Mr. Wu Fei: Focus on Mobilizing Demand and Optimizing the Ecosystem

On July 24th, China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) held the 2024 PV Industry Supply Chain Development (Wenzhou) Forum. Wu Fei, Chairman of JinenU Solar Group, was invited to attend the forum and share his insights on the long-term development of the PV industry and the choice of short-term interests, the differentiated development path and the healthy development of the industry chain ecosystem.

The PV industry has entered a market-oriented stage and is facing a natural reshuffle.

Wu Fei analyzed the explosive growth of the PV industry in the past few years, he pointed out that the background of the current industry reshuffle year and price war is closely related to the development of the PV industry over the past twenty years, in 2020, technological progress to achieve grid parity and the "dual-carbon strategy" implementation of the double impact, the PV industry has officially entered the first year of marketization. "This industry has ushered in a big explosion in the past few years, with global production going from more than 100 gigawatts in 2019 to more than 400 gigawatts in 2023, and such a rapid explosion has brought about upstream shortages, upstream shortages have brought about profiteering, and profiteering has brought about large-scale production expansion. The industry has come to this point, is a natural law, today's shuffle, supply exceeds demand, is an inevitable process."

Return to the specialized track, this round of shuffling is really an opportunity for industry development

According to Wu Fei prediction, after the end of this round of shuffling, the photovoltaic industry will make a spiral upward. "These three years the industry has a huge contribution to the completion of the upstream infrastructure, the original can not buy silicon, silicon wafers, batteries, now silicon, silicon wafers, batteries can be bought at random. The past three years of vertical integration advantage, I personally believe that this advantage is in the shortage era brought about by profiteering." In Wu Fei's view, vertical integration is not based on the vertical integration advantage under the specialization ability, but the vertical integration advantage based on the shortage of upstream, with the full revival of the upstream, it will return to the specialization mode. This reshuffle is the first round of reshuffling after the first marketization, and the supply exceeding demand currently faced is not a bad thing.

Innovation leads the future, firmly choosing the path of differentiated development

When talking about the initiative on the healthy development of the industry chain ecology, Wu Fei emphasized the power of innovation. He clearly pointed out that the innovation engine that drives the industry forward is not only limited to breakthroughs at the technical level, but should be expanded to diversified forms of innovation. "I set up three years ago crystal excellent photovoltaic, this is a business model innovation, positioning is the photovoltaic industry of Foxconn, only do OEM does not do the brand, in the domestic has 6 bases, 20GW capacity, last year, module shipments grew 400%, the next to overseas to set up factories. We come to be responsible for the adjustment of the industry's product surplus surplus, do not need each on the production capacity." JinenU Solar capacity accounted for 5% of the global share, is committed to become the industry capacity regulation of the "smart valve", with business model innovation, focus on lean management, to solve the current industry status quo issues.

Promoting healthy development of the industry, mobilizing demand is the key

In promoting the PV industry to a new stage of healthy development, Wu Fei put forward insights, he emphasized that expanding demand is the current core priority. With the effective clearing of backward production capacity, the market is stepping into the new normal of supply and demand - prices rise when supply exceeds demand, and fall when supply exceeds demand, which is a natural reflection of the law of the market. Therefore, from the perspective of the industry association, he called for more energy to focus on how to stimulate and expand market demand.

"Photovoltaic development of this industry, not like real estate, demand is falling, the residents of 70% of the debt, leverage down to the head, the supply still exists. Photovoltaic applications are now only 5% of the share, 2035 is 50% of the share. Can we use all the resources to be able to move the 50% in 2035 to five years in advance, ten years in advance, so that demand is expanding rapidly, breaking the demand barrier." He particularly pointed out that the photovoltaic industry to private enterprises as the main force, each point of profit are cohesive with the hard work and wisdom of the enterprise, to protect the industry ecology, to promote common development, the focus should be aligned to make the industry bigger, the industry to make the pattern bigger.

Finally, Wu Fei put forward the social responsibility of entrepreneurs and industry co-prosperity. "The social responsibility of entrepreneurs is not just to let me, the employees of this enterprise, have food to eat. Can I let my employees of this enterprise's suppliers have food to eat, let my industry have food to eat, let China's photovoltaic have food to eat, this is a more important thing to do."