% to 20% of the sun's rays into electricity, depending on clouds, weather and location. But the high cost of silicon makes them far too expensive to compete with coal or gas.
With some 20 states in the U.S. calling for programs to increase the use of renewable energy, solar power is already growing rapidly here. California has set up $2.85 billion in incentives to spur solar power, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling for solar in one million homes. The U.S. Congress is also debating a law to encourage renewable energy sources. Nonetheless, most of the spending on solar installations is happening in Europe, where many governments have set up so-called feed-in tariffs that require utilities to buy electricity made from renewable sources at above-market rates.
First Solar Inc., the largest maker of next-generation solar cells, launched its product on the German market in 2003 and has signed major contracts for solar installations in the not-so sunny climes of Bavaria and Saxony.
Founded in Phoenix, Ariz., in 1999 and backed by a venture-capital firm controlled by Wal-Mart heir John T. Walton, First Solar's "thin-film" panels are relatively cheap because they use only 1% of the costly semiconductor material found in conventional solar panels. But engineers at the company's Ohio plant struggled for years to get their manufacturing process to an industrial scale. The method involves feeding a sheet of glass into a pressurized chamber filled with cadmium telluride gas, which condenses in a thin, uniform layer onto the glass.
"Every time you fix one piece of the production line, another part would go out of whack," says First Solar Chief Executive Michael Ahearn. First Solar ended up spending $100 million and six years to get it right, far more than the initial plan of $40 million over three years.
But it's finally paying off. Revenue grew to $135 million in 2006 from $13.5 million in 2004. The company signed long-term contracts with six European solar-project developers totaling 795 megawatts -- about the size of a coal-fired power plant -- that are expected to bring in $1.62 billion in revenue through 2011. The world's biggest -- 40 megawatt -- solar park is now being built in the Saxony region by Juwi GmbH using First Solar's thin-film cells.
When First Solar went public in June 2006, it was listed on the Nasdaq at $20 a share. It closed at $74.36 yesterday. Mr. Ahearn's goal is for First Solar's panels to compete with fossil fuels even without government subsidies by as early as 2010. "It's a big challenge certainly, but it's not a pipe dream any more," he says.
Many other companies are also pursuing thin-film solar cells, which minimize the use of silicon or eliminate it altogether to drive manufacturing costs even lower. Nanosolar Inc. in Palo Alto has attracted $100 million in venture-capital for its method of printing solar cells on rolls of shiny foil. The company spent two years researching how to make ink filled with nano particles of copper indium gallium selenide and another two years designing the manufacturing.
"The ink is basically the secret sauce," says Martin Roscheisen, Nanosolar's chief executive.
Q-Cells, the second largest maker of traditional solar cells after Sharp, is taking a different approach to next-generation solar technologies. The company has bought, invested in or developed joint ventures with four companies researching four different types of thin-cell technologies. Pilot batches of the cells have been made, and scaling up production of some should start this year, says Q-Cells Chief Technology Officer Florian Holzapfel.
Many in the solar industry are betting that the market will make room for products with different prices and efficiencies. "What works for a solar array on a rooftop in Tokyo wouldn't be the best choice for the desert in Spain," Mr. Holzapfel says.
Friday, June 15, 2007
GT Solar receives $39.5 million contract in China for polysilicon reactors
News & Analysis - New Energy Source
13-06-2007
(Fabtech.org, June 13, 2007) GT Solar has won a $39.5 million contract to sell polysilicon reactors and converters to the Chinese company, Jiangsu Shunda Electronic Materials and Technology. Shunda's facility near Nanjing, China will produce silicon feedstock for PV cells.
Shunda has committed $2.3 billion RMB investment in photovoltaics and is planning to produce their own polysilicon in the near future, and to become a major player in the photovoltaic market.
In March of this year GT Solar won another reactor contract valued at $49 million with Russian firm Nitol Group.
13-06-2007
(Fabtech.org, June 13, 2007) GT Solar has won a $39.5 million contract to sell polysilicon reactors and converters to the Chinese company, Jiangsu Shunda Electronic Materials and Technology. Shunda's facility near Nanjing, China will produce silicon feedstock for PV cells.
Shunda has committed $2.3 billion RMB investment in photovoltaics and is planning to produce their own polysilicon in the near future, and to become a major player in the photovoltaic market.
In March of this year GT Solar won another reactor contract valued at $49 million with Russian firm Nitol Group.
Check on China: Surging solar
News & Analysis - New Energy Source
13-06-2007
(Smallcapinvestor.com, June 12, 2007) China's solar energy industry is growing, but not everyone will profit. In fact, there will be many losers, most likely the late entrants and smaller players.
For sure, the country's photovoltaic (PV) sector is booming, with the industry now the world's third largest producer of solar-energy technology. Production capacity of the PV cells (the plates that absorb the sun's rays and convert them to electricity) in 2005 rose almost 375%, to 250 MW, from 52.8 MW in 2004, while production capacity of modules¡ªthe panels comprised of the PV cells¡ªgrew 350%, to 400 MW, from 88.8 MW.
