China polysilicon price may return to US$20-21/kg due to trade investigation, says SAS chairman

Feb 5, 10:35

MK Lu, chairman of Taiwan-based Sino-American Sapphire (SAS) stated that the price of polysilicon is likely to return to a reasonable level in China because China's government may...

Gigastorage hikes prices for solar wafers

Feb 4, 21:43

Gigastorage, in order to reflect increases in cost of polysilicon by US$1.5/kg to US$16-17/kg, has hiked prices for its solar wafers to US$0.8/unit for models with energy conversion...

Taiwan newly appointed premier names new economic minister

Feb 4, 13:55

Taiwan's newly appointed premier Jiang Yi-huah is reshuffling members of the Executive Yuan (Cabinet) and has named China Airlines chairman Chang Chia-juch to head the Ministry of...

Digitimes Research: Europe solar installations to account for 35% of global installations in 2013

Feb 4, 10:48

Over-investment in 2010-2011 caused the solar industry to suffer from falling prices and increasing net losses in 2012. However, due to policy promotions and solar incentives in various...

Commentary: Debt problems persist in China solar industry

Feb 1, 14:16

The solar industry believes market conditions will improve in 2013 because firms now have a consensus to stop price competition. In addition, firms that dumped products and disrupted...

Some China solar firms hope to terminate long-term material supply contracts

Feb 1, 11:14

Some China-based solar firms hope to terminate long-term polysilicon supply contracts with international firms. The latter noted that it is quite difficult to do so because when the...

Commentary: Reconsideration on Taiwan-Japan industry alliance

Jan 31, 15:02

A Taiwan delegtation formed by government officials, researchers and industry players recently concluded a six-day visit in Japan, where they probed the possibilities of forming strategic...

Polysilicon suppliers making efforts to minimize impact of China anti-dumping, anti-subsidy tariffs

Jan 31, 13:32

As the China government is likely to decide on anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs against polysilicon imported from makers in the US, Europe and South Korea, some polysilicon makers...

Tier-one polysilicon producers rationalize supply to solar industry, says NPD Solarbuzz

Jan 31, 11:12

Polysilicon suppliers to the solar industry have been significantly lowering plant utilization rates during the past six months, with average quarterly utilization rates falling below...

Commentary: Taiwan central bank needs to adopt necessary measures to face global currency battle

Jan 30, 11:30

The Japan government recently started its quantitative easing (QE) policies putting pressure on other Asia currencies. Taiwan's premier Sean Chen has urged Taiwan's central bank to...

Motech reports 2012 net loss

Jan 29, 16:15

Taiwan-based solar cell maker Motech has reported a total net loss of NT$5.072 billion (US$171 million) for 2012. The firm's net loss in the second quarter of 2012 was significant...

Some tier-one solar cell makers at full capacity

Jan 29, 14:05

A few China- and Taiwan-based solar cell makers are fully utilizing their production capacities due to increased demand and therefore cannot accept new orders, while some tier-two...

Solar industry to enjoy robust installation growth in 2013, but revenue dip poses challenges for companies, says IHS

Jan 29, 11:14

Global solar installations will rise this year in a continuing pattern of solid growth, but the industry will nonetheless suffer a decline in overall revenue due to lower volume growth...

Gintech to halt production during Lunar New Year; no break for Neo Solar

Jan 28, 21:12

While orders have been increasing since the beginning of 2013, Taiwan-based crystalline silicon solar cell maker Gintech Energy is inclined to stop production during the 2013 Lunar...

Solar industry to revive in 2013, says PIDA

Jan 28, 11:11

According to Taiwan's Photonic Industry and Technology Development Association (PIDA), multiple factors such as low prices, falling demand in Europe and continuous incentive cuts...

Delta targets double-digit sales growth in 2013

Jan 28, 10:25

Taiwan-based green energy firm Delta Electronics noted that sales growth in 2013 will come from passive components, industrial automation processes and cloud computing services. The...

Digitimes Research: Used automobile lithium batteries could store renewable energy

Jan 24, 14:54

US-based automobile maker GM has been conducting R&D with professionals in different industries on the possibility of storing energy on used automobile lithium batteries.

China may set tougher regulations for solar firms

Jan 23, 15:57

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has reportedly held a meeting regarding solar industry regulations. The meeting reportedly set regulations such as firms needing...

China consumes 33% of global solar panel shipments in 4Q12, says NPD Solarbuzz

Jan 23, 14:35

The China end-market dominated shipments of solar panels during the final quarter of 2012 with 33% of global end-market demand, according to NPD Solarbuzz.

China makers dumping solar products in Europe

Jan 22, 11:06

As the EU is likely to determine anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariff rates on solar products imported from China in May-July 2013, many first-tier China-based makers have been shipping...

China market: Golden Sun projects reach total installation capacity of 4.54GW in 2012

Jan 22, 10:45

China's Golden Sun Demonstration projects achieved a total installation capacity of 4.54GW in 2012, up 548.57% from 2011, according to media reports from China. China's government...

International polysilicon makers unlikely to slash prices due to China probe

Jan 18, 10:53

The China government is likely to levy punitive tariffs on polysilicon makers from Europe, the US and South Korea in the first quarter of 2013. Recently, domestic material makers...

Digitimes Research: Solar installations in Germany reach record high in 2012 despite continuous incentive cuts

Jan 16, 22:11

Electricity prices in Germany continue to be high. The country has been striving for stable electricity supply in order to maintain economic growth. Therefore, developing renewable...

Taiwan makers plan to adjust quotes for solar modules in February

Jan 16, 15:33

In view of increasing demand from Japan because feed-in tariff (FIT) rates will be lowered soon, Taiwan-based solar module makers plan to adjust their quotes up or down in early February,...

Solar module shipments surge in 4Q12, says IHS

Jan 16, 12:19

After a disastrous third quarter of 2012 featuring extremely low factory utilization rates across the entire solar supply chain, a surge in demand was seen in the final quarter of...

Commentary: Europe solar market to see adjustments; Asia demand to rise in 2013

Jan 15, 15:45

The solar market saw many unexpected events in 2012. Solar makers believe in 2013, the Europe market will see adjustments such as Germany installations declining to government-planned...

Global solar module market to see 20% oversupply in 2013, predicts SEMI China

Jan 15, 14:12

SEMI China predicts a 20% oversupply for the global solar module market in 2013, according to a report from a China-based website. Industry consolidation in Asia is expected to continue...

China-based makers to hike polysilicon spot prices to US$17/kg in early February

Jan 11, 11:52

As the China government is likely to announce anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on polysilicon imported from Europe, the US and South Korea with a retroactive period of 30 days...

Around 10-15% of China-based polysilicon makers may resume production soon

Jan 11, 11:02

The China government is likely to announce anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on polysilicon imported from Europe, the US and South Korea in the first quarter of 2013, which will...

Polysilicon industry to resume growth in 2013, says Bernreuter Research

Jan 10, 12:31

The global polysilicon industry will return to the path of growth and increase its production by 6.5% in 2013, according to Bernreuter Research. The polysilicon market research firm...

Number of companies in the solar supply chain set to plunge in 2013, says IHS

Jan 10, 12:17

Amid rapidly falling prices, mounting losses and massive operational costs, the upstream solar supply chain is undergoing major consolidation, with the number of companies participating...

Over 20% of China solar firms reportedly exit market in 2012

Jan 10, 10:46

According to China-based media reports, during boom times from 2010-2011, the number of firms in major solar segments (wafer, cell, and module) increased from 807 to 901, an increase...