During the period 2006 to 2011, equipment spending for solar manufacturing was a really big deal for capital equipment suppliers. Companies such as GT Advanced Technologies (then GT Solar) and Applied Materials (serving thin-film and c-Si expansions alike) were clocking up billion-dollar plus backlogs.
Taiwan-based solar cell and wafer producers are being impacted by slowing demand from China and unfolding overcapacity that has resulted in ASP declines hitting monthly revenue figures since June.
China-based polysilicon and wafer producer Daqo New Energy has reported record production and financial metrics on strong demand in the second quarter of 2016.
Recent first half 2016 downstream PV installation figures for China have led industry advisory firm AECEA to project full-year figures could be in the 25GW to 30GW range, significantly ahead of planned installs of around 18GW.
China-based major EPC firm TBEA Sunoasis has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two Egyptian government agencies to build two 500MW PV power plants in the country.
PV Nano Cell has commercially developed ‘Sicrys’, a single-crystal, nanometric silver conductive ink delivering enhanced performance for digital conductive printing in mass production applications. The inks are also available in copper-based form, delivering all of the product’s properties and advantages with improved cost efficiency.
Major polysilicon producer Wacker Chemie reported flat second quarter polysilicon sales, despite stronger demand and higher average selling prices (ASPs) as inventory depletion limited shipments.
As we conduct our extensive market research phase to define exactly what the industry needs to be discussing and presenting at PV CellTech 2017 in Penang, Malaysia on 14-15 March 2017, one of the top technologies that is certain to be included again is passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) cells.
Capital expenditure (capex) from solar PV manufacturers is set to decline during the first half of 2017, as the industry adjusts to the excess of new capacity having come online during 2015 and 2016, according to the latest findings in the PV Manufacturing & Technology Quarterly report, released July 2016.
