A year on from the Section 201 tariffs, Trump talks trade
There are indications the Trump administration may be closing in on a deal with Chinese authorities but, for now, the trade war goes on.
GPTech plan to manufacture inverters in South Africa
The production line would mean the Spanish company would comply with local content requirements. GPTech says its order book exceeds 400 MW, including 200 MW of large-scale projects in South Africa.
LG solar business affected by panel price falls as Kyocera reports poor results for PV sales
South Korean manufacturer LG said import tariffs and panel price depreciation led to lower profit for its B2B division. Japanese electronics company Kyocera saw the revenue of its Life & Environment Group fall by 26%, year-on-year, in the first nine months of the current fiscal year.
BePositive 2019 trade show – just a few weeks away – taking PV center stage
The show is expected to grow by 40% compared to last year. And the organizers say solar PV will have a higher profile than ever.
Price pressure and delivery bottlenecks lead SMA to significant loss in 2018
The German inverter maker struggled after China’s announcement at the end of May drove down prices and markets around the world and left a clear mark on its figures. Both the commercial PV segment and the storage business fell short of expectations due to delivery bottlenecks.
Indian Railways plans to tender 4 GW solar project
The procurement will be worth an estimated $2.25 billion, and will stipulate the use of 1.2 GW of Indian-made equipment. The power generated will replace 4 GW of coal-fired electricity consumption used by the railways.
Kaco sells central inverter business to Korean developer OCI Power
German concern Kaco has sold its central inverter business. The German manufacturer hopes to focus on its string inverter and energy storage branches while the South Korean buyer hopes the newly acquired knowhow can improve the energy efficiency of its large-scale PV parks.
SolarPower Europe calls for 5 GW of EU solar module manufacturing
The European solar association has called on Europe to set up 5 GW of solar PV module manufacturing capacity to cater to the expected around 15 GW of annual demand.
Kostal, RCT Power take the lead in storage system efficiency ranking
Researchers from Berlin’s College for Technology and Economics have determined a ‘system performance index’ for 16 residential storage systems. The index ranks systems according to economic efficiency. The compilers of the index say many manufacturers lack transparency regarding system performance.
SMA revises down 2018 guidance, again
The outlook for sales and operating result has once again been lowered by the inverter maker. EBITDA is now expected to show a mid-to-high double-digit loss.
