Shangji Automation recently announced its plan to build a new plant for manufacturing PV modules in the economic development zone of Jiangyin, a county-level city administered by Wuxi in China's Jiangsu Province. The total investment in this project is estimated to be around RMB 5 billion. The development of the entire plant will be carried out in two phases. The first phase, which will add 5GW per year of production capacity, is expected to commence soon as the company expects it to be operational by the third quarter of 2023. The initiation date for the second phase has yet to be confirmed. Once the entire plant is completed, it will have a production capacity of 16GW per year. This announcement was first reported by other Chinese news websites that cover the renewable energy industry.
Shangji began building production capacity for mono-Si PV products in 2019, and PV products now represent one of the company’s core businesses. Shangji intends to extend its presence across the PV industry chain through investments that support its vertical integration efforts. Therefore, it has expanded into both upstream and downstream sections, including polysilicon, mono-Si wafers, and PV cells.
In accordance with its growth strategy, Shangji plans to add module manufacturing on top of its existing operations across the PV industry chain. The company stated that with the completion of the new module plant, it will achieve the status of being a vertically integrated manufacturer for PV products as it has a presence in the markets for polysilicon, wafers, cells, and modules. Therefore, this project is a vital part of its growth strategy and aligns with its long-term vision.