Norway-headquartered integrated PV module manufacturer REC Group has been officially approved to be able to bid on solar supply tenders in France, organised by the government after receiving the required low carbon footprint certification by French module testing and certification body, CERTISOLIS.
Updated: The US solar trade body, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) said it would spearhead the campaign against the trade petition by US-based bankrupt cell and module manufacturer, Suniva with the USITC (United States International Trade Commission) that threatens import duties on all crystalline solar cells and panels imported from anywhere across the world not produced in the US.
With its parent company SolarWorld AG and German-based subsidiaries at the early stage of insolvency proceedings, US subsidiary SolarWorld Americas Inc., has said for the first time since its parent company went bankrupt that it was planning to operate its manufacturing plant in Hillsboro, Oregon and other operations as normal.
PV inverter manufacturers SMA Solar, SolarEdge and Enphase have all recently reported first quarter 2017 financial results. As already highlighted by PV Tech, US residential PV installers have reported softer than normal sales in the quarter and dependence on the US market for SMA Solar and Enphase, coupled to continued pricing pressure took a toll on revenues.
SolarWorld AG's insolvency will not impact the continuation of the minimum import price (MIP) with the extension of the measures already enshrined in law by the European Commission.
In less than 10 years, distributed solar-plus-storage systems will reach 27.4GW worldwide and be worth more than US$49.1 billion, with Asia and Western Europe leading the way, a new report from Navigant Research has forecast.
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.
This week's Movers & Shakers segment features executive shuffles in energy storage companies and an O&M firm, while examining a new merger between Spain's Gamesa and Siemens Wind Power. Spain's Renewable Energy Association elects a new president for the next four years, and Jon Wellinghoff exits SolarCity amid the US$2 billion Tesla acquisition.
