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.
Leading CdTe thin-film producer First Solar has brought online the first ever utility-scale solar project on tribal land, the 250MW Moapa project, located just 30 miles north of Las Vegas.
China-based thin-film PV firm Hangzhou Microquanta Semiconductor has claimed a new efficiency record for perovskite mini-modules of 15.24%, certified by Newport PV Lab in Montana, US.
PV CellTech will take place in Penang on 14-15 March 2017, and PV Tech took time out to talk with the event Chairman Finlay Colville on what to expect from the event and a detailed look at the speakers and topics that make up the full agenda of the two-day event.
