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.
Ségolène Royal, France’s minister of the Environment, Energy and the Sea, yesterday announced the winners of the first period of the country’s rooftop solar tender.
PV manufacturing equipment specialist 3D-Micromac said it had booked over 1.5GW of orders related to its microCELL TLS (Thermal Laser Separation) high-throughput half-cell cutting tools since the beginning of the year. The company is exhibiting and showcasing its laser systems at SNEC 2017 in Shanghai, China.
The theme of this week's Movers & Shakers is international expansion. PAYG off-grid solar provider Azuri Technologies is strengthening its leadership team to target West Africa, while Vancouver, Canada-based Solar Alliance Energy targets US assets and expands its sales team to accommodate for this. ABB appoints new regional heads to ensure direct market contact with Europe and the AMEA region.
Struggling China-based PV manufacturer Yingli Green Energy reported a full-year 2016 net loss of US$293.6 million with the majority of losses attributed to manufacturing impairment and supplier bad debt provisions incurred in the fourth quarter of 2016.
