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(Yicai Global) July 1 -- Global solar-energy equipment giant Longi Green Energy Technology will invest CNY25.5 billion (USD3.72 billion) to build a solar monocrystalline battery project whose output will approach 5 gigawatts.
The plant, which will go up in China's northwestern Shaanxi province, will drive the company's continuing production expansion, the single crystal maker headquartered in Xi'an, capital of the same province, announced yesterday.
Longi penned a project investment agreement with the nearby Xianyang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone Management Committee and the local government on June 28, and they will grant a 10-year lease contract for the factory, per the announcement.
The company will set up a subsidiary to conduct the project's investment, equipment installation, plant purification and operation. Construction is set at 10 months, with the plant to start production gradually from 2020, per the announcement, which offered no provide further details about the unit.
Longi also will build a monocrystalline solar module project with an annual production capacity of five gigawatts in Taizhou, eastern Jiangsu province, for CNY2.4 billion, it announced in mid-June this year.
The firm is the world's largest maker of single-crystal silicon wafers, with a market share of around 40 percent and it is able to provide an abundance of cells for downstream monocrystalline solar module projects.
The company's annual production capacity of solar modules will reach 16 gigawatts this year, 25 gigawatts in 2020 and 30 gigawatts in 2021, which will help to entrench its lead within the industry, according to a capacity expansion plan it has released.
Monocrystalline solar panels are distinguishable by their black outside color.
Made from cylindrical silicon ingots cut into wafers, they have higher efficiency than other types. The purity of the element enables them to better capture the Sun's irradiation.
Editor: Ben Armour