Yingli Green Energy Holding Co (YGE), the Chinese solar manufacturer, could become world’s biggest panel supplier, owing to the surge in domestic sales. Panel shipments for the year will be 2.1 GW to 2.2 GW, which is a growth of 37 per cent from 2011, the China-based company said in a statement.
Sales in China have accounted for 28 per cent of Yingli’s third- quarter revenue, twice as much as in the second quarter. That’s boosting the company’s shipments as slowing demand in other regions prompts competitors to revise their forecasts. Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP), the largest solar manufacturer last year, expects to ship as much as 2 GW of panels this year.
Solar manufacturer’s tussle has been a big factor in driving down prices and cutting into margins as governments from Europe to the U.S. reduce support.
Yingli expects China to represent 40 per cent of its shipments in the fourth quarter, while European sales slip to 40 per cent. New solar markets will account for another 10 per cent of shipments, and sales to the US, where duties were imposed against Chinese imports, will fall to less than 10 per cent. Yingli has supplied panels for the largest solar farms in Latin America and Singapore this year and is looking at markets such as Uruguay and Sri Lanka.
