It’s not yet a solar panel brand particularly well known in Australia, but Daqo New Energy is showing Chinese solar done right is up there with the best of them.
While Daqo solar panels are a relative newcomer to our shores; Daqo Group was founded 40 years and last year had revenue of over USD $1.8 billion.
Some of its solar related products have made their way into better known brands. The company, as Daqo New Energy, has been producing sought-after 9N polysilicon that is used in solar-grade ingots, wafers, cells and modules for some time.
The company has two polysilicon manufacturing plants; one in Wanzhou, Chongqing and another in Shihezi, Xinjiang with production capabilities of 4,300MT and 5,000MT respectively.
Listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010, the company has evolved into a producer of high efficiency solar panels; making Daqo a fully vertically integrated solar manufacturer.
The company has set its sights on producing 7,300 MT capacity of polysilicon this year, 250 MW equivalent of silicon wafers/ingots, 250MW of solar cells and 250MW of solar panels.
Looking ahead to 2015, Daqo predicts it will produce 29,000 MT of polysilicon, 1000 MW equivalent of ingots/wafers, 750 MW of solar cells and 500 MW of solar panels.
The Chinese government has smiled upon Daqo, it being one of a chosen few among solar companies that will receive priority funding support from China Development Bank Corp.
In fact, to date Daqo Group companies have secured financing (PDF) to the tune of around 9,688,380,000 CNY – approximately $1.5 billion Australian dollars.
But as we’ve seen with other high-flying companies; having such massive financial backing does not guarantee success – the company needs to be well managed and products must be of superior quality and at a good pricing point.
Daqo has delivered on both; with its panels sporting performance of other leading brands and at a very reasonable price.
Daqo solar panels also recently passed IEC61730-2 fire safety testing and in multiple gruelling PID tests, the modules demonstrated a reduction in performance of less than one percent, earning the modules a Class A rating.
Daqo modules are appearing in installations large and small around the world (PDF) – including more recently, Australia.
As with now hugely popular REC solar panels; Australian solar provider Energy Matters recognised Daqo’s potential and was the first Australian company to offer Daqo modules to the local home solar market. Since that time, Energy Matters has installed thousands of the panels; without a single warranty issue, workmanship or performance complaint reported.
Daqo may be an odd name, but it’s one that will become increasingly familiar as the modules start occupying more Australian rooftops, helping households in the homes below slash their electricity bills for years to come.
