(Yicai Global) Feb. 16 -- TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology, the world’s second biggest solar wafer maker, is spending CNY4.1 billion (USD599 million) to build another photovoltaic wafer plant to meet surging demand.

The new facility, which will be located in Yinchuan, northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, will produce 35 gigawatts of G12 monocrystalline silicon wafers with a diameter of 210 millimeters a year, the Tianjin-based company said yesterday. No construction timetable was given.

TCL Zhonghuan, whose solar wafer output is second only to compatriot Longi Green Energy Technology, already has a large-sized monocrystalline silicon wafer plant in operation in Yinchuan, with a yearly output of 50 gigawatts.

TCL Zhonghuan had an annual capacity of 88 GW of solar wafers as of the end of 2021, 70 percent of which was of G12 wafers, according to its 2021 financial report. The firm has already recently built a new headquarters in Tianjin.

The price of silicon wafers rose sharply last year, boosting TCL Zhonghuan’s performance. The company is expecting net profit for the year 2022 to surge by between 63.8 percent and 76.2 percent from the year before to between CNY6.6 billion (USD962.8 million) and CNY7.1 billion, according to the performance forecast it released last month.

Fast growth in solar power installations is spurring demand for silicon wafers. Last year, China added 87.4 GW of newly installed capacity in PV power stations bringing total installations to 392.6 GW, according to data released by the National Energy Administration earlier this week.

TCL Zhonghuan’s share price [SHE:002129] closed down 1.8 percent today at CNY42.25 (USD6.20). Earlier in the day it gained 2.6 percent to CNY44.19.

Editor: Kim Taylor