The director of the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) solar cost cutting programme has hailed the “phenomenal jobs growth rate” that the US solar industry has enjoyed in recent times.
After a strong recovery in solar cell shipments at the end of 2014, Taiwan-based cell producer, Gintech Energy reported a 29.8% month-on-month sales decline for January, 2015.
India’s solar manufacturing sector appears to have received a boost, with solar cell manufacturer Indosolar signing a wafer supply agreement worth US$200 million with Korean company Osung.
The 2015 edition of the SEMI International Technology Roadmap for PV (ITRPV), which will be released during SNEC in Shanghai in late April, will incorporate several key changes to its technology focus.
The Taiwanese PV manufacturing sector could use the very same loophole that put it in the US government’s crosshairs, to sidestep the punitive duties now faced by its own firms.
According to market research firm IHS, Chinese tier-1 PV module suppliers are mostly sold out in the first quarter of 2015 as demand remains strong from markets such as China, Japan and the UK as well as in South America and Central America.
PV manufacturer Hanwha Q CELLS, said it would close down all solar cell and module manufacturing capacity in Germany and relocate the lines to its main production facility in Cyberjaya, Malaysia with the loss of 550 jobs.
