SHARP BACK IN #1 SOLAR MODULE MAKER SPOT

After Five-Year Absence, Sharp Solar Returns as Number One PV Module Supplier in Q1’14, According to NPD Solarbuzz; Sharp’s resurgence due to its shift in outsourcing strategy and growth in the Japanese solar PV market

May 14, 2014 (SolarBuzz)

“Sharp Solar returned to the top of the solar photovoltaic (PV) module shipment rankings during Q1’14, after a five year absence, according to [Solarbuzz]…Sharp was the solar PV industry market leader for 45 years between 1963 and 2008, before manufacturing capacity was scaled up in China. Between 2009 and 2014, First Solar and Chinese-based solar PV suppliers dominated the top rankings within the industry…[This] was the first time a non-Chinese module supplier has taken the leading position in the solar PV industry since the fourth quarter of 2009…During its previous reign as the industry’s leading PV module supplier, Sharp pursued a vertically integrated strategy, manufacturing its own solar cells and modules. However, during the past few years, Sharp has shifted its emphasis to selling modules manufactured by outsourced partners located mainly in China and Taiwan…” click here for more

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