Financial & Legal

PV and polysilicon equipment specialist centrotherm Group reported a return to profitability in 2014 on the back of recovering sales of €189.2 million, driven by an upturn in revenue from PV equipment sales and progress on building a polysilicon plant in Qatar.

Beleaguered German inverter manufacturer, SMA Solar, has ended the fiscal year with sales slightly higher than expected but still down 13.6% on 2013 and with an operating loss almost twice as large as last year’s.

Tier-one PV manufacturer SolarWorld has reported that total shipments increased 55% in 2014 and guided shipments in 2015 to increase a further 25% and surpass 1GW.

Major tier-one PV module manufacturer Yingli Green Energy reported relatively flat shipments and revenue for 2014 on losses of US$209.5 million.

Panasonic Eco Solutions Canada is working together with PNC Equipment Finance, a division of the PNC Bank Canada Branch, in order to provide a new financing platform for PV plants as small as 500kW in Ontario, Canada.

Laser equipment specialist LPKF reported strong sales to the solar industry in 2014, despite limited capital spending in the sector.

Primrose Solar and EDF Energy have entered into a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for their solar farms, which total 104MWp of capacity.

Major merchant solar cell producer Neo Solar Power (NSP) reported a modest decline in revenue for February 2015 due to the shorter working month and Chinese New Year.

Flexible CIGS thin-film producer Ascent Solar Technologies reported 2014 annual revenue of US$5.33 million on net losses of US$43.3 million.

Struggling US solar rooftop installer RGS Energy has been successful in renewing a revolving line of credit with Silicon Valley Bank and existing loans with Riverside Fund III, division of the firms largest shareholder, Riverside Renewable Energy Investment.