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.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
Industrial production expanded 22.31 percent annually last month to 107.51, as increases in demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove demand for locally-made chips and components. The manufacturing production index climbed 23.68 percent year-on-year to 108.37, marking the 14th consecutive month of increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. In the first four months of this year, industrial and manufacturing production indices expanded 14.31 percent and 15.22 percent year-on-year, ministry data showed. The growth momentum is to extend into this month, with the manufacturing production index expected to rise between 11 percent and 15.1 percent annually, Department of Statistics
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald