Thu, Dec 09, 2021 page12

• Solar cell makers running at full load

  RISING INSTALLATIONS: TSEC and Motech expect the growth momentum to extend into next year, with both firms planning capacity increases to cope with demand

  • By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter
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  Solar cell and module supplier TSEC Corp (元晶) yesterday gave a robust outlook for this quarter, with an order backlog that would take at least two quarters to digest.

  The company, based in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店), said it has started taking orders for delivery in the third quarter of next year, as its production lines are fully booked.

  This should help TSEC swing back to the black this quarter and help offset losses of NT$198.69 million (US$7.16 million) in the first three quarters, company spokesman Henry Chiang (江郅豪) told a media briefing in Taipei.

  

  A representative of Power Master International Investment Holdings Co shows visitors the company’s energy storage equipment at the Energy Taiwan trade show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center’s Hall 2 yesterday. The in-person show started yesterday and finishes tomorrow, while the online edition runs until Dec. 24.

  Photo: CNA

  “Both shipments and prices are on the rise in the fourth quarter. We have a chance to eke out a profit for the full year,” Chiang said. “Revenue this month should remain at the same high level as that of November.”

  TSEC expects the improvement in profitability to extend into next year, thanks to falling raw material costs and a surge in solar module demand in the domestic market.

  The company expects solar panel installations in the nation to climb to more than 11 gigawatts (GW) next year, suggesting an increase of more than 3GW.

  

  TSEC Corp chairman Ellick Liao poses for a photograph at the Energy Taiwan trade show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center’s Hall 2 yesterday.

  Photo: Lisa Wang, Taipei Times

  “There is a lot of catch-up to do next year, as installations this year have been slow due to the COVID-19 outbreak and raw material shortages,” Chiang said.

  By the end of this year, Taiwan’s solar energy installation is estimated to reach 7GW, less than half of the government’s 20GW target by 2025.

  To satisfy customer demand next year, TSEC is investing NT$1 billion to build a new solar cell line and solar module line next year to make larger solar modules, Chiang said.

  

  Motech Industries Inc president Fred Yeh poses next to the company’s booth at the Energy Taiwan trade show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center’s Hall 2 yesterday.

  Photo: Lisa Wang, Taipei Times

  That would increase its solar cell and module capacity to 1.5GW next year from 1GW this year, after new M6 (166mm2) and M10 (182mm2) solar cells enter production next year, he said.

  Solar cell and module maker Motech Industries Inc (茂迪) shared TSEC’s optimistic view.

  “There will be explosive growth in the first and second quarters next year. The momentum would to carry into the second half,” Motech president Fred Yeh (葉正賢) told reporters on the sidelines of the annual Energy Taiwan trade show in Taipei.

  “Customers have to wait for six months to receive their products,” Yeh said.

  The company plans to roll out new-generation tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cells that can produce more solar power in the third quarter next year, after current-generation TOPCon gains traction.

  Motech, based in Tainan, plans to expand its TOPCon solar cell capacity to 200 megawatts (MW) next year, up from 15MW this year.
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