Thin-Film

The recent extension to the US investment tax credit (ITC) could enable First Solar to shift emphasis and therefore revenue generation to selling its CdTe thin-film modules to third parties rather than directly to PV power plant projects, according to a research note from Deutsche Bank analyst, Vishal Shah.

Solar Frontier believes it could make some of Japan’s as-yet-unbuilt utility-scale solar projects economically viable, as the company’s partnership with Goldman Sachs-affiliate Japan Renewable Energy prepares to take on 300MW of projects within the next five years.

Li Guangim, the financial controller and an executive director of troubled Chinese manufacturer Hanergy Thin Film Power has resigned from the company.

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.

Recently, First Solar provided updates to the market on 2016 company operations, but hidden within the details is potentially a more relevant metric relating to the competitive positioning of their CdTe panels with the main competition in the market today, p-type multi c-Si modules.

Manz, supplier of manufacturing equipment to the solar, energy storage and electronics industries has been forced to lay off 174 members of staff.

First Solar has announced shipment guidance for 2016 of 2.9-3.0GW for 2016 and confirmed that it has no immediate plans to expand production capacity.

Thin-film manufacturer and developer First Solar is among the investors in a US$50 million funding round for grid-scale storage specialist Younicos, with the money raised set to fuel the latter’s expansion.

Solar Frontier has broken a conversion efficiency record for CIS thin-film solar cells that has stood for over a year, achieving 22.3% efficiency on a 0.5cm² PV cell.

Two contracts worth almost US$2 billion have been cancelled by troubled Chinese manufacturer Hanergy Thin Film Power Group.