What is the current outlook for the photovoltaic industry?
Hype and Disenchantment
After the boom of 2010, the economic downturn in the photovoltaic sector in 2011 has been all the more brutal. Has the sun set on the PV era? No. This industry is merely going through the usual structural changes common to practically all industries – but at breakneck pace. Seen in the longer term, the future belongs to the solar industry. Let me present a brief analysis. more...
New Thin-Film Concepts
Singulus Receives New Order for Thin-Film Solar Technology
Singulus Technologies reports the sale of a CIGS/CIS thin-film solar cell coating plant to an international thin-film solar manufacturer. CIGS technology is based on a semi-conductor layer composed of copper, indium, gallium, sulfur, and selenium. The equipment will be used to set up a pilot production line for CIGS/CIS modules. more...
Metallization Pastes and Backsheet
DuPont and Yingli Enter $100 Million Agreement
DuPont (Wilmington, USA) and Yingli Energy (China) have signed a $100 million strategic agreement for photovoltaic materials aimed at accelerating the adoption of solar energy. more...
IMS Research Study
20 GW of PV Manufacturing Equipment Due for Replacement by 2016
Despite the outlook for the PV manufacturing equipment market remaining bleak in 2012, a new report from IMS Research forecasts that there could be a 20 GW opportunity for the upgrade or replacement of existing capacity over the next four years. more...
Event: Manufacturing Excellence
Semi Europe to Hold 6th PV Fab Managers Forum
On 26th and 27th of March Semi Europe will hold the 6th PV Fab Managers Forum in Berlin. The event is intended for suppliers and manufacturer to meet and discuss current challenges and future requirements of the PV industry. more...
Dupont Tedlar Polyvinyl Fluoride Film
Dupont and Suntech Sign Strategic Agreement
Dupont and Suntech, the largest producer of solar panels in the global market, have signed a stratetic agreement to increase the supply of photovoltaic materials and technologies for the growing solar energy market. more...
Copper-Zinc-Tin-Sulfide Based Thin-film Solar Cells
AQT Readies Low-Cost CIGS 3.0 for Commercialization
US photovoltaic company Aqt Solar announced that it has achieved near world record efficiencies using an even lower cost and production friendly sputter deposited CZTS (copper-zinc-tin-sulfide) thin-film solar cell. more...
Thin Film Coatings
Soleras and Bekaert Advanced Coatings to be Merged
Growth equity firm Element Partners announced that agreements have been signed for the acquisition of the Industrial Coatings Division of Bekaert and the acquisition of privately held Soleras Ltd. The two companies will be combinded to form a new business, named Soleras Advanced Coatings. more...
Polysilicon Production
Wacker Hit by Decline in Solar Demand
German chemical company Wacker reported an earnings decline in the fourth quarter of 2011, mainly due to weaker business in the semiconductor and solar industries. Polysilicon sales dropped in total to some €255 million, 32 percent less than the same period in 2010. more...
Solarbuzz Asia Pacific Major PV Markets Quarterly Report
Tremendous Surge in Asia Pacific PV Market
Asia Pacific photovoltaic (PV) markets continue to surge ahead of expectations, installing 2.8 GW in Q4’11 and a total of 6 GW in FY’11. According to Solarbuzz the region as a whole grew 165% Y/Y, and is forecast to grow an additional 40% in 2012. more...
Fourth Quarter Results
Conergy Defies Module Price Decline
Despite a module price drop of over 40 % in 2010, German single source solar provider Conergy, Hamburg, achieved group sales of € 755 million in line with company predictions. more...
High Efficiency Solar Technology
DuPont Collaborates with Yingli
DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions and Yingli Green Energy Holding, one of the world’s largest vertically integrated photovoltaic manufacturers, are collaborating to advance technology for higher efficiency solar cells, new module manufacturing processes, and innovative component designs. more...
Q-Cells Sets New World Record
18.5 Percent Cell Efficiency with Multi-Crystalline Modules
Q-Cells SE has set two new world records for multi-crystalline solar modules. The independent calibration laboratory of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg confirmed a module efficiency of 18.5 per cent based on aperture area for a module with 60 multicrystalline solar cells. more...
PV Module Prices
7% Price Increase in December, 4% Decrease Expected in January
PV module prices increased by 7% in December 2011 due to a temporary pick-up in demand ahead of FiT reductions in a number of key markets according to the latest monthly pricing report from IMS Research. more...
NREL Confirms 14.4 Percent Efficiency of First Solar´s Cadmium Telluride Modules
New Efficiency Record for CdTe Modules
First Solar has set a new world record for cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) solar module efficiency, achieving 14.4 percent total area efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) confirmed the record, which eclipsed the prior mark of 13.4 percent. more...
Chinese Module Manufacturer Opens French Subsidiary and Office in Montpellier, France
Jinko Solar Expands into France
Jinko Solar, a China-based vertically integrated solar power product manufacturer, has set up a French subsidiary, JinkoSolar S.A.S., and opened a French office in Montpellier. The new operation will support local partners and participate in the growth of the region’s solar industry. more...
Shift of Focus to Fast-growing Module and Project Business
Schott Solar to Close Down Wafer Production
German Schott Solar AG is continuing with its realignment efforts and will close down its wafer manufacturing activities at its site in Jena. The company announced that it will be concentrating on its fast-growing module and project business. more...
Singulus Machines Key Components
Avancis Starts 100 MWp CIS Production
Avancis, manufacturer of CIS solar modules, has commenced production in its second factory at company headquarters in Torgau, Germany. more...
GCL-Poly to Boost Polysilicon Production
Polysilicon Counterculture
GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. is raising $ 236m to increase polysilicon production capacity amid a global surplus and against a background of plummeting prices for this key material. more...
Panasonic to Produce Solar Wafers, Cells, and Modules in Malaysia
Greater Cost-competitiveness in Global Market
Panasonic Corporation is poised to establish a company in Malaysia that will serve as its new solar manufacturing base. Panasonic Energy Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., to be set up in December 2011, will operate a vertically-integrated solar manufacturing facility producing from wafers to cells and modules. more...
First Solar Tops 5 GW Photovoltaic Production
Enough Power for 2.5 Million Homes
Cumulative production by Tempe/Arizona-headquartered First Solar, Inc. has just topped 66 million solar modules, equivalent to a generation capacity of 5 GW or enough to power some 2.5 million homes. more...