Polysilicon project, either new or renovation/expansion ones, should reach 3,000 tons/year in capacity in every stage, with photoelectric conversion efficiency hitting 19% for multi-si PV cell and 21% for mono-si cell, according to a new regulation on the PV manufacturing industry released by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on March 1, effective immediately.
According to the new regulation, the Chinese regulator will encourage PV manufacturing projects, either new or renovation/expansion ones, featuring technological innovation, quality improvement, and cost reduction, while putting a damper on projects chiefly for capacity expansion. New and renovation/expansion projects for polysilicon should be funded by at least 30% of own capital, while the minimum own-capital ratio for other new and renovation/expansion PV manufacturing projects is 20%.
In addition to polysilicon projects, there are also minimum capacity requirement for other PV manufacturing projects, including 1,000 tons/year for silicon ingots, 1,000 tons for silicon rods, 50 million sheets for silicon sheets, 200 MWp for PV cells, 200 MWp for PV cell components, 50 MWp for thin-film PV cell components, and 200 MWp for inverters (10 MWp for micro inverters).
Existing PV manufacturing projects will be subject to the requirement of minimum photoelectric conversion efficiencies, including 18% for multi-si PV cell, 19.5% for mono-si PV cell, 8% for silyl, 13% for CIGS, 12% for CdTe, and 10% for other thin-film PV cell components. The requirements will be even higher for new and renovation/expansion projects, including 19% for multi-si PV cell, 21% for mono-si PV cell, 12% for silyl, 14% for CIGS, 14% for CdTe, and 12% for other thin-film PV cell components.
Moreover, attenuation rates should not exceed 2.5% for multi-si PV cell components and 3% for mono-si PV cell components in the first year, which should not increase by more than 0.7 of a percentage annually in subsequent years and should be kept under 20% within 25 years. Attenuation rate should not be more than 5% for thin-film PV cell in the first year and should not increase by over 0.4% of a percentage point annually in subsequent years, with the ceiling set at 15% within 25 years.
Shanghai Securities News reports, citing industry insiders, that the Chinese PV market will continue expanding vigorously in 2018, when competition among market players will intensify, especially in the fields of technology and efficiency.
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