Daqo New Energy, one of the leading Chinese polysilicon producers, has this week begun operations at its new Phase 3A facility located in Xinjiang.
Construction work on the new plant was completed at the end of 2016, and the company expects the facility to be hitting its full production capacity of 18,000 metric tons (MT) of polysilicon by the end of the first quarter of the year.
This would place Daqo ahead of schedule in terms of output, the company’s CEO, Gongda Yao, confirmed.
“We have achieved the highest capital expenditure efficiency in the company’s history of polysilicon capacity expansion by reutilizing idle machinery and equipment in Chongqing and leveraging existing shared facilities in Xinjiang,” Yao added.
Daqo expects to achieve further cost reduction with the addition of this facility, the CEO confirmed.
Recent analysis of the polysilicon market by Bernreuter Research showed a sharp uptick in the amount of polysilicon being produced and imported into China. Domestic production reached 18,000 MT in December, while imports – largely from Korean suppliers – have swelled to 14,449 MT as the Chinese solar industry readies itself for a first half installation surge.
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Since the technology is not mentioned, I assume Daqo use the traditional Siemens process not the newer FBRs.