China’s Yingli to start solar panel manufacturing in Thailand
YINGLI GREEN Energy Holding or Yingli Solar has reached a joint-venture deal to establish a solar-panel manufacturing facility in Rayong.
The plant, Yingli’s first outside China, has an annual capacity of 300 megawatts of multicrystalline photovoltaic (PV) panels, which will be sold by Yingli under the Yingli Solar brand name.
The facility is expected to begin operating in the second half of this year.
The JV involves its subsidiary Hainan Yingli New Energy Resource and Demeter Power, a Thailand-based developer, EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) provider and operator of renewable-energy projects.
The 40:60 JV will fully implement the project with capital investment of about Bt689 million.
Thailand’s favourable business climate, coupled with its generous tax-incentive scheme, world-class infrastructure and continued government support for the expanding solar-power industry make it a perfect place for the joint investment, Apichet Bhusry, chief executive officer of Demeter Corp, said recently.
Liansheng Miao, chairman and CEO of Yingli Green Energy, said: “We are proud to establish our first overseas manufacturing operations in partnership with Demeter Corp, and we hope to expand the new factory’s production capacity across the PV value chain in the future.
“Manufacturing PV panels in Thailand will enable the company to operate more competitively in overseas markets as well as in the emerging markets of Southeast Asia.”
Yingli Solar is one of the world’s largest solar-panel manufacturers, having produced more than 60 million of them with combined capacity to generate 14 gigawatts of power.
Its products have been marketed in many countries including the United States and Japan.
The investment marked the Chinese company’s effort to venture overseas. In September, the company suspended all downstream projects in China, citing a nationwide delay in subsidy allocation.
It has instead developed a downstream project development business with a portfolio footprint in Europe, Africa and other markets outside China. As of last month, it was involved in the installation of solar panels with total capacity of more than 200MW.
