Polysilicon producer REC Silicon expects its FBR (Fluidized bed reactor) polysilicon production to decline 42% in the third quarter of 2018, after recently announcing further cuts in workforce and production at its Moses Lake facility that would operate at only 25% utilisation rates. The company noted that it was evaluating the possible suspension of all of its solar related materials business in the US.
More than 8.6 million households have been electrified through India’s ‘Saubhagya' scheme, which seeks to provide solar, storage, LED lighting and other amenities to every willing household across the country, according to a release from the Prime Minister’s office.
PV Tech visits a mini-grid at a village in the heart of the North Indian plains to see how a bold mix of biomass, solar and energy storage technologies is transforming local businesses.
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has tendered 200MW(AC) of grid-connected solar PV projects to be developed across four locations in the country.
Since Chinese investments into major cell and module facilities started - more than 10 years ago - success ultimately has been driven by overseas market-share gains, above other technical or financial benchmarks that otherwise would be expected.
China-based polysilicon and wafer producer Daqo New Energy is feeling the significant impact from the recent change in the Chinese government’s solar deployment policies as multicrystalline wafer shipments have been slashed by as much as 50% for the second quarter of 2018.
The US threat of 10% tariffs on solar inverters has been met with a mixture of disdain and composure by authorities and the Chinese solar industry itself.
A number of international initiatives have helped large-scale solar gain a foothold in Africa. The question now is how the market for this segment will develop beyond these programmes and how much capacity grids will be able to support.
