So technically, subject to approvals, California-headquartered SunPower Corp has acquired Hillsboro, Oregon-based PV manufacturer, SolarWorld Americas, yet typically there are many known unknowns regarding the acquisition.
US-headquartered High-efficiency solar module manufacturer SunPower Corp has officially announced that it has acquired Hillsboro, Oregon-based PV manufacturer, SolarWorld Americas. Financial details were not disclosed.
US-based PV installer RGS Energy (RGSE), which acquired exclusive rights to Dow Chemical’s third generation (3.0) solar shingles under the ‘POWERHOUSE’ brand, but using conventional crystalline silicon solar cells rather than the original CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) thin-film substrates, has included China-based PV manufacturer, Risen Energy as a key supplier.
Nanoelectronics R&D organisation imec has been appointed as the lead to a three-year €5 million EU funded R&D program on perovskite solar cells that brings together a number of European research and commercial partners.
The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has set a new R&D goal to develop a commercially viable thin-film-on-silicon tandem solar cell with 30% conversion efficiencies.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Hanwha Q CELLS said it had discontinued its ingot and wafer manufacturing operations in the fourth quarter of 2017, due to the wafer operations being unprofitable.
Leading polysilicon and multicrystalline wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings is planning to build a 20GW monocrystalline silicon ingot manufacturing facility in Qujing, China.
Leading integrated high-efficiency monocrystalline module manufacturer and ‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Green Energy Technology set a new solar industry R&D expenditure record in 2017, not only surpassing the two historical leaders, First Solar and SunPower, but also spending more in one year than any PV manufacturer to date.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has said that a fire at its equipment manufacturing facility in Taiwan had caused some severe damage to parts of the building.
Struggling flexible CIGS thin-film producer Ascent Solar Technologies has shipped a US$300,000 ‘Ultralight’ PV laminate order to a European airship manufacturer that is just short of being half the company’s annual revenue in 2017, which declined over 63% in 2017.
