Despite the major exhibition having a European tag, Intersolar Europe remains one of the most ‘international’ solar trade shows on the event calendar. As a result, new products launched at this show predominantly reflect trends and developments across multiple markets. On the first day of the exhibition, several new products stand-out for attention. More Day 1 updates are to follow.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has received a further €64.3 million pre-payment on CIGS thin-film equipment from Chinese JV partners Shanghai Electric Group and Shenhua Group.
Suniva’s petition to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) puts PV demand at risk by the uncertainty created among investors and the global supply chain, argues market research firm IHS Markit.
The production volume of solar PV panels based on thin-film deposition of semiconductor materials on large-area glass panels is set to hit a seven-year low in 2017, in spite of the end-market demand for solar panels increasing by a factor of three over the same time period.
Sweden-based flexible CIGS thin-film manufacturing equipment supplier Midsummer said it had almost doubled sales in 2016, leading to a profit for the year.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has received €50 million from Chinese JV partners Shanghai Electric Group and Shenhua Group for turnkey CIGS thin-film production lines with a further €79 million also expected in May to start work on its largest ever equipment order.
News in brief: CEL looks to partner a foreign manufacturer on flexible module manufacturing near Delhi, MNRE mandates module and battery tests for off-grid programme, Puducherry EoI.
PV Tech’s preliminary analysis of global solar PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the first quarter of 2017, show a strong rebound compared to the significantly subdued environment experienced in the second half of 2016.
Specialist PV manufacturing equipment supplier Singulus Technologies expects to double sales in 2017 after its new order backlog in 2016 reached €109.9 million, a 310% increase over the previous year.
