NEXTracker maintains dominance of global tracker market
The global market for solar trackers expanded by 20% in 2018, with total international shipments spiking 36% year-on-year to surpass the 20 GW mark, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie. NEXTracker and Array Technologies maintained their industry dominance, but a number of smaller competitors claimed a greater share of the global market in the 12 months to the end of December than ever before.
The clawFR gets first UL certification, broader launch underway
PanelClaw announced the launch of its flat rooftop 10° clawFR solar module racking platform. The company reports an installation manual, autoCAD blocks, and that the racking solution is approved by UL to work with its first tranche of solar modules.
Rise of bifacial lifts profits for the world’s tracker companies
Things are hotting up in the tracker world as the desire to squeeze down the price per Watt of solar power intensifies. And the rise of the trackers is attracting some well-known businesses to buy their way into the field.
Siemens wants to take over Kaco
After announcing its entry into residential storage a week ago, the Munich-based multinational has now unveiled a plan to acquire inverter manufacturer Kaco. Siemens has not provided details about the value of the transaction.
Trump trade announcement offers hope of breakthrough
The president last night announced he is hoping to arrange a meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to bring an end to the long-running trade stand-off between the two nations, provided further progress can be made in negotiations.
Sungrow surpasses 1 GW of U.S. inverter contracts for 2019
The Chinese inverter maker expects to more than double its U.S. shipments this year – trade war be damned.
pvMB 2/19/2019: 50 MW in Maine, robotic panel cleaning and more!
Its a sunny Tuesday morning and the days are getting longer! Maui Electric is trying to charge ratepayers for curtailed solar electricity, Nissan is using old batteries in campers and Aerospec sees how BIG a solar farm is.
Even with new capacity investments, Enphase still sold out
Enphase says its inverter lead times are ~13-15 weeks, even with dedicated manufacturing lines for components. Two new long term contracts expect to turn on in Q3 and Q4 ’19, lowering lead times to ~6-8 weeks.
REC Silicon to suspend production at Washington State polysilicon factory
REC Silicon has revealed plans to halt operations at its Moses Lake facility in 17 days’ time. The company says it has taken the decision to maintain liquidity for its semiconductor business with American workers set to pay the price for President Trump’s trade war with China.
pvmb 2/8/19: Aurora gets $20 million, U.S. lithium-ion factory planned, California makes interconnection easier, and more!
In today’s pv magazine USA morning brief we also see Hawaii regulators propose performance based incentives for utility HECO, hundreds of laws changed in 2018 regarding the grid, concerns aired before Congress about supply chains for lithium-ion batteries, and more!
