PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the first quarter of 2018 continued to follow the strong trend set in the fourth quarter of 2017. The quarter also represented a revival in thin-film expansion plans as well as the return of PV module assembly outpacing solar cell announcements. Also notable was the return of India and the US as major destinations for new capacity plans.
India’s unusual tender for 5GW of PV manufacturing capacity linked with 10GW of solar projects has been called many things, ranging from pioneering to fanciful, but the earliest stages have seen some of the global industry’s biggest names toss their hat in the ring.
The past few weeks has seen some of the most dramatic knee-jerk, naïve and misinformed PV market reporting seen in recent times, with the headlines often resembling nothing more than tabloid sensationalism.
Hanwha Q CELLS became the latest company to make a gigawatt-scale manufacturing commitment in the States but Trump has some way to go to make US solar manufacturing great again.
Move over pesky perovskites and old faithful intrinsic amorphous silicon as the preferred solutions for tandem-junction solar cell post crystalline-silicon PERC (passivated emitter rear cell) technology: A perennial conversion efficiency record holder and space-proven solution is back to gate-crash the party.
Transparent PV (TPV) aims to optimize both the transmission of visible light while maximizing power conversion. Edgar A. Gunther explores some of the companies making major headway towards mainstreaming see-through solar.
Just over a month ago, the New Jersey State Legislature passed a trio of clean energy bills focusing on sweeping Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) increases but progress has halted at the Governor's door.
PV Tech’s recent coverage of three publicly listed PV inverter manufacturers (SMA Solar Technology, SolarEdge Technologies and Enphase Energy) first quarter financial results has highlighted a looming battle between two of the companies over achieving the highest annual revenue figures (US$ adjusted) in 2018.
So technically, subject to approvals, California-headquartered SunPower Corp has acquired Hillsboro, Oregon-based PV manufacturer, SolarWorld Americas, yet typically there are many known unknowns regarding the acquisition.
