GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited announced its joint-venture agreement with Canadian Solar Inc (CSIQ) via their respective subsidiaries for building a solar cell plant in Funing, Jiangsu. According to the agreement, CSIQ holds 80% equity interest in the joint venture, while GCL-Poly holds the remaining 20% equity interest.

The first phase of the project will have capacity of 300MW solar cells, including the existing capacity of 240MW from CSIQ’s Suzhou Plant and newly-added capacity of 60MW. With the application of the most advanced solar cell technology in the world, it is estimated that by the end of 2014, the project will be able to produce high-efficiency multi-crystalline solar cells with conversion efficiency of more than 19%. Upon full completion, the Jiangsu Funing solar cell project will have solar cell capacity of close to 1.2GW. The construction plan for the subsequent phases will be commissioned in accordance with market conditions.

CSIQ’s CEO Dr. Shawn Qu said: “We believe we are at the very early stages of solar energy adoption around the world, and we continue to see solid market demand for our products. This joint venture further strengthens our position as a global industry leader that can deliver quality modules to meet the growing demand in existing and emerging markets.”

“For years, GCL-Poly and CSIQ have been maintaining sound cooperation and are long-term strategic partners. While sticking to its dual-core strategy unwaveringly, GCL-Poly will combine CSIQ’s solar cell manufacturing technology and its wafer manufacturing technology to produce high-efficiency solar cells with top conversion efficiency in the market,” said Mr. Shu Hua, executive president of GCL-Poly. “With a modest equity interest in this joint venture of building a solar cell plant in Funing, we can better understand the needs of our customers, so that we can accelerate the upgrade of products and further enhance the adoption of GCL-Poly’s high-efficiency wafers in the end market. ”