Taiwan’s three solar companies Gintech, Neo Solar Power (NSP) and Solartech signed an MOU on October 16 announcing their intention to merge as one single corporate entity by the third quarter of 2018. According to EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce, the combined production capacity for photovoltaic (PV) cells of these three companies is projected to reach 5 gigawatts (GW). This estimate not only takes account of their combined 3.5GW capacity in Taiwan but also their combined 1.5GW capacity from their facilities located in Mainland China, Thailand and Vietnam. The company that resulted from this merger – United Renewable Energy Co., Ltd. (UREC) – will not only become the largest solar enterprise in Taiwan but also the world’s fifth-largest cell maker in terms of capacity and second-largest cell suppliers in terms of overseas shipping.
Prices of LED lightbulbs remained on the downtrend in September, reports LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. Compared with the prior month, the global average sales price (ASP) of 40-watt equivalent LED light bulbs fell by 2.1% to US$6.3, while the global ASP of the 60-watt equivalent products also dropped by 2.3% to US$7.5.
The U.S. International Commission (ITC) announced on September 22 (local time) that it has accepted Suniva’s petition to seek relief against all solar imports under Section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act. Following the affirmation of Suniva’s claim, ITC will develop recommendations to safeguard the U.S. solar market against imports from Asia. EnergyTrend, TrendForce’s green energy research division, states that ITC’s ruling is expected to raise the solar trade barrier significantly and may slash the U.S. photovoltaic (PV) demand for the whole 2018 by half.
China will again take the leading share of the total annual photovoltaic (PV) demand worldwide in 2017, says the latest Gold Member Solar Report by EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce. China’s solar demand for this year has surpassed earlier expectations due to the surging installations of distributed PV systems. With China’s contribution, the annual global PV demand is also projected to cross the 100-gigawatt mark for the first time in 2017, coming to a 100.4 gigawatts. Compared with 2016, this year’s global PV demand will advance by about 26%. As the Chinese government continues to support its domestic solar sector, the annual global PV demand is expected to top 100 gigawatts through to 2019.
Prices of LED light bulbs showed a slight decline this August, according to the latest reporting from LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. Compared with July, the global ASP of 40-watt equivalent LED light bulbs fell by 1.1% to US$6.4, while the global ASP of 60-watt equivalent LED light bulbs dropped by 1.5% to US$7.7.