Question How is Debt Distressed Chinese LDK acquiring German Solar Developer Sunways Answer Chinese Government Free Money

2 Jan, 2012
China,Germany,LDK Solar,Solar Energy

German Solar Energy Company Sunways has sold a 33% stake to LDK solar for around 2 million euros .Note most small German solar companies are almost insolvent and have no hopes of  turnaround.Around 5000 German solar companies have closed according to BSW.Some big German companies like Solon and Solar Millennium have already announced bankruptcy.Note Chinese companies too would have shut down but the state owned Chinese banks are keeping them alive with loans at ridiculous interest rates.LDK  which is buying Sunways is almost insolvent as well with its convertibles trading at less than 50c on the dollar in Singapore.It has more than n$3 billion in debt compared to its market cap of around $600 million.It faces massive losses in the coming qtrs and can’t serve the interest payments much less expand.The strong support of the Chinese government for its green companies is keeping them alive.Chinese solar panels have become super cheap due to companies selling at below cost and massive scale.Note all the cheap solar panel brands in the world are Chinese with the exception of First Solar and some Asians.

LDK has managed to spend 22 million Euros despite burning hundred of millions of dollars in cash because it has got the Chinese government trillions backing it.So while Western companies burn and crash,the big crony Chinese companies can expand and acquire.

Most of the German solar manufacturing industry is finished and it is unlikely that except a couple of them like SM Solar or Wacker will live to see 2013.Q-Cells too should go bankrupt or get consolidated .Note despite European companies shifting factories to Asia ,they just can’t compete.Some of the smaller module makers with 20 MW plants have seen huge losses with the equipment not selling for 10 cents on the dollar

Read the travails of non-Chinese companies in the following articles

Have the European Solar companies (REC,Solarworld,Q-Cells) really returned from the dead?

Another European Solar Factory closes as Green Industry moves to Low Cost,Subsidy Rich Asia

More Solar Jobs shift from USA to heavily subsidized Chinese Factories

Why Sharp is being forced to abandon its Japanese Solar Factories

Sunways Jumps as China’s LDK Bids for German Solar-Panel Maker

Sunways AG (SWW), a German solar panel maker, rose the most in 5 1/2 months after China’s LDK Solar Co. (LDK) said it intends to take over the company.Sunways rose as much 27 percent to 1.95 euros a share, the biggest intraday jump since June 14, and was up 23 percent at 10:02 a.m. in Frankfurt. The Konstanz-based company said LDK Solar would buy 33 percent and offered to purchase the remaining stake at 1.90 euros a share. Sunways has a market value of 22 million euros ($28.5 million).

 

China Solar Booming- Chinese Solar Panels Prices,Cost,Review,Best Manufacturers(Trina,Suntech)

17 Mar, 2011
BYD Auto,Canadian Solar,China,First Solar,LDK Solar,Solar Cells,Solar Energy,Solar Panels,Suntech,Trina Solar,Trony Solar,Yingli

China’s Solar Industry is the biggest in the world with 5 of the biggest Solar Panel Manufacturers being Chinese.The low costs of Chinese Solar Panels have made them capture almost 40% of the world’s market in 2010 up from almost 0% in 2005.The remarkable growth in the Chinese Solar Panel Industry has been due to the supportive government,low labour and capital costs and aggressive competition.This has made the higher cost solar panel manufactures cut their prices in order to retain their marketshare.Trina Solar has shown the best growth amongst the solar panel producers and it now competes with Suntech which is the world’s biggest solar panel producer.China has also got a number of Tier 2 and Tier 3 producers of solar panels.These small solar panel companies sell mostly in the spot market and quote very low prices.The quality of the solar panels of smaller companies is also suspect.Due diligence and Review of Solar Panels is necessary in order to Buy Solar Panels from China.

