For all intents and purposes, 2018 may be remembered as the year that Taiwanese solar manufacturing moved from its former cell-making glory days of the past (Taiwan solar 1.0) to adjust to the new reality as defined by China’s bulldozing annihilation of cash-struck overseas manufacturing regions in recent times.
Much has been written and voiced over the past couple of months in the PV industry, following the so-called China-531 policy announcement that finally provided a wake-up call to Chinese manufacturers that their domestic end-market was not going to be allowed to maintain its near-exponential growth characteristics.
The first wave of public listed China-based, China centric PV manufacturers reporting first half year financial results offers insight into the impact on companies after the Chinese Government capped utility-scale and distributed generation (DG) PV power plant projects at the end of May, 2018.
Leading polysilicon and solar wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings is to form a joint venture (JV) with Japanese conglomerate, Mitsui to invest in new-generation energy and infrastructure related businesses in China as well as other ‘selected’ overseas countries.
Leading polysilicon and multicrystalline wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings is planning to build a 20GW monocrystalline silicon ingot manufacturing facility in Qujing, China.
Softbank Vision Fund (SBVF) and GCL Group holding company have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch a US$930 million joint venture in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, primarily to manufacture PV ingots, wafers, solar cells and modules.
Leading polysilicon and solar wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings has reported a significant increase in nameplate wafer capacity in 2017, going from 18.5GW in 2016 to 30GW at the end of 2017, a 62.2% rise.
GCL New Energy Holdings (GNE), the downstream independent PV power producer arm of leading polysilicon and solar wafer producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, has secured a HK$8,000 million (US$1.02 billion) in new finance.
US-based solar module technology firm Solaria Corporation, which filed suit against GCL Solar Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings as well as Seraphim Solar System Co. Ltd due to claims of IP theft and breaches of Non-Disclosure Agreements has settled the litigation with GCL-Poly.
