Polysilicon prices have seen continuous hikes in the past two weeks due to the explosion at Jiangsu Zhongneng’s chemical plant in Xinjiang and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. In particular, mono polysilicon closing prices increased by more than 10% on average, which led wafer suppliers to increase wafer prices. As a result of rising wafer prices, the downswing in global PV module prices rebounded into an uptrend instead.
The current progress of downstream PV system installation in Taiwan is considerably lagging behind the 2.2GW yearly installed PV capacity targeted by the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs in 2020, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. Taiwan’s cumulative installed PV capacity reached a mere 410MW during the first five months of the year. Furthermore, recent legislative changes by the Council of Agriculture have made an impact on Taiwan’s PV industry, meaning the Bureau’s target of 2.2GW this year is a tall order for the market to reach. However, total PV module shipment and inverter shipment in Taiwan have each closed in on the 1GW mark in 1H20, a historical high for both sectors.
According to the latest edition of the 2020 Solar Powering Taiwan: Special Report, published by the EnergyTrend research division of TrendForce, the Taiwanese PV market reached newly installed capacity of 1,411MW in 2019, which was 94% of the way to meeting its 1.5GW goal. Taiwan’s newly installed capacity in 2019 set a record since the market’s inception, in addition to landing it in the global GW-club.
The latest analysis from the EnergyTrend research division of TrendForce finds that Taiwan’s newly installed capacity reached historical highs in 2019, with over 36% growth YoY compared to each quarter in 2018. This growth momentum is expected to continue in the next few years as large-scale ground-mounted PV projects are underway.
Since its domestic grid connections crossed the gigawatt mark in 2018, the Taiwanese solar energy market has come under international scrutiny, as the local government actively executes its two-year solar development program. The latest analysis from the EnergyTrend research division of TrendForce shows that cumulative PV installations in Taiwan reached 3.8GW in September 2019; the adjustments made in the 2020 draft of feed-in tariffs (FIT) are expected to help Taiwan achieve its goal of 6.5GW cumulative PV installations in 2020.
