Just a handful of days after the US Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission agreed to open an investigation into SolarWorld’s claims that China is dumping solar panels in the US far below US costs, the China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance (CPIA) is launching its own counteroffensive with the claim that the US is dumping polysilicon at below cost prices in China.
After a record revenue financial year, Applied Materials is experiencing a significant reduction in equipment orders and revenue from PV manufacturing customers. Though cancellations were minimal, backlog decreased by 26% to US$2.4 billion, of which 14% is within its EES division, which includes PV equipment. Management expects PV related global CapEx to at fall by at least 50% in 2012 as manufacturers combat massive overcapacity and focus on cell efficiency improvements and technology buys.
Rapidly declining prices for wafers and modules due to overcapacity and weak demand have significantly impacted expected third-quarter results at LDK Solar. The integrated PV manufacturer warned that it expected to write down US$45 to US$50 million of inventories and expected to report negative gross margin between 3.5% and 5.0%. The company lowered revenue guidance to be in the range of US$460–$470 million, down from previous guidance of US$630–$680 million.
PVA TePla, a manufacturer of crystallization systems for semiconductor and solar silicon as well as vacuum and high-temperature systems, generated sales revenues of €77.3 million in the first nine months of 2011 (previous year: €95.0 million). With a margin of 9.8% (previous year: 10.3%), operating profit (EBIT) totalled €7.6 million (previous year: €9.7 million).
Concern is growing amongst the 800 employees of silicon wafer manufacturer Silico Solar which will be closing the 300MW facility in Puertollano at the end of this month until at least February 2012. Silico has blamed this on the adverse PV market conditions.
China Sunergy and REC Wafer have spent the last few years to-ing and fro-ing between courts in Norway and China in the hope of reaching a settlement over the termination of a supply contract by REC Wafer.
LDK Solar subsidiary LDK Silicon & Chemical Technology has been invited by the City Government of Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to construct a 30,000MT polysilicon manufacturing facility in the region’s Jinsan Development Zone. The groundbreaking ceremony took place today, and the additional capacity will take LDK Silicon’s total polysilicon production capacity to 55,000MT per annum by the end of 2013.
Automations Tooling Systems (ATS) has announced its Photowatt France subsidiary is implementing a reduction of work days program. The modules and inverter manufacturing facility based in Bourgoin-Jallieu, France, will be operating at approximately one-third of its production capacity.
BioSolar advised that its BioBacksheet has been granted provisional relative thermal index (RTI) recognition by Underwriters Laboratories (UL). The company first received UL materials certification for its technology in February and since that time has seen the UL conduct long-term thermal stability testing on the BioBacksheet.
Responding to capacity expansion push-outs and cancellations at solar wafer manufacturing customers, Meyer Burger Technology has set in motion temporary adjustments to equipment production at its subsidiary, MB Wafertec. However, Meyer Burger reiterated that its 2011 net sales and earnings remained on target.
