A report, four years in the making, has been released by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Inspector General into the collapse of CIGS thin-film producer, Solyndra, and the way more than US$500 million of loan guarantees were given out by the department to the failed company.
Swedish thin-film PV equipment specialist Midsummer has been awarded a SEK10 million (US$1.2 million) grant to support production and sales of its cell manufacturing machines.
Taiwan-based CIGS thin-film module producer TSMC Solar, a subsidiary of leading semiconductor foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp is to close its manufacturing plant at the end of August and exit the solar PV market.
Hanergy Thin Film Power has issued a profit warning for its first half 2015 results as its primary customer, Hanergy Group, recently cancelled a major connected transaction to appease a Hong Kong stock market investigation into Hanergy TF’s viability when the majority of a sales go through its privately held parent company.
First Solar has guided 2015 PV module shipments almost double those of 2014. The CdTe thin-film leader expects shipments to be in the range of 2.8GW to 2.9GW.
PV manufacturing equipment specialist Singulus Technologies has reported new order intake for the first half of 2015 topped €73.1 million, significantly up from €25.2 million in the prior year period.
A 3GW module shipment “milestone” announced today by Japan-headquartered thin-film firm Solar Frontier is confirmation that CIGS technology “can work” despite facing challenges during its history, according to solar market analyst Finlay Colville.
Leading thin-film manufacturer First Solar faces the prospect of losing a key financial supporter of its foreign exports as the possible closure of the US Export-Import Bank looms.
Solar Frontier, the vertically integrated thin-film PV manufacturer and project developer headquartered in Japan, has opened an office in London aimed at steering its activities in the currently buoyant UK market.
