Longi Plans World's Largest Solar Manufacturing facility for $6.7 Billion

• Expansion would include 100 GW of solar wafers, 50 GW of cells
• Solar panel result has been hampered by high product costs

Top clean energy equipment supplier Longi Green Energy Technology Co. is planning to invest 45.2 billion yuan ($ 6.7 billion) to build the globe's largest solar production base.

The business signed a letter of intent with city governments in China's Shaanxi province for an expansion project that would permit it to develop producing capabilities to generate 100 gigawatts of solar wafers and also 50 gigawatts of solar cells each year, according to a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The new plants will successfully increase Longi's existing capacity, as well as the firm said in a news release the hub would be the biggest solar manufacturing base on the planet. The projects, situated near the company's headquarters in Xi'an, are anticipated to enter into procedure in the third quarter of 2024, the filing claimed.

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Longi leads competitors in commissioned capacity for solar wafers

Wafers are thin squares of polysilicon that are wired right into cells and after that pieced together into the solar panels that produce electrical power from roofs as well as gigantic fields. Longi is the biggest wafer maker worldwide, with about 105 gigawatts of capacity as of last year, according to BloombergNEF. It additionally had regarding 35 gigawatts of cell production capacity.

The world is competing to fight climate modification, but accessing photovoltaic panels has actually been a challenge in some markets consisting of the US, as producers were hindered in 2021 as well as 2022 by a rare stretch of increasing material expenses for polysilicon-- a vital product for most panels. A surge in manufacturing of solar equipment can assist countries lower their reliance on fossil fuels and possibly lower power prices.

Prices for wafers as well as polysilicon have cratered in recent weeks, cutting into manufacturers' profit margins. Longi is attempting to extend its dominance by utilizing new innovative capacity to minimize expenses and also settle the marketplace, stated Dennis Ip, an analyst with Daiwa Capital Markets.

Longi's shares increased as long as 2.8% in trading Wednesday. The stock had actually fallen 33% given that June 30.