Tongwei Set to Construct Polysilicon Factory in China

• Tongwei plans to build a polysilicon manufacturing plant in Leshan City in China.
• the facility will have a production capacity of 200,000 MT
• The recent rise in the price of polysilicon has led to an increase in the price of solar modules.

Polysilicon supplier and solar cell maker Tongwei has announced that it has signed an agreement with the Leshan City and the Wuhua district governments to develop a new polysilicon manufacturing facility.  According to Tongwei, the factory will have a capacity of 200,000 metric tons (MT) and will require a total investment of RMB 14 billion($2.1 billion).

The company has stated that the facility’s construction will take place in two phases of 100,000 MT. The first phase is expected to be completed and commissioned by the end of 2022. Tongwei currently has a total polysilicon production capacity of 80,000 MT and 150,000 MT under construction.

With the new factor, the company plans to have a total polysilicon production capacity of 330,000 MT by 2022, which will rise to 430,000 with the completion of phase II of the Leshan City project.

Companies are looking to increase polysilicon production capacity, which hasn’t kept up with the growing demand for solar modules. In addition, the recent rise in the price of polysilicon has seen solar module prices rising for the first time in over a decade.