China Solar Supplier Plans Huge Plant to Meet Soaring Demand

One of the world’s largest producers of the key raw material for solar panels is planning a massive expansion amid surging demand for clean energy.

Xinte Energy Co. will build a polysilicon project able to produce about a third of current global production in Inner Mongolia, it said Monday in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company’s shares have more than quadrupled since mid-December on the back of demand for the material that transmits electrons excited by photons of light, generating electricity.

China’s climate push, along with a return to clean energy zeal in the U.S., mean demand for solar panels may create a shortage of polysilicon this year, according to Daiwa Capital Markets. Other makers have also seen their shares surge and announced separate plans to expand production.

Phase 1 of the project will have a capacity of 100,000 tons and cost 8 billion yuan ($1.24 billion). Construction will start after confirming a location and securing approvals, and operations will begin within 18 to 24 months after building commences, Xinte said. The remaining 100,000 tons of capacity will be built in Phase 2, with no time-table specified. The size of the plant represents about 36% of this year’s expected global production, according to BOCI Research Ltd. Read More…