COVID-19 has ‘exposed the vulnerability’ of value chains, says development bank as it advises other countries to develop domestic PV sector through standalone or collective action.
Preliminary data compiled by PV Tech highlights an unprecedented level of solar industry capacity expansion plans having been announced in just the first quarter of 2020, easily surpassing any total annual plans in the history of the industry.
Taking a more pessimistic view of the impact of COVID-19 on the end-market demand for solar installations in 2020, IHS Markit expects global installs to decline 16% to 105GW in 2020, compared to around 125GW in 2019.
Germany-based LPKF Laser & Electronics AG has told PV Tech that its manufacturing plants in Germany are able to operate at normal capacity levels, despite the continued impact of COVID-19.
China-based PV manufacturer Jiangsu Akcome Science & Technology Co is issuing non-public ‘A’ shares to raise capital to invest in a second phase capacity expansion of heterojunction (HJ) solar cell and module production.
Full-year 2019 financial results show PV equipment supplier is evaluating the feasibility of becoming a volume producer of HJ solar cells and modules in Europe, notably in Germany.
The ‘Retrofit AR’ coating, an offspring of DSM’s industry-leading anti-reflective (AR) coatings, gives older, uncoated solar modules an instant energy boost of up to 3%, according to lab and field tests. For power plants built before 2012, it is an especially attractive way to increase yield while keeping feed-in tariffs high and boosting internal rate of return (IRR), compared to panel replacement programs.
‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) member First Solar has forecasted net sales for 2020 to be in the range of US$2.7 billion to US$2.9 billion, compared to reporting 2019 sales of US$3,063 billion.
There needs to be a comprehensive industrial strategy for the solar industry located in the EU as part of the pending release of the EU’s own ‘Green Deal’ strategy, according to German manufacturing trade group VDMA (Mechanical Engineering Industry Association) and solar trade association, SolarPower Europe.
NEXTracker, a Flex company, has released ‘NX Navigator’, its next-generation software and smart control system that enables power plant operators to efficiently monitor and securely control their solar assets for increased production and reliable operation across a wide range of weather conditions.
