JA Solar starts new expansion plans in 2021

Following the growing expansion of the photovoltaic industry, JA Solar put into practice its projects to expand its production capacity in China. The main objective is to meet the demand of several markets, including Brazil, reaching a production capacity of 60 GW per year at the end of this new four-year investment cycle. 

The first step was taken in January this year. The company increased its photovoltaic panel assembly line capacity at the solar cell plant in ETDZ (Yangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone) in China from 6 GW to 10 GW. According to JA Solar, the project was developed in two phases. 

In the first phase, the investment is approximately US$ 926 million in the development of a 6 GW panel assembly line and a 6 GW solar cell plant. The second phase, which is the expansion of 4 GW in the production of photovoltaic cells, involves an investment of US$ 617 million. 

The panel assembly line is scheduled to come into operation at the end of 2021 and will be completed in three years. JA Solar stated that the second phase will be negotiated separately with ETDZ and will be subject to market demand. 

At the beginning of March, JA Solar announced the start of the third phase of construction of a unit in the city of Baotou, China. The production of 20 GW of wafers and ingots is planned for phase three of the project. In this project, the investment was approximately US$ 769.4 million and the operation process will take two years to complete. 

The manufacturer also announced that it is planning a new industrial complex in the Qidong Economic Development Zone in China. The expected construction time for the manufacturing unit is four years. 

The planned investment for this project is US$ 1.56 billion and the installed capacity is 20 GW in solar panels and 20 GW in solar cells. This project includes the module assembly line and cell operation, with three phases of around 6.66 GW each, bringing the company's total capacity to 60 GW by the end of the next few years. 

Brazilian market 

JA Solar Brasil announced at the beginning of March that it intends to expand sales in the country to 1 GW by 2024. The company expanded its operations in the country by increasing its business team and sales channels, in addition to building new factories. 

“With the completion of new factories in 2021, we are almost quadrupling production capacity from 11 GW (2020) to 40 GW (2021), maintaining a strong focus on 182 mm and high power cell super modules (540W and 485W)”, highlights Fernando Castro, country manager at JA Solar Brasil.

JA Solar also highlighted the news for the Brazilian photovoltaic market in 2021, with the availability of 540 W modules and the new 485 W module. In addition to announcing new hires soon.