Silfab unveils US manufacturing site with $40 million investment in Itek Energy
Canada-based Silfab Solar has invested US$40 million in U.S. solar PV module manufacturer, Itek Energy, LLC’s Bellingham, Washington production facility.
China files WTO trade complaints against the United States
China has officially filed two complaints with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the United States, in response to its 30% Section 201 and 25% Section 301 tariffs.
Battery storage companies attract increasing investment
While total corporate funding was down in H1 2018, compared to a year earlier, due to lower investment in the Smart Gird and Efficiency categories, battery storage companies recorded an increase of 12%.
LONGi to supply $600 million in modules to the U.S. market
The Chinese ingot, wafer cell and module giant has signed a significant sales contract for the shipment of solar PV modules to an unidentified customer in the United States.
Global solar investment drops due to low project costs, China policy change
While overall global investment in clean energy saw a decrease of just 1% year-over-year in the first half of 2018, solar’s share dropped 19% following changes to China’s PV policy and lower project costs, says Bloomberg New Energy Finance. It forecasts this trend to continue throughout the year.
REC Silicon lays off 40% of US workforce, reduces production
The Norwegian polysilicon maker has announced that it will today lay off around 100 employees from its Washington plant and reduce production, as a “direct result” of the trade dispute between the United States and China.
TrendForce: China PV policy moves to undermine Section 201 tariffs
The analytics firm is the latest to predict a decline in global PV demand this year and crushed global module prices due to Chinese policy changes. TrendForce also finds that the protectionist moves taken by the U.S. will be weakened by falling module prices.
Wacker to restart U.S. polysilicon production
Wacker Chemie has said it is gradually ramping up production at its beleaguered U.S. polysilicon production site, with product expected to be again available in Q2. The shutdown has affected its Q1 earnings, with sales down 18% compared to a year ago.
Record inverter shipments in 2017, three-phase string inverters overtake central for first time
According to the latest GTM Research statistics, global inverter shipments increased 23% in 2017, and revenues 11%, thus representing another record year. A market first, three-phase string inverter shipments overtook those of central inverters.
Solar tracker market could reach 20 GW this year
GTM Research says last year’s record levels of global solar tracker shipments will be surpassed in 2018, as Latin America displaces the United States as the largest market and NEXTracker holds on to the top spot.
