Having turned and continue to remain cautious about its business outlook for the second-half of 2017, JA Solar reported second quarter results that simply defied previous guidance, driven by greater than expected demand in China and a start of a rush to stockpile in the US.
This blog features the second part of our new two-part blog on PV-Tech this week, presenting the latest findings of the PV-Tech in-house market research team, with all data and graphics shown in this blog coming from the August 2017 release of our PV Manufacturing & Technology Quarterly report.
According to independent solar industry advisory firm AECEA, China has already exceeded its 13th Five-Year-Plan (2016-2020) target of 105GW by installing around 10.52GW of solar in July, after record first half 2017 installations of 24.4GW.
Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) has taken a 49% stake in SolarWorld Industries GmbH, the new entity that purchased SolarWorld AG’s core manufacturing assets, according to reports in Qatar.
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.
China-based independent PV power producer GCL New Energy Holdings (GCLNE) has reported preliminary first half year 2017 results, which included cumulative installed PV power plant capacity surpassing 5GW for the first time.
Newly formed German PV module manufacture SolarWorld Industries GmbH has officially started production, according to the insolvency administrator for SolarWorld AG.
Leading up to the PV ModuleTech 2017 conference, less than 3 months away (Kuala Lumpur, 7-8 November 2017), this blog series explains why this dedicated two-day industry event has the potential to provide some key answers for EPCs, developers and asset owners, in terms of understanding the key metrics that underpin solar modules going forward, ultimately mitigating risks during site design and build-out, while optimizing overall return-on-investment for more than 20 years in the field.
READ PART ONE HERE
The insolvency administrator for SolarWorld AG's shares in Solarparc GmbH, Deutsche Lithium GmbH and SolarWorld Americas said it was focusing its efforts on finding buyers for these companies.
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.
Taiwan-based merchant solar cell and module producer Neo Solar Power (NSP) continued its solarcoaster ride that has lasted almost a year with revenue in July, 2017 sliding 26% from the previous quarter, which was the best it had achieved in 2017.
Canadian Solar has launched an innovative ‘cool’ PV module design, dubbed ‘Ku’ modules. The new PV module series is based on Low Internal Current (LIC) module technology to provide better module energy yield and reliability.
