It is the 10th anniversary of PV Taiwan trade show, and the show has became more bustling than before this year. Based on EnergyTrend's observation, many manufacturers began to pay attention to issues of high-efficiency and differentiation. As Taiwan's new government carries out its 20GW installation target, how Taiwan can maintain technology advantages and escape the trap of price wars are the most watched aspects this year.
During PV Taiwan 2016, overseas visitors gained a higher visibility than past years. Adding to visitors from Europe, the USA, mainland China, and Japan, Southeast Asian and Indian visitors' amount showed a significant growth. This phenomena not only echoed the government's new southbound policy, but it might also signal the rise of emerging markets.
On the upstream side of the PV industry, mainland China manufacturers GCL Group and LONGi are the main companies that displayed silicon materials and wafer solutions. LONGi still focused on mono-si products. As for CGL Group, it integrated GCL-Poly and GCL-SI divisions to demonstrate a variety of wafer products, a electric vehicle's charging station, self-developed energy storage system E-KwBE's image, and three high-efficiency modules.
Taiwanese manufacturers holds most advantages in the mid-stream of the PV industry. Many tier-one giants not only exhibited their cell technologies but also launched a variety of module products, including: HJT module, a collaborated effort from WINAICO and Neo Solar Power (NSP); AUO's back contact high-efficiency modules; and TSEC's multi-si PERC plus black silicon module.
Double glass module officially debuted in PV Taiwan by Inventec, NSP and Anji technology. Sam Hong, CEO of NSP, said to EnergyTrend, “double glass is guaranteed to be PID-free so it can fight against the corrosion effects of salt sprays and prevent rust caused by water. Hence, it fits in fish farm's various applications.”
GET and Gintung co-exhibited “Waveguide (WG) Solar Power Module,” a Red-Dot award winning product that was cooperated created by GET and a Taiwanese design company. This module's surface has a special layer of coating, which replaces the traditional PV glass. This feature not only reduces module weight, but also improves power generation efficiency. Besides, this coating layer acts like a noise barrier/acoustic baffle, making the module a perfect match for BIPV or for transportation application, introduced by GET's general manager Swean Lin to EnergyTrend.
This WG Solar Power Module is the evolved version of last year's pressure-resistant PV modules. Swean Lin emphasized that Taiwanese manufacturers must develop their own module brands and give impetus to various applications to differentiate their products from others'.
Giga Solar, Heraeus, and DuPont, three of the world’s four leading conductive paste manufacturers, all participated this show. What is more special, new players in conductive paste industry also joined PV Taiwan 2016 and hoped to expand their market share.
International equipment manufacturers were visible at PV Taiwan 2016, including what have been familiar to Taiwanese solar industry: Centrotherm and Kromax. Centrotherm exhibited four major types of equipment: CVD/PECVD, regeneration furnace, firing furnace and diffusion furnace. These are all critical to produce solar power cells. Upgraded version of diffusion furnace can be applied for P- and N-type cells. This equipment's market share in Taiwan surpassed 70%.
As for the downstream segment, PV Taiwan 2016 has showcased more solutions than ever. Taiwanese PV inverter manufacturer PrimeVOLT centered on inverter and launched solutions that integrate energy generation to the grid connection. Regarding to Plus Renewable corp., it launched new platform for floating PV systems. In addition, a firm debuted automatic module cleaning machine.
Big Sun Group not only emphasized highly-expected iPV Tracker, but also launched smart monitor device iPVita. As for TSEC, it is no longer a mere manufacturer. For instance, TSEC developed cloud-based management systems. Not only that, TSEC co-developed with Taiwanese firm EIH for zero energy smart house platform.
AUO announced that its power plant portfolio will reach 32MW this year. Meanwhile, it began to develop smart energy storage system and energy management system. Speaking of system integrator Hamak, it demonstrated module installation on the site of PV Taiwan 2016. Highly visible companies such as Sinogreenergy and Huawei exhibited their own specialties, respectively. PV Taiwan this year experienced a growing expectation from all sides and showed a rising and more flourishing atmosphere.
(Reported by Rhea Tsao; Translated by Janet Chen, a translator of TrendForce Corp.)
