After the significant upwards revisions made to global solar PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the first half of 2017, which we reviewed in a previous blog, the third quarter was characterised by much more tempered plans.
Solar PV capital expenditure (capex) covering the midstream segments of the industry (c-Si ingot-to-module and thin-film) is now well into its second major upturn in spending, going into 2018, at a time when the industry is just about to move to a new phase in annual deployment levels of greater than 100GW.
Efficiency gains and productivity improvements are set to dominate the PV manufacturing landscape again in 2018, with strong investments continuing to flow into existing and new cell architectures, with gigawatt-level status now becoming the norm for the manufacturing segment, writes Finlay Colville.
When JinkoSolar released its third quarter results last week – and guided full year 2017 module shipment figures – the company remained on track to overachieve on final quarter shipments, thereby becoming the first ever PV supplier to ship more than 10 GW of modules in a calendar year. Finlay Colville explores how Jinko has managed to double its market share in the space of four years and where the company might be headed to next.
The case for solar remains strong in Southeast Asia since power demand is still growing rapidly in many of its markets, but traversing the unique regulations and policies of each country and knowing which PV segment is most suitable remains challenging. Here are some of PV Tech’s key takeaways from last week’s Solar and Off-Grid Renewables Southeast Asia (SORSEA) 2017 conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
At the inaugural PV ModuleTech 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, it became clear that PERC module technology is fast becoming the industry standard and bifacial modules are no longer seen as a niche product, however, both technologies were scrutinised from the perspective of bankability and quality assurance studies throughout the event.
The PV ModuleTech 2017 meeting starts tomorrow (7 November 2017) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, showcasing the key module issues that will guide site design and construction for large-scale solar sites in the next 12-18 months.
Going to Indian courts over renegotiations of solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) can be a costly and time-consuming process, but is this where the trouble ends?
The inaugural PV ModuleTech 2017 event takes place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 7-8 November 2017, and for many of the attendees taking part in the event, the anticipation is growing by the day!
With the world’s first solar-powered airport, as well as India’s first solar education centre and floating PV projects, the state of Kerala has been a frontrunner in innovation and now its industry has an eye on a hugely ambitious rooftop solar goal - KREEPA Green Power Expo 2017.
