A new report shows that China, considered the looming threat for competitors in the renewable energy business, may not stand a chance against the booming American solar sector.

The global solar cell market is projected to expand to 13.31 trillion yen in 2030, up about 290% from 2010, research firm Fuji Keizai Co. said Tuesday.

The solar-equipment industry has begun its biggest consolidation in at least two years as photovoltaic systems plunge in price, forcing weaker companies to team with competitors or close shop.

Deutsche Bank has provided financing for two major PV projects in southern Europe. The bank's Asset Finance & Leasing (AFL) division help fund the construction of SAG Solarstrom's 48MW plant in Canaro, Italy and arranged the debt financing required for InfraClass Energie 5 to buy a 15.3MW system in Toledo, Spain.

Global Solar Energy Inc, which makes copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic cells and modules at its 40MW-capacity plant in Tucson, AZ, USA, has commissioned its new production facility in Berlin-Adlershof, Germany.

Solar generators may produce the majority of the world's power within 50 years, slashing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment, according to a projection by the International Energy Agency.

China is targeting 3 gigawatts (GW) of roof-mounted solar power generating capacity by 2015 and 25GW by 2020, the China Securities Journal reported on Monday, citing a government renewable energy development plan that is likely to be unveiled soon.

Wracked by debt but blessed with abundant sunshine, Greece plans to develop some 20,000 hectares of solar power parks in a bid to export renewable energy to Germany, a report said on Saturday.

Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited floats RFP for 80 Mw hybrid solar power projects.

A study sponsored by the solar power industry has concluded that the United States ran a trade surplus of $1.88 billion in solar technologies last year, as exports of raw material and factory equipment for the solar sector outpaced imports of finished solar panels.

Schott Solar advised that it had achieved 20.2% efficiency on its monocrystalline screen-printed solar PV cell; a feat that was confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).

Japan approved a bill today to subsidize electricity from renewable sources, joining European nations in shifting away from nuclear power after the Fukushima reactor meltdowns in March.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Wednesday placed its noninvestment-grade "B+" corporate credit rating for LDK Solar Co. Ltd. under review for possible downgrade after the Chinese solar products company cut its financial outlooks for the second quarter and the full year.

IKEA's San Diego, California store has officially commenced operation of its 252kW rooftop solar power system; the tenth solar installation the company has completed at its stores nationwide.

A roof-mounted solar panel announced by Ford in the US this week could help to drive electric versions of its Focus small car up to 1600 kilometres a month for free.

First Solar has officially opened its new factory in Mesa, Arizona at a ceremony on Friday morning. Module production at Mesa is expected to begin by Q3 2012 and will employ approximately 600 full-time staff.

SoloPower has received a $197m loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for the construction and operation of three solar module manufacturing facilities.

Germany-based Solar Millennium AG said in a statement released last week that it has changed its plans for the proposed 1GW Blythe solar farm in California, and will install the first 500MW of the facility using PV panels.

When it comes renewable energy solutions, sometimes nature has the best ideas. That was 13-year-old Aidan Dwyer's conclusion after a wintry hike in New York's Catskill Mountains, a trip that inspired him to build a unique and effective solar array design.

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. has signed an agreement to supply approximately 21MW of solar products to Huanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd. by September 2011.

Shares of solar energy technology provider First Solar (FSLR) are down $5.55, or 5%,at $98.91 this morning after the company last night announced its former chief financial officer, Jens Meyerhoff, currently head of its division that sells projects to utilities, will leave the company at the end of September.

Schott Solar has received a PV module order to supply a pair of projects in Thailand with a cumulative capacity of 16.9MWp. The 9.7MW and 6.2MW sites, located north of Bangkok, are being built by Phoenix Solar Singapore and are scheduled to be completed and activated by the end of the year.

Flying in the face of the shaky market conditions seen in the first half of 2011, Chinese photovoltaic product manufacturer JinkoSolar has bucked the trend to post positive second quarter 2011 results.

Silex Systems is to close the only Australian manufacturing facility of solar cells for PV panels, saying it can no longer compete with imported cells, and cannot afford the continued investment given the uncertainty of clean energy policy in NSW and the rest of Australia.

Silver prices have been bad news for photovoltaics of late. Their continuing spike is causing ripples across the photovoltaic manufacturing industry as it forces companies to find cost-effective solutions to the super-conductive metal or face losses.

Only hours after PV-Tech reported that Evergreen Solar had said it was in detailed and time-consuming negotiations with holders of its 13% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2015, which had caused the company to delay quarterly SEC filings, the company has said it has filed for voluntarily bankruptcy, under US Chapter 11 bankruptcy codes.

The European Union has launched a legal challenge against Canada at the World Trade Organization to protest against provincial backing for solar and wind energy projects, the bloc's executive said on Thursday.