The production capacity of the global solar cell industry has increased rapidly since 2000, and total annual output is estimated to reach 2.82 gigawatts in 2010 with a value of US$4.23 billion, according to a report released by the government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI,
An ITRI official said that as the demand for solar energy has continued to grow at a more rapid pace, the industry registered a compound annual growth rate of 37.5 percent during the 2000 to 2003 period, with the figure hitting 60.5 percent for the 2003 to 2004 period.
He added that global annual production of photovoltaic cells reached 1.727 gigawatts last year, marking growth of 45 percent.
The official said that compared with the ITRI's relatively mild estimate, global solar cell manufacturers have a more optimistic forecast of 4.8-gigawatt production output by 2008.
Due to skyrocketing oil prices, the need for clean and renewable solar energy will only become stronger in the coming years, the official said.
Currently, the top 10 solar cell makers are: Sharp -- with 428 megawatts of output, Q-Cells (160 megawatts), Kyocera Solar (125 megawatts), Sanyo Electric (125 megawatts), Mitsubishi Electric (100 megawatts), Schott Solar (95 megawatts), BP Solar International (90 megawatts), Suntech Power (80 megawatts), Motech Industries (
Most of the top 10 are Japanese makers.
Motech is the only one based in Taiwan.
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
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