Company’s stock is up 33% since early September on improving outlook for solar panel makers.

The latest steps to strengthen its polysilicon supply chain are providing a lift to solar panel maker JinkoSolar Holding (JKS), underscoring the recent importance of securing such supplies in an industry with quite a few moving parts.

Polysilicon, the main ingredient used to make solar panels, has been in relatively short supply for the past year, squeezing manufacturers like JinkoSolar.

That reality was engraved in the latest quarterly results announced last week from Daqo New Energy Corp.(DQ), a major polysilicon maker, which said the average price of its polysilicon rose 32% in the third quarter compared with the second. Daqo commented that prices as of last week had climbed further still to about $35 per kilogram, up about 23% from the average price of $27.55 per kilogram from the third quarter.

On a more positive note, current worldwide energy shortages that have led to blackouts in many countries are driving demand for new power plants of all kinds, including solar. And let’s not forget the big global climate summit now taking place in Scotland, where the focus on reducing carbon emissions is casting a favorable light on renewable energy sources like solar, wind and hydro.