consolidation

Aurora Solar’s acquisition of Folsom Labs last week followed a recent spike in deals between solar software providers that have pooled resources to offer a more complete service, share best practices or enter new geographies. Jules Scully looks at how consolidation is reshaping service offerings.

LONGi’s ascent to the top of the solar module shipments league table captured headlines last week, but it also cements the view that consolidation in the sector is inevitable, with an oligarchy of majors dominating market share. Carrie Xiao assesses the prospects of those top five companies as 2021 heats up.

More than 180GW of solar will be deployed globally this year as the sector defies headwinds including higher module prices and supply chain constraints, IHS Markit has said.

US residential solar installer Sunrun is to acquire rival Vivint Solar as part of a US$3.2 billion all-stock deal that constitutes a major shake-up for the US solar market.

Inverter failures and the prevalence of auction-based mechanisms for large-scale solar projects are placing pressure on solar operations and maintenance (O&M) prices, a new report from Wood Mackenzie has found.

Solar to continue rapid rise over this decade but lack of foresight with grid planning could mix with ultra-low prices and waste management troubles to set obstacles in the short and long term.

Smaller companies are finding it increasingly difficult to enter the Indian large-scale solar market and partake in the multi-gigawatts of competitive auctions for PV capacity.

Indian solar tariffs are overdue a major correction and many smaller players are likely to drop out of the sector over the next few years, according to panellists at Intersolar India 2017 in Mumbai.

'The next step of evolution in the Indian market is going to be permanent capital', says James Brooks.

Up to 100 solar PV firms in Japan could face bankruptcy this year, with more than double the number of firms going bust in the first half of this year than the same period in 2016.