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Securing raw materials was also very important due to the shortage of polysilicon.
One of the key strategies of the solar manufacturers was to secure polysilicon supply and
to form strong relationships with key suppliers of polysilicon. Yingli Green Energy said
in its 2007 report: “Stable and reliable polysilicon supplies are critical to our long-term
growth and profitability.” Trina Solar said in its 2007 report: “In the immediate future,
because of the growing demand for solar power products, shortage of polysilicon and
rising cost
of silicon raw materials, we believe that the competitive arena will
increasingly center around securing silicon supply and forming strategic relationships to
secure supply of key components and technologies.”
The shortage of polysilicon has encouraged some manufacturers to expand to
upstream. Yingli Green Energy acquired Cyber Power, a start-up polysilicon
manufacturer, in January 2009. It expected to produce 3,000 tons of polysilicon per year
through this acquisition. Renesola invested in Linzhou Zhongsheng Semiconductor, a
polysilicon manufacturing company in August 2007, and started producing polysilicon in
July 2009.
After the global financial crisis: Going downstream
As the prices of solar products have started decreasing, the solar manufacturers’
strategies have changed. Expanding manufacturing capacity became less significant. For
instance, Jinko Solar adjusted its expansion plan, and decided to maintain its capacity at
current level “in response to the changes in the market condition” in 2012. Moreover,
since the supply of polysilicon has increased, acquiring raw materials also became less
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significant. Under these circumstances, solar module manufacturers’ focus has shifted to
downstream business.
Thirteen out of the fifteen solar module manufacturers
have reported their
entrance into solar project development market. Despite the different timings of entrance
to the market, most of them have strategically expanded project development after the
global financial crisis. Suntech has started project development in 2008 by establishing
joint ventures. Trina has entered in the downstream market in 2009, and has announced
that it strategically expanded the downstream business in 2013. Canadian Solar has
expanded the business since 2012, and acquired Recurrent, a
solar developer located in
California and Texas, in 2015. Yingli Green Energy has initiated solar project
development in China in 2012. Renesola, JA Solar, and Jinko Solar have started in 2011.
Sharp and Hanwha SolarOne have entered in the market in 2010.
The U.S.-based solar manufacturers have expanded their
project development
business slightly earlier than the others. SunPower acquired PowerLight Corporation, a
large-scale solar power system provider, in January 2007,
and established system
business segment. In 2010, it acquired SunRay Malta Holdings, a leading European solar
power plant project developer, and created Utility and Power Plant segment, which
included power plant project development, engineering, procurement
and construction
(EPC) services, and operations and maintenance services.
First Solar, the other U.S.-based module manufacturer, has actively expanded its
project development business. Acquisition was one of the core strategies for expanding
the business. It acquired Turner Renewable Energy, which designed and deployed
commercial solar projects for utilities in the U.S., in November 2007. In April 2009, First
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Solar acquired the project development business of OptiSolar Inc., and in January 2010, it
purchased some assets of Edison Mission Group’s utility-scale project development
pipeline. In July 2010, NextLight Renewable Power, a leading developer of utility-scale
solar projects in the southwestern U.S., was acquired. In 2013, First Solar has expanded
its global pipeline by acquiring Solar Chile, a Santiago-based solar development
company, and has acquired a pipeline of U.S. and Mexico assets from Element Power.
Through these activities, First Solar completed a fully integrated systems business.
Currently, First Solar’s business portfolio includes “project development; engineering
and
plant optimization; grid integration and plant control systems; project finance;
advanced PV modules; inverters and power conversion components; trackers and fixed
mounting systems; procurement and construction consulting; operations and
maintenance; energy forecasting; and warranties and performance guarantees.”
As a result of the expansion of
project development business, the business
portfolio of First Solar has transformed. The net sales of the systems business has
significantly increased since 2010 (Figure 16). Since 2012, the systems business has
accounted for more than half of the total revenue. First Solar has transformed into an
integrated systems company from a solar module manufacturer in recent ten years.
