Post SNEC 2016 exhibition reports are starting to raise concerns over a looming collapse in downstream solar PV demand in China in the second half of the year that could lead to wider implications of both solar cell and module overcapacity and subsequent ASP declines hitting the global solar industry.
PV Tech’s preliminary analysis of global PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in April, 2016, revealed nearly 9GW of planned future expansions of thin-film modules, solar cells and module assembly production, up from over 7.3GW in the previous month and the third consecutive monthly increase.
Solar Frontier has expanded its portfolio of CIS (Copper, Indium selenium) thin-film module-based ‘PowerSets’ for residential rooftops, introducing the new ‘PowerSet Mini’ and ‘PowerSet Maxi’ to supplement its ‘PowerSet Turbo’ product offering. By expanding its PowerSet product line, the company is addressing growing demand for standardised PV systems that better suit various roof and system sizes.
Kyoshin Electric Co (KOPEL) has introduced a high-speed, highly accurate, and highly reproducible solar cell IV measurement system. The KSX-3000H can be used for a wide variety of high-efficiency solar cell architectures including PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) and heterojunction (HJ).
Formerly the largest solar equipment supplier Applied Materials booked an impressive US$108 million in new orders in its fiscal second quarter from its EES (Energy and Environmental Solutions) division that has housed its solar PV equipment business.
Optical inspection equipment firm ISRA VISION / GP Solar has reported strong fiscal first-half year sales and a strong order backlog that includes solar PV system sales.
Silicon module super league member (SMSL) JA Solar is to provide 420MW of modules for China’s National Energy Administration’s (NEA) “Front Runner” programme which aims to promote the development of advanced solar PV technology by domestic suppliers.
In the second and final installment of his blog from SNEC in China, Finlay Colville continues to extrapolate a snapshot of the global PV industry from what he saw there and how it all fits into wider trends and realities of the market today.
Solar Intelligence analyst Finlay Colville reports back from SNEC in Shanghai, which finished yesterday. In the first installment of a two-part blog, he draws on his extensive knowledge and analysis of the global PV market to put his findings into the context of wider trends.
