China’s Longi faces higher power tariffs

World’s largest solar panel manufacturer hit as Yunnan province withdraws preferential tariffs

China’s Longi—the world’s biggest solar panel maker and a major exporter—faces a rise in costs in September, when the provincial government of Yunnan in southwestern China will withdraw preferential electricity tariffs offered since 2016. Yunnan is home to 54pc of Longi’s capacity for producing silicon wafers—ultra-thin slices of light-absorbing polysilicon that are wired up into photovoltaic cells and then assembled into the solar modules that make up panels. Longi’s power prices in Yunnan will be determined by market rates after August and settled directly with power grid operators. Higher electricity costs “will have a certain adverse impact on the company’s profits” and the province’s de