Canadian Solar Inc. will soon complete the construction of a silicon wafer plant in China that is now under progress, thus taking a steps towards vertical integration.
The plant, with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes, was started last year, with an estimated investment of CNY 1.2 billion. The first phase is expected to be completed in a couple of months, with production starting in the summer.
The Chinese / Canadian company used to focus on the production of solar modules, and now this announcement comes to confirm that Canadian Solar is doing what other competitors: integrating vertically. Canadian Solar has recently secured a number of silicon supply contracts with other companies. The firm will, however, probably look overseas for silicon material in the future, as it is not practical for Chinese companies to produce it due to high electricity costs.
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