Chinese polysilicon supplier TBEA announced on November 4 that it has entered into an investment cooperation framework agreement with the local administration of Baotou City in Inner Mongolia to set up a manufacturing base for high-purity industrial silicon materials and several new energy projects. The manufacturing base is expected to have a total annual production capacity of 400,000MT. As for the new energy projects, their total generation capacity is expected to reach 5GW.
The development of the manufacturing base will be divided into two phases. Each phase will involve the setup of 200,000MT of production capacity and an investment of RMB 3 billion. According to TBEA’s development schedule, construction will begin within one month after the company has received the approval from the local government, completed the land acquisition, and met all the relevant conditions for starting construction works. The first phase is expected to take no more than a year to finish. As for the second phase, the date of its commencement depends on future market conditions and policy support.
Regarding the 5GW of new energy projects, their development schedules will be formulated in accordance with Baotou’s 14th Five-Year Plan pertaining to new energy infrastructure. The execution of the projects will also take account of the ability of the regional grid system to integrate new sources of generation as well as the requirements of various government agencies for the adoption of new energy technologies. In sum, TBEA will carry out these projects in a timely manner and follow all the official procedures related to construction and grid connection.
TBEA pointed out that this investment cooperation framework agreement will allow the company to fully take advantage of local resources and thereby ensure the security of its polysilicon supply chain. Besides providing the additional production capacity for supporting TBEA’s operations, the new base will also enhance the competitiveness of the domestic PV industry. Additionally, the new energy projects that TBEA is planning to build will further scale up domestic PV and wind generation.