With the spectre of trade disputes showing no signs of going away, Asian PV manufacturers need to develop effective strategies to cope with future anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations, says Matthias Grossman.
The solar trade rows have so far largely played out in the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy arena but a particular set of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules applied to China are set to expire, casting doubt on future punitive tariffs.
If India were to grow its electricity system based on coal as China has done, the results for the global climate could be catastrophic. Tobias Engelmeier believes this leaves the country with little choice but to go solar.
An extension and gradual phase out of the investment tax credit would help the US solar industry on to a more sustainable footing in the long term, argues James A. Mueller
centrotherm is launching the ‘c.REG’ conveyor belt furnace for monocrystalline p-type solar cell regeneration, which is claimed to achieve a reduction in light induced degradation (LID) from 6% to 1%, within less than a one minute processing cycle time. The company is showcasing the regeneration technology at SNEC 2015, being held in Shanghai, China.
Major tier-one integrated PV manufacturer JinkoSolar significantly increased R&D spending in 2014, reaching a new annual expenditure record that coincided with average solar cell efficiencies also reaching new heights.
Joint ventures involving Spain-based energy company Aljaval have received electric energy generation approval for eight solar power projects with a combined capacity of 220MW in Mexico. Javier Mas Abad, Aljaval deputy director, spoke to PV Tech about the strong future for solar in Mexico despite difficulties in gaining finance.
Tempress a subsidiary of Amtech has developed an alternative atmospheric process called ‘High Density POCl3’ (Phosphorus Diffusion). The HD system benefits from the throughput advantage of small pitch, back-to-back, and long flatzone, while using improved chemistry and hardware upgrades to provide excellent uniformity and high efficiencies.
Ahead of a two-day event focusing on West Africa, Ben Willis asks whether political leaders are prepared to take the necessary decisions to help solar energy fulfil its huge potential in the region.
Growing awareness of the advantages of using controlled quantities of impurities in solar silicon is closing the price gap between lower and higher purity feedstock, writes Til Bartel.
