China’s dominance in solar energy: One factory, one million cells per day

In a factory situated in a polluted area of China’s Shaanxi province, the country’s leading solar industry is displayed. The factory houses robots that transport square slices of polysilicon, a crystalline material typically derived from quartz. These slices, known as wafers, are 180mm in diameter and extremely thin. They undergo a series of processes involving chemical baths, laser treatments, and silver etching to transform them into solar cells that can convert sunlight into electricity. Once completed, several dozen cells are combined to create a solar module.

The factory belongs to LONGi Green Energy Technology and has the capability to produce around 16 million cells daily. This makes it one of China’s largest solar cell manufacturers. According to Wood Mackenzie, a consulting firm, China holds a dominant position in every aspect of the global supply chain for solar energy, from polysilicon production to the final product. The country’s module production capacity reached approximately 1,000 gigawatts (GW) last year, nearly five times greater than the rest of the world combined. Furthermore, this capacity has tripled since 2021, surpassing the growth rate of the rest of the world despite efforts by countries like the United States to increase domestic production. This puts China in an advantageous position as it can now manufacture more than twice the number of solar modules that are installed worldwide annually.