Solar cell maker Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶) said that it has inked an agreement to supply 30-megawatt (MW) high-margin solar modules to China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the biggest single order from a local business.
CSC, the nation’s biggest steelmaker, plans to utilize Gintech’s solar modules to build solar power systems with annual capacity of 80MW on the rooftops of its factories, offices and warehouses over a three-year period.
Based on the agreement, Gintech is to supply high-efficiency mono solar modules, each generating 290 or 295 watts, to China Ecotek Corp (中宇環保), a subsidiary of CSC, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
“As one of Taiwan’s leading steel companies, CSC is very active in the nation’s ‘green’ energy development, and is focused on promoting solar energy and wind power,” Gintech chairman Pan Wen-yen (潘文炎) said in the statement. “Taiwan’s photovoltaic market has gained more support from the new government, which aims to provide more stable renewable energy sources and reduce dependency on nuclear power.”
CSC is the latest in a slew of local companies unveiling solar installation projects after the government said it wants to boost solar panel installation to an accumulated 20 gigawatts by 2025 as part of its goal to increase the supply of electricity from renewable energy sources to 20 percent of all power generated in the nation, from just 4 percent.
That would represent a compound annual growth rate of 30 percent in solar demand in Taiwan, based on the 980MW of accumulated installed solar panel capacity as of August last year, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said.
As Gintech’s high-efficiency passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar modules deliver a higher sunlight conversion rate, CSC’s solar systems would enjoy a 6 percent price premium on the nation’s feed-in tariff, Gintech said in the statement.
Gintech’s latest PERC solar modules can deliver a sunlight conversion rate of as much as 21.44 percent, it said.
In addition to solar systems, CSC also established a subsidiary to invest on offshore wind farms, showing its strong support of the government’s policies to boost “green” energy development, it added.
Gintech shares yesterday rallied 2.6 percent to NT$19.7 in Taipei trading after the announcement, outperforming the TAIEX, which gained 0.15 percent.
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