Photowatt

EDF Renewables has decided to shut down all operations of French PV module manufacturer Photowatt, following the failure of its planned acquisition by Carbon.

After the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the 15 solar power plants installed by EDF ENR on the roofs of buildings in the athletes’ village will be integrated into a collective self-consumption operation once the future residents of the district have taken possession of the premises.

Poland was the EU’s biggest solar jobs market last year, thanks to a national rooftop incentive program, but Germany’s push to repatriate solar manufacturing will help the bloc’s PV powerhouse back to the number one slot in three years’ time, according to SolarPower Europe.

The latest update to the Photovoltaics Report produced by research organization the Fraunhofer ISE has offered up the usual slew of interesting stats on the state of solar across the continent.

According to French financial newspaper Les Echos, EDF, the main shareholder of PhotoWatt, is considering closing the production in Bourgoin-Jallieu. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional council is mobilizing to save the company and announces that a regional company may acquire the module manufacturer.

The solar event in Lyon illustrated how expectations of French solar remain big despite lower-than-expected development and issues related to regulations and carbon footprint requirements. The large participation of international and Chinese players seeking business among installers and distributors is a signal things may improve in the short term, and larger volumes may be deployed in the coming years.

The group’s unit specializing in solar module production, Photowatt will expand its ingot and wafer capacity from 50 MW to 500 MW, and will enter into a partnership with Canadian Solar and ECM Greentech. More details have also emerged on EDF’s 30 GW solar plan.