Production surges by 200% New energy solar cells dazzling

Bring the whole industry chain into a new darling of the market

The solar cell industry chain ushered in an overall prosperity. On the 15th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that the operation of the consumer goods industry from January to August showed that during the period, the output of solar cells increased by more than 200% year-on-year, far higher than the growth rate of about 20% of other consumer goods.

On the same day, Dagang shares, which participated in the investment of “50 billion yuan to set up a solar photovoltaic industrial base,” had a daily limit after a strong daily limit on the 14th.

According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, from January to August, the cumulative output of solar cells was 2.962 million kilowatts, an increase of 200.4% year-on-year. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not publish the average growth data of the consumer goods industry from January to August. However, from January to July, the value added of the consumer industry only increased by 15%. Xin Guobin, director of the Bureau of Operational Supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, predicts that “the consumer goods industry in the second half of the year will grow at around 12%.”

This means that the average growth rate of the consumer goods industry from January to August is below 20%, which is in stark contrast to the triple-digit growth rate of solar cells.

While the output is growing, the spot price of solar cells continues to rise. According to data from China's Silicon Industry Branch, the quotations have soared from the current average of $1.35-1.14 per watt in July to the current level of $1.43-1.45. Ye Hao, a new energy analyst at Huatai United Securities, said that the spot price of 1.45 US dollars has gradually been recognized by the market. Since the beginning of this year, the spot price of solar cells has been raised several times in succession.

The hot sales of solar cells have also led to the overall prosperity of the entire industrial chain. From the end of July, the spot price of upstream polysilicon rebounded strongly. In just one month, it was 20% higher than the price at the beginning of the year. Xiong Lin, a new energy industry analyst at CIC Securities, said that there are relatively few polysilicon manufacturers at the top, so polysilicon companies benefit most when downstream demand surges.

There are also quite a few opportunities in the middle reaches. From a global perspective, there are relatively few manufacturers of solar back-sheet materials and it is difficult to meet the needs of solar cell manufacturers. To this end, Nanyang Technology has announced that it intends to use an over-raised fund of 210 million yuan to invest in and construct an annual output of 25,000 tons (calculated as 250 micrometers) solar cell back sheet project.

Related sectors benefited a lot. In August, the overall solar panel rose 13.12%, while the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index rose only 1.61% over the same period. Guoxin Securities researcher expects that solar panels will still perform better in the second half of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011.