PV Tech’s preliminary analysis of global solar PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the first quarter of 2017, show a strong rebound compared to the significantly subdued environment experienced in the second half of 2016.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Canadian Solar has completed the sale of a further two solar power plants in China, totalling approximately 69.5MWp to Shenzhen Energy Nanjing Holding Co.
The Americas subsidiary of Solar Frontier has completed the sale of its 40MW Midway II solar plant to a subsidiary of Dominion Energy for an undisclosed sum.
US-headquartered high-efficiency PV module producer SunPower has started construction on what is claimed to be the largest behind-the-meter solar power system in Texas upon completion.
Chinese automotive to renewable energy technology company BYD has officially opened its first solar module assembly plant in Brazil with a nameplate capacity of 200MW that will include glass/glass modules.
Alfartec has introduced its BlueSky-MT240 solar simulator to the market that is based on LED and Halogen technologies, making it ideal for production, research and certification centers, globally. Its long flash duration up to 500 millisecondes and short cycle time are suitable for all module technologies.
Bankrupt US solar module start-up Beamreach Solar’s pilot production line in Milpitas, California is being offered for sale by Silicon Valley Disposition (SVD).
After several months of lacklustre sales from many key PV manufacturers in Taiwan, indicating an expected boom in China’s downstream PV market had yet to gain momentum, March sales data indicates improving market demand, yet not at the levels seen in the prior year quarter.
Dedicated PV quality assurance services firm STS-Certified said it had performed quality inspection services on solar modules totalling over 1.5GW in 2016, with the expectation of almost 3.0GW of inspections in 2017.
