Semiconductor equipment makers Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron have agreed to terminate plans for a merger after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) warned about loss of competition from the procedure.
Kyushu Electric, the Japanese utility that last year temporarily suspended new grid applications for large-scale solar, sparking a wave of similar suspensions by other utilities, will install a huge battery project aimed at integrating a higher capacity of renewable energy generation.
Tier-1 PV manufacturer Zhongli Talesun Solar expects to ramp it recently announced 500MW cell and module production plant near the end of year, which will produce PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell) technology for its new ‘Hipro’ 285W+ modules being launched at SNEC 2015.
European PV trade association EPIA has said it would support free trade and the end of current trade barriers on imported Chinese solar modules, the first time the trade association has set a strategy position on the ongoing trade conflict that has impacted the PV industry.
Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company Masdar and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology are to jointly launch a new R&D centre to support deployment of solar in the emirate.
Based on a new report from consultancy IHS, the top 10 PV module suppliers slightly increased their market share from last year, jumping from 48% in 2013 to 49% in 2014.
