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As a precursor to restarting polysilicon production, China-based LDK Solar said it had completed a US$70 million upgrade to its plant in Mahong, Jiangxi.

The US commerce department’s decision to slap hefty tariffs on Chinese and Taiwanese solar imports is “already hurting” US-based manufacturers, the body opposed to punitive trade policies has claimed.

Leading Chinese polysilicon and wafer manufacturer GCL-Poly is to abandon plans for the US$1.3 billion sale of its wafer business.

The European Commission has reopened its investigation into solar glass imports for China after a request from EU ProSun Glass.

JA Solar, the fastest growing PV manufacturer in 2014, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with PV materials and technology specialist DuPont.

The joint provisional liquidators (JPL’s) of Cayman Islands registered LDK Solar are to hand back management of the bankrupt firm to its management.

The Silver Institute, a trade association for leading silver producers expects overall industrial demand to increase by 27% through 2018, with demand from the PV industry increasing around 24% in that time frame.

Semiconductor and solar equipment supplier, Orbotech has received a repeat order for its ‘Aurora’ PECVD tools worth around US$15 million.

Major PV manufacturer JinkoSolar said that its 60-cell multicrystalline silicon ‘Eagle+’ series modules have achieved power output of 306.9 Watts.

A Soitec multi-junction solar cell for use in concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems has become the company’s latest cell to reach a world record for conversion efficiency at 46%, according to Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy (Fraunhofer ISE).