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sales and earnings for projects currently under way," Roth & Rau has cut expectations for the second half of 2011 and withdrawn its forecast guidance for the year.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.

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) will, for the first time, bring together industry leaders and the financial community for a Photovoltaic Investors Day on September 6.

Renewable Energy Corporation, one of the world's biggest makers of solar power equipment, said the worst was over for the solar industry after a sharp drop in prices this year resulted in heavy second-quarter losses for the Norwegian group.

China-based solar equipment maker LDK Solar Co Ltd said on Monday the chairman of its audit committee had resigned, and its shares fell to their lowest level in a year.

Silicon Valley is one of the world's cleantech big-idea centers but so far it's been Chinese manufacturers -- not valley entrepreneurs -- who are dominating the global solar industry. The Chinese are winning by driving down production costs through incremental innovation, said Zhengrong Shi, founder and CEO of China-based Suntech Power, the world's largest producer of solar panels.

The Italian utility network authority has published a list of the photovoltaic installations that qualify for governmental solar subsidies this year. However, the prerequisite is that they are connected to the grid in time.

While estimates of how many jobs are being created in "green industries" are never easy, a report by nonprofit research institution Brookings has found that 2.7 million workers are now employed in industries that also benefit the environment, such as photovoltaics.

Chinese manufactures of photovoltaic crystalline silicon cells and modules, China Sunergy, has opened its U.S. headquarters in San Francisco.

On July 13, 2011, Solar Frontier K.K. (Tokyo, Japan) announced that it has begun shipping 150 watt copper indium selenium (CIS) solar photovoltaic (PV) modules from its Kunitomi Plant in Japan.

Everybody has been copying Groupon, so why not the solar power folks? San Francisco officials are rolling out a first-in-the-nation program today where commercial building owners can participate in group purchasing for discounted solar power.

There are two key goals for any solar energy equipment makers: converting a greater percentage of the sunlight into electricity and cutting production costs. Suntech Power, which is the world's top solar cell and panel maker, has launched two solar panels built with technologies that can do both, the company said Tuesday.

MIT researchers have shown how solar panels can be printed on paper and other cheap materials, opening a range of possibilities including homes with solar-panel window shades or wallpaper.

The Indian state of Karnataka has published its updated solar policy, which includes a target for 350MW of solar projects by 2016. The Government will allocate 40MW worth of projects for direct sale to the different distribution companies in the state, commonly known as ESCOMS, up to the amount of 200MW. A total of 50MW of bundled solar thermal power will be allotted to state-owned utilities for development. The split between photovoltaic and concentrated solar power (CSP) has not yet been defined.

Tata BP Solar India Ltd, a joint venture of Tata Power and BP Solar, has installed and commissioned a megawatt scale solar power plant under the Rooftop and Other Small Solar Power Generation Plant scheme administered by IREDA under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) for the first time in the country. The plant is coming up in Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu.

Phase II of Geosolar's workshop has gone into production. The potential for over 200 new jobs has been created and an extra 180 megawatts (MW) of annual production capacity added.

Investor concern among Italian and foreign photovoltaic operators is said to be running high after rumors emerged that the government would further cut incentives. Despite assurances to the contrary, GIFI says the industry is panicked.

Satcon Technology has released preliminary unaudited results for revenue and gross margin for the second quarter of 2011, which show that the company has revised its gross margin for the quarter downwards from 17-20% to within the 7-11% range. Revenue for the quarter, previously forecasted at between US$50 and US$60 million, now looks set to come in at between US$45 and US$47 million.

Drops in solar cell prices and surging interest in developing nations led to a 32% increase in investments in renewable energy globally in 2010, a United Nations report finds.

Scheuten Solar has realized nearly 20 megawatts worth of photovoltaic projects in the first half of the year, in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.

Q-Cells' North American subsidiary is gearing up to start work on the last ten megawatt (MW) AC phase of Starwood Energy Group Global's 60 MW photovoltaic project in Ontario.

Arista Power, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of wind turbines, renewable energy power storage and management systems, and a supplier of solar energy systems, announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Helios Solar Works, a manufacturer of high-performance, mono-crystalline solar modules for solar electric systems.

Trading company giant Mitsui & Co. plans to build huge solar power plants in the Tohoku region to help the region recover from the March 11 disaster by easing its power shortages, it was learned Wednesday.

The president of the Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. said Monday it will localize more of its solar panel production outside the country, as the strong yen makes exports too expensive while fast-growing Chinese makers create a global inventory glut.

Having 8 facilities within the Tokyo Electric Power Company and Tohoku Electric Power Co service areas, Kyocera has increased the size of the rooftop solar power system at its Tanagura manufacturing plant in Fukushima Prefecture, to meet energy reduction targets of 15%, due to the power consumption regulations dictated after the Fukushima nuclear power disaster.

Leader of the UK's opposition party, Ed Miliband, has challenged the government's decision to slash the country's photovoltaic feed-in tariffs (FITs) for systems over 50 kilowatts in size.

Tough market conditions have forced polysilicon producer Daqo to lower its second-quarter financial outlook for revenue and shipments. The move came after Daqo was hit hard by weak demand and declining prices for its products

After declining for two consecutive quarters, rapidly falling PV module price is a key factor in strong recovery of PV module shipments and re-establishing demand in 2H 11, as per the latest report from IMS Research.