Xinyu City, China-based solar power company LDK Solar Co., Ltd. announced that it has successfully produced larger volumes of silicon, the basic raw material used for solar panels, to cut solar industry manufacturing costs.

Previously, the company’s standard production capacity for silicon ingots was 450 kg. Yesterday [June 18], the company announced that it can now produce multicrystalline silicon ingots weighing 660 kilograms, or a capacity increase of 46.7%.

Ingots of silicon are purified products out of which solar wafers are carved. Silicon wafers, in turn, are made into solar cells.

With the new production capacity, which is LDK Solar’s largest so far, the company expects to lower capital expenditure in its operations, contributing to the reduction of production costs.

LDK Solar’s maximum furnace capacity at its plant is reportedly 800 kg. Increased capacity is expected to lower manufacturing’s power consumption and bring more yields.

"We have continued to develop technology aimed at solidifying and augmenting LDK Solar's cost leadership position,” LDK Solar Chief Technology Officer Yuepang Wan said. “Our objective with this development was to improve product quality and at the same time decrease the cost of multicrystalline ingot production.”

LDK Solar, whose manufacturing plant is located in an industrial park in Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province, is in the main business of producing ingots, and mono- and multi-crystalline wafers.

In April, LDK Solar announced the formation of a joint venture with Q-Cells, the world’s largest solar PV manufacturer, for the large PV system market for Europe and China.

LDK Solar’s US office is in Sunnyvale, California.

-  Eric Dorente

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