Chinese solar module developer LONGi Solar has inaugurated a new 5GW monocrystalline module factory in Chuzhou, Anhui, China.
Image: Construction on the new LONGi Chuzhou 5GW factory began last May. Photo courtesy of Neville Micallef/Freeimages.com
LONGi Solar said that this factory is the next step in enhancing its monocrystalline module capacity to meet rising global demand for its products.
Built with an investment of $328m, construction of the new LONGi Chuzhou 5GW factory began last May and it was completed and commissioned in the same year. The new facility is equipped with cutting-edge equipment, technology and fully automated production lines.
The factory is claimed to be producing high-efficiency modules, including the innovative Hi-MO3 bifacial mono half-cut PERC module and other products that meet the demand for reliable, high-efficiency and high-yield products.
After the facility was commissioned, the company rolled out its first module this January. Presently, the Phase 1 project with 2.5GW is in full swing, producing modules for customers across the globe. Phase 2 is in the commissioning stage and full production is expected to start soon.
LONGi Solar president Li Wenxue said: “In 2019, our company identified a gap between fast-growing global orders and our high-efficiency cell and module capacities. LONGi Chuzhou factory will greatly narrow this gap. Besides manufacturing, the factory will also facilitate the transformation of technological and technical achievements to the mass production of new products.”
As per LONGi Solar, mono passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) has gained reputation in the global photovoltaics (PV) module market for its efficiency. PERC technology is touted to enhance power output and effectively reduce balance of system (BOS) cost.
The company is planning to go ahead with 45GW monocrystalline silicon ingot and wafer capacity expansion in 2020. It also aims to invest in research and development in monocrystalline technology.
Last month, the company secured an order to supply bifacial PERC modules for a 224MW solar project in the US. The solar project will be located in Mitchell County, Georgia and is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will generate enough clean electricity to more than 30,000 US households and could generate $12m of income tax in the first ten years of operation.