The solar centric political campaigning group EU ProSun, established by integrated PV module manufacturer, SolarWorld, has condemned China and Chinese module manufacturers for causing SolarWorld to make 500 ‘temporary’ workers at its manufacturing plants in Germany, redundant.
Organic photovoltaic (OPV) thin-film producer Heliatek has raised €80 million (US$88 million) in a new funding round to expand its ‘HeliaFilm’ manufacturing capacity by one million m² per annum.
Hong Kong-headquartered Asia Clean Capital and the US’ Ten K Solar have signed an exclusive China partnership to develop an anticipated 40MW worth of solar projects within the next 18 months.
Tech conglomerate Apple has committed to go 100% renewable with its international operations as part of joining the global renewable energy initiative RE100.
High-efficiency PV module producer and project developer SunPower is to take over its joint venture (JV) solar cell manufacturing operations in Malaysia from Taiwan-based partner AUO, a subsidiary of AU Optronics Corporation at a cost of US$170 million, payable over the next four years.
The University of Delaware’s Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC) has been awarded US$2.1 million from the SunShot Initiative for two research projects aiming to improve the performance of interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells while reducing their production costs and new techniques for CIGS deposition.
Solar panel manufacturers that fail to keep up with emerging technology trends will be under tremendous pressure in 2017, according to host of their peers at SPI 2016.
US-based developer of ‘direct gas to wafer’ technology Crystal Solar has been awarded a US$3 million cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Energy, SunShot Initiative.
German-based PV module manufacturer aleo Sunrise said it had started production of its ‘CELCO’ high-efficiency PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Contact) solar cells at its production plant in Prenzlau, Germany.
The hardest and most ‘controversial’ aspect of analyzing capacity expansion announcements is converting them to actual or ‘effective’ new nameplate capacity.
