Increasing panel efficiencies and power ratings represents a key deliverable from the PV industry today. These requirements are not simply long-term objectives for the industry as a whole: they are essential at the company level to differentiate leading suppliers within an overcrowded and highly competitive manufacturing environment.
Efficiency enhancements typically require changes in manufacturing process flow and materials (raw and consumable) used in production. Ideally, the technologies that drive these changes will be those featured within a technology roadmap.
Not withstanding the tumultuous year for solar cell and thin-film manufacturers, the top-10 rankings for 2011 saw only a few changes in position from 12 months ago. Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers maintained their prominence, securing 8 of the top-10 positions. But the number-one position in 2011 goes to First Solar, the only thin-film manufacturer on the list.
Oregon-based SolarWorld announced that along with seven other US manufacturers, it had petitioned the US federal government to stop what it calls, “an ever-increasing tide of heavily subsidized solar cells and panels that China’s state-supported solar industry is illegally dumping into the American market.” Spearheaded under the name, The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing, the group filed complaints with both the US Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission.
Three months ahead of schedule, Wacker Chemie has started ramping its new polysilicon plant in Nünchritz, Germany. The €900 million investment which includes debottlenecking strategies to boost output to 15,000MT per annum has created 500 new jobs at the plant. Full nominal capacity is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2012.
Overcapacity is continuing to take its toll on PV module prices, according to the latest ‘Solarbuzz Quarterly’ report. Factory gate prices are claimed to be down 33% year-on-year and will fall a further 18% in the fourth quarter of 2011. Solarbuzz warns that module inventory levels could reached almost 22GW by the end of next year if production is not cut drastically. The backdrop for the supply and demand imbalance is installation levels that are proving to be weaker than expected.
A new research report by GTM Research, Solar PV Balance of System (BOS): Technologies and Markets, is reporting that in 2012 balance of system costs will surpass PV module costs on a cost per watt scale. The report, written by Manhal Aboudi, identified BOS costs in 2010 at US$1.43 per watt, or 44.8% of a standard, utility-scale crystalline silicon (cSi) solar project. As solar PV module prices continue to drop, GTM suspects that in 2012 the BOS cost for the same project will increase to 50.6%.
As part of its updated second-quarter and fiscal year 2011 financial outlook, SunPower boosted its expected quarterly revenues to between $550 million and $600 million, while annual sales are forecast to end up in the $2.8 billion-$2.95 billion range. Because of the new Italian policy environment, the company said it will be reallocating 85MW of product from its utility group in Italy to residential and commercial customers in Europe and elsewhere.
Centrotherm Photovoltaics has released its Q1’11 results, highlighting strong year-on-year revenue and bookings performance compared to Q1’10. Revenues grew year on year by 64.2% to €189.3 million, while new orders increased by 187.8% to €224.3 million. However, a more appropriate comparison comes by looking at quarter-on-quarter trends - in particular how Centrotherm’s PV book-to-bill is tracking – and in understanding trends within the industry driving these metrics.
Solar cell manufacturers are undertaking aggressive expansion plans at present in an attempt to meet ambitious 2011 shipment forecasts, according to Solarbuzz’s latest quarterly report. This ramping up of production has the potential to create US$15.2 billion in revenue for manufacturing firms – a year-on-year rise of 41%.
According to a new report from market research firm Photon Consulting, the PV industry is looking at a supply-driven price crash on the back of expected strong feed-in tariff cuts in Germany over the next two-years, which will dampen demand sufficiently to cause a glut in modules and impact the entire supply-chain.
