JinkoSolar Announces 500 MW Solar PV Panel Production Plant In Malaysia

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Leading Chinese solar photovoltaic module and cell manufacturer JinkoSolar Holdings has announced plans to set up a new production facility in Malaysia.

JinkoSolar will set up 500 MW of solar PV module and 450 MW cell manufacturing unit in Penang, Malaysia, the company announced recently. An estimated $100 million will be invested towards this facility which is expected to be operational by May this year. The company has signed a tenancy agreement with Nationgate Technology (M) Sdn. Bhd. for the workshops in which the production line is going to be built.

Over the last few months several solar PV module manufacturers have shifted their production facilities to Malaysia. Earlier this year, Hanwha Q Cells announced job cuts at its German production units and shifting of the manufacturing base from Europe to Malaysia.

Malaysia’s Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) has set a target to have 5% of electricity generated from renewable energy sources by 2015. The authority has also set long-term targets which would see 24% of all the electricity generated in the country from renewable energy sources by 2050. Solar power is expected to the most dominant renewable energy technology in the country’s future energy mix.

As per the feed-in tariff regulations of 2011, small-scale solar power projects are eligible for tariff of up to $0.34 per kWh while larger projects with capacity of over 1 MW are eligible to receive $0.23-0.26 per kWh.

Not only does Malaysia represents an excellent market opportunity for solar PV power projects, both small as well as utility-scale projects, it also allows module manufacturers to bypass the anti-dumping duties levied by Europe and the US.

Earlier this week, JinkoSolar also announced a finance leasing deal with China Development Bank Leasing Limited to develop 1 GW of solar PV capacity over the next 5 years.