Manufacturing

PV Tech caught up with Scott Howard, global marketing manager, Solar Energy Solutions, at 3M to discuss how sunlight can be redirected for improved efficiency in PV modules.

Tesla expects solar installations in 2018 to have peaked in the third quarter after reporting total installs of 93MW in the reporting period.

Polysilicon producer REC Silicon has been forced to sell solar grade (FBR) polysilicon below cash cost, due to weak demand and ASP declines, driven by demand curtailment in China and continued polysilicon capacity expansions.

Major China-based PV manufacturer Risen Energy has secured its third recent PV power plant project in Vietnam, bringing its tally to over 160MW.

Leading CdTe thin-film module manufacturer First Solar is building a 58MW (AC) PV power plant using its next-generation large-area Series 6 modules and single-axis trackers for Facebook’s Prineville Data Center located in Oregon.

‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member GCL System Integrated Technology Co (GCL-SI) is planning to sell up to RMB 1.0 billion (US$144 million) of sales invoices to a third party at a discount to improve its cash flow position.

PV Tech caught up with Daniel Chang, technical director at major China-based PV manufacturer JinkoSolar, to discuss the performance of installed PERC products, new testing regimes, what consumers are asking for and how to release new modules to market.

PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the second quarter of 2018, were slightly higher than the previous quarter, although activity slumped specifically in June, after China’s decision to suddenly cap utility-scale and distributed generation (DG) projects (531 New Deal). But large-scale multi-gigawatt production plans in the first half of the year may have hidden an inevitable slowdown, despite the impact on downstream demand from the 531 New Deal.

‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) leader JinkoSolar said it had supplied 10MW of its P-type mono PERC ‘Eagle’ modules (JKM295M-60) series for a PV power plant project built by Huaneng Renewables in Inner Mongolia, China.

The Chinese government’s decision (531 New Deal) to curtail utility-scale and distributed generation (DG) PV deployments just after the SNEC trade show at the end of May, not only surprised the industry but has since fuelled a significant ASP decline of modules and inverters.