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...
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...
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...
Manz to Acquire CIGS Module Line from Würth Solar
Preparing for Hands-on Innovation
Reutlingen-based PV production systems provider Manz has signed a letter of intent to acquire Würth Solar’s CIGS solar module production line in Schwäbisch Hall, together with all associated CIGS licences and know-how. more...
Laser Edge Isolation Replaced by Ten-lane Wet-chemical Edge Isolation
Modernizing to Compete
The photovoltaics market has become a buyer’s market, with the drive for higher cell efficiencies in full swing. Slackening demand for solar cells with efficiencies lower than about 16.4 % was recently reported by Digitimes, a Taiwanese industry information service . more...
Largest Renewable Energy Investment in Germany in 2010
Thin-Film Module Capacity Doubled to 500 MW
Arizona-based First Solar, major US producer of thin-film solar modules, recently opened its new plant expansion in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. The $200 m investment effectively doubles the company’s production capacity in Germany to 500 MW annually. more...
Oversupply Continues
Soaring Module Inventory Levels
Preliminary analysis from Solarbuzz shows Q3’11 global demand growing by less than 1 % quarter on quarter, but up 20 % year on year. European markets are projected to account for 58 % of Q3’11 global demand, down from 78 % in the same quarter last year. more...
Pierre-Pascal Urbon Succeeds Günther Cramer as CEO at SMA
New Man at the Helm
CFO Pierre-Pascal Urbon was appointed to the additional position of CEO of SMA Solar Technology AG at a meeting of the Managing Board, and took over this additional assignment from his predecessor following the company’s AGM on May 26, 2011. more...
Solar-Panel Makers Plan China Trade Complaint
Distorted Global Competition
Solar manufacturers including the U.S. unit of SolarWorld AG (SWV) are preparing a trade complaint against imports from China, as they seek help from President Barack Obama to counter subsidies to their competitors, according to people familiar with the matter. more...
Baja Sun Energy and Arima EcoEnergy to Built Manufacturing Plant
First Integrated Solar Company in Mexico
Baja Sun Energy SRL announced the formation of the first integrated solar business located in Mexico. The company will construct a concentrated solar system manufacturing plant. more...
Market researchers Report On Massive Growth
Price Cuts Stimulate US PV Market
According to solarbuzz, an US market research company, large cuts in factory gate module prices over the summer have resulted in a significant increase in photovoltaic (PV) project development activity in the US. more...