A worker of Oerlikon checks with his hands a Thin Film Silicon Solar Module in Trubbach, June 13, 2007. (Photo : REUTERS)
Hanergy Holding Group CEO Li Hejun is facing criticism for his proposal to fast-track the thin film solar power industry as a new growth point for China's economy.
Li, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, claimed that the industry would be worth over 8 trillion yuan ($1.28 trillion) within three years. That would be three to five times the country's automobile industry.
While the thin film photovoltaic technology is expected to be a convenient way of charging devices such as phones and electric cars with the use of solar energy, Zhao Zheng, a professor at Beijing Normal University, believes that Li is too optimistic.
The thin film solar power industry can be promising as countries around the world aggressively shift to renewable energy, Zhao admitted.
However, Zhao noted that the industry is still unproven.
"The thin film photovoltaic technology, now only a concept in the lab, has not been widely applied at the consumer level, due to high costs and a cold market reception for new-energy-powered products," Zhao said.
This view is supported by London-based research group Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which in the examination of Hanergy's operations, was unable to find a list of solar-power projects that justify its five-fold rise to $36 billion in the past year.
"The main items of value for Hanergy Thin Film are the thin-film technologies, which are unproven in large-scale commercial production, and the project development pipeline in China," according to Jenny Chase, lead solar analyst for BNEF.
Chase added that Hanergy Thin Film has disclosed very little about its participation in China's large photovoltaic market.
Charles Yonts, an analyst at CLSA Ltd., said that the company's value is "completely out of line with the sector."
On the other hand, the Financial Times raised questions about the company's accounting methods.
