thin film

Group lands deal to build 100MW worth of plants in southern Russia, securing a €56.2 million loan to develop a further 90MW in projects in Kazakhstan.

Australia-headquartered Greatcell Solar, formerly Dyesol Solar, has appointed administrators after failing to secure further financing to develop its perovskite materials and solar cells to a commercial level.

PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the second quarter of 2018, were slightly higher than the previous quarter, although activity slumped specifically in June, after China’s decision to suddenly cap utility-scale and distributed generation (DG) projects (531 New Deal). But large-scale multi-gigawatt production plans in the first half of the year may have hidden an inevitable slowdown, despite the impact on downstream demand from the 531 New Deal.

We have tracked the annual R&D spending of 12 key publicly listed PV module manufacturers over the last 10 years. We present our new methodology with a broader scope which reveals record levels of investment in solar innovation.

PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in the first quarter of 2018 continued to follow the strong trend set in the fourth quarter of 2017. The quarter also represented a revival in thin-film expansion plans as well as the return of PV module assembly outpacing solar cell announcements. Also notable was the return of India and the US as major destinations for new capacity plans.

Thin-film manufacturer First Solar reported record Q3 bookings of 4.5GW taking the company’s order book to 7.4GW for shipments out to 2020.

Industrial gases firms Linde and Praxair have announced plans to merge that would create a US$29 billion global business dominating many regional industrial sectors around the world. The major merger is not expected to be completed in the second half of 2018, subject to anti-trust agencies in Germany and the US.

Thin film perovskite solar cell developer Dyesol has had an application granted by the Australian government for a AUD$2.5 million (US$1.9 million) in funding for an 18 month project to develop a large-area on glass product prototype that would coincide with the company establishing pilot line production in Australia.

Thin-film manufacturer Solar Frontier has begun commercial production at its new 150MW plant in Tohoku.

Hanergy Thin Film Power appears to be facing fresh troubles, with the company accused of leaving rent unpaid on a Hong Kong office, according to a report in the Financial Times.