dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 10, 2012 Interesting article from China Daily on power stations http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-10/10/content_15805477.htm Power stations fuel solar industry's growing international ambitions Energy programs are among 15 international economic projects that have been given the go-ahead in a major effort to boost the country's global presence in the solar sector and provide more opportunities for Chinese companies. The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, announced the approval of 15 overseas projects on Monday. Energy projects account for about half. Silicon cell producers Hareon Solar Technology won approval to build a 122-megawatt solar-panel power station in Romania. Winsun New Energy also won approval to establish solar power stations in Italy and Greece. Solar panel manufacturers have been hit by trade friction recently but power stations may meet less opposition as they provide local employment, experts said. Han Wenke, director of the Energy Research Institute under the NDRC, said Chinese companies are increasingly looking at setting up power stations. "Solar has led a new wave in China's overseas investment," Han said. Solar companies have the expertise to meet robust demand from overseas, he said. The European Commission launched a probe into China's alleged dumping of solar products in September and the ProSun coalition, a group of 25 European solar panel manufacturers, requested tariffs of up to 120 percent on some Chinese solar products. More than half of China's solar products are exported to Europe and the suggested tariff would seriously damage the domestic industry. The EU's probe came on the heels of the US Commerce Department announcing preliminary tariffs of up to 250 percent on imports of Chinese solar cells in May. The silicon wafer business has been affected by the gloomy global market and trade barriers in the US and Europe, said Xue Jin, assistant general manager of Winsun New Energy. "Our company used to focus on silicon wafer manufacturing, but since last year we looked more at solar power stations," Xue said. Winsun will start building a 115.9 megawatt solar power station this year in Italy, and increase investment into its branch in Luxembourg, after the NDRC approval. Earlier this year, the NDRC gave approval to Long Energy, a solar company in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, to invest in a solar power station in the US. China Everbright International announced it was involved in a solar-panel energy project last year in Germany with an investment of about 7.6 million euros ($9.8 million). The station is connected to the power grid and has started generating power. Zhang Jianping, a researcher from the Institute for International Economic Research under the NDRC, said investing in overseas solar power stations has gradually become a new business model. Exports of solar products have been hit by anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations, but power stations help create local jobs, Zhang said. The eurozone crisis provides an excellent opportunity. However, not all solar companies are optimistic about global operations. Tony Zhu, sales director of Shandong-based Himin Clean Energy, said the company has no short-term plans for projects in Europe and the US. "It usually takes eight to 10 years to get back investment and the company may have a liquidity crunch. It costs about 15 yuan ($2.4) per watt to build such a station," Zhu said. The NDRC also approved Guangdong Guangken Rubber Group investing in a 40,000-hectare site in Malaysia and Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber investing in a manufacturing project in Thailand. Tires are a focus of trade friction. The US imposed 35 percent additional duties on Chinese tire imports in 2009. "China imports rubber from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia and it's a better option to also produce there to avoid trade friction," said Zhang. Contact the writers at and (China Daily 10/10/2012 page1) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 10, 2012 This time everyone is accused. Manufacturers from US, Taiwan and Malaysia. http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/indian-solar-manufacturers-ask-for-anti-dumping-duties-of-up-to-200_100008789/#axzz28tyYNvbT Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 10, 2012 The excel file contains the figures for last month and the quarter. Average 25% drop in revenue from Q2. This will be the outcome for the Chinese companies in this Q. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
