Leading thin-film PV manufacturer First Solar raised both shipments and revenue expectations for 2017 after reporting net sales of US$623 million in the second quarter of 2017, down from US$892 million in the previous quarter.
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.
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.
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.
Leading thin-film specialist First Solar will transfer its existing business development resources in Turkey to Turkish industrial conglomerate Zorlu Solar and will close its Istanbul office.
Solar cells produced using p-type multi c-Si wafers retained their dominant market-share position in 2016, despite significant investments into p-type mono and advanced cell production, such as PERC. The transition to increased mono wafer use is now expected to be seen more clearly during 2017 and 2018, but depends still upon the relative end-market demand from the domestic Chinese market.
Leading thin-film producer First Solar has decided to skip the previously planned migration to its Series 5 module platform, while bringing plans forward to migrate to its large-area Series 6 module technology to 2018.
Leading CdTe thin-film producer First Solar has reacted to plummeting global PV module and PV power plant PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) prices by undertaking a major review of its production capacity requirements and planned migrations to its Series 5 and Series 6 modules.
As we finalize the agenda for PVCellTech 2017 – to be held in Penang, Malaysia, on 14-15 March 2017 – one of the key goals is to understand how solar cell advances in mass production are driving module availability to the market.
In this week's segment, PV Tech reports on energy storage in Australia, acquisitions in India, and policy-makers in the US, in a round-up of the most dynamic employment stories over the last fortnight.
