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SFCE Sept 8
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US dominates solar manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in August
Sep 7, 2015 | PV Tech
By Mark Osborne
Only four companies announced plans in August, including Suniva on its acquisition by Shunfeng/Suntech, Silfab Solar, Amerisolar and Globo Brazil, which was a new facility that officially opened in the month. -
Yingli shipments, revenue and profit falls sharply Y/Y in Q2 2015
Sep 8, 2015 | PV Magazine
By Ian Clover
Chinese Tier-1 solar company Yingli Green Energy registered sizeable reductions in PV module shipments and revenue in the second quarter of 2015, according to the company’s Q2 results that were published today. -
Advocates say Texas is squandering its sunshine
Sep 8, 2015 | E&E Daily
By Edward Klump
Texas earned a top 10 ranking in cumulative U.S. solar power capacity through 2014, but the state didn't crack the top 20 in a per-capita calculation, according to a new study.
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US dominates solar manufacturing capacity expansion announcements in August
Sep 7, 2015 | PV Tech
By Mark Osborne
According to PV Tech’s preliminary analysis, global PV manufacturing expansion plans for the month of August 2015 neatly totalled 1,000MW, down over 72% from 3,680MW in the previous month, but significantly higher than announcements made in August 2014, which only totalled 50MW.
The majority of capacity expansions (800MW) were for PV module facilities that included 320MW of capacity additions at existing facilities and 480MW for new module assembly plants.
Only four companies announced plans in August, including Sunivaon its acquisition by Shunfeng/Suntech, Silfab Solar, Amerisolar andGlobo Brazil, which was a new facility that officially opened in the month. US manufacturing
Significantly for the month of August virtually all the announcements (820MW) related to North America and 700MW to the US.
However, despite the booming US market and stiffened anti-dumping duties against China and Taiwan, only 1,000MW of new capacity plans have been announced for the US so far in 2015.
A total of 1,843MW of capacity expansion announcements were made for the US in 2014, 1,000MW attributed to SolarCity. Interestingly, around 530MW of the 2014 announcements for the US have become operational to date, meaning they are now classified as effective capacity increases.
However, around 8,500MW of capacity expansion announcements in Asia since the start of 2014 have primarily been made to circumvent or capitalise on the anti-dumping duties in the US.
PV Tech recently highlighted the seismic shift that occurred in the first half of 2015, which saw little if any new capacity plans announced by Chinese producers for manufacturing in China.
Instead, Chinese silicon-based PV manufacturers announced more than 6.7GW of planned capacity expansions in a number of overseas countries that included India, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Brazil and the US.
The announcements in 2015 for capacity expansions in the US have included three Chinese firms, Seraphim, Shunfeng and Amerisolar, totalling 800MW out of the 1,000MW to date. Global update
So far in 2015, cumulative global PV capacity expansion announcements have totalled 20,785MW, up over 62% compared to 12,805MW in the prior year period.
http://www.pv-tech.org/news/us_dominates_solar_manufacturing_capacity_expansion_announcements_in_august
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Yingli shipments, revenue and profit falls sharply Y/Y in Q2 2015
Sep 8, 2015 | PV Magazine
By Ian Clover
Chinese Tier-1 solar company Yingli Green Energy registered sizeable reductions in PV module shipments and revenue in the second quarter of 2015, according to the company’s Q2 results that were published today.
Total net revenues for Q2 fell to RMB2,716.1 million ($438.1 million) on the back of plunging shipments and a lower average selling price (ASP) for Yingli’s modules. In Q1, Yingli posted revenues of RMB2,905.8 million ($468.7 million) while last year’s second quarter performance generated revenues of RMB3,408.9 million ($535.5 million).
Falling shipments were to blame, with Yingli shipping just 727.9 MW of modules in Q2 compared to 754.2 MW in Q1 and 887.9 MW in Q2 2014. Of that 727.9 MW figure, a larger proportion than ever went to the Chinese market, where ASPs are lower than in many other leading solar regions. In fact, Yingli increased its shipments to its domestic market by 110% in Q2, growing its shipments to the U.S. by 35% over the same period.
Pre-financials guidance released in late August warned that the company’s profit margin could be more than halved in Q2, and so it came to pass: gross profit came in at RMB171 million ($27.6 million), less than half of the RMB410.8 million ($64.5 million) for Q1 and some way below the RMB532.1 million registered in Q2 2014.
The solar firm was able to reduce its operating expenses by $56.3 million over the second quarter, largely as a result of disposing of the land use rights held by its subsidiary, Fine Silicon, which helped to bring operating expenses as a percentage of total net revenues to 12.9%, down from 16.4% in Q1 and 18.1% in Q2 2014.
Losses, however, almost tripled to RMB178.3 million ($28.8 million) in Q2 compared to losses of just RMB66.4 million in Q1, triggering a negative 6.6% operating margin for the quarter.
