Search sponsor
Search sponsor
Hoku Corporation released a statement advising of the current state of the company, which included a confirmation that it had stopped all construction activity for its Hoku Materials polysilicon production site, which is not yet in commercial operation. As of March 31, the company estimates that it had nearly US$7.7 million in cash and US$278.8 million in liabilities, including US$74.4 million in accounts payable at Hoku Materials.
Chinese companies GCL-Poly Energy, Winsun New Energy and Shunfeng Photovoltaic have signed a Letter of Intent (LiT). Under the strategic agreement, the companies have announced the intent to jointly construct PV plants in Europe as well as other countries.
Although monthly revenue in the first 4-months of 2012 have yet to show any meaningful recovery, Taiwan-based Green Energy Technology (GET) said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that it was re-allocating operating resources away from a-Si thin film business to meet growing demand for its high-efficiency wafer business as demand is recovering. GET was an early customer of Applied Materials ‘SunFab’ turnkey thin film technology.
Despite full-capacity utilization and increased shipments of polysilicon and wafers, Daqo New Energy suffered falling revenue and continued losses in the first quarter of 2012. Based-on previously guided poly production cost reduction timelines and current spot market pricing - Daqo is fighting a loosing battle to sell polysilicon above cost levels through 2012 and 2013.
American-based Fluor Corporation has finished constructing one of LDK Solar’s polysilicon plants in China, the company has announced. Fluor provided EPC services for the plant in Xinyu City, China.
Endemic overcapacity and continued price declines towards manufacturing cost levels within the polysilicon sector have forced Korea’s largest poly producer to delay previously announced plans to build further plants. OCI is estimated to have reached an annual capacity of 42,000MT at the end of 2011 and had plans to reach 62,000MT with contributions from its 20,000MT P4 plant and a 24,000MT P5 plant that was revealed in April 2011, with the project expected to be operational at the end of 2013.
Solar Gard has finished its second Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which examines the environmental impact of a product from production to disposal . The latest EPD covers 14 more solar control architectural window films, bringing the company’s total number of carbon negative window films to 46.
PV Crystalox Solar advised that it had reached a cash settlement over a terminated wafer supply deal that amounts to €90 million. The funds will be recognized as income in the first half of this year and, according to proactiveinvestors, the news saw the company’s value more than double.
German-based manufacturer of metallization pastes Heraeus is constructing a new manufacturing site in Taiwan, the company has announced. The production site is expected to commence operation in the last quarter of 2012 and is intended to meet the demand of the Taiwanese market with local production and technical services. Heraeus produces silver pastes for polycrystalline solar cells.
GT Advanced Technologies will supply UTECH Solar with US$8 million worth of silicon growth technology and casting furnaces, the company has announced. GT received an order from UTECH Solar for its DSS450 MonoCast silicon growth technology and another one for its DSS450HP casting furnaces. UTECH will commence the production of MonoCast wafers as well as increase production with additional DSS450HP multicrystalline casting furnaces to meet the increasing demand.
