April 21, 2017 Source: Interface News

It is worth noting that the key to the current "poly" battle is that the two sides have different emphasis on the "leaders" plan.

The single polycrystalline tug-of-war caused by the setting of different efficiency standards in the “Leader” program has been going on for several months, and the game of representative companies in various domestic routes has also been carried out for several rounds.

From April 17th to 21st, “The 11th (2017) International Solar Energy Industry and Photovoltaic Engineering (Shanghai) Exhibition and Forum” was held in Shanghai. According to the interface news reporter, at least 10 of the photovoltaic companies participating in the exhibition have launched a new type of single polycrystalline component products, which makes the two technical routes of monocrystalline silicon in the domestic crystalline silicon camp turbulent.

From the new products launched by the three giants at the manufacturing end, you can get a glimpse of one or two, each of which is vying for high efficiency.

The world's largest manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic products, Longji Lekeng, a subsidiary of Longji Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., released a new high-efficiency single crystal PERC double-sided battery Hi-MO2, 60-type module power 300W/305W (the following are all 60 components) At the same time, GCL-Poly, the world's largest polysilicon producer, has also launched a new generation of single-single-crystal single-crystal G3 silicon wafer products. The power of components under ordinary battery technology reaches 280W-285W, and the PERC process can reach 295W-300W.

In addition, Jinke Energy Holdings Co., Ltd., the world's largest component manufacturer, has released six new products, including PERC high-efficiency monocrystalline modules (310W), MCT high-efficiency polycrystalline components (285W), and N-type double-sided components (positive 310W, back gain 10%-30%) and so on.

At the world's largest photovoltaic exhibition, this round of single-crystal "controversy" that has been going on for several months has once again become a hot topic.

Zhu Lijun, CEO of GCL-Poly, said at the forum that the current PV industry is still inseparable from policy support. However, if the policy formulation is unreasonable or has a certain tendency, it will not only be detrimental to the development of the industry, but will hinder the parity of the Internet. Process.

He pointed out that the "Lead Runner" program has contributed a lot to the improvement of conversion efficiency and technological progress, but it has also caused great controversy on the other hand. It is believed that it has brought an unfair competitive environment to the industry. , delaying the process of parity online.

Since 2015, in order to speed up the price of PV parity, China plans to implement a PV “Leader” program every year, which is to encourage the development of technology, photovoltaics, companies or units with the highest energy efficiency in comparable scales. Promotion and promotion.

According to the "Leader" program, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the incoming polycrystalline silicon module and monocrystalline silicon module must be 16.5% and 17% respectively.

There is a view in the industry that almost 100% of single crystal components can meet the conversion efficiency of 17%. The threshold for the efficiency of single crystal components of "leaders" is significantly lower than that of polycrystalline components. The meaning of "leading" of single crystals cannot be highlighted.

Due to the inherent physical properties, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the single crystal is higher than that of the polycrystal, but at the same time, the photoinduced attenuation of the polycrystal is small, and the cost of electricity is low, so the cost performance is high.

Although the absolute value of single crystal is definitely higher than polycrystalline, the final market is worth the cost of electricity. Polycrystalline has occupied the mainstream of the domestic crystalline silicon market for many years because of its cost-effectiveness. The share of the share.

Under the policy tilt, most of the bids for the "Top Runners" project last year chose single crystal components. According to relevant statistics, in the “leaders” project that completed the tender in the second half of 2016, the proportion of single crystal components exceeded 60%.

According to Bloomberg New Energy (BNEF) statistics, compared with 2016, China's single crystal market share has rapidly increased from 20% to 25% this year, which is mainly affected by the “top runner” policy.

With the approaching deadline of the "630", the development of single crystals has become more and more rapid. In the first quarter of this year, monocrystalline production capacity was in short supply, and wafer prices continued to remain high. According to the quotation of the Silicon Industry Branch of the Nonferrous Metals Association on April 10, the average price of 156mm monocrystalline silicon wafers is 6.4-6.5 yuan/piece, and the average price of 156mm high-efficiency polycrystalline silicon wafers is 4.5 yuan or less. The spread has reached 2 yuan/piece.

Lin Jianwei, chairman of Zhonglai Co., told the interface journalist that the current shortage of single crystal supply on the market mainly refers to high-efficiency single crystal, and the ordinary single crystal production capacity of 280W is very sufficient, but its position is very embarrassing, and the first is that it cannot enter the front runner. Second, compared with 260W, 270W polycrystalline, there is no price advantage, and will be gradually eliminated in the future.