explo 706 Report post Posted October 10, 2012 There must be some significance to PV. A world trade war has started in the fight to secure a piece of its future. Contestants: US, EU, China, India. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 11, 2012 Not too bad, almost all neutralized. Let's Taiwanese and Koreans make some money (or should I say Malaysians) . I am certain within 3 to 4 months based on the EU cases, companies will be setting up shops in global locations. There are enough poor countries in global economy. India just perfect. Little to nothing of own manufacturing. Funny they have First Solar caught there dumping as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest solarfun Report post Posted October 11, 2012 Not bad at all, for Trina effective tariff is 23.75, well below the preliminary one. They haven't added panels, I think that was market feared, in recent days. And I guess the tariffs are not retroactive, right? Or is it only for STP? ...."Regarding today’s decision, E.L “Mick” McDaniel, managing director of Suntech America, told PV-Tech that, “We are pleased with the DoC’s final decision to remove the 90-day retroactivity of tariffs on Suntech products. It was apparent to everyone within the solar industry that abnormal market demand in Q4 2011 was driven by the expiry of the 1603 cash grant program and this ruling reflects the reality that Suntech did not stockpile products to avoid potential tariffs.”.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 11, 2012 they have been already collected in the preliminary amounts. Some may get money back like Trina and Yingli, I think. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest solarfun Report post Posted October 11, 2012 Actually, the tariffs are all retroactive except for STP, that's odd decision. ..."Commerce found that critical circumstances exist in the AD investigation for all companies except Wuxi Suntech. As a result, provisional duty deposits – normally collected as of the date of publication in the Federal Register (May 25, 2012) of Commerce’s preliminary determinations – will be collected 90 days prior to that date from all companies except Wuxi Suntech. AD deposits applied to Wuxi Suntech will be due as of the date of publication of Commerce’s preliminary determination."... http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/us-commerce-votes-in-favor-of-duties-for-chinese-pv-manufacturers_100008801/#axzz28iaozJU1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 13, 2012 We published new article here https://solarpvinvestor.com/spvi-news/355-cash-starvation-another-solar-industry-killer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
explo 706 Report post Posted October 14, 2012 Interesting article. It quite logical that the equipment manufacturers are the ones desperate for orders now and extending credits. LDK has 1 billion in payables. Someone is depending on the survival of LDK. On your dumping article; frankly the root cause of the PV glut is because US and Europe "dumped" manufacturing equipment and polysilicon on the industry. China stepped up and gave US and Europe cash for their overproduced manufacturing equipment and polysilicon. Now they are hanged because they used that equipment and raw material to produce cells and selling it at market prices. The source of the glut is clearly the high tech part of the value-chain produced in Europe and US. Ok, China could have avoided to do them "a solid" and not taken their stuff in exchange for cash. Yes, the industry credit from Chinese banks were directly channelled as cash revenue to US and European companies, with their Chinese customers left with the liabilities and manufacturing equipment. Chinese banks have been the main direct revenue driver for US and European PV companies. The whole thing is a farce. It would be a different story if China were not a net importer of manufacturing equipment and polysilicon. Solyndra et al are not the tech companies that sit on the key to PV production that are strategically important to protect. It's the GTAT, AMAT, Centrotherm and Roth & Rau. Chinese PV companies and their banks have been the biggest supporters of these strategically important European and US companies from a PV technology ownership and self-sufficiency perspective. Now US and Europe want to kill their best customer of advanced equipment (the stuff we want to do here, right?) and best supplier of simple equipment (the stuff we should want done over there, right?) with one stone. Not exactly a display of great strategic leadership. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 New article https://solarpvinvestor.com/spvi-news/357-chasing-solar-solyndra-lawsuit- Will have a solarzoom report tomorrow, I hope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest solarfun Report post Posted October 15, 2012 Nice article about Solyndra. Is it even possible to file such a suit against government? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
