The development of China's photovoltaic industry is improving

Since 2013, affected by policy guidance and market-driven factors, the development of China's photovoltaic industry has improved compared to 2012. The operating status of key enterprises has improved and the domestic photovoltaic market has steadily expanded.

The development of the industry gradually warms up the improvement of business operations

In 2013, the global new installed capacity of photovoltaics was 36 GW, which was a year-on-year increase of 12.5 percent; annual polysilicon and module prices rose by 47 percent and 8.7 percent respectively. The EU reached a preliminary solution to the "double reverse" case of photovoltaics in China. China made a final ruling on the "double opposition" of polysilicon between the United States and South Korea and further improved the external environment. The operating status of domestic companies continued to improve. As of the end of 2013, the number of polysilicon enterprises in production increased from 7 at the beginning of the year to 15 years. Most of the backbone battery companies turned losses into profits. The major enterprises’ gross profit margin exceeded 15% in the fourth quarter, and some companies were full year-round. The net profit turns positive.

The scale of industry has been growing steadily

In 2013, China produced 84,000 tons of polysilicon, a year-on-year increase of 18.3% and an import volume of 80,000 tons. The output of battery modules was approximately 26GW, which accounted for more than 60% of the world's total, an increase of 13% year-on-year. The export volume was 16GW and the export value was 12.7 billion USD. The domestic market is growing rapidly. The newly installed capacity exceeds 12GW, the cumulative installed capacity exceeds 20GW, and the proportion of domestic sales of battery modules has increased from 15% in 2010 to 43%. The industry’s total sales revenue was 323 billion yuan (manufacturing 209 billion yuan, system integration 114 billion yuan).

Blind expansion momentum slows industry concentration gradually

Influenced by policy guidance and market adjustment, the disorderly development of the industry has been restrained. Many companies have increased their internal rectification efforts, and some of the backward production capacity has begun to withdraw. At the same time, some companies are increasingly willing to merge and reorganize, and there have been a number of major mergers and acquisitions. According to the list of the first batch of companies that have complied with the “Regulations for Photovoltaic Manufacturing Industry” issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (109 companies), their 2013 production of polysilicon, wafers, and battery modules accounted for 85.7% and 61% of the country's total. 74%; employees and sales revenue accounted for 58% and 78% of the photovoltaic manufacturing industry, respectively. In 2013, China's top 10 photovoltaic companies accounted for 23.6% of the total sales of the industry, and the top 50 sales accounted for 63.6%. The industrial development gradually to the eastern Jiangsu, Zhejiang, central Hebei, Fujian and western, the northern Inner Mongolia, Qing, Hebei, etc. Regional concentration.

Technological level continues to increase innovation driving effect is obvious

China's backbone enterprises have mastered a full set of technology for 10,000-ton polycrystalline silicon and crystalline silicon cells, and the localization rate of photovoltaic equipment has been continuously improved. Since 2010, the investment per kiloton of polysilicon has dropped by 47%, the overall energy consumption per kilogram of polysilicon has dropped by 35%, the annual output of polysilicon enterprises has increased by 165%, and the comprehensive utilization rate of by-products of backbone enterprises has reached more than 99%; each MW of crystalline silicon cells The investment dropped by more than 55%, the silicon consumption per watt of batteries dropped by 25%, and the conversion efficiency of the monocrystalline, polycrystalline and silicon thin-film batteries of backbone enterprises increased from 16.5%, 16%, and 6% to 19%, 17.5%, and 10%; The investment in photovoltaic power generation systems has dropped from 25 yuan/watt to 9 yuan/watt.

It should be noted that although the overall development of China's photovoltaic industry has improved, it still faces many problems and it cannot be blindly optimistic. First, there is a gap between key technologies such as materials and equipment and the advanced level in foreign countries. Basic research needs to be strengthened. Second, financial support, policy support, etc. are too focused on application links, and insufficient support is provided for R&D and technological transformation of the manufacturing industry; The relevant policies are still to be implemented in detail; Fourth, the international trade environment is still likely to deteriorate. In general, the current situation of the loss of photovoltaic manufacturing industry has not been fundamentally changed. From a long-term perspective, the industry still faces deep adjustments.

It is expected that as related policies and supporting systems are further improved, the development of China's photovoltaic industry will generally rebound steadily in 2014, the prices of polysilicon and batteries will tend to be stable, and the domestic application market will continue to expand. Major companies are expected to achieve full-year profitability.