China is preparing a strike on US solar energy

The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China are planning to impose restrictions on products used to produce key components of solar panels (silicon ingots and silicon wafers), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. The specific timing of their introduction is not yet known. If the decision is made, Chinese solar energy companies will have to obtain licenses from the authorities to export products. We are talking about equipment that is used in the intermediate stages of the production of plates for solar panels.

Now it is China that produces almost all polycrystalline silicon – the main raw material for the production of solar modules. Chinese companies control about 80% of the global supply chain for the industry’s products, and also produce about half of the equipment for the production of solar panels and their components. At the same time, only 3% of the ingots and silicon wafers required to generate energy from the sun are produced outside of China, the publication reports. Also, according to TrendForce, at the moment only Chinese companies can create large 182- and 210-mm plates.