Commentary: Can government subsidies save the LED industry?

Jun 27, 11:40

Classic economics believes in small government and let the market mechanism run its course. Keynesian economics believes in interventions, in particular, government interventions...

Commentary: China government needs to create projects with sufficient IRRs to save solar industry

Jun 19, 16:02

Some China-based solar firms have been falling into bankruptcies since the market downturn in 2011. Many polysilicon firms in China have been shutting down production. The China government...

Commentary: Japan, India increase dependence on solar energy due to energy shortages

Jun 18, 16:21

Energy hungry markets are the new potential markets for the solar industry. China's solar market is being spurred by rising energy demand due to the rapid economic developments. Now,...

Commentary: Solar material and equipment firms competing with customers

Jun 18, 12:19

The large turbulences in the solar market have caused abnormal conditions in the industry. The contract price of polysilicon has reached an all-time low, nearly as low as the spot...

Commentary: Cost decides technologies in Taiwan solar supply chain

Jun 14, 14:01

Demand for solar cells with higher conversion efficiency has been rising causing various types of technologies to be taken notice by the industry. The solar industry continues to...

Commentary: Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rulings create win-win situation for US

Jun 11, 15:01

After the announcement of the high anti-dumping duties of 31-250% on China-based solar firms by the US government, peers in Greater China expected the duties to cause significant...

Commentary: Love and loathing relationship between Europe and China solar firms

Jun 5, 15:28

China has been playing an important role in the debt crisis in Europe by supporting the region with funds.

Commentary: China firms plan to acquire Europe-based solar peers

Jun 5, 01:15

As solar firms in Europe suffer financial losses due to lack of competitiveness against China-based solar firms, according to a June 3 article by The Financial Times, China-based...

Commentary: Investing into China technology park needs further consideration

May 28, 16:09

TPV Technology, the world's largest LCD display producer, began construction of a technology park in Pingtan Island in China's Fujian Province in December 2011. Pingtan Island was...

Commentary: Dependence on China solar firms may turn Taiwan supply chain into OEM factories

May 28, 11:01

The huge duties slapped onto China-made solar cells by the US Department of Commerce have been causing different effects in different economies.

Commentary: Solar trade war between US and China looming

May 18, 14:39

In 2011, several US-based solar firms such as Solyndra, SepctraWatt, Evergreen Solar, and Energy Conversion Devices filed for bankruptcies. While the fundamental problem may be due...

Commentary: Zero export tariff on China-made solar wafers likely to push down global wafer prices

May 11, 11:26

China-based solar firms have been demanding the government cut export tariffs on solar wafers to zero and allow polysilicon to be exported to international markets. This is likely...

Commentary: Cooperation with traditional energy firms to help spur solar demand

May 10, 10:43

The governments in Europe have been cutting down incentives for solar PV systems. Emerging solar markets such as the US and China have also been cutting solar incentives. This means...

Commentary: A Micron-Elpida merger would improve DRAM industry health

May 8, 12:13

Micron Technology reportedly has reached the final stage of talks on the purchase of Elpida Memory. The possible merger of Micron and Elpida will help to restore a healthier supply-demand...

Commentary: The battle cry in the global LCD TV market

May 4, 16:37

The LCD TV market was hit by low demand in 2011. Due to Thanksgiving holidays in North America, the market finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel near end of 2011.

Commentary: China solar firms fight back for survival

May 4, 10:49

China-based solar firms who have been suffering have been accusing international firms of dumping polysilicon into China's domestic market.

Commentary: Long-term solar material supply contracts increase losses during industry downturns

May 3, 14:47

Long-term solar material supply contracts seem to stabilize the financial performance of solar firms during good times, but increase the magnitude of losses during down times.

Commentary: Grid parity in India may happen sooner than expected

Apr 27, 13:54

India has been seen as one of the markets with most potential for the solar industry as demand in Europe weakens. A recent article from The Economist, "Solar Power In...

Commentary: Taiwan has little interest in installing PV systems on its own land

Apr 20, 12:12

The Taiwan government recently announced a plan to increase electricity prices in May 2012. Compared to a country like Germany with average electricity price of NT$8/kWh, Taiwan's...

Commentary: The paradox of a globalized solar supply chain

Apr 19, 15:00

Like any market in the world, the global solar market lives and breathes globalization. But unlike some markets in the world, the global solar market depends heavily on government...

Commentary: Diversifying a must for DRAM firms

Apr 5, 14:31

Elpida Memory's bankruptcy filing reflects the fact that companies must diversify to cope with trends in the evolution of customer behavior and usage. The DRAM memory industry currently...

Commentary: One step closer to grid parity

Mar 9, 14:33

Germany has announced new feed-in-tariff (FIT) cuts that have larger magnitude than expected. The effects are likely to ripple across the supply chain. Digitimes met up with Davis...

Commentary: China new LED lighting subsidy policies to focus on commercialization

Feb 23, 11:49

The subsidy program for upstream LED firms in China ended in 2011. There are many LED firms in China, but less than 20 of them have economies of scale and capacity of more than 20...

Commentary: Solar supply chain in dire straits despite growing installations in 2011

Feb 16, 14:01

According to European Photovoltaic Industry Association, the global solar PV system installations reached 27.7GW in 2011, up by 70% compared to 16GW in 2010. However, the solar industry...