TSEC Corp (元晶太陽能) yesterday said it is investing NT$1 billion (US$35.75 million) to expand large-sized solar module capacity and a logistic facility at its plant in Pingtung City in expectation of rising demand for clean energy next year.
The investment would bring TSEC’s annual solar module capacity to 1.5 gigawatts, a 50 percent increase from the current level, the company said in a statement.
The new production line would be completed in September next year and enter volume production in the fourth quarter of the same year, the firm said.
Photo courtesy of TSEC Corp
“Large solar cells and modules will help satisfy urgent demand from domestic solar power developers. The modules will also help improve land-use efficiency, as local solar power developers are facing challenges to secure land,” TSEC spokesman Henry Chiang (江郅豪) said.
TSEC earlier this year spent NT$750 million building a new production line in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口) that would produce large and high-efficiency 525 watt and 700 watt solar cells, rather than the standard solar cells that are between 350 and 400 watts.
TSEC vice president for marketing William Liao (廖偉然) yesterday gave an optimistic outlook about solar demand, saying that cutting carbon emissions has become a major global focus this year, with the US and China targeting carbon neutrality by 2030 and 2060 respectively.
That will drive demand for solar power in China and the US, Liao said in a statement.
Taiwan has gained an advantage over its rivals and secured a bigger share of the US’ 20-gigawatt solar market, as the administration of US President Joe Biden has banned the use of solar products made in China’s Xinjiang region and curbed imports of solar products from Southeast Asian countries amid lawsuits over tariff evasion, he said.
In Taiwan, TSEC expects solar panel installation to soar 50 percent to 3 gigawatts next year, compared with 2 gigawatts this year, Liao said, adding that a surge in raw material costs would gradually ease next year.
Separately, silicon wafer supplier Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (中美晶) yesterday said that solar revenue jumped 23.44 percent month-on-month, or 97.37 percent annually, to NT$840 million last month.
That helped boost the firm’s consolidated revenue last month to NT$6.25 billion, up 7.34 percent from a month earlier, or up 12.2 percent from a year earlier.
In the third quarter, the company’s revenue inched up 1.97 percent sequentially, or 13.93 percent annually, to NT$17.52 billion.
Solar revenue grew 7.95 percent quarterly and 55.65 percent annually to NT$2.14 billion last quarter, the company said.
About 90 percent of the company’s revenue came from its silicon wafer manufacturing arm, GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), which posted NT$15.36 billion in revenue last quarter.
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