Chinese Solar Panel Prices and Costs

Note the Chinese Solar Panel Prices at around $1.3/watt are the lowest in the world and are sold at a substantial discount to the European and American Solar Panels.These days Solar Panels are also being outsource to China by bigger companies in the West to take advantage of the low cost Chinese Solar Panels..The Prices of Solar Panels can fluctuate a lot depending on the global supply/demand and is currently at around $1.65/watt in 2011 beginning.However the prices have  come down by around  20-30% .The costs of Chinese Solar Panels differs by different companies with the lowest Panel Producers being able to producer Solar Panels at around $1/watt.

Chinese Solar Panel Manufacturers

There are many Chinese Solar Panel Manufacturers as the costs of setting up a Solar Panel Plant is quite low at around $5 million for a basic solar module line.However there are only a few big Solar Panel Companies which have capacities running into hundreds of Megawatts per year.There are also a number of big State Owned (SOE) Chinese conglomerates that are entering the Solar Panel Industry.Here  is a list of the Best Chinese manufacturers of Solar Panels

  1. Suntech – Suntech was  the world’s biggest producer of solar panels in 2010 and was one the first companies to set up operations in China.Its example was followed by a host of other Chinese companies.Suntech has been slow to expand compared to the fast growing small companies in China and has lost marketshare to them.It has started to vertically integrate in order to meet the low cost challenge from Trina and Yingli.Suntech makes one of the best quality Solar Panels in China.
  2. Yingli Green Energy - Yingli Green Energy is one of the oldest Chinese companies and is completely integrated from polysilicon.The company has been expanding rapidly and has one of the lowest cost structures in the industry.Yingli Green Energy has been sponsoring Football in Europe and has started a new line of high efficiency “Panda” Solar Panels.Yingli is the second biggest producer of Solar Panels in China
  3. Trina Solar – Trina Solar is one of the lowest cost manufacturers of Solar Panels in the World right now and also sells it at a very low price.This is the reason that the company in a span of few short years has managed to acquire a substantial  global marketshare.The prices the solar panels being sold are around $340 per 200 watt module.Trina Solar.Like Yingli and Suntech,Trina Solar Panels are one the best quality in China
  4. Hanwha Solar One - The Company which was recently acquired by South Korean Chemicals Giant Hanwha also makes one of the cheapest panels and sells it a very low price.The quality is also quite good and with strong parentage behind it,the solar panels made by the company.Again like Trina Solar,it has very low cost Chinese manufacturing capacity.The company was earlier known as Solarfun.
  5. Canadian Solar – The Company sells a wide variety of solar panels unlike other producers.The Solar Panel Selling Price is also quite cheap.The Company is headquartered in Canada with factories in China and Ontario.Canadian Solar is the 5th biggest producer of Solar Panels in China.
  6. LDK Solar - This is the biggest producer of solar wafers that are used by crystalline solar panels but is losing its No.1 position to GCL Poly.Is expanding rapidly into other parts of the solar supply chain and could break into top 10 solar panel producer in the next couple of years.LDK Solar is building a huge solar panel and cell production facility.It sells Solar Panels mostly to other Solar Panel Companies.
  7. Renesola – Very similar to LDK Solar in operations and structure,this Chinese company is the lowest cost producer of solar wafer producer in the world.It is expanding into other parts of the supply chain.Like LDK Solar,Renesola sells most of its Solar Panels under an OEM Contract
  8. Jinko Solar – Jinko Solar has shown the fastest growth rates in the Chinese Solar Panel Industry.The company is expanding again to become one of the Top 5 Solar Panel Producers in China.Jinko Solar like Trina and Yingli is vertically integrated and has one of the lowest cost solar panel production process.
  9. Trony Solar - Trony Solar is the largest Solar Thin Film Producer in China and uses a-Si Technology to producer Solar Panels used mostly in Off-Grid Applications.The company uses its own custom made equipment and manages to get decent margins for its products.The company recently listed on the HK Stock Exchange.

