L R AS Published on Friday 30 September 2016 - n° 162 - Categories:the manufacturers
Wave of redundancies in the sector
The Swiss equipment manufacturer Meyer Burger, for its part, is reducing its workforce by 16 per cent by the end of 2016 (250 employees) and its operating costs by CHF 50 million. These measures will entail restructuring costs of CHF 3 to 4 million, which will be booked in the 2016 financial statements.
Since August 2016, job losses in the solar industry have reached 2,500 people, including 1,200 from SunPower, 350 from Meyer Burger and 1,000 from SolarWorld, Motech, Canadian Solar, Enphase Energy, Verengo Solar, TS Solartech.
PV Tech of 29 September 2016.
Editor's note The movement has only just begun. It will grow in the coming weeks
L R AS Published on Thursday 22 September 2016 - n° 161 - Categories:the manufacturers
SunPower announced the closure of its Philippines plant and the loss of 1,200 jobs.
At the time of the publication of the half-yearly accounts, SunPower had announced the closure of its Philippines plant and the loss of 1,200 jobs
PV Tech of September 21, 2016
L R AS Published on Thursday 22 September 2016 - n° 161 - Categories:the manufacturers
Motech to cut 200 jobs, or 4% of its workforce
In the current crisis, Motech is going to cut 200 jobs, especially in the night shift and among temporary workers, i.e. 4% of its workforce
Digitimes of 19 September 2016
L R AS Published on Thursday 22 September 2016 - n° 161 - Categories:the manufacturers
According to ProSun, the dismissal of 500 people at SolarWorld is due to China's desire to sell in Europe at dumping prices.
SolarWorld announces that 500 temporary employees at its factories in Freiberg and Arnstadt will be made redundant by the end of the year due to the fall in the price of panels on the world market. The 2,000 permanent employees are not affected. This would allow production to be adjusted to global overcapacity.
Photon of 22 September 2016
The pressure group EU ProSun, which is close to SolarWorld, accuses China of provoking the dismissal of 500 people in the company, circumventing anti-dumping duties with installations in various South-East Asian countries and increasing sales in Europe at dumping prices. It accuses China of dumping panels into Europe that can no longer find use in China because of overly large installations in the first half of 2016 .
PV Tech of 22 September
AS Published on Sunday 18 September 2016 - n° 160 - Categories:the manufacturers
1,500-volt installations could become widespread in the United States from the fourth quarter of 2016.
The year 2017 could see the breakthrough of 1,500-volt architectures in the United States to make them cheaper than the selling price of electricity. At SPI, the manufacturers of inverters and panels seem to be preparing for this new stage, although it is still a little early. According to Huawei, major developers have already started to deploy 1,500 volts.
L R AS Published on Sunday 28 August 2016 - n° 157 - Categories:the manufacturers
In the first half of 2016, JinkoSolar will become the world's leading supplier of panels.
JinkoSolar is becoming the world's number 1 in panel deliveries: it shipped 3,316 MW in thefirst half of the year, i.e. 95% more than a year ago. Above all, it has taken over from Trina Solar, which only sold "only" 3,082 MW over this period.
PV Tech of 25 August
Editor's note It is a very Chinese sport to want to be the biggest, the strongest at all costs.
L R AS Published on Saturday 27 August 2016 - n° 157 - Categories:the manufacturers
Korea's Foxconn legally acquires Sharp, which has begun to revive its solar business
Korea's Foxconn completes its acquisition of Sharp by acquiring 66% of the Japanese company's capital. Foxconn's president reiterated that the solar business would be preserved. Sharp has just restarted delivering solar panels for large power plants in the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia and some European countries, but no overall plan has been disclosed.
PV Magazine of 15 August
L R AS Published on Saturday 27 August 2016 - n° 157 - Categories:the manufacturers
Some First Solar contracts
First Solar obtains 160 MW of orders for Turkey, which gives it a significant position in this market
First Solar connects 130 MW to the Indian grid. The group has a portfolio of 260 MW to build there
PV Magazine of 11 August
L R AS Published on Saturday 27 August 2016 - n° 157 - Categories:the manufacturers
The five future leaders in panel production, according to IHS
Based on nine different criteria, based on the market presence, financial situation and future potential of panel manufacturers around the world, IHS determined the five future leaders. The companies selected (Trina Solar, SunPower, First Solar, Hanwha Q Cells and JinkoSolar) are not those that shipped the most panels, but those that appear to be the most capable of meeting the next wave of challenges facing the solar industry.
