China-based polysilicon and multicrystalline wafer producer Daqo New Energy has said it would discontinue its solar wafer manufacturing operations in September, 2018.
Much has been written and voiced over the past couple of months in the PV industry, following the so-called China-531 policy announcement that finally provided a wake-up call to Chinese manufacturers that their domestic end-market was not going to be allowed to maintain its near-exponential growth characteristics.
China-based PV module assembly equipment specialist Yingkou Jinchen Machinery Co reported record second quarter 2018 operating income as key PV manufacturers in China continued to add new module capacity in the first half of 2018, notably through fully-automated solar module assembly lines.
China-based PV module manufacturer Hareon Solar Technology Co, has reported unaudited first half 2018 financial results, highlighting the collapse in the company in 2017, as losses mounted and was forced into major restructuring in 2018.
The European Union has officially elected not to extend anti-dumping duties against panels imported from China, with the minimum import price now ceasing to exist from midnight Monday 3 September 2018.
The first wave of public listed China-based, China centric PV manufacturers reporting first half year financial results offers insight into the impact on companies after the Chinese Government capped utility-scale and distributed generation (DG) PV power plant projects at the end of May, 2018.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member GCL System Integrated Technology (GCL-SI) reported a significant shift of its sales to outside China in the first half of 2018, accounting for 45.80% of total sales in the reporting period that also helped return the company to profitability.
Major PV inverter manufacturer Sungrow Power Supply Co, recently reported a relatively strong rebound in revenue (up 10%) in the first half of 2018 but on a quarterly basis the second quarter sales increased 29% from the previous quarter, indicating that greater dependence on China and the utility-scale market with central inverters, creates a ‘solarcoaster’ ride.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG has secured another advanced payment for CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, DiSelenide) thin-film manufacturing equipment, which is part of a major production order with Chinese partners, the Shanghai Electric Group and the Shenhua Group.