Major polysilicon producer Wacker Chemie has reported its polysilicon division was heavily impacted by the slump in demand due to China’s ‘531 New Deal’ as a reason for the sharp decline in revenue and profitability which declined significantly in 2018.
Back in 2014, p-type mono PERC cell production was less than 1GW. During 2019, production is forecast to exceed 60GW as the dominant technology type deployed by the solar industry for module assembly.
Major China-based PV module manufacturer Risen Energy has reported its latest JÄGER HP 72-cell sized module has achieved a record conversion efficiency of up to 21%, tested and certified by independent third-party institute TUV-SUD.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member LONGi Solar has reported a new solar cell world record conversion efficiency for monocrystalline silicon PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology of 24.06%, which has been verified by the National Center of Supervision and Inspection on Solar Photovoltaic Product Quality (CPVT) in China.
According to reports, Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP) and petrochemicals to manufacturing conglomerate SABIC have signed MOU’s with LONGi Group and OCI to bring fully integrated solar manufacturing to the country.
Silicon wafer furnace to downstream PV power plant owner, Beijing Jingyuntong Technology Co (JYT) has reported its PV power plant capacity in 2018 totalled 1,239.11MW, an 18% increase over the previous year.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Canadian Solar has said it has shipped a total of 2.6GW of PV modules with its anti-LeTID (Light and elevated Temperature Induced Degradation) PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology to date.
Solar cell production in 2018 represented change on many fronts, but may be remembered as a year during which Chinese-owned companies made further strategic moves as part of the current Beijing mandate to position the country as a high-tech manufacturing global powerhouse.
China-based PV module materials and N-type mono module manufacturer Jolywood (Suzhou) Sunwatt Co is planning to expand production through its key stakeholders Lin Jianwei and Zhang Yuzheng selling between 5%-10% of their shares in the company to Huajun Industrial, part of the Haujun Group.
PV research institute Fraunhofer ISE has reported a new efficiency record of 22.3% for a multi-junction solar cell made of silicon and III-V semiconductor materials using a direct epitaxy process developed with tool supplier AIXTRON.
