PV Tech’s preliminary analysis of global PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in January, 2017 have remained subdued and continue the trend set in the second-half of 2016.
Major Indian firm Tata Power Solar, a subsidiary of the mammoth Tata Group, has become the first Indian manufacturer to achieve the 1GW milestone in terms of PV module shipments worldwide.
Integrated PV manufacturer and project developer ReneSola will provide EPC services for 32MW worth of rooftop solar projects in Shandong, Anhui and Zheijang in China.
This article explains the evolution of p-type multi module efficiencies and average power levels between 2013 and 2018 (forecasted), showing for the first time the output of new findings by our in-house market research team at PV-Tech’s parent company Solar Media Ltd.
While third-party outsourcing of solar PV module assembly has been a constant feature of the PV industry for many years, the landscape of suppliers and the country of manufacturing has changed radically in the past two years, and will continue to do so out to the end of 2018.
In this week's Movers & Shakers, PV Tech reports mostly on good news, with new appointments in sales, public policy, asset management and business development. However, Texas' Mission Solar Energy has announced its second wave of big job cuts - this time slashing 170 jobs as the company realigns its objectives to purely module assembly.
PV manufacturing equipment specialist SCHMID Group has launched a new texturing tool for diamond-wire-cut multi-c-Si wafers that has already secured orders in the 500MW range and expects significant order intake through the first half of 2017.
SCHMID has launched a cost-effective process for the texturing of diamond-wire cut multi-c-Si wafers that can be easily integrated into existing production lines. DW PreTex is being made available in two versions: as a separate single unit that roughens the surface of the wafers and then uses the available texture capacity, or as a combined line for complete texturing. Based on an in-line wet process, the process is suitable for both wafer and cell manufacturers.
While there is no shortage of leading indicators in the PV industry that can be used to predict future trends in manufacturing and across the various companies involved in this space, one of the most pertinent ones relates to capital expenditure (or capex).
US-based PV module manufacturer Mission Solar is to cut its existing workforce by a further 58% after closing its solar cell production lines at its facilities in San Antonio, Texas in October 2016.
