This second facility, located at the 15,000 MT Mahong Polysilicon Plant in Xinyu City, China, is expected to reach its designed annualised capacity within three to 6 months.

Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar, says: “Lessons we learned and experience gained from the first train has been applied and allowed us to increase our speed of execution in commissioning and starting up commercial production of the second train. Quality of the polysilicon produced to date confirms the state-of-the-art technology implemented at our Mahong polysilicon facility.

“This achievement enables us to continue our progress in improving economies of scale, and is a clear demonstration of the hard work and commitment of our operations team. We look forward to continued success in increasing our polysilicon production to meet the growing needs of the solar industry worldwide.”

1 GW solar cell facility

The news follows from LDK Solar’s announcement earlier this month that it is investing in a 1 GW crystalline solar cell and 500 MW solar module facility in Hefei, China.

Production is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2011.

Hefei High-Tech Construction and Investment Group will provide financing of RMB2.5 billion to LDK Solar for up to three years to build the facility.