The US Commerce Department has yet again postponed a ruling on tariffs to be imposed on imported PV modules from China. An announcement was expected today, after a previous postponement due to the complexity of the case. The new proposed date for tariff details is expected on March 19, 2012.
Microsol International, a UAE based module manufacturer has agreed to acquire the majority of operations of insolvent Solon that could secure most of the 471 jobs at the firm. Insolvency administrator, Ruediger Wienberg announced the deal on the March 1, as insolvency proceedings started. Solon had filed for insolvency in the German courts on December 13, 2011. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed or whether Microsol would be responsible for Solon’s debts or whether the acquisition was primarily asset-based.
Significant booking reductions from customers in the PV manufacturing sector impacted revenue at Ferro Corporation in 2011. The materials provider reported net sales of US$443 million in the fourth quarter, down 18% from net sales of US$537 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.
The Australian Secretary for Climate Change, Mark Dreyfus, announced on Tuesday that solar hot-water rebates would no longer apply under the Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme. The Clean Energy Council and various industry representatives expressed disbelief and surprise at this decision.
Dow Chemical’s ‘ENLIGHT’ polyolefin films, recently launched for c-Si module applications have had claims of no power loss after 10,000 hours of operation validated in test carried-out by TÜV Rheinland.
Ongoing overcapacity and capital spending constraints within the PV industry continued to impact revenue at BTU International. The equipment supplier reported fourth quarter net sales of US$14.9 million, down 11.8% compared to US$16.9 million in the prior quarter. Net loss for the fourth quarter was US$2.3 million. BTU also posted net sales for 2011 of US$76.1 million, down 6.7% compared to US$81.6 million for the year 2010. Net loss for 2011 was US$2.7 million.
Neo Solar Power is launching a new quasi-mono-based solar cell, said to have a conversion efficiency reaching 18.5% and an average efficiency over 18%. This is the first product NSP has produced using quasi-mono wafers, which is set for rapid adoption across the industry as PV manufacturers focus on efficiency of cells and modules rather than capacity expansions.
MetLife and Longsol Holdings US advised that they had mutually bought SunEdison’s 30MW Webberville, Texas solar project, for an undisclosed amount, in December 2011. The project was activated in December 2011 and is said to be the largest active solar plant in Texas. Constructed by RES Americas, who will also operate and maintain the project for the next five years, the solar farm is anticipated to produce over 1.4 billion kWh of electricity over 25 years.
DEGERenergie has hired several new key personnel to its international offices in order to better serve, and build better relationships, with its customers. Customers in Germany and other European countries will now be serviced by Hendrik Walter and Steffen Bahlinger.
Payom Solar advised that as of February 10, it had completed its energy bond issuing a volume of €27,548,000 in subscription. Finished ahead of schedule, the bond has a €1,000 denomination and holds a five-year maturity with an interest rate of 7.5%, due April 8. The company notes that the original subscription period was scheduled to March 20, but after talk about the future of FiTs, coupled with other developments in the solar market, no further subscriptions had been received.
