Manufacturing

The solar industry supply chain’s jitters continued this week after polysilicon prices hit another high, driving silicon wafer prices further upward too.

The US solar industry is facing fresh module shipment delays after new import documentation was demanded by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

US solar tracker manufacturer Nextracker and steel producer BCI Steel have reopened the Bethlehem steel manufacturing factory in Leetsdale, Pittsburgh that will process steel and produce solar tracker equipment for utility-scale solar projects.

The latest round of price surges in the solar value chain has caused PV module prices in China to exceed RMB2/W (US$0.30c/W).

Solar manufacturer LONGi has set a world record conversion efficiency of 26.5% for silicon heterojunction (HJT) PV cells.

Emirates Global Aluminium is to enter the silicon metal market with a UAE-based facility that could be online as early as next year.

Solar glass provider Xinyi Solar has issued a profit warning after the price of solar glass fell and the price of key components and energy inputs rose.

The Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP) has received funding from the country’s new government to continue its solar research activities until 2030.

Sungrow was the world’s biggest PV inverter company in 2021, shipping 47.1GW of products and expanding its production facilities in Asia, according to research firm IHS Markit.

Solar PV has made nearly half of all new investments in renewable power in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).