Yingli

Yingli Green Energy was established in 1998 by Liansheng Miao, who remains the company's chairman and CEO. Yingli Green Energy began module production in 2003, with a capacity of 3 MW. By 2004, Yingli reached 6 MW in ingot/wafer/cell production, and 50 MW in module production. The company also expanded into Germany and achieved certifications from UL, the IEC and TÜV Rheinland. After continued expansion and fundraising efforts, Yingli Green Energy completed its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2007. In 2009, Yingli achieved 1 GW of cumulative output of solar modules since commercial production began in 2003. Today, Yingli Green Energy has a balanced vertically integrated production capacity of 2,450 MW per year.[2]

In 2009, the company acquired Cyber Power, a development stage enterprise with plans to begin production of solar-grade polysilicon. Yingli Solar is expected to start trial polysilicon by the end of 2010. Growing at a fast rate, 2010 first quarter reports indicated that it was Yingli Solar's most profitable quarter to date.

In 2010, Yingli Green Energy became the first Chinese company and the first renewable energy company to sponsor the FIFA World Cup.[4] Yingli was also a sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. It supplied modules to 2014 FIFA World Cup stadiums, including the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.[5]

Building on its partnership with FIFA, Yingli is also a sponsor of FC Bayern München and the U.S. Soccer Women's and Men's National Teams.

Over 15 GW of Yingli solar modules are deployed worldwide. In 2012, Yingli Green Energy reached a production capacity of 2,450 MW per year, making it the largest solar module manufacturer in the world in terms of module production capacity.[6] It also became the world's leading solar module supplier by sales revenue and shipments in Q1 2012.[7] Also in 2012, Ray Lian predicted that Yingli Green Energy was likely to become the world's largest supplier in terms of full-year module shipments in 2012.[8]

Yingli manufactures crystalline silicon solar PV modules, including both, monocrystalline and multicrystalline. Its two primary solar module product lines are the monocrystalline PANDA Series and the multicrystalline YGE Series.

Yingli Solar's PANDA product line was developed through an in-house collaboration between the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) and Amtech Systems, Inc. that aimed to create a new, more efficient solar cell. PANDA modules use n-doped silicon instead of the industry's standard p-type silicon, allowing a more efficient conversion of infrared light into electricity, and lower initial degradation rate. As the PANDA product line is claimed by the company to achieve performance ratings of up to 16.5%, it is best suited to commercial or residential applications where maximum energy output is essential due to space constraints.[9]

Yingli Solar's YGE Series is its primary product line. The company claims that these multicrystalline modules have efficiencies of up to 15.4%, for use in commercial, residential, and utility-scale projects.[10]

Yingli Solar's manufacturing facilities are located in Baoding, Haikou, Tianjin, and Hengshui. Yingli Americas, a regional subsidiary of Yingli Green Energy, operates a regional research and development lab, the PV Testing Lab (PVTL), in South San Francisco, California. The PVTL conducts product characterization and quality control testing, and provides customers with system modeling support.[2]

Yingli is the largest and first official module supplier to GRID Alternatives, an Oakland, California-based non-profit solar installer that provides low-income families with solar energy systems free of charge. By the end of 2012, Yingli will have helped over 800 families save substantially on their electricity bills through its support of GRID Alternatives. Thousands of job seekers will also receive professional training through this partnership.[11]

Yingli has also sponsored the United States Soccer Federation to launch the Powering Advancement with Solar and Soccer (PASS) program. The PASS program provides schools in disadvantaged communities with solar energy systems and support for their healthy lifestyle programs. The program was launched at the KIPP DC: Will Academy charter school in Washington, DC on June 1, 2012.[12]

As part of its sponsorship of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Yingli participates in the “Football for Hope. Energy for Hope.” initiative that aims to bring football training and community centers to communities in Africa. Yingli is working with FIFA to provide these twenty football training and community centers with clean solar energy.[4]

• Solar power in China

• Company website
• Reuters