Summary

There are other major solar panels manufacturers in China like BYD,Astroenergy,Hanlong,Goldpoly,Eging,Tianwei,Sunzone etc which are setting up large gigawatt scale solar panel capacity.The existing Solar Panel Producers in China will have a tough time as the competition grows domestically as well as from other Asian like the Koreans and the Taiwanese.However currently Chinese Solar Panels are No.1 in the world in terms of volume and fast catching up in quality as well.The Chinese Solar Market is also growing rapidly as the Chinese government awards subsidies for setting up pilot plants in different provinces.However a lack of national feed in tariff like Germany is hindering the growth.

Other Greenworldinvestor articles

  1. Which is the Lowest Cost Solar Panel Manufacturer in the World
  2. Solar Frontier – Can this Japanese Copper Indium Selenium (CIS) Player Erode the Chinese Crystalline Silicon Dominance
  3. Cheapest Solar Panels – Which Companies Sell at the Lowest Price and Why you should avoid Distributors/Wholesalers
  4. Solar Panels in India – Complete Guide on Buying Low Cost PV Panels from Solar Energy System Manufacturers
  5. Another European Solar Factory closes as Green Industry moves to Low Cost,Subsidy Rich Asia
  6. Giant Chinese State Owned Utilities expectedly Win most of Solar Projects with Loss Making Bids
  7. Will China ever pass a Feed in Tariff Law for Solar Energy?
  8. Taiwan Solar Energy Challenging China – Taiwanese Solar Cell,Wafer,Panel,Inverter Manufacturers following the Semi Success Path
  9. Korean Solar Energy Set to Explode due to the Greenest Government and Chaebols Hanwha,Hyundai,Posco,Samsung,LG
  10. France Stupidly blames Cheap Chinese Panels for Stopping Solar Energy Subsidies leading First Solar to Delay French Factory
  11. List of World’s Top Solar Wafer Companies – Growing Bigger
  12. List of Top Global Solar Cell Suppliers – A Disappearing Breed
  13. List of World’s Major Solar Energy Companies

List of World’s Top (Solar,Semi) 8 Polysilicon Companies – Asia Rising as Big get Bigger

2 Mar, 2011
China,GCL Poly,Germany,Japan,LDK Solar,MEMC,Solar Cells,Solar Energy,Solar Panels,South Korea,USA

Polysilicon or refined silicon is the raw material behind most of the world’s consumer electronics.Polysilicon is used to make both solar and semiconductor silicon wafers.Silicon  wafers are used in making chips which are used by the Intels and Samsungs of the world while Solar Wafers are used in making solar crystalline panels used in generating electricity from the sun.Most of the world’s major solar energy companies use c-Si Technology in making solar panels.Polysilicon is an energy intensive process which requires cheap electricity.The polysilicon is produced mostly in the western countries like Japan,USA and Germany now.However the rise of solar panel producers in Asia has given rise to large volume Asian producers of polysilicon as well.Note Polysilicon production is concentrated in the hands of 8 companies unlike solar panel production which is done by hundreds of companies.This is a capital intensive process and requires around 2 years to complete a single plant.Semiconductors require higher purity levels of Polysilicon than the solar industry.The massive increase in demand from the solar industry has led to massive growth in poly production.Here are a list of the main polysilicon companies in the world

1) Hemlock Semiconductor (HSG) - This a a privately held company which is a JV between Shin-Etsu Handotai,Dow  Corning and Mitsubishi.Hemlock has the largest poly production capacity in the world and has been trying to rapidly raise capacity to meet growing solar demands.However it has not grown fast enough.

2)Wacker Chemie- This German chemicals conglomerate as increased plant capacities rapidly in Germany and is expanding in the USA as well.Wacker has the majority of its profits coming from it nearly 25000 ton polysilicon capacity.It is one of the world’s major producers of semiconductor wafers as well so uses some of the poly inhouse while selling the rest to Asian customers mostly.

3) OCI Chemical - This Korean chemicals company has seen the most spectacular rise in the poly business and has ambitions of becoming the No.1 player in 2012 overtaking both Wacker and Hemlock.Primarily targeting the solar market,the Korean company has plans of reaching 62,000 tons of polysilicon capacity at its plant in South Korea.Formerly known as DC Chemicals it started production only 3-4 years ago in partnership with Sunpower.

