According to reports, Iraq plans to channel US$1.6 billion over the next three years into solar and wind power, with the aim of adding 400MW to the national grid.

Debt-laden JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd said it received a warning from the Nasdaq that it could be delisted, making it the second solar company in less than a month to be put on notice by an exchange for failing to meet minimum share-price requirements.

Solyndra, the bankrupt solar- panel maker that received a US$535 million US government loan guarantee, accused Suntech Power Holdings and other China-based panel makers of driving it out of business by running an illegal cartel.

Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd interim CFO has resigned from her post. Anlin Ting-Mason will stay on as CFO of Suntech America, however.

The US on Wednesday slapped steep final duties on billions of dollars of solar energy products from China, but turned down a request from lawmakers and US manufacturers to expand the scope of its order.

China demanded Thursday that Washington repeal steep tariffs on solar panels that China-based producers fear will shut their equipment out of the American market.

Sharp is widening the scope of its restructuring, from televisions - a business increasingly consigned to Japanese manufacturing's past - to an area that the company hopes will play a big part in its future: solar energy.

EU ProSun, headed by SolarWorld AG, has filed a second official complaint to the European Commission, this time accusing China-based solar manufacturers of receiving illegal subsidies.

The Delhi environment department has identified 25 government schools and 10 government hospitals that will get independent solar power systems.

A tiny solar company named SoloPower will flip the switch on production at a US.= factory Thursday, a major step toward allowing it to tap a US$197 million government loan guarantee awarded under the same controversial program that supported failed panel maker Solyndra.

Total second-quarter shipments at the top 17 solar-module manufacturers rebounded 21% on quarter to 4.4GW following declines of 20% in the first quarter -- with Yingli Green Energy jumping to the top of the charts year-to-date.

At midnight, registration for Italy's first photovoltaic register under the Conto Energia V expired. GSE is scheduled to publish the list of projects eligible for a feed-in tariff (FIT) in October.

To further develop photovoltaic power in France, the new French government has recommended a change from the current feed-in tariff (FIT) system, available for systems up to 100 kWp, to an auction system.

India may launch an anti-dumping investigation against solar panels made in China, after the US and Europe launched similar probes, the Guangzhou Daily reported on Monday.

The European Commission's anti-dumping investigation of China's solar panel products harms the development of alternative energy, said the head of the China-based solar company involved in the case.

First Solar Inc. CEO Jim Hughes is stepping up efforts to manage power plants that generate electricity from the sun, helping utilities use the technology in a way his rivals in China can't.