PV Magazine of August 10
AS Published on Sunday 24 July 2016 - n° 156 - Categories:the manufacturers
Photovoltaic companies creating a technological breakthrough
Photovoltaic companies creating a technological breakthrough
The year 2016 saw a return to plans to expand production capacity (investment) to levels long unknown. Some companies are only in a small part of the sector, others cover the whole chain. The author examined the evolution between 2014 and 2017, as the 2016 capacity increases will only be fully operational in 2017. Many firms are in relative decline over this period or have remained static. The chart shows the companies that have increased their relative weight the most. The range of activity extends from silicon manufacturing, to whole panel production, to thin film.
L R AS Published on Sunday 17 July 2016 - n° 155 - Categories:the manufacturers
Weak Japanese demand forces Panasonic to reduce capacity utilisation
Low demand is forcing Panasonic, Japan's largest photovoltaic manufacturer, to reduce its PV production. The cell factory in Osaka was closed in February. Its reopening will depend on the intensity of demand. The same applies to the production of panels. Shimane PV's cell production capacity utilisation rate has been reduced to 50%. This policy follows the 30% drop in cell sales in 2015 compared to 2014
EnergyTrend of 15 July
L R AS Published on Saturday 16 July 2016 - n° 155 - Categories:the manufacturers
The use of drones for the maintenance of PV power plants is set to develop rapidly.
At Intersolar North America, a partnership has been signed between DroneDeploy, a software platform provider for commercial UAVs, and DJI, a manufacturer of UAVs and imaging technology: the inspection of solar panels by UAVs will be developed. It enables the capture and analysis of thermal images.
These companies say that customers will cut the time it takes to check a solar installation by almost half, and reduce the time it takes to take measurements to just a few minutes. Technicians will pilot the drone using a smart phone to take measurements. The measurements will be sent to a DroneDeploy data analysis centre. This technology reduces the risk of measurement errors and simplifies the maintenance of existing systems: using the drone reduces the cost of installing a solar roof.
The American company Duke Energy is already testing infrared cameras mounted on drones to detect malfunctions in the solar panels and make it possible to repair them more quickly.
For the time being, the drone must be used in the operator's field of vision in the United States. In Europe, some states allow inspections out of the operator's field of vision
The thermal image taken by the UAV ensures that the equipment is in the optimum position for the highest production.
Green Tech Media of 15 July
AS Published on Thursday 14 July 2016 - n° 155 - Categories:the manufacturers
The high stocks encourage the producers of the sector to slow down their rate of production
Some Chinese manufacturers have reduced their panel production. Others will do so because of high stocks.
Although the central government has set a target of 18.1 GW for the year, local governments have not been able to meet this target.
L R AS Published on Sunday 10 July 2016 - n° 154 - Categories:the manufacturers
SunPower, also winner of the photovoltaic+storage bidding process
In the CRE call for tenders for photovoltaic + storage for non-interconnected areas, SunPower was selected to supply 27 of the 33 winning projects with PV products for a volume of 39 MW: 20.7 MW is made up of the sale of high-efficiency panels; 18.4 MW is PV + storage which will be installed at the five sites where SunPower was also a winner in partnership with Corse Sole (in Corsica and the West Indies)
Photon of 7 July
AS Published on Sunday 10 July 2016 - n° 154 - Categories:the manufacturers
First Solar's CEO's four years of management experience
On 30 June, First Solar CEO Jim Hughes stepped down. This is an opportunity to look back on the career of the man who turned the company around and ensured its pre-eminence. When he arrived in 2012, the company was facing serious financial difficulties with a loss of $450 million in thefirst quarter of 2012 due to competition from Chinese panels. In thefirst quarter of 2016, net earnings reached $171 million. To achieve this, the CEO had to lay off employees and close plants. He expanded panel manufacturing to include the development and construction of large-scale plants. Above all, he pursued an R&D policy that made CdTe thin films competitive with silicon panels.