4) Renewable Energy Corporation - This Norwegian Producer was the largest solar wafer producer till a few years ago when it lost its leadership to the Chinese.It is now expanding in Singapore to reduce its high cost and integrating vertically. REC is also one of the biggest producers of Silane Gas which is used in making polysilicon.Like MEMC,it uses both the FBR and Siemens process in producing polysilcon.It has plants in USA

5) MEMC - The only big American solar wafer producer is building a wafer factory in Malaysia to reduce costs.The company is one of the biggest manufacturers of semi wafers as well.Like GCL Poly,it is also expanding into the solar systems business without getting into cell and module production.MEMC has old plants in USA and Italy and is now expanding in South Korea in JV with Samsung.

6) GCL Poly - This Chinese company has become one the biggest producers of polysilicon and wafers in 2010 from zero in 2008.Is expanding rapidly but not getting into production of solar cells and panels.The company is also on its way to becoming a Top 3 producer of polysilicon and is expanding by co-locating wafer plants near its customer factories.Has singed massive long term deals with most of the biggest solar panel producers in the world.

7) LDK Solar -This is the biggest producer of solar wafers that are used by crystalline solar panels but is losing its No.1 position to GCL Poly.Is expanding rapidly into other parts of the solar supply chain and could break into top 10 solar panel producer in the next couple of years.The company ran into a lot of debt troubles in expanding its poly plant to 15000 tons but has seemed to return on track in late 2010.

8) Tokuyama - This Japanese producer has been in the game for long but has been the slowest in expanding capacity.Its building a new plant in Malaysia but its capacity has been dwarfed by newer players in Asia like OCI Chemicals.It has missed out on a huge oppurtunity.The company mainly supplies to semi wafer companies .

Besides these 8 Top Companies there are a number of other smaller important poly companies like M.Setek,KCC,Renesola,Yingli Energy,Mitsubishi.Note the 2008 polysilicon price jump to $400/kg led to a number of new entrants but most of the players disappeared in the ensuing post Lehman crash as prices crashed.

Related Links

  1. Middle East to get another Polysilcon plant from Saudi JV with Korean Hyundai Heavy;follows Qatar Solarworld JV

  2. Is Polysilicon and Wafer Supply Tightness the Reason for New Long Term Contracts being Signed by Downstream Solar Producers

  3. Solar c-Si PV Industry overcoming its Polysilicon Fixation with Focus Changing to Energy Efficiency and Optimization

  4. Taiwan’s Solar Cell Concentration in the PV Supply Chain makes it Vulnerable to Oversupply

  5. China outwits Korea buying Norwegian Silicon Giant Elkem in a $2 Billion Deal

  6. List of Top Global Solar Cell Suppliers – A Disappearing Breed

  7. World’s Largest Solar Wafer Maker GCL Poly Set to Grow Even Bigger

  8. Taiwan’s Massive Solar PV Cell Industry Finally gets a Domestic Source of Polysilicon

  9. Samsung enters Polysilicon in JV with MEMC similar to LCD Glass JV with Corning and nd Wafers JV with Wacker

  10. The Chinese Penetrate the US Solar Utility Market – exclusive playground of First Solar and Sunpower

  11. Poorer Cousin Concentrated Photovoltaics(CPV) getting Traction through as PV Efficiency reaches Upper Limit

  12. Applied Materials conducts euthanasia on its long suffering Amorphous Silicon thin film Sunfab division

List of World’s Top Solar Wafer Companies – Growing Bigger

1 Mar, 2011
GCL Poly,LDK Solar,MEMC,Solar Cells,Solar Energy,Solar Panels,Solarworld

Solar Wafer Companies are mainly concentrated in Asia specifically China and Taiwan.Cheap labour,lower land and capital costs as well as presence of major customers has made China the No.1 Solar Wafer Producer in the world.Despite most of the polysilicon being produced in Europe and USA,China leads the way in wafer production.Note semiconductor wafers in contrast are mainly produced in the developed countries like Japan,USA and Germany.The  structural forces of the crystalline silicon industry is forcing vertical integration with cell producers making wafers and wafer production companies making cells.However there are a few companies which predominantly concentrate on supply solar wafers to solar cell manufacturers.Here is the list of the main solar wafer producers which have shown stunning growth in the last few years.

