The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) sided with U.S. solar manufacturers in a dispute that Chinese solar cell makers have been benefiting from illegal subsidies. As a result Chinese solar makers will face tariffs.
With roughly a month to go before a key U.S. solar incentive is set to expire, a familiar phenomenon emerges once again: a rush to install projects. Manufacturers expect to see a big demand, though not necessarily big profits from the boom.
Solar companies haven’t fared well so far this year, so it’s not surprisingly that Applied Materials, which makes factory equipment for solar, also has seen drops in sales. The company reported on Wednesday a 12-percent fall in sales between its two most recent quarters.
SunPower plans to discuss its first-quarter earnings tomorrow, and it’s likely to repeat the same sentiment expressed by fellow manufactures over the past week: Policy change in Italy, its biggest market, caused a slow start for its sales in 2011.
It’s one thing for a small percentage of wealthy homes in California and New Jersey to get solar panels. It will be another thing entirely for India, with its 1.19 billion population, to make a substantial commitment to solar power.
Silicon solar cell maker SpectraWatt has been trying to compete with a growing number of competitors who can also make and mostly likely can do more cheaply. That effort might prove futile: SpectraWatt plans to lay off people and closing its factory.