A key factor in the strong growth of the PV industry in 2017 is the Silicon Module Super League (or SMSL), comprised of the seven companies that will each ship in excess of 4GW of modules this year, well above all other module suppliers to the industry.
Leading PV module encapsulation and backsheet material supplier Hangzhou First Applied Materials Co, formerly First Photovoltaics (PV) reported a continued increase in demand with sales up by 16.56% but profits crashed by 43.49% on significant ASP pressure in the first half of 2017.
Newly formed German PV module manufacture SolarWorld Industries GmbH has officially started production, according to the insolvency administrator for SolarWorld AG.
The solar industry is set to reach annual demand at the 100GW level much earlier than has been forecast by both third-party observers and the leading component suppliers. During 2018, the solar industry is shaping up to ship more than 100GW of solar modules during the calendar year, while 2017 alone will see the number exceed 90GW comfortably.
Leading CdTe thin-film module manufacturer First Solar has secured a 241MW module supply contract with Australian EPC firm, RCR Tomlinson. The latest contract is for two major PV power plant projects, bringing its contracted business in the country to over 500MW in the next 12 months.
PV and electronics equipment manufacturing and automation specialist Manz AG said it expected to generate revenue of at least €350 million in 2017, including significantly improved and positive EBIT as it starts execution of its large CIGS thin-film orders.
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Hanwha Q CELLS reported inline second quarter revenue but margins continued to be impacted by declining average selling prices (ASP).
India recently proposed a new strategy of supporting its domestic solar manufacturers by allocating 7.5GW of local content tenders to Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), but analysts have identified a number of limitations.
Nanoelectronics research centre imec has taken a perovskite/silicon tandem mini-module-on-cell stack to a record 23.9% conversion efficiency, significantly exceeding its 20.2% efficiency figures reported in 2016.
