China-based Suntech Power Holdings Co.,the world's largest solar-panel manufacturer by output, surprised analysts by announcing that its founder would step down as chief executive, and naming as his successor a non-Chinese national who joined the company only last year.

The state government has launched a plan to boost the lift irrigation projects in the state wherein it will install solar panels on irrigation canals to generate power.

Cash-strapped Sharp is in talks to sell its key solar panel plant in Japan as part of an asset sale seeking more than US$1.2 billion, local media said on Thursday.

As solar panel prices continue to tumble, China-based solar companies are struggling with heavy debt loads, fueling expectations that many will be forced to seek new infusions of funds through takeovers or mergers.

The Ontario Minister of Energy has issued a directive to the Ontario Power Authority to finalize the details for the rules and contracts for the FiT 2.0 and microFiT 2.0 programs.

Hanwha Chemical Corp., a key affiliate of Hanwha Group, is currently in the final stage of capping the acquisition deal of Germany's Q-Cells SE, once the world's No. 1 holder of the global solar-cell and module market share, industry sources said.

After a couple of particularly challenging months for the company, Suntech has announced it has delivered more than 1GW of solar panels to customers throughout North and South America as of the end of July.

Module manufacturer, aleo solar said it experienced weaker demand and continued price erosion in the first-half of the year due to changes in the German FIT and continued price erosion.

The latest installation figures from the German Federal Network Agency show that the country's mid-year subsidy change for rooftop installations has caused a surge in solar demand for the first half of 2012, with more than 4.3GW installed in a period of just six months.

A scheduled workers' protest at China's four largest solar panel companies against the filing of an anti-dumping complaint in the European Union was called off Thursday morning.

A reactor at South Korea's Younggwang nuclear power complex automatically shut down Monday afternoon after detecting signs of malfunctioning, an official at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., or KHNP, said Tuesday.

In an ironic scenario, just as India marked its 1GW milestone for solar photovoltaic installations, the nation was left "powerless" for two days in a row.

First Solar Inc. chairman Mike Ahearn has found the best way to make money from photovoltaics is to sell whole power plants to Warren Buffett and NextEra Energy Inc. instead of competing with China on panel sales.

Suntech Power Holdings, the world's biggest solar panel maker, said it may have been the victim of a fraud involving a EUR554.2 million (US$680 million) financing guarantee it extended in 2010.

China-based solar panel manufacturers have urged Beijing to respond to a threat of European anti-dumping restrictions.