Manufacturing

The Munich-based chemical company posted an increase in sales but the fall in polysilicon prices last year and the temporary closure of US production after a hydrogen explosion had a significant impact on the results.

The South Korean PV manufacturer has finalized its plan to merge with Hanwha Solar. The company will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange and will continue as a wholly owned subsidiary of Hanwha Chemicals.

The procurement will be worth an estimated $2.25 billion, and will stipulate the use of 1.2 GW of Indian-made equipment. The power generated will replace 4 GW of coal-fired electricity consumption used by the railways.

The Taiwanese market research company has published its latest price trend data for PV modules, cells, wafers and silicon. Across the value chain, rising demand is causing stockpiles to dwindle and utilization rates to rise. Prices are rising in China as well as for high-efficiency products. Module prices have stabilized.

Central subsidies may have been cut back but the domestic market rebounded quickly and overseas shipments soared on the back of rising production volumes and ever cheaper module prices.

German concern Kaco has sold its central inverter business. The German manufacturer hopes to focus on its string inverter and energy storage branches while the South Korean buyer hopes the newly acquired knowhow can improve the energy efficiency of its large-scale PV parks.

Chinese manufacturers Risen Energy and LONGi have both announced conversion efficiency records for PERC cells as the twin quest to drive down costs and increase energy output shows no sign of abating.

The world again saw more than $300 billion of clean energy investment in 2018, according to BloombergNEF, and although wind narrowed the gap on solar, plunging module prices skewed the figures as PV capacity additions rose 10 GW.

The thin-film manufacturer and project developer says the Chinese government’s package of measures to drive subsidy-free solar projects will ensure a proliferation of new capacity additions and consolidate the strength of big players like itself.

The Taiwanese market research company said the effects of the 5/31 policy shift in China were less severe than expected, and in 2018 the global solar market grew 4.9%, with approximately 103 GW of new additions. This year, the solar demand is forecast to rise another 7.7%.