After the significant upwards revisions made to global solar PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the first half of 2017, which we reviewed in a previous blog, the third quarter was characterised by much more tempered plans.
A preliminary recommendation from India’s Directorate General of Safeguards Customs and Central Excise to impose a provisional 70% safeguard duty on solar cells imported from China and Malaysia has been branded as “ridiculous” and potentially catastrophic, by PV industry members involved in finance, project development and analysis.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member GCL System Integrated Technology (GCL-SI) has appointed a new chairman and chief executive officer as Zhu Gongshan, the majority shareholder with the GCL group steps down from the post of chairman of the board.
Major China-based PV module manufacturer Risen Energy has recently signed a framework agreement to build and operate a 5GW monocrystalline cell and module plant in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China.
China-based polysilicon producer Daqo New Energy has announced that its long-term CEO, Dr. Gongda Yao is stepping down from all executive positions and would leave the company at the end of March, 2018.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG said the 306MW CIGS module production plant for its Chinese partners, the Shanghai Electric Group and the Shenhua Group had started construction on January 4, 2018 and was expected to be completed by the end of third quarter 2018 with production expected to start in the middle of 2019.
China-based merchant solar cell producer Guangdong Aiko Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd (Aiko Solar) said it had achieved a production capacity of 4GW for PERC solar cells, while initially ramping its new production plant on schedule near Yiwu City, central Zhejiang province, China at the end of 2017.
China-based independent PV power producer GCL New Energy Holdings (GCLNE) has reported preliminary full-year 2017 PV power plant operating results, which included cumulative installed capacity reaching a new record of 6GW.
PV project developer ReneSola has completed and grid connected over 90MW of distributed generation (DG) rooftop projects in China in the second half of 2017.
