China has condemned the US move to impose sky-high anti-dumping duties on solar imports, saying the action would strain the trade relations between the countries further.

Plans for a 1km (3,280ft) inflatable solar chimney have been outlined by a leading balloon specialist.

A Wuxi court has approved Shunfeng Photovoltiac International's purchase of Suntech Power's manufacturing arm, taking the protracted saga closer to conclusion.

The recently inaugurated Gujarat Solar Park was developed in less than two years with the co-operation of 21 international companies.

The solar power industry has continued to forge ahead in Northwest China's Qinghai province since it topped the list of the province's top 10 major industries in 2010.

Having scrapped import duties on solar systems, Pakistan could be become a highly viable emerging market for photovoltaics, due to its high insolation values and growing energy demands.

US renewable-energy subsidies in five states violate free-trade rules, China's Ministry of Commerce said today.

An experimental solar-powered airplane took off from Switzerland on its first transcontinental flight yesterday, aiming to reach North Africa next week.

China unleashed a storm of protest Friday on multiple fronts against the US decision to impose a 31% antidumping tariff on Chinese solar-panel makers and said the action could backfire on US industries.

The US yesterday imposed tariffs of as much as 250% on Chinese-made solar cells to aid domestic manufacturers beset by foreign competition, though critics said the decision may end up raising prices and hurting the US renewable energy industry.

Saudi Arabia is seeking investors for a $109 billion plan to create a solar industry that generates a third of the nation's electricity by 2032, according to officials at the agency developing the plan.

Despite strong opposition from environmentalists, the state Assembly on Thursday approved controversial legislation that allows a solar energy developer to bypass local agencies in seeking to build a large-scale power plant in a valley that is home to desert tortoises, golden eagles and bighorn sheep.

NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) posted a smaller first-quarter loss despite weak demand amid warm weather, but the company plans to see revenue growth this summer as prices rise.

A shakeout that is rattling the solar panel industry has sent First Solar, once among the industry's biggest and strongest companies, to a wide quarterly loss.

LDK Solar Co. (LDK), the world's second- largest maker of wafers for cells, cut 5,554 jobs this year after plunging prices cut margins to a record low amid a renewable-energy shakeout that's pushed at least eight solar companies into bankruptcy and prompted thousands of industry firings.

The San Mateo, Calif., company said it filed confidential draft registration documents last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was unclear when the company planned to file public registration documents and when it plans to go public.

Solar panel installations have fallen by almost 90% in the weeks since the government halved cut the subsidy available, according to Department of Energy and Climate Change figures.

The National Solar Mission, which aims to install 20,000 MW capacity of solar energy by 2020, has commissioned 89% of its allotted capacity in its first stage, government officials said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's effort to create jobs in renewable energy is faltering as subsidy cuts and competition from Chinese manufacturers forces the industry to stop hiring for the first time in eight years.

NRG Energy, First Solar and MidAmerican Solar representatives gathered to connect the first 100MW of the 290MW Agua Caliente Solar Project to the grid. The project is owned by NRG Energy and MidAmerican, while operator First Solar designed and constructed the plant in Yuma County, Arizona, using thin-film modules.

South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Corp. and ESB Novusmodus LP, a fund backed by Irish state utility Electricity Supply Board, led a $15.5 million Series B investment in closely held TenKsolar Inc.

German solar installations may have more than tripled in the first quarter from a year ago, the country's deputy environment minister said.

Some domestic solar manufacturers praised the recent import levy as a victory for job creation, but an analysis of the industry suggests the duty may actually be a job killer.

A Japanese government panel is likely to recommend utilities pay 42 yen (51 cents) per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for solar power supplies in a feed-in tariff scheme, in line with requests by the solar power industry, the Nikkei business daily said

A DWP pilot program will let solar power producers reduce their bills and sell excess energy, but some say they're worried the new system will be plagued by the same problems as an older system.