Leading CdTe thin-film module manufacturer First Solar is increasing its shipment guidance for 2018, due to plans to bring back online 180MW of mothballed Series 4 module capacity at its Perrysburg, Ohio manufacturing facility.
The major manufacturing transition by First Solar to its large-area Series 6 CdTe thin-film module format is well underway and, going by recent management commentary in its fourth quarter 2017 conference call with financial analysts, has increased its tempo slightly, not least due to updated spending plans for the second time in a few months.
Ayala Corporation, part of Filipino conglomerate Ayala Group, has acquired a controlling stake in Silicon Valley-based firm Merlin Solar Technologies, which produces flexible, mobile and wearable crystalline silicon solar modules.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to provide a loan of US$235 million to Thai energy firm B. Grimm Power to develop renewable energy projects in Southeast Asia.
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.
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.
PV inverter manufacturer SolarEdge Technologies has reported a series of financial records in 2017, after posting its third successive quarter of higher shipments and revenue.
With cell producers increasingly focusing on improved efficiencies and yields, line optimization upgrades are coming to the fore. PV Tech caught up with Steve Mcdonald, vice president, application engineering at inline solar cell measurement equipment specialist Aurora Solar Technologies, to discuss some of the industry trends.
Specialist PV manufacturing equipment supplier Amtech Systems has continued to benefit from a major solar orders placed with the company in 2017 that are continuing conversion to revenue in its fiscal first quarter of 2018.
