News In Brief July 12: EV Forklifts At Vedanta, Losses At Chinese Solar Firms, Toledo Solar Shuts

Vedanta Aluminium Adds 66 Units Of Electric Forklifts In Odisha

Vedanta Aluminium has expanded its fleet of electric lithium-ion forklifts to 66 units with the additional 22 electric forklifts at its smelter operations in Jharsuguda, Odisha.

Deployed across Vedanta Aluminium’s units in Jharsuguda and Lanjigarh in Odisha, as well as its BALCO smelter in Chhattisgarh, these forklifts feature faster and safer battery charging capabilities. Substantial reduction in diesel consumption, with estimated savings of over 8.4 lakh liters per year. The company has committed to decarbonizing 100% of its light motor vehicle (LMV) fleet by 2030.

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Chinese Solar Majors Pile Up Losses, Inventory, as Prices Crash

With its market cap slipping below CNY 100 billion, or $13.7 billion, LONGi has joined other Chinese module and solar manufacturers, who have seen profits and market cap, evaporate this year. Three of the biggest players, LONGi, Tongwei, and Aiko Solar – have reported losses in the first half of the year due to increased competition so far, with JA Solar already indicating its headed the same way, and Jinko as well .

In its financial results for the first half of 2024, LONGi recorded a net loss of up to RMB5.5 billion (US$760 million).

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The company said its projected net loss for H1 2024 will be between RMB4.8 billion and RMB 5.5 billion, a drop from a net income of RMB9.18 billion in H1 2023. 

Most of the majors have suffered on account of inventory write downs as well, as inventory on hand has depreciated faster than they could sell it due to falling prices. For once, being an integrated manufacturer, as in the case of Tongwei and LONGi, has not helped, as prices have falled across the supply chain, from polysilicon to wafers to cells and modules.  

US Solar Maker Toledo Solar Shuts Shop

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Toledo Solar, a US based firm that aimed to make thin film solar modules similar to market leader First Solar, has shut down. The firm claims that it was unable license certain technology needed to manufacture the Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) panels it was  developing for the residential, commercial and industrial markets it was  targeting. Toledo had been sued by First Solar for reselling old First Solar modules as its own. While that lawsuit was settled eventually, the blow was apparently too much for Toledo Solar to recover from.