Suniva

Suniva has ordered equipment for thermal process steps annealing, diffusion and anti-reflective coating and passivation (PECVD) from Germany’s Centrotherm, as it proceeds with plans to expand high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cell production in Norcross, Georgia.

There are indications the Trump administration may be closing in on a deal with Chinese authorities but, for now, the trade war goes on.

The Vietnamese authorities have submitted a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to request formal consultations with Washington over its recently announced 30% tariff on crystalline silicon PV imports.

The decision, released on U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s website, could keep current U.S. module manufacturers in business by keeping their cell lifelines open.

The U.S. International Trade Commission delivered a report to President Trump that should bolster Section 201’s petitioners, SolarWorld and Suniva’s efforts to get the president to impose sanctions on solar imports as the January 26 deadline looms.

Trade cases, insolvencies, record-breaking low auction prices, China’s eye watering installation rates – all this and more characterized the 2017 solar PV industry. pv magazine reflects on the biggest stories, trends and developments of the past year; and summarizes what the industry can expect in 2018.

Reports from the Suniva’s bankruptcy filings indicate conversations with multiple companies that could potentially acquire the bankrupt cell and module maker.

In this exclusive interview with pv magazine, SolarWorld Americas CEO Jürgen Stein gives his perspective on the Section 201 trade case, including responding to criticism of potential effects on the U.S. solar market.

The rulings by the separate commissioners are diverse, however neither quotas nor tariffs are being recommended at the levels called for by SolarWorld and Suniva.

The latest report by GTM Research puts numbers on the increase in H2 2017 system prices and analyzes the potential damage from a range of scenarios.