- Register
- Login
30°C
- Article
- . (0)
- Related content
Crystalline silicon solar cell maker TSEC on August 18 signed with seven local banks for a syndicated loan of NT$1 billion (US$31.7 million), with the funds to be used to expand annual production capacity to 15GWp at the end of 2016, according to the company chairman Ellick Liao.
The capacity expansion will focus on PERC (passivated emitter and rear cell) solar cells, for which annual production capacity will be expended from 150MWp to 500-600MWp at the end of the year, Liao said. TSEC expects 70% of PERC solar cells to reach energy conversion rates allowing a PV module made of 60 cells to generate up to 300W, Liao noted.
Of the expanded annual production capacity of 1.5GWp, 60% will be for polycrystalline solar cells and 40% for monocrystalline models, Liao said.
Current PV market conditions are worse than originally predicted and the situation in August is expected to hit bottom, Liao indicated. In view of continual price drops, TSEC has reduced output, and capacity utilization has dropped to 90% currently, Liao said.
Demand in China is expected to rebound in the fourth quarter and solar cell price drops will stop. Makers will see slight growth in orders in September, Liao noted. However, solar cell makers’ operations are unlikely to swing to profitability until the fourth quarter, Liao indicated.
Of Taiwan-based solar cell makers, only those with 70% of output offering energy conversion rates of over 18.4% may be able to benefit from the rebound in the China market, Liao noted. This is because a PV module made of 60 solar cells with energy conversion rates of over 18.4% can reach power output of 270W, a minimum requirement for model PV power-generating stations to be established in China, Liao explained.
TSEC chairman Ellick Liao
Photo: Michael Lee, Digitimes, August 2016
- Wireless broadband developments in Southeast Asia markets
As of 2013, the 10 ASEAN nations had a total of over 700 million mobile subscriptions, with the CAGR from 2003-2013 reaching 24%. This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the various mobile broadband markets in ASEAN and looks at the respective trends in 4G LTE development for those markets.
- 2015 global tablet demand forecast
This Digitimes Research Special Report provides a 2015 forecast for the global tablet market and analyzes the strategies of key market players such as Google, Apple, Intel, and Microsoft.
- 2015 China smartphone panel trend forecast
This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the strategies of key China-based major panel makers BOE, Tianma and IVO for attacking the different market segments through technology and pricing, and their relationship to local vendors Huawei, Lenovo, ZTE, Xiaomi and Coolpad.
- Register
- Login
30°C
- …
