Manufacturing

Investors have been found for two of Solar Millennium’s biggest photovoltaic projects. NextEra Energy Group and BrightSource Energy Group have each taken over a project and say that they intend to continue on with work “soon”.

According to GTM Research, U.S.-based, Abound Solar is set to close its doors, thus bringing more embarrassment to the U.S. Government, which supplied the cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film module manufacturer with a $400 million Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee.

According to newspaper reports, Schott Solar AG will stop producing its crystalline silicon photovoltaic products in Germany this October. After this, just the company’s product development and headquarters will remain in Mainz.

The Energy Innovation Programme Office (EIPO) in Singapore awarded research grants worth S$11 million (€6.8 million) to five research teams under the fifth grant call of the Clean Energy Research Programme.

Three months after making its preliminary countervailing duty (CVD) determination, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has reportedly upped the rates Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers will have to pay for exporting their cells to the U.S.

More details have emerged over what the photovoltaic industry can expect to see in Germany’s new EEG (renewable energy law). The Environment Ministry has refused to comment on the speculation before the next meeting of the mediation committee, to be held today, however.

GTM Research forecasts that a massive 60 GW of photovoltaic product capacity will come offline by 2015, as supply continues to outstrip demand. The company furthermore believes that module manufacturing costs will reach US$0.45/W and that product differentiation will be key to survival.

Italy’s next renewable energy law, the Conto Energia V could soon be approved. It is believed that most of the regional state rejections should be taken into account, and that a gradual transition will be adopted.

Cupertino Electric, Inc’s Energy Alternatives Division has completed a 20 MW photovoltaic project under the Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) 500 MW Solar PV Program.

According to IMS Research, photovoltaic suppliers are suffering from “huge” pressure, following a 75 percent drop in gross profits in the first quarter (Q1) of 2012. It predicts that they will continue to fall, as a result of the persistent price pressures and competitive market conditions.