United Renewable Energy Co (URE, 聯合再生), the nation’s biggest supplier of solar cells and modules, aims to return to profit in the third quarter, as rising domestic demand boosts factory utilization to 100 percent.
URE returned to the black briefly in the third quarter last year, making a net profit of NT$142.26 million (US$5.04 million).
However, COVID-19 pandemic-driven lockdowns curbed market demand overseas, leading to an industrywide slump in the final quarter last year, URE said.
Photo: CNA
The company yesterday gave an upbeat outlook for the second half of this year, pinning its hope on the government’s determination to speed up solar energy installations to meet its goal of reaching 20 gigawatts by 2025.
Solar panel installations this year are expected to reach about 2.5 gigawatts, a significant expansion from 1.2 gigawatts to 1.5 gigawatts last year, URE said.
Demand is expected to be soft in the first two quarters, but should pick up significantly in the second half as several major solar projects commence, the company said.
“The first quarter should be the trough for this year,” URE solar business group president Andy Shen (沈維鈞) told a media briefing yesterday.
The company has hiked prices to reflect rising raw material prices and a pickup in demand.
URE said it has won several major projects, mainly from government agencies, to supply more than 500 megawatts of solar modules for new solar farms in Tainan, and Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Yilan counties.
Factory utilization is forecast to climb from 50 to 60 percent now to 100 percent in the third quarter, it said.
To cope with a surge in domestic demand, URE said it plans to invest between NT$150 million and NT$200 million this year to build a new solar module plant in Tainan.
The new fab would add 400 megawatts of solar module capacity to the existing 600 megawatts, URE said.
The company also expects US demand to recover this year as US President Joe Biden has pledged to expand renewable energy use.
URE plans to expand its solar cell capacity in Thailand to 1.5 gigawatts a year in collaboration with Chinese partners.
Additionally, the company has been making progress in its efforts to tap into the solar farm market, a vital part of its turnaround strategy.
It has won contracts to install a total of 200 megawatts in capacity, including 90 megawatts for an offshore solar farm at Changhua Coastal Industrial Park (彰濱工業區), it said.
URE aims to expand its solar panel installation volume to 500 megawatts within three years and to 1 gigawatt in five years. It expects its 1-gigawatt solar power plants to generate revenue of NT$5.5 billion by selling electricity and NT$28 billion in cash flow over 20 years.
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