1) GCL Poly – This Chinese company has become one the biggest producers of polysilicon and wafers in 2010 from zero in 2008.Is expanding rapidly but not getting into production of solar cells and panels.The company is also on its way to becoming a Top 3 producer of polysilicon and is expanding by co-locating wafer plants near its customer factories.Has singed massive long term deals with most of the biggest solar panel producers in the world.

2) LDK Solar - This is the biggest producer of solar wafers that are used by crystalline solar panels but is losing its No.1 position to GCL Poly.Is expanding rapidly into other parts of the solar supply chain and could break into top 10 solar panel producer in the next couple of years.

3) Renesola – Very similar to LDK Solar in operations and structure,this Chinese company is the lowest cost producer of solar wafer producer in the world.It is expanding into other parts of the supply chain.

4) Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) – This Norwegian Producer was the largest solar wafer producer till a few years ago when it lost its leadership to the Chinese.It is now expanding in Singapore to reduce its high cost and integrating vertically.

5) Solarworld - Solarworld is the Biggest German producer of solar panels,the company is one of the few to still have operations in Europe and USA.The company has been battered by low cost competition .

6) Comtec Solar - It is a relatively less known Chinese producer of solar wafers however it has been expanding rapidly and is as big as Renesola in terms of capacity now.

7) Green Energy Technology – This Taiwanese producer of solar wafers has left other domestic competitors behind in capacity increase.Primarily supplies to the numerous solar cell makers in Taiwan

8) SAS - Sino American Silicon (SAS) is one of the oldest wafer producers in Taiwan and supplies to both semiconductor and solar industries.It has been growing steadily rather than expanding too aggressively.

9) MEMC- The only big American solar wafer producer is building a factory in Malaysia to reduce costs.The company is one of the biggest manufacturers of semi wafers.Like GCL Poly,it is also expanding into the solar systems business without getting into cell and module production

10) Nexolon – The company is based out of South Korea and is closely associated with the polysilicon giant OCI Chemcials.The company is primarily counting on the growth of South Korean companies like LG,Hanwha,Samsung for its growth.

Besides these solar wafer producers other significant producers are Trina Solar,Yingli,Suntech,Jinko Solar.These companies use solar wafers for their internal cell production.Other companies like JA Solar are also expanding wafer capacities in order to reduce their overall costs of producing solar panels.

Other Links

Taiwan’s Solar Cell Concentration in the PV Supply Chain makes it Vulnerable to Oversupply

List of World’s Major Solar Energy Companies

South Korean Conglomerate Hanwha follows LG,Samsung into Solar Energy;Acquires controlling stake in 4th Largest Chinese Solar company Solarfun cheaply

Is Polysilicon and Wafer Supply Tightness the Reason for New Long Term Contracts being Signed by Downstream Solar Producers

Which is the Lowest Cost Solar Panel Manufacturer in the World

World’s Largest Solar Wafer Maker GCL Poly Set to Grow Even Bigger

21 Feb, 2011
China,GCL Poly,LDK Solar,Solar Energy,Solar Panels,South Korea,Taiwan

China based GCL Poly is the biggest solar wafer producer in the world wresting the crown from LDK Solar in 2010.GCL Poly is now set to grow even bigger in 2011 raising its wafer capacity almost 85% making it No.1 by far.Note solar wafers are made up of polysilicon and  used as raw materials for making solar cells which generate electricity from the sun.They are very similar to semiconductor wafers which are used to make the basic building blocks for electronics.GCL Poly has seen a massive rise from 2010 when it started to producer solar wafers.The company’s strategy of setting up plants near its major customers have landed it major deals and lower the cost in the supply chain.

