The US Commerce Department recently decided, after "careful consideration", to investigate Chinese solar producers for evading tariffs by doing business in Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam in four Southeast Asian countries.
Given that about 80% of the imported components are all from the above four southeast Asian countries, and native American photovoltaic enterprises do not have enough capacity and advanced photovoltaic technology, therefore, the Commerce Department's response, is considered by many as "kill one thousand, since the loss of eight hundred", but also make a lot of native American photovoltaic enterprises saw an opportunity.
Us Solar companies First Solar and SunPower have announced that they will work together to develop thin film/crystalline silicon laminated cells and modules.
As we all know, at present, most photovoltaic modules belong to crystal silicon modules, the main advantages are mature technology, high efficiency, low price, life up to 25 years; Although the production cost of thin film solar module is low, the manufacturing process is simple, but the technical difficulty is high, the conversion efficiency is relatively low, so many enterprises are discouraged.
However, if the crystal silicon cell and thin film cell can be combined, the advantages of both can be maximized and the conversion efficiency will be greatly improved. Of course, the difficulty will skyrocket, so there are only a handful of companies developing thin film/crystalline silicon laminated cells and components.
But the combination of First Solar and SunPower could lead to commercial production of thin-film/crystalline silicon laminated cells and modules.
First Solar is the U.S. pv leader and has been ranked among the world's top 10 module shipments for nearly a decade while Chinese pv companies have surged ahead. All of these come from its deep accumulation in thin film solar cells/modules, and it has established a whole industrial chain system from polysilicon production to photovoltaic module recycling. It is the representative enterprise of thin film solar cell technology in the world.
SunPower is also a well-known PHOTOVOLTAIC enterprise in the United States. Although its production capacity is not high, its subsidiary Maxeon has strong strength in crystal silicon cell technology and has become a leader in the field of IBC cell, a new generation of efficient battery technology.
The combination of First Solar and SunPower's expertise in thin-film Solar cells and crystalline silicon Solar cells will enable the two companies to develop more efficient thin-film/crystalline silicon Solar cell technologies.
Of course, the cost of thin film/crystalline silicon cells and modules is certainly higher than that of a single thin film module or crystalline silicon module, and the efficiency advantage is largely masked.
But if the Commerce Department decides that Chinese pv companies are using four southeast Asian countries to circumvent solar tariffs, it could set an unimaginable price for Chinese pv modules exported to the United States. By then, thin film/crystalline silicon laminated components in the United States will have a broad market prospects.