Multi

Taiwanese analyst Energytrend saw prices for high power products fall over the past week, but so far only in China. That trend could be replicated around the world next week, however.

Polysilicon and wafer suppliers are still struggling with oversupply and low demand. Tier 1 raw material manufacturers have signed their October orders, but further down the food chain, companies are still waiting for bites. Overall, prices on the cell and module level are in slight decline, although prices for ultra-high efficiency modules have climbed by a small margin, on the back of increased demand.

According to reports from Energy Trend, a 30% decline in PV demand from China this year will likely spell trouble for some of the country’s major module manufacturers, with job losses and factory closures expected, despite China’s determination to open new international markets for its PV industry.

Two large Chinese ingot and wafer makers have announced bold plans to expand their capacities beyond anything seen to date. In the process they could transform the entire upstream solar manufacturing landscape.

Independent solar analyst, Corrine Lin believes that Longi’s plans to triple monocrystalline wafer production capacity to 45 GW by 2020 could trigger an oversupply problem in the second half of this year.

The German tooling firm announces the development of a new texturing process for multicrystalline wafers using diamond wire sawing on its LINEX inline system. Company believes process can boost multi wafer market in 2018.

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

The Chinese Tier 1 solar developer announces a new conversion efficiency for its mono-crystalline silicon PERC cell that surpasses its previous world record by a full half-percentage point.