The company also produces polysilicon which forms almost 50% of the cost of making wafers.The company also plans to triple the capacity of making polysilcion which will make it No.1 and 2 in the world.Asian producers of Solar Panels are dominating Solar Industry with 80-85% of the Solar Panels being producer in the region.Strong government support and subsidies have made South Koreans,Chinese and Taiwanese the leading solar players in the world.

GCL-Poly says to invest $2.3 bln to expand capacity

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd (3800.HK: Quote) said it planned to invest aboutHK$17.7 billion ($2.28 billion) to further expand its polysilicon capacity and wafer business.In a filing with the Hong Kong bourse over the weekend, GCL said it would expand its polysilicon and wafer facilities in China in 2011 and 2012, aiming to increase annual polysilicon production capacity to about 25,000 tonnes by the end of 2011 and 65,000 tonnes by mid-2012, from 21,000 tonnes as of the end of last year.It also aims to raise annual wafer production capacity to 6,500 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2011, from 3,500 MW at the end of 2010.

List of World’s Major Solar Energy Companies

18 Feb, 2011
Canadian Solar,China,First Solar,GCL Poly,Japan,LDK Solar,Sharp,Solar Cells,Solar Energy,Solar Panels,Sunpower,Suntech,Taiwan,Trina Solar,USA,Yingli

Solar Energy is the fastest growing renewable energy source in the world and has shown tremendous growth in the last 2-3 years.This has been driven by a more than 50% decline in Solar PV costs which continues to decline further.With further increase in energy prices,Solar Power is becoming closer and closer to retail electricity price.Not only is the price declining,solar power is clean energy a most valuable feature in these days of accelerating climate change.Solar Energy has already reached grid parity in places like Italy and Hawaii and will do so in more places in the coming 2-3 years.The industry is a dynamic one and the list of top solar companies can change quickly.Rapid Technology Change and Fast Declining Costs have pushed out most of the Top 10 companies of 5 years ago and brought in new ones mainly Chinese.Here is a list of the Top Solar Panel Producers in the World.

1) First Solar – the US based Cadmium Tellurium (Cd-Te) is the lowest cost panel producer in the world today if you don’t include any penalty for low efficiency.Even if you penalize the Cd-Te Technology for its lower efficiency vis-a-vis the higher efficiency crystalline technology,First Solar is clearly the leader with a core cost of 74c/watt.The company has a roadmap of  reducing the cost to 52c/watt by 2014 and given its track record it seems quite achievable.

2) Sharp – Sharp,the Japanese Electronics Giant was the largest solar company in the world by revenues in 2009,however it risks losing its top 5 place in 2011 as Chinese companies ramp up capacity at a much higher rate.Sharp has been shielded from the fierce competition in the solar panel market as the domestic Japanese market has also grown sharply.Japan is a tough market for foreign companies to crack like other sectors and that has allowed Sharp to prosper despite much higher costs and lower margins.However,Sharp has not been able to grow fast enough in 2010 with major Chinese companies seeing upwards of 100% growth

3) Suntech – Suntech was  the world’s biggest producer of solar panels in 2010 and was one the first companies to set up operations in China.Its example was followed by a host of other Chinese companies.Suntech has been slow to expand compared to the fast growing small companies in China and has lost marketshare to them.It has started to vertically integrate in order to meet the low cost challenge from Trina and Yingli

4) Yingli Green Energy - Yingli Green Energy is one of the oldest Chinese companies and is completely integrated from polysilicon.The company has been expanding rapidly and has one of the lowest cost structures in the industry.

5) Trina Solar - Trina Solar is one of the lowest cost manufacturers of Solar Panels in the World right now and also sells it at a very low price.This is the reason that the company in a span of few short years has manged to acquire a 10% global marketshare.The prices the solar panels being sold are around $340 per 200 watt module.

6) JA Solar - JA Solar unlike the others mainly produces solar cells instead of solar modules.The company is one of the lowest cost producer of solar cells in the industry and has recently expanded into producing modules as well.The company has shown the fastest growth in 2010 and looks to be a world leader in the future.

