Leading into the forthcoming PV CellTech 2018 meeting in Penang, Malaysia on 13-14 March 2018, PV Tech caught up with Gordon Deans P.Eng, founder & COO of Aurora Solar Technologies Inc., the inline solar cell measurement equipment specialist that is currently going through a rapid growth phase in new order intake from the PV industry.
Solar PV manufacturer SolarWorld Americas said it had been given a US$5 million loan to support a return to full manufacturing capacity, which would add around 200 jobs, sometime in the third quarter of 2018.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Solar, a subsidiary of LONGI Green Energy Technology, has hit 23.6% conversion efficiency with its P-type monocrystalline passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) solar cells - a new industry record.
The third PV CellTech event takes place in Penang, Malaysia in just two weeks from now, on 13-14 March 2018. The schedule of speakers and companies lined up this year is set to be both fascinating to hear, and essential to dissect, when looking at exactly how the PV industry will evolve beyond the 100GW of solar cells produced in 2017.
China-based integrated PV module manufacturer Wuxi Suntech Power Co said it had started supplying high-performance multicrystalline half-cut cell modules to European customers, offering power classes of 295/290W.
The government of India will come down hard on those flouting the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) rules – in WTO permitted cases – where imported solar modules are used, but declared as locally made.
Malaysia and the Philippines have joined the growing list of countries heading to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to request consultations with the US over its 30% solar import tariffs, according to WTO filings both dated 21 February.
Inline solar cell measurement equipment specialist Aurora Solar Technologies (AST) is expecting 2018 to be a record year for new orders, as major PV manufacturers continue to migrate and ramp high-efficiency solar cells such as monocrystalline PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) and bifacial cell technologies.
Consumption of polysilicon used by the solar industry will decline to below 4g/W during 2018, hitting 3.92g/W at the end of Q4’18, according to a new value-chain model developed by the in-house market research team at PV Tech.
As PV Tech previously reported, Taiwan’s solar industry supply chain failed to recover lost revenue in 2017, despite strong global demand growth and expectation that installations topped 100GW.