In an attempt to debunk recent reports from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and IHS over the timing and location of the next wave of PV equipment capital spending, NPD Solarbuzz expects the upturn to be delayed due to PV module manufacturers adopting ‘fabless’ and ‘virtual manufacturing’ strategies through to the second-half of 2014.
Having gone through a major financial restructuring, SolarWorld is starting to tackle its manufacturing competitive issues with a round of technology upgrades and new product introductions.
Major equipment supplier to the PV industry, Meyer Burger has reported a better than expected order intake in the last six-weeks, citing it as a “turning point in customer behaviour.”
As expected, Sunways said that preliminary insolvency proceedings against the assets of the company by its banks have been stopped and the local court in Konstanz has closed the case.
The 345MW Copper Mountain Solar 3 PV power plant project being built by AMEC in Boulder City, Nevada is to use 1.1 million PV modules supplied by Trina Solar.
The strategy to diversify its business away from dependence on sectors such as solar is proving to be a significant success for equipment supplier, Manz AG.
Although the downstream market shift from East to West is resulting in higher growth rates for PV engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms in Asia, leading PV energy provider (PVEP), First Solar continues to top the EPC rankings with more single projects primarily in the US, compared to its rivals, according to IHS.
IBM has introduced an advanced power and weather modeling technology that will help utilities increase the reliability of renewable energy resources. The solution combines weather prediction and analytics to accurately forecast the availability solar PV energy. The Hybrid Renewable Energy Forecasting" (HyRef) technology uses weather modeling capabilities, advanced cloud imaging technology and sky-facing cameras to track cloud movements, while sensors on the turbines monitor wind speed, temperature and direction.
According to NPD Solarbuzz, second quarter 2013 PV module shipments for the top 20 suppliers exceeded 5.8GW. The rise was led by Yingli Green Energy which saw shipments estimated to exceed 800MW and over 1GW for the first-half of the year, a new record for any PV module manufacturer.
The largest ever PV power plant, dubbed the OneGiga Project and said to have cost around €1.75 billion has been shelved by the developer Securum Equity Partners and will seek €160 million from the Republic of Serbia at the International Court of Arbitration in London, England.