International demand for the clean-energy technology, fueled in large part by higher gasoline prices, has resulted in annual growth of around 15%. Some analysts predict that the sector could generate global revenues of up to $40 billion by 2010. China, with its low-cost manufacturing advantages, could seize up to one-forth of the bounty and become the world's number one producer by the end of the decade. The country itself is projected to increase its install PV-electricity production capacity up to 0.3 GW in 2010 and 1.8 GW in 2020.
Such bright prospects have led to an investment frenzy on Chinese solar stocks. The leader of the pack is Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP), the country's largest PV manufacturer whose IPO listing on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2005 was the largest for the year for a technology company. Smaller cap companies include Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL), Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: CSIQ) Solarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: SOLF), and China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: CSUN). The newest to join the crowd is LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), which had its IPO on June 1.
13-06-2007
(Smallcapinvestor.com, June 12, 2007) China's solar energy industry is growing, but not everyone will profit. In fact, there will be many losers, most likely the late entrants and smaller players.
For sure, the country's photovoltaic (PV) sector is booming, with the industry now the world's third largest producer of solar-energy technology. Production capacity of the PV cells (the plates that absorb the sun's rays and convert them to electricity) in 2005 rose almost 375%, to 250 MW, from 52.8 MW in 2004, while production capacity of modules¡ªthe panels comprised of the PV cells¡ªgrew 350%, to 400 MW, from 88.8 MW.
International demand for the clean-energy technology, fueled in large part by higher gasoline prices, has resulted in annual growth of around 15%. Some analysts predict that the sector could generate global revenues of up to $40 billion by 2010. China, with its low-cost manufacturing advantages, could seize up to one-forth of the bounty and become the world's number one producer by the end of the decade. The country itself is projected to increase its install PV-electricity production capacity up to 0.3 GW in 2010 and 1.8 GW in 2020.
Such bright prospects have led to an investment frenzy on Chinese solar stocks. The leader of the pack is Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP), the country's largest PV manufacturer whose IPO listing on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2005 was the largest for the year for a technology company. Smaller cap companies include Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL), Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: CSIQ) Solarfun Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: SOLF), and China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: CSUN). The newest to join the crowd is LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK), which had its IPO on June 1.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Hebei, China: JA Solar Revises Wafer Supply Agreement with M.Setek
From Solarbuzz June 11, 2007
Chinese solar cell manufacturer, JA Solar and M.SETEK, a privately-held Japanese company and one of the world's largest monocrystalline ingot and wafer manufacturers, have revised their supply agreement.
M.SETEK will supply larger quantities of wafers from July 2007, and the payment terms are also restructured from single payment to three installments. The original agreement was entered into in December 2006 and the revised agreement was entered into on June 5, 2007, about two weeks after the inauguration ceremony of M.SETEK's brand new polysilicon material plant in Soma, Japan.
The new agreement starts with 300,000 wafers per month being delivered in the period July 2007 to October 2007, rising in steps to 5,000,000 wafers per month by the July 2009 - December 2009 timeframe. The contract has a total value of $100 million.
"At the time of tight supply of feedstock of poly-silicon in solar industry, this agreement enables JA Solar to be in a more comfortable position," said Samuel Yang, JA Solar's Chief Executive Officer. "M. SETEK is a highly respected and reliable supplier of high quality monocrystalline wafers. We are delighted to have strengthened the partnership with M.SETEK in our supply chain. This long-term agreement, combined with other supply agreements previously negotiated with key partners, gives us confidence that JA Solar will be able to meet the expected demand levels we are seeing from customers, while maintaining our strict focus on profitability."
Chinese solar cell manufacturer, JA Solar and M.SETEK, a privately-held Japanese company and one of the world's largest monocrystalline ingot and wafer manufacturers, have revised their supply agreement.
M.SETEK will supply larger quantities of wafers from July 2007, and the payment terms are also restructured from single payment to three installments. The original agreement was entered into in December 2006 and the revised agreement was entered into on June 5, 2007, about two weeks after the inauguration ceremony of M.SETEK's brand new polysilicon material plant in Soma, Japan.
The new agreement starts with 300,000 wafers per month being delivered in the period July 2007 to October 2007, rising in steps to 5,000,000 wafers per month by the July 2009 - December 2009 timeframe. The contract has a total value of $100 million.
"At the time of tight supply of feedstock of poly-silicon in solar industry, this agreement enables JA Solar to be in a more comfortable position," said Samuel Yang, JA Solar's Chief Executive Officer. "M. SETEK is a highly respected and reliable supplier of high quality monocrystalline wafers. We are delighted to have strengthened the partnership with M.SETEK in our supply chain. This long-term agreement, combined with other supply agreements previously negotiated with key partners, gives us confidence that JA Solar will be able to meet the expected demand levels we are seeing from customers, while maintaining our strict focus on profitability."
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