explo 706 Report post Posted October 15, 2012 Great article. The fact that the US lsted Chinese companies have American ownership contrary to Solarworld is an important point. What interest do these American shareholders have in seeing their invested share capital being burned to enable dumping prices? The whole question is actually pointless, since DOC did not compare with global marketprices, but a theoretical example of production cost in Thailand. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 16, 2012 Interesting that the government of the country had never considered the conflict of people investing in free enterprise but at the same time limiting or clearly promoting another product against that enterprise. One can always sue, but government has rather unlimited resources to protect themselves. Also in some jurisdictions would be impossible to have such a lawsuit. Since all cells for SunPower come from the Philippines and Malaysia , the US government could not named them as drawing the fee, unless they would name the module being from China. But then the argument of dumping would be almost irrational. Only Chinese would be dumping using a foreign cell but someone else using a foreign cell would not. That would probably draw civil suits. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 16, 2012 New report by solarzoom https://solarpvinvestor.com/spvi-news/358-weekly-solar-market-price-trends-mainland-china-report-11 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest solarfun Report post Posted October 16, 2012 Odyd, Do you know by any chance, when will WTO decide on the validity U.S. tariffs? Or at least the details of the case. I know that China launched the complaint, and WTO agreed to probe the tariffs. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-28/wto-to-probe-u-s-anti-subsidy-duties-on-chinese-imports.html But no details, and no news after that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 17, 2012 Hi there, no idea. Last case brought by China against US sanctions was supported by WTO. Layoffs in Philippines. 900 jobs lost at SunPower's. 550 in Malaysia by First Solar. Tomorrow some better news on SPVI, look for it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 17, 2012 new article https://solarpvinvestor.com/spvi-news/359-chinas-new-solar-projects-to-offset-potential-eu-obstacles- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest solarfun Report post Posted October 17, 2012 Good stuff, Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest greensolar Report post Posted October 17, 2012 Here is a website to calculate electricity created from solar irradiation in europe.... With the $ now @ $1.31 to €1 and modules selling @ $0.80c/watt whic is €0.61c/watt Now saying that the cheapest solar panels I can buy are Risen @ €0.69c/watt I live in Ireland and electricity cost €0.21/Kw unit Feed in tariff in Ireland is €0.09c Kw/unit a 4Kw system will create 3200Kw per year with this calculator (3200x0.09 = €288 per year) which is over 7% if the installed cost is at €1) http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/apps3/pvest.php So I envisage a 4Kw system should cost any where from €1-1.20/watt installed with doing some of the work yourself UK have reduced there Tariff to £0.14p/Kw and there unit cost to consumer is £0.16p/Kw and going up 12%. Irradiation is about the same as Ireland. I would like to see some cost analyses of what a unit of electricity will cost to be generated across Europe /USA and rest of the world ... against real cost of electricity. This website will give pricing of Electricity across Europe http://energy.eu/ If I have made any mistakes in my calculations please correct me..... Don't be shy to comment and contribute as I like to see where pricing of solar is compared against other forms of generated electricity.... example €0.63/watt http://www.kerst-energy.de/shop/pv-module/902-pv-module/3288-kerst-energy-ke-240p another example full kit €0.99c/watt http://www.kerst-energy.com/shop/systempakete/910-systempakete/3144-468-kwp-system Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest greensolar Report post Posted October 18, 2012 BYD: Plenty of expertise in solar and storage 18. OCTOBER 2012 | INDUSTRY & SUPPLIERS, STORAGE & GRID INTEGRATION | BY: ECKHART K. GOURASEarlier this week, pv magazine visited BYD Company Limited in the outskirts of Shanghai to discuss the company’s solar and storage plans with Tom Zhao, general manager of BYD Solar Division. In China, BYD's four 100 MW module production lines in Shanghai are in full operation to meet demand. Eckhart Gouras Given its combined expertise in PV and storage, BYD can provide comprehensive on- and off-grid solutions in various markets as power storage becomes a key component of PV solutions. Others are recognizing the company’s multi-faceted energy expertise and it is one of three finalists in the 2013 Zayed Future Energy Prize. BYD can tap the battery technology it developed for its electric vehicles and then applied to communications products and the energy field. Zhao says the company has shipped 165 MW of such storage solutions already, with about half going to solar and other renewable energy applications. In terms of cost, he points to a project in the Middle East with the U.S. energy multinational Chevron, where a single BYD container priced at about US$1 million delivers 1 MWh of stored electricity. These standard containers can be connected, so that storage capacities of 2 MWh and more can be readily realized. For residential PV markets, the company offers a 3 kW/ 8 kWh battery which, according to Zhao, represents an ideal solution for various U.S. markets, where residential users pay the highest prices for electricity in the morning and evening. By incorporating its Distributed Energy Storage System (DESS) as part of the PV solution, homeowners