Trade cases

In the run-up to the third pv magazine quality roundtable at Intersolar Europe, we report on a survey of European manufacturers about strategy and quality. The question is, what makes Made in Europe attractive to buyers looking for modules for a PV plant?

Black sheep I: In a Bavarian solar farm, experts discovered overheated junction boxes after commissioning and, later, overheated plug connectors as well.

In its final ruling, U.S. trade authorities have stated that SolarCity’s heterojunction silicon solar cells are subject to duties on Chinese-made cells.

Country’s commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirms that the government will press ahead with plans to file 16 cases against the U.S. for violating World Trade Organization treaties on clean energy.

With its recently commissioned study, the Solar Alliance for Europe made the case that PV modules could be 20% cheaper in Europe without import tariffs. Industry lobby group EU ProSun, however, argues that the Alliance has drawn the wrong conclusion from the study’s results.

The 7th annual Solarex trade show is Istanbul closed its doors on Saturday. pv magazine was on the spot and tried to make sense of the ever-shifting regulatory and solar business landscape of this promising but, at times, frustrating market.

Warning shot fired by Piyush Goyal is latest in tit for tat dispute between India and the U.S. over the former’s domestic content requirements for solar. Comments draw ire from industry.

Anti-trust Litigation settled in lawsuit brought by the now-defunct Solyndra back in 2012; deal sees Solyndra agree to release Yingli and its affiliates from similar allegations or claims in the future.

U.S. trade authorities are recommending that the heterojunction silicon PV maker’s appeal for an exemption from trade duties be rejected. A final ruling will be issued in June.

The world’s largest PV maker has also signed $143 million in financing agreements for the factory in Rayong, Thailand.