Distressed capital management firms, Clearwater Capital Partners and Spinnaker Capital are working with Suntech Power Holdings to prepare a major restructuring plan for the ailing PV module manufacturing, including downsizing through asset sales and a recapitalisation that could mean majority share takeover by unidentified investors.
In an attempt to debunk recent reports from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and IHS over the timing and location of the next wave of PV equipment capital spending, NPD Solarbuzz expects the upturn to be delayed due to PV module manufacturers adopting ‘fabless’ and ‘virtual manufacturing’ strategies through to the second-half of 2014.
Having gone through a major financial restructuring, SolarWorld is starting to tackle its manufacturing competitive issues with a round of technology upgrades and new product introductions.
First Solar will start a 100MW manufacturing line for crystalline silicon cells for the residential distributed market from the end of next year with production scaling from 2015, it was revealed yesterday.
Reports suggest a deal is in the making that could see Suntech Power Holdings' bankrupt subsidiary rescued by the involvement of a rival Chinese PV manufacturer and several state-owned enterprises in Wuxi, China.
Switzerland-based Sputnik Engineering, well known under its PV inverter brand, SolarMax, is following SMA Solar in restructuring its operations as markets shift away from Europe and the PV industry becomes increasingly global.
Plans to build a fully integrated PV supply chain within Saudi Arabia are continuing slowly with reports that Idea Polysilicon Company (IPC) has received four bids to build its proposed 10,000MT polysilicon plant and ingot/wafer operations.
