Leading PV energy provider (PVEP), First Solar reported first quarter revenue of US$755 million in the quarter, a decrease of US$320 million from the fourth quarter of 2012 but exceeded slightly the top range of guidance.
Specialist encapsulant supplier STR Holdings continued to see sales slump in the first quarter of 2013, despite many module manufacturers raising production utilization rates on improved demand.
The European Union added 16.5GW of new PV capacity in 2012, representing a 25% decline compared with the 22GW figure recorded in 2011, according to figures published by EurObserv’ER.
Switzerland's ABB has received a $25 million order to provide electrical and control systems for one of the world’s largest PV power plants with a single-axis tracking system.
Citing improved margins against very tight capital expenditure control, PV module manufacturers are increasingly outsourcing part of their production needs, benefiting the likes of Flextronics, Jabil Circuits and JA Solar, according to a new report from IHS.
The first phase of the five-phase 127MW Arlington Valley Solar Energy II project located in southwest Arizona, US, has officially opened and become live.
The supplier base for PV inverters continued to fragment in 2012, with the market share of the world’s 10 largest suppliers falling by 6%, according to a report by IMS Research.
Yingli Solar has been crowned as the top module producer for the first time as well as the top cell manufacturer in 2012, according to rankings compiled by GTM Research.
US-based three-dimensional solar cell start-up Solar3D is in discussions with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering to facilitate the fabrication of its new cell technology.