Page 4 - SunTalk December 2020

MEDIA COMMENTS

Suntech ‘restarts’ after twenty

years in PV industry

Despite having experienced numerous ups and downs over the years, Suntech has retained its status within China’s PV industry as
an internationally respected and richly experienced solar player.
An established leader in the PV industry, Suntech has been through difficult periods amid the waves of PV growth in China, to finally
return to dedicated PV manufacturing via the removal of other redundant businesses.
Based on its mastery of core product technology and visibility overseas, Suntech has been making steady progress towards being
listed once again in the ‘first team’ of industry players.
In the 2019 Solar Module & Inverter Bankability report released by BNEF, Suntech was once again amongst the "World's Most
Bankable PV Module Brands ", ranking seventh, up 11 from its previous spot.
By Carrie Xiao, PV Tech

Suntech, the leader

in PV modules

In August 2019, Suntech supplied 250MW of high-efficiency poly modules to the
JUWI PV plant in Kimberley, South Africa, which is the first of a batch of
large-scale power plants there. Later, in October, Suntech supplied 100MW of
modules to Europe's largest 500MW PV plant.
A trendsetter since its foundation in 2001, Suntech effectively opened the door to the
renewable world for everyone else, with its first module shipped overseas in 2002,
The figure below illustrates that, since 2014, the annual growth of Suntech's
As the first major PV manufacturer in China, the company, by insisting on using reliable module shipments globally has averaged out at around a steady 30%. By the
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materials and mature manufacturing processes in its PV module production, set an end of 2019, the company’s cumulative shipments had exceeded 22GW, of
example for the industry, underscored by rigorous inspection and third-party testing. which overseas shipments accounted for 70% (see Figure 1).
In the early days, PV players successively copied Suntech's practices in material
procurement, production standards and quality control. The prevailing production culture
within the industry set the stage for ‘Made in China’ to lead the global PV industry many
years later.
Carefully crafted products in any industry will stand the test of time. According to a new
report on module after-sales, from 2003 to Q1 2020, Suntech sold a total of 81.3 million
modules, with a failure rate of only 0.0977%. Many of the company’s first modules to be
shipped provided excellent performance, especially in terms of stability and reliability.
Suntech shipped 40kW of poly modules in 2002 to a German plant belonging to the
Czech company GBC. The project was completed and connected to the grid in October
2003. Over the past 17 years, the average annual generation efficiency of the plant has
remained at around 1000kWh/kWp, much higher than originally expected.
According to a 2019 performance monitoring report, Suntech's poly modules are able to
heat up evenly with no hot-spot risks, and the highest temperature differential is
maintained within ±10°C. Showing no signs of degradation, Suntech modules are still Suntech’s commitment to quality also extends to its product innovation and R&D.
operating reliably after 17 years of exposure to the elements. The company’s R&D team has consistently made every effort to always present to
the market the best and most suitable products, manufactured with state-of-the-art
Module reliability is extremely important for investors and EPC companies. For investors, technology and materials, as can be seen from two of its latest offerings, the
a reliable module means constant cash flow and, for EPC companies, reduced O&M super-thin, super-light HiPerforma series UltraD multi-busbar bifacial PERC
costs. The excellent performance of Suntech modules has earned the company the module released in 2018 and the 440W high-efficiency, half-cut HiPower mono
loyalty of the market and many long-term customers. GBC, a company that has now module launched in 2019.
worked with Suntech for more than ten years, is one of these. Purchasing their first
module from Suntech, many organisations have effectively grown up with the company to According to Suntech, time will tell that its modules will prove to be the right choice
become the top PV distributors across Europe. for its partners and clients. Having survived the twists and turns of the past
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nineteen years, Suntech is now actively embracing a new start in many markets
Suntech’s popularity and reputation around the world over the years has led to a steady around the world.
growth in its module shipments. The company’s products were shipped to over 100
countries and regions in early 2020, including to some of the world's most renowned Customs data shows that Suntech module shipments in 2019 were ranked among
power plants. The Indian PV plants invested in by Softbank, the mega group, have so far the top 3 in India, Egypt and South Africa, and among the top 6 in Europe and
used 225MW of PV modules supplied by Suntech. Japan. The company also did very well in other markets.
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