REC Silicon lowering polysilicon production to 50% as overcapacity hits
Polysilicon producer REC Silicon is cutting production at its Moses Lake facility by around 50% from the beginning of October due to overcapacity in the solar supply chain.
Polysilicon producer REC Silicon is cutting production at its Moses Lake facility by around 50% from the beginning of October due to overcapacity in the solar supply chain.
The solar centric political campaigning group EU ProSun, established by integrated PV module manufacturer, SolarWorld, has condemned China and Chinese module manufacturers for causing SolarWorld to make 500 ‘temporary’ workers at its manufacturing plants in Germany, redundant.
Organic photovoltaic (OPV) thin-film producer Heliatek has raised €80 million (US$88 million) in a new funding round to expand its ‘HeliaFilm’ manufacturing capacity by one million m² per annum.
Ardian Infrastructure has made its debut in the Latin American solar market in the US$31 million acquisition of four PV plants in Chile and Peru from Spanish EPC Solarpack.
High-efficiency PV module producer and project developer SunPower is to take over its joint venture (JV) solar cell manufacturing operations in Malaysia from Taiwan-based partner AUO, a subsidiary of AU Optronics Corporation at a cost of US$170 million, payable over the next four years.
Taiwan-based market research firm EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce said it expected solar industry overcapacity to last through 2017, with supply (polysilicon through to PV modules) exceeding demand by 18% to 35%, potentially lasting into 2018.
The University of Delaware’s Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC) has been awarded US$2.1 million from the SunShot Initiative for two research projects aiming to improve the performance of interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells while reducing their production costs and new techniques for CIGS deposition.
The 33rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) has turned away from co-locating with Intersolar Europe in June, 2016 and has returned to a September 2017 slot and be held in Amsterdam.
The US Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is being given US$30 million from the SunShot Initiative to develop durable photovoltaic (PV) module materials.
US-based developer of ‘direct gas to wafer’ technology Crystal Solar has been awarded a US$3 million cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Energy, SunShot Initiative.
The US Energy Department is planning to provide solar technology funding to the tune of US$107 million via the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) SunShot Initiative.
TCAD and EDA software provider Silvaco Japan Co is providing the Segawa Laboratory at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo with its device simulator, Atlas for analyzing hysteresis phenomena in perovskite solar cells.
Major metallization paste producer Heraeus Photovoltaics has announced that Dr. Albert Lu has joined the company as Global Head of Application Development from major merchant solar producer, Neo Solar Power.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Hanwha Q CELLS is planning to introduce its first ever monocrystalline modules, which will use its PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Contact) cell technology. New and prototype products will be showcased at Solar Power International (SPI) in Las Vegas next week.
India-based PV module manufacturer Vikram Solar has revealed plans to expand capacity to 2GW by 2019, up from recently completed expansions that have taken nameplate module capacity to 500MW.
