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According to a TrendForce Photovoltaic analyst’s understanding, financially struggling Sharp might not be withdrawing from the solar business after all.
Last week a Nikkei report claimed Sharp would be shutting down LED factories as part of its electronic component business restructure plan, and was quitting the money-losing solar business. But Sharp has refuted these claims in a Reuters report today, stating it has no plans of exiting the solar business or LED residential lighting business.
So what is Sharp’s grand strategy?
“Sharp is actually transiting into an integrated smart energy solutions provider,” said Angus Kao, Analyst of EnergyTrend. “At this stage, specifically for the residential sector.”
There have been telltale signs that Sharp is in the process of transiting its business model from a solar module and component maker into an integrated smart energy solutions provider, observed Kao.
The first obvious hint was the company renamed its “Solar System Solutions Division” to “Energy System Solutions Division”, said Kao. Another indicator was the company featured smart home energy solutions at PV Expo 2015, which ran from February 25 to 27 at Tokyo Big Sight in Japan. “This is a significant move from the company’s past displays at the show, which mostly featured solar panels and module products,” said Kao.
In the future, Sharp will also integrate energy storage and li-battery businesses, he added.
(This article is shared from LEDinside.)