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.
Polysilicon producer REC Silicon ASA reported a slump in polysilicon sales in the first quarter of 2017 as market demand weakness resumed after strong demand in the fourth quarter of 2016.
