Bankruptcy

PI Berlin plans to open a headquarters in Spain next year. pv magazine has spoken with Senior Consultant Asier Ukar about market expectations, the most recurrent quality failures in Spain, risks, certification and protectionism. “After 10 years, we return to Spain with much enthusiasm,” he told us.

According to the company’s insolvency administrator it is unlikely negotiations with potential investors will generate concrete results this month. Module production has been suspended at Freiberg with employees relocated to a transfer company.

Wildlife vandalism is the least of the worries afflicting PV system owners in India, according to a report which exposes cost-cutting in installation, non-existent warranties, serious safety concerns and improbable performance figures.

In what analysts worldwide are sure to look back on as the last golden period for global solar – at least for the immediate future – China saw more impressive figures for PV manufacturing in the first half of the year. Then the government stepped in.

The solar superpower’s departure from its ambitious PV targets has shaken the industry and put a dampener on share prices. Analysts from U.S. investment bank Roth Capital expect a module oversupply mountain of more than 30 GW as a result of the policy change.

On Friday, three Chinese government ministries issued a joint “2018 Solar PV Power Generation Notice.” Its impact has been hotly debated since, with two key conclusions: the largest market segment – utility-scale PV – will take a pounding and not come close to last year’s record installation figure of just under 34 GW; and the expanding distributed generation market segment, which rose 360% from 2016 to 2017, will also be severely impacted by a 10 GW cap on new projects.

The solar mounting systems maker’s U.S. division has filed for bankruptcy, one month after the German parent company filed for insolvency.

ViZn has laid off all of its employees and ceased operations, as the latest in a series of closures and bankruptcies for makers of alternative battery technologies.

Luxembourg-based Arcelormitall may expand its business in the solar sector through the acquisition of insolvent French solar tracker provider, Exosun.

Trade cases, insolvencies, record-breaking low auction prices, China’s eye watering installation rates – all this and more characterized the 2017 solar PV industry. pv magazine reflects on the biggest stories, trends and developments of the past year; and summarizes what the industry can expect in 2018.