China-based polysilicon and wafer producer Daqo New Energy reported that external sales volume and cost structure exceeded prior guidance as demand remained strong in the fourth quarter and full year 2015.
Integrated PV manufacturer REC Solar is to invest a total of $200 million Singapore dollars (US$182.3 million) in expanding and upgrading production at its facilities in Singapore. The company also plans to invest a further US$50 million in R&D activities at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), with emphasis on a type of PV module.
Yaskawa – Solectria Solar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of robot and industrial motor company Yaskawa America, is planning to install a 500MW central solar inverter manufacturing line within an existing factory in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to help support the Latin American PV market.
PV inverter manufacturer Sungrow announced that one of its 1500V PV installations was successfully connected to the grid – opening up to the next stage of the project.
According to SolarWorld’s 186-page annual report for 2015, and a presentation by Dr. Holger Neuhaus, Managing Director, SolarWorld Innovations GmbH at the inaugural PV CellTech conference held in Malaysia last week, high-efficiency products will be the key focus of its expanded manufacturing capacity and technology migrations in 2016.
Former major PV equipment provider, GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) has successfully emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of New Hampshire, US after seeking protection in October, 2014.
When Jan Marc Luchies from Tempress Systems (Amtech Systems) took to the stage last week – on the second day of the inaugural PVCellTech conference in Kuala Lumpur on 17 March 2016 – equipment supplier Amtech Systems capitalized on this platform with a press release to highlight a sharp uptick in new order intake for its PV operations over the past two months, taking the company’s solar bookings to approximately US$50 million since October 2015.
Solar PV and polysilicon manufacturing equipment specialist centrotherm said it has booked over €40 million in solar and semiconductor manufacturing equipment orders in the first two months of 2016.
SunPower has launched its ‘Equinox’ solar PV system to the US residential market that is claimed to be the first solution in the country in which every major component has been designed and engineered by one company to work seamlessly together, delivering the highest power, long-term performance and aesthetic appeal. With a typical SunPower Equinox installation, only the solar panels and a Smart Energy management device are visible, reflecting SunPower's minimalist architectural approach at the system level.
