US-based polysilicon producer REC Silicon said in a trading update ahead of releasing fourth quarter results at the end of the week that it would shutdown its Silane IV production unit and remaining FBR production at its Moses Lake plant.
Taiwan-based solar wafer producer Green Energy Technology (GET) reported a significant leap in sales for the month of January on the back of higher prices due to industry supply constraints.
PV module assembly equipment specialist Spire Corporation said it would focus on the turnkey PV manufacturing segment after completing the sale of its sun simulator business to Eternal Sun.
Major polysilicon producer Wacker Chemie said that its new polysilicon plant in the US had started ramping and existing plants remained at full-capacity despite continued price declines that have reached record lows.
Asia-based polysilicon producer Tokuyama Corp said it would take a one-time impairment charge of ¥123.4 billion (US$1.02 billion) on its two polysilicon plants in Malaysia as ASPs were lower than expected and not inline with previous business guidance.
In addition to launching a residential energy management and PV self-consumption package for the home compatible with Tesla’s Powerwall, power optimiser specialist SolarEdge launched a lightweight inverter late last year utilising the Israel-headquartered firm’s new HD Wave technology.
China-based PV manufacturer and PV project developer Hareon Solar Technology is raising around US$300 million in a private placement of new shares to expand PV manufacturing capacity and enter the LED market through an acquisition.
Major PV metallisation paste producer Heraeus Photovoltaics says it has bolstered its multi-supplier sourcing strategy for silver powder after an accident in early January 2016 at one of the largest producers, Dowa Hightec, left two workers dead and two injured. The plant was subsequently shut down and could be out of commission for several months, pending investigations.
SiTec, a subsidiary of centrotherm photovoltaics said it was developing a highly efficient technology called ‘Genesis’ that when perfected would reduce monosilane fluid-bed reactor (FBR) polysilicon production capital and operating costs by approximately 45% each, compared to legacy FBR decomposition processes.
