Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd., one of China’s largest manufacturers of solar panels, recently announced a substantial expansion to its production capacity due to anticipated demand.
The company will increase its solar panel production capacity from 550MW to 700MW by April of this year and its PV cell production capacity from 360MW to 480MW by July.
Peter Xie, President of Solarfun, said the company is expecting to see strong demand from areas with increased government rebates such as China and the United States. Solarfun solar panels also have a strong presence in the Australian grid connect solar power market.
The company also recently entered into three contracts to supply 12.65 MW of solar panels for solar farm projects in China.
Solarfun has come a long way in a very short time. It was established by a leading Chinese electricity meter manufacturer, Lingyang Electronics, in August 2004. Solarfun’s first module production line was completed in December of that year and the first PV cell production line started commercial operation in November 2005.
By the end of 2007, Solarfun’s eighth cell and module lines were completed, bringing production capacity to 240MW. Solarfun has attracted investment from some of the world’s biggest names in private equity firms, including Citigroup Venture Capital, Good Technologies, Hony Capital, and Legend Capital. In December 2006, Solarfun successfully launched on NASDAQ.
Solarfun solar panels are supported by a 25-year warranty and all modules are certified by TUV, CE, UL, and CEC worldwide certifications
The company was the first major Chinese PV manufacturer to implement In-Line Chemical Texturing, which offers the benefits of few surface scratches, higher solar cell absorption, lower current leakage and consistent quality.