The company managed to repay a RMB1.2 billion three-year unsecured medium-term debt during the second quarter, and Yingli chairman and CEO Liansheng Miao stressed that the company is "actively taking measures to prepare for repayment of the RMB1 billion five-year unsecured medium-term notes" when they become due in October. Miao added that Yingli is exploring a number of financing options to ensure the debt is repaid on time, including the "liquidation of idle assets, introduction of strategic investors and potential new cooperation model with our business partners".
Miao also said that Yingli is to adopt a new core principle based around less investment and quicker turnover, in order to "maintain a stable cash flow".
Over the course of 2015 Yingli has lost around two-thirds of its market value, and first warned its shareholders in May that the company had doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern given its hefty debt burden.The losses reported today are the 16th straight loss the company has registered, and will seek to raise further funds by selling land in order to meet the October 13 bond deadline. A further RMB1.4 billion note is set to mature in May next year, and Bloomberg has reported that the company may need to take a debt reorganization in order to survive in 2016.
Read more: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/yingli-shipments--revenue-and-profit-falls-sharply-y-y-in-q2-2015_100020991/#ixzz3l9Q1oy9t -
Advocates say Texas is squandering its sunshine
Sep 8, 2015 | E&E Daily
By Edward Klump
Texas earned a top 10 ranking in cumulative U.S. solar power capacity through 2014, but the state didn't crack the top 20 in a per-capita calculation, according to a new study.
The report, written by representatives of the Frontier Group and Environment America Research and Policy Center, was released last week and touted in the Lone Star State by Environment Texas.
Texas installed about 129 megawatts of solar capacity last year, the study showed. The state's cumulative capacity of 330 MW at the close of 2014 was good for No. 10 in the country, but Texas was dwarfed by the reported 9,977 MW in California, 2,067 MW in Arizona and 1,451 MW in New Jersey.
"We have tremendous potential in Texas -- plenty of sunshine -- but what we're lacking is a commitment to clean energy policies," said Anne Clark, a campaign organizer with Environment Texas.
The report suggested Texas' solar growth has occurred "in spite of, not because of, state leadership." It said the state "lacks critical solar policies like statewide net metering, strong interconnection standards, or financial incentives."
At the end of 2014, Texas was No. 22 in cumulative solar capacity per capita.
Texas' initial solar push has relied in part on San Antonio and Austin -- two cities with municipal electric utilities. CPS Energy in San Antonio and Austin Energy have pursued power from utility-scale solar projects in Texas while also seeking ways to allow customers to have solar panels on their homes.
In fact, about a third of Texas' solar capacity was in the city limits of Austin or San Antonio at the end of 2014, according to the new report.
But Clark said a big question looms: "Is San Antonio going to continue to go above and beyond or rest on their laurels and go about business as usual?"
San Antonio is slated to see a rebate for newly installed systems end early next year, while other pilot programs are now being rolled out, according to Raiford Smith, a vice president of corporate development and planning at CPS Energy.
The new choices on the retail level should help expand the reach of solar, given financial and home configuration issues for some customers, said Smith, who indicated early interest has been strong.
Seeking to 'alter the landscape'
Smith said one new program will allow customers to participate in community solar. Another will pay customers for hosting solar panels.
"We think that these two programs are going to dramatically alter the landscape of solar here in San Antonio," Smith said, referring to retail solar numbers. "First off, the existing solar capacity that gets installed is around 6 MW a year here in San Antonio, and these programs combined are about 11 MW."
While change can raise concerns, Smith said, "this is just another one of those inflection points."
He said the state has enormous solar potential, and a key question is: "Can regulators and utilities and marketers find the right offer structure that makes ... economic sense for the consumer, operational sense for the grid and financial sense for the company that offers it?"
That's the "secret sauce" San Antonio and others have pursued, Smith said.
Still, some interests raised questions about the direction of solar programs in San Antonio, as noted earlier this year by The Rivard Report.
Clark said Environment Texas was in favor of looking at new ideas but added that the existing solar rebate program has been successful.
"We definitely support new, innovative solar programs, we just also support continuing programs that have worked," she said.
Clark said there's still potential for cities such as Houston and Dallas to do more with solar, even though they don't have municipal electric utilities. Those areas largely operate in Texas' competitive electric retail and wholesale markets.
City solar goals could help foster growth in areas such as local or rooftop solar, according to Clark.
"I think a great start would be getting more solar on municipal buildings," she said.
More broadly, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state's main grid operator, said in 2014 that utility-scale solar could exceed 10,000 MW by 2029 using a current trends scenario and possibly top 16,000 MW under a stringent environmental setup.
Charlie Hemmeline, executive director of the Texas Solar Power Association, said solar is a good match for the needs of Texas and its growing population.
"We're expanding rapidly now, and we have such a large potential here in the state," Hemmeline said.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2015/09/08/stories/1060024315
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