Taiwan

The sale of the Taiwanese company’s Zhunan fab for around $41 million is part of wider transformation strategy towards monocystralline PERC production.

The German-headquartered silver paste specialist laments the Taiwanese Intellectual Property Court’s decision, stressing that the ruling could set a dangerous precedent for the PV industry.

Solartech Energy has revealed plans to expand output of passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) solar cells by installing two new production lines from August, from four at present.

The Taiwanese solar cell specialist has opened the country’s first automated high-efficiency module production facility at Hsinchu. NSP will produce its new Glory BiFi module at the site.

The expansion of the Asian solar market in the first quarter of 2017 was broadly similar to the growth seen in the first quarter of last year, although most countries in the region have yet to reveal official installation statistics for the January-March period, the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA) said in a new report.

Taiwan’s new solar energy strategy envisages the deployment of less than 200 MW of new PV capacity over the next two years, and the achievement of 6.5 GW of cumulative PV by 2020.

Neo Solar Power has posted a net loss of NT$1.3 billion ($43.7 million) for the first quarter of 2017, as weak demand in China weighed on orders.

The DigiTimes has reported that four solar cell manufacturers from Taiwan are planning to set up a 1.5 GWp module production facility in the country, led by Motech.

The Japanese electrical equipment supplier provided the battery to Taiwan Power Research Institute, which will pair the system with variable renewables such as solar in a pilot project.

The Taiwanese company completed the 9.87 MW installation — which consists of arrays on top of two of its liquid-crystal display factories — in late December.