Solar cell makers are to see an unusually busy fourth quarter, as China has increased its installed solar capacity target, Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), Taiwan’s biggest solar cell maker by capacity, said yesterday.
The October-to-December quarter is usually a slow season for the solar cell market because of cold weather, which is not suitable for solar panel installations, but this winter will be very different, as Beijing raised its solar installation target to about 23.1 gigawatts (GW) from 17.8GW for this year, the company said.
“Robust demand from China will offset seasonal weakness elsewhere in the world during the fourth quarter, and even the first quarter will not be as slow as it used to be,” Motech chief executive officer Chang Ping-heng (張秉衡) told reporters on the sidelines of a preshow conference for the annual PV Taiwan exhibition in Taipei.
“We feel the strong momentum too. We cannot fully satisfy the demands of our customers,” Chang said. “We expect a growth in shipments next month.”
Chang partly attributed the growth to capacity expansion via mergers and acquisitions of local solar cell maker Topcell Solar International Co (聯景光電) and China’s AIDE Solar (艾德太陽能).
For the solar industry as whole, oversupply is easing as most solar cell makers have stopped irrationally boosting their capacities, Chang said, adding that he expects supply to exceed demand by about 10 percent this year and to further improve by 5 percent next year.
Most solar companies in Taiwan should report healthy financial performance in the second half of this year, after demand and prices rebound, he said.
Globally, solar panel installations are expected to grow to 61GW this year and to 73GW next year, from last year’s 45GW, Chang said, citing Bloomberg forecasts.
While Motech appears slow in overseas expansion, the company is looking for suitable partners to tap into the fast-growing Southeast Asian market to search for long-term growth drivers, he said.
The annual PV Taiwan show is to run from today through Friday at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall.
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