7) Motech - This Taiwan producer of Solar Cells was one of the biggest in 2007 but has gone down the ranks.TSMC bought a stake in this company after it faltered post the Lehman crisis.The company seems to be recovering ,however it has seen newer rivals like Neo Solar,Del Solar and Gintech expand more rapidly.

8) Gintech - It is the biggest solar cell producer in Taiwan and has shown amazing growth since its inception.Gintech like JA Solar producers mostly solar cells.

9) Hanwha Solar One - The Company which was recently acquired by South Korean Chemicals Giant Hanwha also makes one of the cheapest panels and sells it a very low price.The quality is also quite good and with strong parentage behind it,the solar panels made by the company.Again like Trina Solar,it has very low cost Chinese manufacturing capacity.

10) Canadian Solar – The Company sells a wide variety of solar panels unlike other producers.The Solar Panel Selling Price is also quite cheap.The Company is headquartered in Canada with factories in China and Ontario.

11) Sunpower - Sunpower produces the highest efficiency crystalline solar panels in the world.This is a US company like First Solar and has a strong system installation business as well.A offspring of Cypress Semiconductor,it faced tough times due to its higher costs.However seems to be on a recovery path.Failed to expand as rapidly as the Asians in 2010.

12) Renewable Energy Corporation – It is Norwegian manufacturer of mainly polysilicon and wafers.It suffered like other Europeans from the declines in solar panel prices.Has moved manufacturing to Singapore to lower its cost.Fell down the rankings due to tough competition.However is completely integrated.

13) Solarworld – Biggest German producer of solar panels,the company is one of the few to still have operations in Europe and USA.The company has been battered by low cost competition .

14) Panasonic/Sanyo – Sanyo is the producer of high efficiency solar panels and like Sharp sells mostly in Japan and USA.With buyout by Panasonic is looking to sell integrated energy  efficiency/energy storage/solar energy home solution.

15) LDK Solar - This is the biggest producer of solar wafers that are used by crystalline solar panels.Is expanding rapidly into other parts of the solar supply chain and could break into top 10 solar panel producer in the next couple of years.

16) Renesola – Very similar to LDK Solar in operations and structure.It is expanding into other parts of the supply chain.This Chinese producer is a very low cost producer of wafers.

17) GCL Poly – Has become one of the biggest producers of polysilicon and wafers in 2010 from zero in 2008.Is expanding rapidly but not getting into production of solar cells and panels.

Other Important Reads.

  1. 2010 Solar Demand to Skyrocket, 2011 however is a Question
  2. The rise of the Chinese and the fall of the Japanese in the Solar Rankings
  3. Solar Leader Sharp shifting its Focus from Crystalline Solar to Amorphous Silicon Thin Film Technology
  4. South Korean Conglomerate Hanwha follows LG,Samsung into Solar Energy;Acquires controlling stake in 4th Largest Chinese Solar company Solarfun cheaply
  5. Taiwan’s TSMC makes a late but smart entry into Solar Energy;Buys Equity Stakes in Stion and Motech
  6. Cheapest Solar Panels – Which Companies Sell at the Lowest Price and Why you should avoid Distributors/Wholesalers
  7. The Chinese Penetrate the US Solar Utility Market – exclusive playground of First Solar and Sunpower
  8. Have the European Solar companies (REC,Solarworld,Q-Cells) really returned from the dead?
  9. Have the European Solar companies (REC,Solarworld,Q-Cells) really returned from the dead?
  10. Spanish CSP Leader Abengoa thinks Solar Thermal Technology won’t reach Grid Parity till 2020
  11. Taiwan’s Solar Cell Concentration in the PV Supply Chain makes it Vulnerable to Oversupply
  12. Why is Japanese Technology Giant Toshiba entering the Solar EPC business?
  13. Applied Materials conducts euthanasia on its long suffering Amorphous Silicon thin film Sunfab division
Page 1 of 2
1 2 →

Most Popular

Recent Comments