‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Canadian Solar has retained both PV module shipment and revenue guidance for 2016, despite fears of overcapacity hitting both third party demand and ASP declines as it plans tight inventory control, curtail capacity expansions and use its downstream PV project development business as its overall buffer.
Lerri Solar, DelSolar, CNPV, Motech and Xian Longi have withdrawn from the EU’s Minimum Import Price (MIP) undertaking and will instead have to service their European customers via manufacturing facilities abroad.
With India’s solar cell and module manufacturing capacity at about 1,200MW and 5,600MW respectively in April this year, Bridge to India's Jyoti Gulia looks at the plight of domestic manufacturers in the face of China's traditional dominance of the sector.
Integrated PV manufacturer SolarWorld has started using two module assembly subcontractors to boost capacity to meet demand in the US and Europe, according to the company’s first half 2016 financial report.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has reported continued demand for automation system in China for solar manufacturing applications that have generated €17.5 million in first half year revenue, up 66.7% from the prior year period.
During the period 2006 to 2011, equipment spending for solar manufacturing was a really big deal for capital equipment suppliers. Companies such as GT Advanced Technologies (then GT Solar) and Applied Materials (serving thin-film and c-Si expansions alike) were clocking up billion-dollar plus backlogs.
PV inverter manufacturer SMA Solar Technology said it would close production facilities in Denver, US, and Cape Town, South Africa on continued competition issues and consolidate global inverter production in Germany and China.
High-efficiency PV module producer and project developer SunPower said it was reducing its focus in PV power plant development outside the US and focusing more resources to the distributed generation market in the US.
China-based polysilicon and wafer producer Daqo New Energy has reported record production and financial metrics on strong demand in the second quarter of 2016.
Leading CdTe thin-film producer First Solar is undergoing a mid-year restructuring that includes cost cutting activities that should generate a US$2 billion balance sheet cushion against changing solar business dynamics and a looming revenue and shipment hole facing the company in 2017.
