PV demand exceeded many analysts' expectations last year but could also cause slower-than-expected growth over the next few years, should figures released from market research firm Solarbuzz prove accurate. Solarbuzz said that global PV market installations reached a new record of 18.2GW in 2010, a massive 139% increase over 2009. The PV industry generated US$82 billion in global revenues in 2010, up 105% year-on-year, from US$40 billion in 2009.
Market research firm, Solarbuzz has reported its Top 10 rankings by cell capacity in 2010. Actually, there were 12 companies in the ranking due to several companies tying on capacity. Suntech Power and JA Solar tied for the first position, followed closely by First Solar.
Photon Consulting’s soon-to-be released report, “Solar Power Markets: Eastern Sunrise” has compiled analysis prompting the company to predict that the Asia-Pacific region holds the biggest sustainable, global growth opportunity for solar energy through 2015. The market study details how the region’s PV economics, cumulative economic growth curve and electricity needs have primed the area for impressive PV expansion over the next four years.
Natcore Technology has set up shop at MicroTech Systems Fremont, California facility in order to begin work on its first production model of its intelligent liquid phase deposition (LPD) processing station that intends to grow antireflective (AR) coating on silicon wafers. The LPD process grows the AR coating in a warm chemical bath, which is said to eliminate the need for silane, diminish energy needs and lower silicon use.
As Danen works on its second phase of construction for its wafer plant II in Guanyin Shiang, Taoyuan County Taiwan, Bloomberg has reported that the company signed a US$161 million contract with OCI, where Danen will buy polysilicon from the company for seven years.
Wagner Solar U.K. has appointed Kamil Shah as its new Marketing Manager. Shah, who arrives from Sanyo where he was European corporate communications manager, will be responsible for setting up the marketing department and coordinating all promotion and communication activities in the U.K.
SunPower has said that after talks with its various Japanese-based suppliers, none have sustained major damage to their facilities, though “certain operations are currently disrupted due to infrastructure issues,” the company stated.
SolarBridge Technologies has revealed that its Pantheon microinverter has passed all necessary tests and has been granted the safety standard for PV inverters: UL 1741 certification by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). The company claims that this is the first integrated microinverter that comes with a 25-year warranty to receive such certification.
DelSolar has released its approved audited 2010 financial results, showing considerable growth in its revenue from 2009. The company’s total revenue for 2010 was US$397 million, a 168.3% growth over 2009’s revenue. Also seeing an increase from 2009 figures was DelSolar’s net income, which was finalized at US$15 million.
The initial reports from a key number of PV manufacturers and suppliers highlighted that little damage to manufacturing operations occurred as a result of the massive earthquake last Friday. However, concern is now focused on the shortage of electricity that affects approximately 45 million people in Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) service area covering Tokyo, Tochigi, Gunma, Ibaraki, Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and Yamanashi prefectures.