can tap the stored electricity in the morning and then do the same in the evening after the PV system has provided new energy to the battery. And during the night, the battery can be charged using power provided from the grid at off-peak rates. On the PV module side, of course, the current trade dispute and anti-dumping and countervailing duties in the U.S. market are putting a damper on BYD’s plans in that region of the world. But like similar Chinese companies, it is turning to Taiwanese cell manufacturers to come up with a duty-free solution for the U.S. However, as attractive as this loophole might appear, new cells require recertification of the modules for the American market. And certification in the U.S. can take a number of months to secure. Another option, which would not rely on the loophole currently available, would be to set up a production facility in the U.S. As Zhao points out, just setting up a module production facility in the U.S. like the one in Shanghai would not be good enough, though. To be really tariff-proof, an expensive cell production facility would have to be placed there as well and that gives the business case a completely different dimension. Where module fabs are sufficient to gain traction in a national market, BYD is considering such international expansion. One example is South Africa, where the company will supply 100 MW of modules the country’s first bidding round, and 200 MW under the second. To service this market and future tenders, a module production plant is in the planning. On the international front Zhao can tap strong partnerships in Europe, where juwi Holding AG in Germany is the leading customer for BYD’s panels. He sees Ukraine as a "very good market based on the very high electricity price of three to five US cents per kilowatt-hour." In Japan, the situation has also improved a lot with the new ground-mounted PV segment open to Chinese manufacturers like BYD. So far Chinese suppliers have been largely shut out of the residential PV market, the mainstay of Japan’s market prior to the new feed-in tariff launched in July 2012, but this is not the case in the large-scale market. Given its established network on the automobile side, BYD is in a good position to enter this market. And down under in Australia, the company is teaming up with the Canberra-based utility AGL Energy to supply its panels to a 400 MW PV project AGL is building. Meanwhile, at home in China, its four 100 MW module production lines in Shanghai are in full operation to meet demand. A string of research and development centers in Shanghai, Ningbo and Shenzhen, provide a strong base for BYD’s competitiveness going forward. This innovation is flowing into the company’s integrated PV and storage solutions and into new PV panel products, like aluminum back-skin modules optimized for performance in desert environments, where sand storms can be a significant challenge. Read more: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/byd--plenty-of-expertise-in-solar-and-storage_100008892/#ixzz29gUnPLnB Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest greensolar Report post Posted October 19, 2012 I'm posting this if this true could be a possible storage solution for solar. British engineers produce amazing 'petrol from air' technology Revolutionary new technology that produces “petrol from air” is being produced by a British firm, it emerged tonight. Image 1 of 4 An Air Fuel Synthesis technical team member with a flask of AFS fuel Photo: Air Fuel Synthesis By Andrew Hough 11:30PM BST 18 Oct 2012 </iframe>751 Comments A small company in the north of England has developed the “air capture” technology to create synthetic petrol using only air and electricity. Experts tonight hailed the astonishing breakthrough as a potential “game-changer” in the battle against climate change and a saviour for the world’s energy crisis. The technology, presented to a London engineering conference this week, removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The “petrol from air” technology involves taking sodium hydroxide and mixing it with carbon dioxide before "electrolysing" the sodium carbonate that it produces to form pure carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is then produced by electrolysing water vapour captured with a dehumidifier. RELATED ARTICLES [*]Cheaper petrol possible as OFT launches price review 05 Sep 2012 [*]Food prices set to rise because of extreme weather, consumers warned 05 Sep 2012 [*]Watchdog orders redress over premium rate texts 03 Sep 2012 [*]How to save £1,500 on household bills 24 Aug 2012 [*]One in five struggles to pay bills 23 Aug 2012 [*]Five million homes face 'shock' energy rise 22 Aug 2012 Air Fuel Synthesis, then uses the carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce methanol which in turn is passed through a gasoline fuel reactor, creating petrol. Company officials say they had produced five litres of petrol in less than three months from a small refinery in Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside. The fuel that is produced can be used in any regular petrol tank and, if renewable energy is used to provide the