Solar Frontier

The Japanese thin film module manufacturer has announced the achievement of a new world record, having achieved a 22.9% conversion efficiency for a CIS cell measuring 1cm². The record has been verified by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

Japan’s Solar Frontier plans to start integrating its thin-film PV technologies into materials for walls and roofs, with sales expected to begin before the end of the decade, according to a recent report.

Solar Frontier has halted operations at its 150 MW Tohoku plant in northeastern Japan and has revealed plans to shut down production at its 50 MW plant in Miyazaki prefecture in late December, in line with plans to consolidate production at its flagship 900 MW Kunitomi facility, which is also located in the southern prefecture.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) have jointly issued a set of recommendations to facilitate rooftop PV deployment in Thailand.

The U.S. subsidiary of Japanese thin-film PV manufacturer Solar Frontier has sold off 28 MW of solar capacity to a unit of Swiss asset manager and renewables investor Capital Dynamics.

The Japanese CIS module maker said it is now focusing on the domestic market, as its overseas business is facing tough competition.

The CIS thin-film PV specialist has posted an operating loss of JPY 3 billion ($26.4 million) in the three months to March 31, from JPY 2.6 billion a year earlier. Net sales fell 41.3% on the year to JPY 22.2 billion.

The Japanese manufacturer says it expects to produce about 1 GW of solar panels in the year to March 2018, roughly in line with its output in the preceding fiscal year.

The U.S. development unit of the Japanese CIS thin-film manufacturer has completed the sale of the 40 MW (DC) Midway II project in California.