Tag Archives: MEMC

GCL moves aggressively into U.S. project development space with top-tier tax equity partner

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In a major coup, GCL Solar Energy signed a deal this week with Wells Fargo, which will provide more than $100 million of tax equity to GCL-sponsored projects by the end of 2011 – which we estimate is equivalent to roughly 40 MW to 50 MW of new installations.

A quickly emerging Chinese solar company, GCL Solar Energy is a subsidiary of GCL Poly Energy Holdings, which produces polysilicon ingots and wafers. The firm’s latest development is important in a number of respects. First, the transaction breaks the mold cast by Yingli, Trina, and other integrated Chinese manufacturers by putting GCL into the project development space. These other companies are integrated from ingot to module, and they hesitate to enter the U.S. project space for fear of competing with their customers. Further, one firm that took the leap – Suntech Power through its subsidiary Gemini Solar – failed dramatically due to its poor understanding of the U.S. regulatory environment.

Secondly, GCL’s move effectively duplicates the value chain model established by MEMC’s acquisition of SunEdison, giving GCL presence in the two parts of the value chain with the most pricing leverage, poly to wafer and project development. This enables the company to subjugate device manufacturers, especially those without access to their own polysilicon or end markets, into low-margin tolling arrangements.

Lastly, it puts Chinese project developers directly in competition with U.S.-owned project developers for limited tax equity financing. This is especially critical at this juncture, given the possibility that the U.S. ITC grant will expire at the end of 2010 – and the market is moving into “zero sum game” territory, where any tax equity agreement subtracts from the appetitive available to keep other project developers active.

Those watching the U.S. solar market closely should prepare for protectionist cries against Chinese companies, magnified by the fact that GCL Solar is partially (and explicitly) owned by the China Investment Corporation, China’s sovereign wealth fund (see the December 10, 2009 LRSJ – client registration required). Though this move solidifies GCL as a leader in the solar space – and it could do quite well for itself in the U.S. in 2011 – we are concerned about the potential for political fallout as the strength of China’s energy policies takes advantage of the paucity of similar policies in the U.S.

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Lux Q2 2010 Solar Supply Tracker: Growing demand stretches upstream supply

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Last week, Lux Research released its Q2 2010 Solar Supply Tracker (client registration required), which updates our figures on production and capacity throughout the value chain through 2013. Regular readers of the Tracker will find the most important update since Q1 is in the recent version’s demand forecast, which has been increased to 15 GW of market demand in 2010, driven by a surge in Germany and Italy ahead of 2011 feed-in-tariff reductions. We discussed this following PVSEC in Valencia a few weeks ago (see the September 16, 2010 LRSJ – client registration required).

On the supply side, Tier 1 and 2 module manufacturers are poised to produce 14.8 GW in 2010. Figuring in Tier 3 players for the “high case” scenario shows a potential for 18.0 GW of production in 2010. However, even with this greater-than-expected demand, Tier 1 and 2 module manufacturers maintain oversupply with 20 GW of capacity.

In Q2, crystalline silicon (x-Si) increased its technology dominance, reaching 79% of module production. Thin-film silicon (TF-Si), led by large manufacturers like Sharp and Bosch, and cadmium telluride (CdTe), dominated by First Solar, each account for about 9% of total production. Together, these three technologies make up nearly the whole module market. Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) modules are still being produced in small quantities, but will quickly grow more than 1 GW if Solibro, Miasolé, and Solar Frontier execute plans for large capacity expansions over the next several quarters.

Geographically, Asia increased its dominance in module manufacturing, accounting for 75% of production in Q2 as more European capacity became unviable and low-cost Asian manufacturers like Trina, Yingli, and LDK added capacity in the downturn. On the polysilicon front, Wacker added European capacity, increasing the EU’s production share to 20% from 17% the previous quarter. However, Asia still holds the largest share at 43%.

A number of key market shifts occurred in Q2 throughout the value chain. Chinese polysilicon producers were a mixed bag as several low-cost manufacturers, including Jiangsu Shunda and Sichuan Xinguang, shut down for retooling or recapitalization while new entrants Yongxiang and Fine Silicon (owned by Yingli Green Energy) were still ramping production. Meanwhile, demand in 2010 will reach 100,000 MT and exceed the 75,000 MT production of the six top polysilicon producers – Hemlock, Wacker, GCL, OCI, REC, and MEMC – providing room for new entrants like Daqo New Energy. Further downstream, wafer supply is increasingly constrained in the face of strong demand and will hit 78% capacity utilization in Q3. Low-cost Asian manufacturers continue to dominate this segment, with GCL Silicon, Kyocera, and Green Energy Technology moving into the top 11. Strong demand has spurred several companies to make aggressive expansions in cell and module production. JA Solar led the charge in cell production, rising into the top 3 in Q2 and positioning itself to overtake the entire field by capacity in Q3. It has also integrated downstream into module production, along with China Sunergy, through acquisitions. Although these companies are emerging as new leaders, the top five module manufacturers remained unchanged from Q1, with the exception of Suntech Power, which overtook First Solar at the top spot in Q2 with 1.4 GW of capacity.

