Taiwan-based solar cell and wafer producers are being impacted by slowing demand from China and unfolding overcapacity that has resulted in ASP declines hitting monthly revenue figures since June.
Specialist PV manufacturing equipment supplier Amtech Systems backed-up previous quarters order bookings with solar equipment sales in its third fiscal quarter of 2016, reaching US$19 million.
Leading CdTe thin-film producer First Solar is undergoing a mid-year restructuring that includes cost cutting activities that should generate a US$2 billion balance sheet cushion against changing solar business dynamics and a looming revenue and shipment hole facing the company in 2017.
PV Tech’s preliminary analysis of global PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in June, clearly demonstrate a significant slowdown in recent months.
Leading CdTe thin-film manufacturer First Solar is discontinuing development and production of its hybrid heterojunction silicon cell and module technology, acquired via the acquisition of start-up TetraSun.
Solar PV installations are expected to surpass 60GW worldwide in 2016, up from the 50.6GW deployed last year, according to the latest figures from SolarPower Europe.
PV Tech’s preliminary analysis of global PV manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in April, 2016, revealed nearly 9GW of planned future expansions of thin-film modules, solar cells and module assembly production, up from over 7.3GW in the previous month and the third consecutive monthly increase.
Silicon module super league member (SMSL) JA Solar is to provide 420MW of modules for China’s National Energy Administration’s (NEA) “Front Runner” programme which aims to promote the development of advanced solar PV technology by domestic suppliers.
Sumitomo Corporation, Japan’s leading general trading company, is implementing a 60MW solar PV project in Minamisoma, Fukushima, at a ¥22 billion (US$ 201 million) investment.
Photovoltaic metallization paste producer Samsung SDI expects to start production of its range of pastes for solar cells at a new facility in Wuxi, China to meet growing demand.
