The PV inverter market, once short of innovation, has seen a surge of investment in the last few years. Spurred by startup advances, established firms like SMA, Satcon, and National Semiconductor are developing new distributed PV electronics technologies in-house or through acquisition. This Special Report from Greentech Media, sponsored by Enphase Energy, takes a look at the state of innovation in the inverter market, VC investment activity, and the emerging leaders in the $2.4 billion PV inverter market.
Download now »As the price of PV falls, the technology will become more competitively priced in Europe and the U.S. before its prices are competitive in China.
The solar firm was founded in 2006 with A round funding from Kleiner Perkins and claims its process could increase the efficiency of conventional amorphous silicon PV by up to 150 percent.
The solar industry could produce 10 percent of the United States' total electricity by 2025, according to a study by Clean Edge and Co-Op America, but it'll take help from utilities and billions of dollars in investments.
Uncertainty about subsidies in Spain and – to a lesser degree – the United States has led to a flurry of activity to get installations finished before the expiration dates, but some analysts say a slight slowdown could be coming.
The Tucson, Ariz.-based company will sell solar cells that can turn traditional silicon-based panel makers, into thin-film panel makers.
Timminco rounds out a news-heavy week by closing a factory that makes cast-magnesium billet. Insiders are mixed on how this will affect the techology.
The Chinese solar-panel manufacturer announced first-quarter earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations, but the stock fell more than 8 percent after a projected margin decline.
The startup solar cell maker is jumping into a competitive market with its first production line being set up in Atlanta. Suniva is also negotiating contracts with three potential customers.
As Bosch lays out plans to acquire the German solar company, one industry analyst says the German engineering and manufacturing firm has put a high price tag on its target. Another analyst suggests the deal is symbolic of things to come.
The Canadian company announces a deal to sell up to 5,000 metric tons of upgraded metallurgical silicon to Canadian Solar. Analysts say they still don't have proof the technology is cost-competitive, but add that the stock drop is unrelated.
A solar industry forecast by the Prometheus Institute shows the solar industry increasing its silicon production but absorbing the material will take longer than originally predicted.
Nonresidential solar-electric projects are growing in the United States, with big projects making up 29 percent of the total market in 2007, compared with 9 percent in 2004, according to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.
The Yingli Group, owned by the CEO of Yingli Green Energy, said it is exploring a project to produce 3,000 metric tons of silicon annually.
The German solar company claims the move will make it easier to snag financing.
The Chinese solar company announces first quarter earnings and a continued squeeze on its margins, leaving investors to speculate when the company will get a break from its margin constriction.
Five months after announcing it would restructure the company, Conergy posts a widening first-quarter loss.
Shares of the Colorado-based residential solar installer fall during its Nasdaq debut as Akeena, one of the world's largest public installers, misses earnings and lowers its full-year forecast.
Analysts say the news doesn't mean the shortage is over yet, but could be a sign that companies are reassessing how much capacity they need. One calls the news "a breath of fresh air" in an atmosphere where many players are double- or triple-dipping into capital markets, while others say it underscores the difficulty of making silicon.
Schuco, E.ON, China Stream Fund Solar Energy and XsunX push forward with their manufacturing-facility plans.
The Israeli solar company says "¡sí!" to manufacturing solar-thermal equipment in Spain.
Global Solar Energy expects to open a 40-megawatt copper-indium-gallium-diselenide thin-film plant Thursday after Nanosolar in December began production of the same material and HelioVolt announced it would begin production this year. Will any of these companies give First Solar a run for its money?
After LDK's margins fall in the fourth quarter, analysts say they are still concerned.