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Lux’s Q1 2010 Solar Supply Tracker sees growing production amidst slight oversupply

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Last month, we released the Q1 2010 version of the Lux Research Solar Supply Tracker (see Solar Supply Tracker, Q1 2010 – client registration required). It includes figures on production and capacity data throughout the value chain through 2013.

Notably, the Tracker revealed that total module production for 2010 will be 12.6 GW, an increase of about 4.7 GW from 2009 production. We’ve also updated the Lux Research demand forecast, which predicts 12.1 GW of market demand in 2010, signifying a slight oversupply this year.

Crystalline silicon (x-Si) will account for 76% of total new module production in 2010. Most of the remaining share will be split between inorganic thin-film PV – particularly thin-film silicon (TF-Si) fueled by a slew of entrants – and cadmium telluride (CdTe), overwhelmingly provided by First Solar. Each will each account for 11% of 2010 module production. Companies like Avancis, Würth Solar, and Solibro will each produce a handful of Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) modules in 2010, to round out the balance of new module production.

In terms of geography, Asia continues to dominate the manufacturing scene, accounting for 45% of polysilicon production, 78% of wafer production, and 71% of module production in 2010. Though Asia dominates in absolute production, several companies are adding capacity in North America, hoping to capitalize on promising demand in the U.S. and Canada, including Canadian Solar, SunPower, and Yingli.

A number of companies made notable changes to production and plans in Q1. Upgraded metallurgical silicon (UMG-Si) producers Dow Corning and Timminco stopped production at their Brazilian and Canadian facilities, respectively. Both companies cited decreased market demand, and will leave capacity idle with plans to reevaluate demand in a few years.

While UMG-Si players are hurting, top-tier polysilicon suppliers are thriving. The top six polysilicon producers – Hemlock, Wacker, GCL, OCI, REC, and MEMC – will supply 75% of the total polysilicon to the market in 2010. Further downstream, several companies beat expectations and are accelerating ramp schedules. Taiwanese wafer player Green Energy Technology, cellmaker Neo Solar Power, and Chinese module manufacturer Solarfun all increased or accelerated capacity addition plans, citing increasing customer demand. Although Solarfun garnered more market share with its increasing capacity, it could not crack the top five module manufacturers. First Solar remained in the top spot, followed by Suntech Power, Sharp, Canadian Solar, and Trina Solar.

Looking out several years, supply remains slightly above demand throughout the value chain – except at polysilicon, where a significant supply overhang remains. As we witnessed this quarter, this supply overhang forced more expensive producers to shut down production lines, as their processes are no longer economically viable. Expect more consolidation and additional polysilicon players shutting down production facilities, as well as significant shuffling of market share as new technologies gain  traction, the vertical integration trend continues, and delayed subsidy cuts in Europe keep demand high.

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Chinese investment funds shore up major polysilicon manufacturers

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Late last year, the Chinese government began taking more aggressive steps to shore up the financial position of key polysilicon producers, which had been struggling due to the price collapse of polysilicon during 2009. First, on November 17, LDK Solar announced that it had sold a 15% stake in its 15,000 MT polysilicon plant in Xinyu, China. The stake went to Jiangxi International Trust and Investment, an investment arm of the provincial government, for RMB 1.5 billion ($219 million) – valuing just the polysilicon plant at $1.46 billion.

Then, two days later, GCL Silicon announced that it had sold 20% of the company to China Investment Corporation – a state-sponsored investment vehicle – through the issuance of new shares to raise about $715 million. Additionally, GCL secured investment for a joint venture company to develop solar projects, with a total investment of $500 million. The latter move resembled those of MEMC, SunPower and others who have sought to integrate downstream to ensure demand (see the October 29, 2009 LRSJ – client registration required).

These two investments are notable in that they show more drastic action by government agencies to shore up favored polysilicon manufacturers. Chinese import restrictions on polysilicon helped to buoy the price of the material just a few months ago (see the August 20, 2009 LRSJ – client registration required) – but apparently not enough. The subsequent steps demonstrate the most overt case of government support to date.

Companies in the U.S. and Europe have long complained about the stealthy industrial subsidies received by Chinese firms, arguing that Chinese imports should be restricted on these grounds, and this case gives them the strongest ammunition yet to argue for protectionism predicated on unfair government subsidies. Expect the case for protectionism to continue to heat up as prices fall and European manufacturers struggle to cut costs to remain competitive.

Further, the new funds all but guarantee capacity ramp of these two major players, and this significant amount of capacity coming online over the next few years will further depress the prices of polysilicon, and make it difficult for smaller, independent players to exist. Indeed, increasingly, polysilicon makers can be divided into three groups: incumbents (such as MEMC, Hemlock, Wacker, and REC); state-sponsored firms (GCL, LDK, and Nitol); and those tied up with major device manufacturers (Fine Silicon, Asia Silicon, Joint Solar Silicon). Though a few exceptions, such as OCI and M.Setek, will likely weather the storm, it will be tough going for players without a corporate or government sponsor with deep pockets.

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