Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 08

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JinkoSolar leads global solar PV module market
ASIA
CHINA’S JinkoSolar Holding led the global solar PV module market in 2019, shipping 14.2GW of solar PV modules, way ahead of second-placed JA Solar with 10.3GW.
The world’s top 10 manufacturers, led mainly by the Asia-Pacific region, delivered 80.3GW in 2019, according to a report from GlobalData.
Thisis37%morethanthe63GWshippedby the top 10 in 2018. GlobalData predicted that the top 10 would remain constant in 2019, and that these companies would account for 75% of shipments in 2020.
The global solar PV market is experiencing higher demand, continuous cost reduction, software and technology development and improvement in module efficiency, the report commented.
Crucially, the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) fell as solar system efficiency and performance improved and the use of data analytics became
more sophisticated.
JA Solar’s performance represented a 17%
increase on 2018, driven by expansion into emerging markets in the Middle East.
Trina Solar and LONGi Solar occupied the third and fourth place with shipments of 9.7 GW and 9 GW respectively.
CanadianSolarcamefifthwith8.5GW,while Hanwha Q CELLS was sixth with 7.3GW, Risen Energy was in seventh place with 7 GW, and First Solar was eighth with 5.5GW.
The report concluded that Chinese manufac- turers would continue to dominate as the over- all leader in solar installations in 2020 as newer markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East emerged as centres.
On the other hand, China, the US, Europe and India will still remain the major markets for the solar module suppliers, although their growth will be slower.™
Suzlon lenders approve major debt restructuring
INDIA
INDIA’S Suzlon has announced a major restruc- turing loan led by the State Bank of India (SBI) in a bid to stave off bankruptcy as it struggles under $1.8bn of debt.
The company could also issue new shares in a bid to raise much-needed capital.
No details were announced of the deal, which was announced in Bombay on February 21 and immediately boosted the share price by 10%.
The rescue plan aims to stop Suzlon becom- ing insolvent and still has to be considered by Suzlon’s other lenders.
Financial newswire Bloomberg Quint reported a senior banker familiar with the issue as claiming that SBI had agreed to a 68% haircut on what it is owed.
Meanwhile, Suzlon said this week that the board would meet to discuss a share sale as part of the wider rescue plan.
The board is to “consider and approve the issuance of equity shares, equity linked instru- ments or convertible securities,” according to a note from the company.
The board will also discuss the “proposed resolution plan” that the State Bank of India pro- posed on February 21.
The note added that any share placement would need the approval of a “consortium of lenders” and shareholders at an EGM.
This latest rescue follows efforts in June 2019 by rival OEM Vestas and private equity investor Brookfield to inject EUR1bn ($1.1bn) into the company.
Suzlon posted a net loss of $104mn for the quarter to December 2019 and confirmed that debt had risen to $1.8bn. The more eye-catch- ing figure was that just one 2MW turbine was delivered in the quarter. Indeed, just 49 MW was shipped in the three quarters to October 2019.
It said it had to cancel 632.1MW of orders in the quarter because of “teething troubles of land, power evacuation and other constraints.” It now hasanorderbookworth857MW.
Suzlon said that its manufacturing operations were “at a subdued level with nominal allocation of capital.”™
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