Efficiency improvement remains the key, Metal Wrap Through (MWT) technology ready to take the market According to EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, solar cell and module manufacturers will be more active in improving product efficiency under the pressure of both installation costs and subsidy cut. As for new technologies, MWT technology has been generally appreciated by related industries; it …
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Has Solar Raw Material Price Fall Ended?
Falling Spot Market Volume Shows Solar Polysilicon Price Crash is Ending Activity has plunged in the global photovoltaic (PV) polysilicon spot market—one of many hopeful signs corroborating IHS’s prediction that prices for the key solar raw material soon will bottom out as supply comes into better alignment with demand. The spot market in December of 2012 accounted for 20 percent …
Read More »Global Hydropower and Geothermal Growth Slow
New Worldwatch Institute report examines global consumption and installed capacity of hydropower and geothermal energy sources Although the global consumption and installed capacity of hydropower and geothermal technologies have increased steadily since 2003, both types of energy saw slower growth in 2011, according to new research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online service (www.worldwatch.org).Global installed capacity …
Read More »Photovoltaic Module Shipments Surge in the Fourth Quarter of 2012
After a disastrous third quarter of 2012 featuring extremely low factory utilization rates across the entire photovoltaic (PV) supply chain, a surge in demand was seen in the final quarter of the year for PV modules. A new PV module shipment record of 11 gigawatts (GW) was reached in the fourth quarter according to the IHS Solar Integrated Market Tracker …
Read More »Solar Supply Chain Set to Plunge This Year
Amid rapidly falling prices, mounting losses and massive operational costs, the upstream solar photovoltaic (PV) supply chain is undergoing major consolidation, with the number of companies participating in the market expected to plunge by 70 percent this year. Worldwide, the total number of companies participating directly in the manufacturing of PV solar panels, from polysilicon manufacturing through module assembly, is …
Read More »Top 10 Solar Market Predictions for 2013
The Top 10 predictions for the global photovoltaic market in 2013, from the IHS Solar service at information and analytics provider IHS. “The photovoltaic industry is in the midst of wrenching change—buffeted by government incentive cuts and nose-diving prices that has hurt solar suppliers worldwide, rocked by trade disputes among its major players, and hamstrung by a sputtering global economy,” …
Read More »Solar Trade Demystified
Last week, the U.S. Commerce Department imposed tariffs on $3 billion a year worth of Chinese solar panel imports. Non-Chinese solar panel manufacturers contend that China is able to “dump” cheap panels on the global market thanks to lavish Chinese government subsidies. This imbalance compounds the unfair advantage Chinese manufacturers already enjoy thanks to its huge low-wage workforce. It’s a …
Read More »Solar Energy Sparks Economic Resurgence
By Michael Gorton, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Principal Solar Despite the sluggish economy, the US solar industry has seen massive growth in the past two years, creating jobs across the country, driving innovation and attracting investors. In fact, solar installations reached 742MW in the second quarter, up 45 percent over the prior quarter, and a 116-percent increase over …
Read More »Will The Future Be Powered by Thorium?