electricity it could become “completely carbon neutral”. The £1.1m project, in development for the past two years, is being funded by a group of unnamed philanthropists who believe the technology could prove to be a lucrative way of creating renewable energy. While the technology has the backing of Britain’s Institution of Mechanical Engineers, it has yet to capture the interest of major oil companies. But company executives hope to build a large plant, which could produce more than a tonne of petrol every day, within two years and a refinery size operation within the next 15 years. Tonight Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) officials admitted that while the described the technology as being “too good to be true but it is true”, it could prove to be a “game-changer” in the battle against climate change. Stephen Tetlow, the IMechE chief executive, hailed the breakthrough as “truly groundbreaking”. “It has the potential to become a great British success story, which opens up a crucial opportunity to reduce carbon emissions,” he said. “It also has the potential to reduce our exposure to an increasingly volatile global energy market. “The potential to provide a variety of sustainable fuels for today’s vehicles and infrastructure is especially exciting.” Dr Tim Fox, the organisation's head of energy and environment, added: “Air capture technology ultimately has the potential to become a game-changer in our quest to avoid dangerous climate change.” Peter Harrison, the company’s 58 year-old chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph that he was “excited” about the technology’s potential, which “uses renewable energy in a slightly different way”. “People do find it unusual when I tell them what we are working on and realise what it means,” said Mr Harrison, a civil engineer from Darlington, Co Durham. “It is an opportunity for a technology to make an impact on climate change and make an impact on the energy crisis facing this country and the world. "It looks and smells like petrol but it is much cleaner and we don't have any nasty bits."` http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/fuel/9619269/British-engineers-produce-amazing-petrol-from-air-technology.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 19, 2012 5 of 11 companies are trading below $1. There is a very real condition they can become delisted. What will happen then? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
explo 706 Report post Posted October 21, 2012 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-government-mulls-policies-support-042552552.html China increasing efforts to support PV. Grid connection facilitation dictated by central government will be a catalysts for PV growth in China. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
explo 706 Report post Posted October 22, 2012 Sees 850 GW installed in Europe alone by 2030 as a possibility. http://www.epia.org/index.php?eID=tx_nawsecuredl&u=0&file=fileadmin/EPIA_docs/documents/Cites/Connecting_the_Sun_Shorter_version.pdf&t=1350985122&hash=aa9f609fcf1dd8a56eebdcdc5fa3d8f2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
explo 706 Report post Posted October 24, 2012 http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20121023PR200.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 24, 2012 REC closing the ingot production temporarily, buying it from third parties. I suspect that Q3 will be a nightmare for all. Now my Chinese contacts do not see consolidation in China to take a toll only until Q1 to Q2. I am analyzing who is left in there and there are at least 500 plus companies, which may be still in some form of activity left. So this is just ridiculous. I just got the note from one company willing to cell for 0.58 per watt REC presentation http://hugin.info/136555/R/1651702/532923.pdf Short results for Q3, REC made money by eliminating wafer division form its books. https://solarpvinvestor.com/analysis/quarters-half-years/2012-qs-and-h1/q3-2012 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest redsolar Report post Posted October 24, 2012 Good post! I have long been worried about this scenario...where a company can build a state of the art module assembly factory and source all the cheap cells/wafers to build them. All of a sudden they are extremely competitive with a very little accumulated debt. 40c cell + 20 c module processing = 60c production cost per W module. If I co-locate this company to the geo graphic location...my selling cost will be much less. One catch here is ....the warranty and the bank-ability for the new company...if they choose to serve the international markets. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 25, 2012 New article from Solarzoom https://solarpvinvestor.com/spvi-news/361-weekly-solar-market-price-trends-mainland-china-report-12- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dydo 1,558 Report post Posted October 29, 2012 SPVI was asked to produce couple articles a month for PV-Magazine. I have submitted one today. If they like it, it will be available on PVM. If not we will publish on SPVI. Stay tuned. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
