PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG said the 306MW CIGS module production plant for its Chinese partners, the Shanghai Electric Group and the Shenhua Group had started construction on January 4, 2018 and was expected to be completed by the end of third quarter 2018 with production expected to start in the middle of 2019.
China-based merchant solar cell producer Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd (Aiko Solar) said it had achieved a production capacity of 4GW for PERC solar cells, while initially ramping its new production plant on schedule near Yiwu City, central Zhejiang province, China at the end of 2017.
China-based integrated PV manufacturer Wuxi Suntech Power Co has started initial mass production of P-type multicrystalline wafers using its in-house developed metal assisted chemical etching (MACE) texturing process (black silicon) for diamond wire sawing.
Solar PV capital expenditure (capex) covering the midstream segments of the industry (c-Si ingot-to-module and thin-film) is now well into its second major upturn in spending, going into 2018, at a time when the industry is just about to move to a new phase in annual deployment levels of greater than 100GW.
Specialist PV manufacturing equipment supplier Singulus Technologies said that its major CIGS (Copper-Indium-Gallium-Diselenide) thin-film module customer in China, China National Building Materials (CNBM) had secured a minority interest in the company.
Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued an expression of interest (EOI) for the setting up of 20GW of vertically-integrated solar PV manufacturing capacity in India over the next three years, in an unclear and poorly worded release.
Aiming to make its local solar manufacturers competitive on the global stage, the Indian government has proposed direct financial support of INR110 billion (US$1.7 billion) and a 12GW allocation of public sector tenders mandated to include locally sourced PV equipment.
When JinkoSolar released its third quarter results last week – and guided full year 2017 module shipment figures – the company remained on track to overachieve on final quarter shipments, thereby becoming the first ever PV supplier to ship more than 10 GW of modules in a calendar year. Finlay Colville explores how Jinko has managed to double its market share in the space of four years and where the company might be headed to next.
Meyer Burger Technology has announced that 100 staff will definitely be let go from its facility in Thun after a consultation procedure was completed on 28 November. However the security of another 60 positions will be dependant on whether strategic alternatives are found.