Nuclear energy has been around for a long time. All the back to Einstein’s formula E = mc^2, the potential in harnessing the energy by a small change in mass has been known. Apart from being the foundation of nuclear bombs, as well as massive environmental disasters such as Chernobyl and the Fukushima Daiichi in Japan last year, nuclear power …
Read More »Top Solar Polysilicon Suppliers Must Cut Production to End Oversupply, Boost Pricing
With pricing for photovoltaic (PV) polysilicon declining at an accelerated rate in August, there are no signs that the glut plaguing the industry has abated, behooving Tier 1 suppliers to consider reducing production in order to stabilize market conditions. PV polysilicon prices last month fell at a faster rate than they did in July, continuing a losing streak that started …
Read More »Solar Power Digest 9-8
Mobile Robots Turn Solar Panels to Follow the Sun IEEE Spectrum Startup QBotix says robots can boost efficiency of solar energy. China Price War Draining Jobs in Germany’s Solar Valley Renewable Energy World When Thomas Behling returned to his home state of Saxony-Anhalt in 2006, he was drawn by a job in the solar industry and the chance to participate …
Read More »Wind Power Digest 9-7
Push on for ‘green power’ auctions Straight Furrow AS DEBATE rages over the future of a renewable energy target that mainly promotes wind power, a Melbourne think tank is calling for it to be scrapped and replaced with a new scheme to help transform the electricity industry. China Wind Power Provides Default Status Update Marketwire China Wind Power International Corp. …
Read More »Solar Panel Orders Look Bleak For August
Anti-Dumping Cases between U.S., China, and Europe Render August European solar companies jointly filed an anti-dumping complaint to the EU against Chinese solar firms. In the meantime, the Chinese government is debating launching an anti-dumping investigation on multi-Si product imports from foreign companies. To top it all off, the United States’ final ruling on the anti-dumping and anti-countervailing cases will …
Read More »XP Power Open World’s “Greenest” Power Plant in Vietnam
In May 2012, XP Power opened an electronic power converting manufacturing plant in the province of Binh Duong, Vietnam. Normally, this wouldn’t exactly be a thrilling headline, but what makes this plant so unusual is that it is considered to be the world’s most environmentally friendly manufacturing facility. Its sustainable features are so extensive that the plant will be the …
Read More »Europe Unlikely to Follow US Lead in Imposing Duties on China PV Imports
Following similar action from the U.S. government, the European Union may undertake an antidumping investigation of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells imported from China. However, compared to the United States, the EU inquiry is less likely to result in the imposition of countervailing duties, according to the most recent IHS iSuppli Photovoltaics Market Tracker report at information and analytics provider IHS …
Read More »Electric Cars Cause More Pollution
NewsyScience asked: BY LOGAN TITTLE Tired of the hype electric cars are getting for being efficient? Well—you’re in luck. TIME reports a recent study by the University of Tennessee says eco-friendly drivers are actually meaner in most cases. The study found that—in terms of air pollution—electric cars aren’t completely in the clear when you look at how the electricity is …
Read More »US Antidumping Tariffs Could Suspend 45 Percent of Solar Module Shipments to North America
U.S. government antidumping penalties on imports of photovoltaic (PV) cells from China could suspend nearly half of solar module shipments to North America this year, impacting pricing, inventories and project timelines, according to an IHS iSuppli PV Perspectives report from information and analytics provider IHS (NYSE: IHS). The U.S. Department of Commerce on May 17 announced a preliminary determination in …
Read More »Chinese Solar Maker Responds To Anti-Dumping
JA Solar Responds to U.S. Department of Commerce’s Preliminary Decision on Antidumping Tariffs on Chinese Solar Products JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of high-performance solar power products, today responded to the preliminary decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC”) on imposing antidumping duties on China-produced solar products. According to the DOC’s preliminary determination, …
Read More »Solar Panels Dumping Decision
Anti-dumping and Anti-countervailing Decision Unexpected, Manufacturers Treading Carefully Last Friday’s (May 18) results for the preliminary ruling on the U.S. anti-dumping and anti-countervailing case against China were not what the PV industry expected, and Chinese manufacturers were caught off guard by the news, resulting in delayed price negotiations for June. According to EnergyTrend, a research division of TrendForce, related vendors …
Read More »New Anti-Dumping Duties On Solar Panels From China
U.S. Sets Preliminary Anti-dumping Duties on solar cells, Taiwanese Makers to See Improved Spot Market Prices Next Week On May 17, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its preliminary decision regarding anti-dumping charges against China’s solar cell and module makers. Anti-dumping duties imposed on China’s major solar cell manufacturers average 31.18%, with Suntech and Trina Solar receiving 31.22% and 31.14%, …
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