LONGi Green Energy Technology’s factory in a polluted area of China’s Shaanxi province is the epicenter of the country’s solar industry. Here, drones move around carrying square slices of polysilicon, a crystalline material typically made from quartz. These thin, 180mm-wide wafers undergo a series of processes involving chemicals, lasers, and silver etching to transform them into solar cells capable of converting sunlight into electricity. With a daily production capacity of around 16 million cells, LONGi Green Energy Technology leads the global supply chain for solar cells.
China currently dominates every aspect of the global solar supply chain, from polysilicon production to final product manufacture. The country’s module production capacity soared to approximately 1,000 gigawatts last year, which is roughly five times greater than the combined capacity of the rest of the world. Despite efforts by other countries to increase their domestic production, China’s capacity has tripled since 2021, surpassing the global growth rate. As a result, China is now capable of producing more than double the number of solar modules that the world installs annually.