Brazil must establish a “specific industrial policy” for domestic PV manufacturing so it can produce the 2GW of solar equipment necessary to operate 61 solar plants planned for 2017, according to the Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy (Absolar).
Major photovoltaics energy provider (PVEP) Shunfeng International Clean Energy reported a 19.5% increase in revenue for the first half of 2015 against a backdrop of profits falling 65.8%, compared to the prior year period.
The first reported quarterly figures for PV module shipments in Japan in the country’s current financial year show a drop below the 2GW mark for the first time since JFY2013.
PV thin film equipment and module producer Hanergy Thin Film Power Group (Hanergy TF) said in reporting first half 2015 financial results that it would be restructuring its operations with the loss of around 2,000 jobs, 37% of its workforce of 5,458 at the end of the reporting period.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has backed teams working on 11 new solar technologies based on micro-CPV (concentrated PV), awarding funding of between just under US$1 million and US$3.5 million to each.
Tier-one PV manufacturer Hanwha Q CELLS' PV module shipments have increased 12.2% quarter-over-quarter, driven by shipments to the US, which accounted for 37% of total shipments by revenue in the second quarter.
A report, four years in the making, has been released by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Inspector General into the collapse of CIGS thin-film producer, Solyndra, and the way more than US$500 million of loan guarantees were given out by the department to the failed company.
