Major PV inverter manufacturer SolarEdge Technologies has continued to post record revenue and shipments in the third quarter of 2018, surpassing the 1GW of quarterly inverter shipments milestone for the first time.
Leading monocrystalline wafer producer and ‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Green Energy Technology increased revenue by 35.26% in the first nine months of 2018, yet third quarter revenue and profits were significantly lower than the previous quarter, due to ASP declines across wafers and modules.
US-headquartered high-efficiency PV module producer SunPower Corp is expecting to sell further assets and increase its loans in 2019 to avert bankruptcy due to looming liquidity issues as the company expects to remain loss making next year, while current net losses in the first nine months of 2018 have reached US$745.3 million.
Leading polysilicon and solar wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings has announced that its new Xinjiang polysilicon production plant’s annual nameplate capacity will be increased to 60,000MT, up from the revised plans mid-year to increase the capacity from 40,000MT to 50,000MT.
French power giant EDF has acquired a 50% stake in the Togo-focused unit of off-grid renewable energy specialist BBOXX, with EDF adding its financial clout to speed up solar home system deployments and its technical expertise to improve the energy storage offering.
Major polysilicon producer Wacker Chemie has reported a significant decline in the fortunes of its polysilicon business segment in the third quarter of 2018.
Polysilicon producer REC Silicon has been forced to sell solar grade (FBR) polysilicon below cash cost, due to weak demand and ASP declines, driven by demand curtailment in China and continued polysilicon capacity expansions.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member GCL System Integrated Technology Co (GCL-SI) is planning to sell up to RMB 1.0 billion (US$144 million) of sales invoices to a third party at a discount to improve its cash flow position.
PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the second quarter of 2018, were slightly higher than the previous quarter, although activity slumped specifically in June, after China’s decision to suddenly cap utility-scale and distributed generation (DG) projects (531 New Deal). But large-scale multi-gigawatt production plans in the first half of the year may have hidden an inevitable slowdown, despite the impact on downstream demand from the 531 New Deal.
