In May 2023, the prices of products in the PV industry chain experienced a decline, resulting in increased customer demand for lower prices. As a consequence, the bidding price for modules reached an all-time low, with bidding capacity dropping to less than half of that in April. Although the prices of silicon material and wafer temporarily stabilized in June, customer demand remained stagnant, causing a slowdown in the centralized procurement of modules. According to TrendForce's statistics, approximately 10.63GW of PV modules were announced for bidding in June 2023, primarily from state-owned enterprises. Moreover, high-power, large-size, N-type, and bifacial modules garnered a higher market share.
Bidding Projects
Regarding the bidding projects, most of the invited tenders were for P-type modules, although the market share of N-type modules has been increasing. Out of the total bidding capacity of 10.63GW for PV modules, 4.98GW (46.86%) accounted for P-type modules, while 2.37GW (22.29%) accounted for N-type modules. Central and state-owned enterprises were the main procurers of modules. In June 2023, the top 5 enterprises had a combined bidding capacity of up to several GW, representing approximately 78.2% of the total capacity.
Notably, China Three Gorges Corporation ranked first in bidding capacity, with approximately 2.84GW for the centralized procurement of PV modules in stages one and four during the second quarter of 2023. PCG Power’s bidding project from 2023 to 2024 included three stages of centralized procurement for PV modules, with a total capacity of 1.5GW. Similarly, CR Power's second batch of the 2023 bidding project saw centralized procurement of PV modules reaching 1.5GW. CHN Energy announced a three-stage framework agreement for PV modules in the Guodian Tech Branch bidding project for 2023. Lastly, the centralized procurement of PV modules by CHN Energy Changyuan Electric Power Co., Ltd., across four bidding projects, totaled approximately 1.47GW. CNNC’s pilot bidding project from 2023 to 2024 featured three stages, with a bidding capacity of 1GW for the centralized procurement of PV modules.
Bidding Projects Reveals High Demand for High-Power and Large-Size PV Modules
In the PV module bidding projects of June 2023, there was a significant demand for high-power modules. Out of a total bidding capacity of 10.63GW, modules with a power below 540W accounted for a mere 0.3W, representing only 2.82% of the total capacity. On the other hand, modules with a power above 540W reached 4.46GW, making up 41.98% of the total bidding capacity. Furthermore, modules with a power above 560W accounted for approximately 1.69GW, or 15.88% of the total bidding capacity. Notably, modules with a power above 650W contributed approximately 1.08GW, equivalent to 10.15% of the total bidding capacity. The trend clearly demonstrates the high demand for high-power modules in the market.
In terms of module size, the bidding projects favored large-size modules, which enjoyed a significant advantage. Among the 10.63GW PV module bidding capacity in June 2023, 182 mm modules accounted for approximately 1.37GW (12.86% of the total), while 210 mm modules contributed 0.4GW (3.76% of the total). The combined bidding capacity for both 182 mm and 210 mm modules reached around 5.57GW, representing a substantial 52.45% of the total. Large-size modules offer notable benefits in terms of cost reduction and efficiency enhancement, leading to an expected increase in their market share in the future.
Bifacial modules emerged as the dominant choice in the bidding projects for both single-sided and bifacial modules. Out of the 10.63GW PV module bidding capacity, single-sided modules accounted for approximately 0.8GW (7.53% of the total), while bifacial modules held a commanding position with approximately 7.53GW (70.9% of the total). Within the category of bifacial modules, double-glass modules represented a substantial portion, with a bidding capacity of approximately 3.4GW (31.98%). This indicates an improving market share for double-glass modules, highlighting their growing popularity and demand.
Bidding Winners
Based on the part of statistics from TrendForce, the winning bids and bidders announced in June 2023 reached a total capacity of 18.43GW. Among them, the winning bidder Longi secured approximately 5.55GW, taking the top spot. The top five winning bidders were Longi, Suntech, Tongwei, Chint, and GCL System Integration, with a combined winning capacity of 14.3GW, accounting for 77.6% of the total winning bids. Among the four leading enterprises, namely Longi, JA, JinkoSolar, and Trina Solar, JA's winning capacity has yet to be announced, while the other three companies secured approximately 7.89GW in total, representing 42.8% of the winning capacity. The bidding prices of modules continued to decrease in June 2023.
Bidding Amount
In June 2023, bidding prices of modules continue to go down
Regarding P-type module bidding prices, although the prices of silicon and wafer temporarily stabilized in June 2023, customer demand had not yet seen significant growth. This led module enterprises to engage in intense competition based on shipment volume. Consequently, the bidding prices of P-type modules continued to decline, with an average bidding price ranging from 1.324 yuan per W to 1.521 yuan per W. China Shuifa Singyes centralized procurement project offered the lowest average bidding price, while China Huadian’s second batch of PV module centralized procurement project had the highest price.
In terms of N-type module bidding prices, the manufacturing costs of N-type modules decreased, resulting in a slight decline in prices. According to TrendForce's statistics, the overall average bidding price for N-type modules in five module bidding projects ranged from 1.42 Yuan per W to 1.628 Yuan per W. The lowest price was offered by Guodian Tech Branch in the third stage of its PV module framework agreement, while the highest price was set by China Huadian in the second stage of its second batch of PV module centralized procurement projects in 2023.
The bidding projects in June 2023 can be summarized as follows: P-type modules continued to dominate the bidding landscape, while the bidding capacity for N-type modules showed signs of expansion. Additionally, there was a positive demand for high-power, large-size, and bifacial modules. Longi secured the highest winning bidding capacity, and the top five enterprises accounted for over 70% of the total winning bids. The prices of silicon material and silicon wafers temporarily stabilized, but customer demand still needed a boost, resulting in continuous declines in module prices.