Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG (CTN), a German maker of production equipment for the solar industry, rose the most in almost three years, buoyed by surging sales in Asia.

Despite a significant increase in sales in the second quarter of 2011, Q-Cells has warned that losses reached ??95.8 million in the first half of the year, due to price declines, inventory write-offs and other one time issues.

Monday's announcement that China is to introduce a national photovoltaic feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme was received well by many in the industry, however analyst opinion is that the Chinese tier-one manufacturers stand to gain the most.

Not be outdone by rivals such as Yingli Green in the utility-scale PV power plant business in China, Trina Solar has secured a 30MW module supply agreement with Huanghe Hydropower Development Co. Huanghe Hydropower is planning two ground-mounted solar projects in China's Qinghai Province, of which delivery is expected to start from August and continue through October of this year.

Having cited weaker-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of 2011, due in part to the halt in PV installations in the key Italian market , Trina Solar has revised its second-quarter guidance, which points to the demand issues in Italy for the company's lower sales expectations.

Photovoltaic cells are best known for turning sunlight into electrical power - and they're big business. But did you know that there's a type of PV cell that eats heat instead of light to make power? It could replace the Li-ion battery in your cell phone, and it may also be used to scavenge waste heat from almost anything that normally dumps it into the environment, from your TV's electronics to your car's engine (even an electrical one).

Solar investors should brace themselves for some downright dreadful second-quarter earnings reports in the coming weeks, though the rest of the year may provide some relief to battered solar stocks as panel prices stabilize and profit margins recover.

Despite the first-half slump in PV installations and significant inventory build across the PV supply chain, leading polysilicon producer Hemlock Semiconductor would seem to be riding its 50th year in business in style, as Dow Corning management noted that the polysilicon JV arm had remained ?嚙編old-out' in the first half of the year and the situation would remain the same for sometime.

Japanese thin-film manufacturer Solar Frontier has announced today that it's new 900 megawatt (MW) CIS thin-film factory has reached full commercial operation, with all production lines open. At full capacity and in combination with the two existing plants, the new facility brings Solar Frontier's annual capacity to around one gigawatt (GW).

China's strategic development of new energy resources over the next five years will focus on four sectors -- nuclear, wind, solar and biomass power, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday, citing unidentified officials.

In another sign of trouble in the PV capital equipment sector, Veeco has decided to exit the CIGS solar systems business. Announced as part of the company's second-quarter financials, the move results in a combined negative impact and backlog removal of approximately $71 million on its Q2 GAAP results.

Q-Cells SE, once the world's largest solar cell maker, said it's spending 17 million euros ($25 million) to expand output of higher-priced modules as a way to diversify away from its main products.

In what may come as a surprise to some, BP Solar has revealed its intention to apply the brakes to its distribution network and module expertise in order to concentrate on project development. In a statement sent to its partners, the company explained that it had made the strategic decision in order to profitably grow over the long term.

LDK Solar Co., Ltd., a vertically integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) products, today announced that its PV Module Lab located in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China, has officially taken part in Intertek Group's Satellite Program.

Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) said its second-quarter shipments will beat its earlier expectations, but gross margins are expected at the lower end of its guidance.

The prices of solar panels are falling fast, and that's putting enormous pressure on manufacturers to cut costs and improve the amount of power solar cells can convert from sunlight.

DuPont announced on Monday that it has bought Innovalight, a Silicon Valley startup that makes silicon ink that solar-cell makers can use to improve the amount of electricity that the cells can squeeze out of sunlight. DuPont declined to disclose the purchase price.

Ten years to the day that Q-Cells manufactured its first solar cell, the company has revealed that it is independently launching production of its Q.Peak high-performance module at its Solar Valley Thalheim headquarters.

SunPower has updated its expected fiscal second-quarter financial results, joining a growing number of PV manufacturers adjusting to weaker-than-expected demand in the second quarter of 2011.

The Bosch Group has inaugurated its new EUR530 million photovoltaics competence center in Arnstadt, Germany. The facility includes the company's solar energy division headquarters as well as R&D, PV cell and module production, and a training center under one roof. Together with an adjacent ingot and wafer manufacturing plant, Bosch covers all the steps in the crystalline-silicon value chain at this location.

As Japan rethinks its dependence on nuclear energy in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident, Sharp Corp. is out front in the discussion over what's next.

Citing the "deterioration in the overall industry climate as well as delays in the recognition of sales and earnings for projects currently under way," Roth & Rau has cut expectations for the second half of 2011 and withdrawn its forecast guidance for the year. "Given the reduction in demand for solar modules," the company stated, "some customers have reviewed their investment projects intended to expand their production capacities and postponed the agreed delivery dates."

BP Solar is closing its U.S. manufacturing facility and will refocus is business on developing solar power projects rather than making panels for them, a company spokesman said on Thursday.

According to a report soon to be published in Solar Energy, the official journal of the International Solar Energy Society, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on roofs are also doing a surprisingly good, if unexpected, job of keeping houses and buildings cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Solar energy is gaining fans in homeowners who aren't just tree huggers - they're penny pinchers.

A $1.2 billion write-down by solar equipment maker REC on Tuesday highlighted the pain being inflicted by aggressive Chinese competition and may herald wider consolidation in the sector and flattening of prices.

Solar panels on building roofs don't just provide clean energy they also cool the building, according to researchers at the University of California San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

Suppliers of photovoltaic modules have suffered from gross margins falling by more than 25 percent this year. That's according to IMS Research, which said there's a tough price war in the industry with supplier not able to cut costs as much as prices, so eroding the margins.