BEIJING (Reuters) -China is threatening to shut down producers of polysilicon, a building block for solar panels, if they do not meet new energy standards, according to draft measures released on Tuesday by the country’s standardization administration.
Once the standards are officially in force, plants which cannot meet the baseline energy consumption for polysilicon products of 6.4kgce/kg would be given a deadline to remedy the problem. If, after making upgrades, the plants cannot meet the permitted standard of 5.5kgce/kg, they will be forced to shut down, an industry body said on Wednesday.
The effective capacity of China’s polysilicon producers is expected to drop to 2.4 million metric tons per year after the restructuring, down 16.4% from the end of 2024, the Silicon Industry of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said, citing preliminary estimates.
“With the strict implementation of the new energy consumption standards, the supply and demand pattern of polysilicon will be substantially improved,” the industry body added.
The draft standards, released this week by authorities seeking public feedback, are expected to be implemented in 12 months.
(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
