The stage is set for the emergence of an ultra-low-cost PV industry based on epitaxial solar wafers and other highly scalable, high-efficiency technologies, writes Davor Sutija, CEO of NexWafe.
A number of solar module manufacturers have reportedly bid for financial incentives offered by the Indian government to expand domestic manufacturing of solar panels.
Solar wafer manufacturer Shangji Automation has signed a supply deal worth RMB5.91 billion (US$856 million) and has launched a large-scale fundraising project to accelerate its capacity expansion.
JA Solar intends to fund the construction of a major PV manufacturing facility by issuing convertible bonds to raise up to RMB8.96 billion (US$1.3 billion).
Bank of China Securities has issued a research report which stated that the PV industry chain price has stopped rising and may even drop in the future.
Trade body SolarPower Europe has called on the European Commission to include a ‘best-in-class’ solar labelling to leverage PV demand for European manufacturing in the Green Deal Industrial Plan.
Researchers in Singapore have found a less environmentally damaging way to produce perovskite solar cells in a laboratory, removing the need for lead which had previously been used.
China’s PV industry's production value last year reached RMB1.4 trillion (US$203.5 billion), according to a report published by China’s ministry of industry and information technology.