Zhonglai is the largest solar backing supplier in China. In 2014, it invested 1.65 billion yuan to build a 2.1GW N-type single crystal double-sided battery manufacturing base. It started production in the second half of last year, making it the first N-type in the country. A large-scale double-sided battery mass production enterprise.

"At present, the price difference between single-polysilicon wafers is as high as 2 yuan/piece, but monocrystalline silicon wafers are still in short supply, which violates the minimum business logic," said Zhu Zhanjun. This is caused by unreasonable policy formulation, if the policy has a certain tendency. On the contrary, it will hinder the process of parity online. To this end, he suggested that the government set up a company to sing a show and hand over the choice of single polycrystal to the market.

At the end of March this year, an industry insider revealed to the interface journalist that the National Energy Administration had issued a draft for the major PV companies, aiming to increase the setting standards for the conversion efficiency of single polycrystalline components in the “Leader” program. The single crystal efficiency was increased from 17% to 18%, the polycrystalline efficiency was increased from 16.5% to 17%, and the efficiency difference between the two was doubled to 1%.

Wang Yingge, assistant to the chairman of Longji Leye, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Longji, told the interface journalist that the original single-crystal efficiency standard set a gap of 0.5%, which is actually giving time for the advancement of polycrystalline technology. Taking into account the level of technological progress, the moment when everyone is at the same starting line has arrived. It cannot be said who runs fast and the technology advances quickly, and raises the threshold. Does the “Leader” program encourage advanced technology or do industry protection?

Lin Jianwei told the interface journalist that any enterprise in the photovoltaic industry must do a good job of continuous technological innovation and preparations. The vision should be long-term, and the industry cannot be made into a very profitable market for the sake of temporary benefits. It is a kind of injury for the industry's upstream and downstream counterparts, or it should be a benign interactive development.

At the same time, he also pointed out that the "leaders" set the component standards a little higher, and it is not wrong for each enterprise to "jump up" to get it. However, the level of self-improvement of each company is inconsistent, because the chosen technology direction and investment intensity are different, so companies should reflect more on themselves instead of blaming the policy.

It is worth noting that the key to the current "poly" battle is that the two sides have different emphasis on the "leaders" plan. Unlike the single crystal side, the original intention of the "leaders" is to encourage advanced technology. Polycrystalline believes that cost-effectiveness is the key point.

“The 'leaders' should not be the platform for R&D of new technologies, but should be back to how to achieve lower electricity costs,” said Jun Jun, general manager of Jiangsu Linyang New Energy, because the final product of the photovoltaic industry is Electricity, the ultimate essence of new technology research and development is still attributed to the reduction of electricity costs, and the higher the power generation efficiency does not mean that the system's electricity cost is lower.

Yang Liyou, general manager of Jinneng Clean Energy Technology Co., Ltd. said that from the perspective of the cost of electricity, in the current large single-polysilicon chip price difference, polycrystalline is still dominant in the cost of large-scale ground power station, while in some EPC costs Higher, like the foreign US and Japanese markets, high-efficiency single crystals still have market space.

In fact, whether it is single crystal or polycrystalline, high efficiency is the consistent pursuit of the future.

Jing Jing, vice president of Jinko Energy, said in a group interview including interface journalists that the photovoltaic market will eventually move toward two paths: either a more efficient monocrystalline module and a higher cost. Pulling it back up is either a more cost-effective polycrystalline component. Qian Jing personally believes that there is no market for ordinary single polycrystals in the future. PERC single crystals will replace the position of ordinary single crystals, and MCT polycrystals will replace the position of ordinary polycrystals.

In addition to the controversy over the setting of the "threshold", there are also opinions in the industry that the "threshold" of "leaders" is too single. Yan Xiaoying, chairman and CEO of Artes Solar Power Group, told the interface journalist that the “Leader” project should judge the single polycrystalline technology by adding some other indicators, such as stability, light attenuation, and cost performance. It will be more comprehensive.

       Lin Jianwei also stressed that it is unscientific for the "leaders" to use a single efficiency indicator as the "threshold". It should be considered in multiple dimensions and with different weights, and it is best to leave it to an independent third party for evaluation. As long as the government is responsible for formulating policies and building a platform.