China's Hanergy Group buys US solar panel maker Miasole

On Wednesday, China's Hanergy Group completed its purchase of Miasole, a California producer of thin-film solar panels. This is the second merger for Hanergy in six months.

Hanergy is one of China's biggest private renewable energy companies dealing in hydroelectric, wind and solar power. And Miasole was one of several U.S. startups that developed thin-film technology, which is more efficient than traditional silicon cells. Hanergy says the technology from the acquisition would greatly enhance its capacity.

Li Hejun, Chairman of Hanergy Group, said, "We'll industrialized the technology, and make it part of the production in China."

In 2012, the U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy ruling against China's PV producers as well as the global economic downturn affected China's PV companies. But experts say the acquisition of foreign producers are beneficial for China's PV industry development.

Mei Xinyu, researcher of Chinese Academy of Int'l Trade & Economic Cooperation, said, "Foreign PV companies are now suffering even bigger difficulties than Chinese ones. Through buying their technology, we can accelerate the upgrade of our own industry, which is beneficial in the long-run."

Hanergy says the adoption of Miasole's technology will enhance the photoelectric conversion rate of China-made thin-film solar cells from 13 percent to over 17 percent by 2014.