China's solar power firms are emerging as the industry's dominant force after the collapse of foreign competitors, but the new market leaders are already struggling with low prices and overcapacity.

The same market forces that doomed Solyndra, the solar cell manufacturer that received $528 million in government loans and then went bankrupt, could imperil other manufacturing ventures that have received loan guarantees from the Energy Department, energy experts warned this week.

A solar cell the size of a stamp. That's all Intel researchers needed to power a computer processor that could hold a tantalizing vision for the low-power chips of the future.

GE has entered the Brazilian solar market with its new agreement signed with MPX, a division of EBX Group.

Phoenix Solar, through its Italian subsidiary Phoenix Solar Srl, has secured several contracts for the supply of solar modules for power plants in Italy.

The Italian network agency, GSE, reports that photovoltaic installations in Italy have reached over 10 gigawatts (GW). Already this year, says the agency, 6.5 GW have been installed.

According to sources, newly installed photovoltaic capacity in Germany hit 1.25 gigawatts (GW) between June and July of this year. As such, there are fears solar incentives will be slashed by 15 percent in January 2012.

Two weeks after Conergy was busy putting out fires surrounding the rumors that it was planning to close its manufacturing plant in Frankfurt, the company has advised that it will be halting production of its wafer and cell manufacturing lines at the German facility.

Solar power from Australian rooftops has become so cheap and efficient that photovoltaic cells now produce electricity for the same price that's charged by the electricity grid.

Science and technology giant EI DuPont de Nemours & Co., announced that it has filed a lawsuit in Delaware against Heraeus Holding GmbH and Heraeus Materials Technology, LLC related to its front-side metallization paste materials used in solar cell technology.

CIGS PV will rapidly penetrate the market for conventional PV panels, BIPV and portable PV, driving growth in demand for indium, according to a recent market report by industry analyst firm NanoMarkets.

Power generated from solar modules in Europe may take until the end of the decade to be competitive vis-?-vis conventional forms of energy, the world's biggest solar association said on Monday, adding that point could be reached sooner in some regions.

The UK's headlong rush into renewable energy - one ignored by the rest of the world - will hit British jobs and then general incomes, an economic study finds.

The solar industry stands at a point that renewable energy advocates have yearned for - and feared.

Although the photovoltaic module market has suffered setbacks this year, Asian manufacturers are keeping the competition on its toes.

Japan's new clean energy bill offers a tantalizing business bonanza and companies are scrambling to find an edge.

The ITS Economy New polycrystalline solar modules from Norwegian company Innotech Solar now have certificates to prove their European origin.

The Chinese government continues to expand its clean energy production plans, to replace increasingly expensive coal power that is shutting down coal plants and causing power shortages of at least 16 GW.

A Silicon Valley maker of solar power arrays that was started with high hopes and $527 million in loans from the federal government said on Wednesday that it would cease operations.

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.