‘Solar Module Super League’ (SMSL) member First Solar is undertaking capacity expansions at its two existing manufacturing plants in Ohio, while evaluating several new international locations to grow its global module sales business as initial Series 6 CdTe thin film module expansion plans come to an end, effectively becoming capacity constrained again from 2021, onwards.
Indian PV manufacturer Waaree has started commercial production at a 1GW solar module assembly factory in the state of Gujarat, with several large tenders soon coming to fruition expected to counter the lull in activity brought about by a lack of tenders in H2 2017, according to a company official.
New York-based fixed tilt and solar racking manufacturer GameChange Solar has added eight additional manufacturing lines, bringing its US capacity for fixed-tilt mounting and PV trackers to a combined 6GW.
Having just reached the 100GW annual capacity level, the solar manufacturing industry must hit another 100GW within three years to meet demand, according to prominent industry figure Pierre Verlinden, who was former chief scientist of major PV manufacturer Trina Solar.
