China is developing third-generation photovoltaic technology, which may help China-based solar makers circumvent heavy duties imposed by the US, according to He Zuoxiu, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

US renewable-energy subsidies in five states violate free-trade rules, China's Ministry of Commerce said today.

California is poised to more than double its targeted electricity output from rooftop solar panels.

An experimental solar-powered airplane took off from Switzerland on its first transcontinental flight yesterday, aiming to reach North Africa next week.

Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH of Regensburg, Germany has added to its Oslux family with a new LED designed specifically for the camera flash in smartphones, providing a high-quality white light that illuminates the target area.

Coretronic Corporation (5371.TW) today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2012. For the first quarter ended March 31, 2012, Coretronic posted consolidated sales revenue of NT$16,481 million with an operating income of NT$178 million, drop 11% and 75% QoQ respectively. Net income was reported at NT$239 million, drop 41% QoQ.

Spansion's five-year technology roadmap includes 1Gb-8Gb SLC NAND solutions on 4Xnm technology today, 3Xnm technology by end of 2012 and 2Xnm in 2014.

Solar companies Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd and Trina Solar Ltd said their first-quarter margins were squeezed as they set aside money to offset anti-dumping tariffs imposed by the US government on solar panel imports from China.

China should respond forcefully and make every effort to let the United States withdraw the unfair and harsh ruling, so as to avoid a trade war between the two countries in the solar power sector, said Li Junfeng, deputy director of the Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission.

EpiGaN NV, a startup spun out of the IMEC research institute in 2010, has officially opened a production facility for gallium nitride on silicon wafers at the Research Campus in Hasselt, Belgium.

When Barnes & Noble launched a Nook e-reader with an integrated light last month, many speculated that it was only a matter of time before Amazon would release a new front-lit version of its monochrome Kindle e-ink e-reader. Well, according to an unnamed Reuter's source who's allegedly seen a prototype of the product, Amazon is aiming to have that new Kindle in stores by July

A move designed to punish China-based solar panel makers that charge unfairly low prices in the US could, ironically, end up hurting American-based solar panel installers, a fast-growing sector of the green economy.

Loss-making Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics plans to cut 6,000 jobs, about 15% of its workforce, and raise JPY50 billion (US$630 million) through a third-party share allotment, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Tuesday.

When will the stock price of China solar panel makers stop collapsing? When China starts switching to solar power. In other words, unless there are bottom feeders in the market with a long-term bullish outlook on the sector, 2012 promises to be a killer for China solar. Yet, despite US government's anti-dumping charge against them on Friday, industry insiders said at a conference in Shanghai that they were hopeful for a rebound.

Automakers who are dabbling in ambient lighting are preparing to dive into greater use of LED technology as a way to both create a distinctive brand identity inside the vehicle and to meet customer demand, according to automotive suppliers at the WardsAuto Interiors Conference in Dearborn.

According to the latest Quarterly Advanced Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report published by market analysis firm DisplaySearch, 2012 will see significant growth in the shipments of LED-based LCD TVs and 3D-capable HDTV displays. Over the course of this year, there is expected to be a rise in the market share held by LCD TVs equipped with LED backlight technology to 70.1 percent, which is a sizable increase compared to 2011 when the share was only 45.3 percent.

Apple said its North Carolina facility will be powered by a combination of photovoltaic solar energy, green fuel cells and other sources of renewable energy.

China-based solar panel manufacturers are making plans to source components from Taiwan in order to get around US anti-dumping tariffs of at least 31% announced by the Department of Commerce last week.

China unleashed a storm of protest Friday on multiple fronts against the US decision to impose a 31% antidumping tariff on Chinese solar-panel makers and said the action could backfire on US industries.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered Saturday in downtown Taipei to protest government policies ahead of the inauguration of recently re-elected Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou. Participants said they were angry about Ma's economic policies, including his decision - announced after his January re-election - to raise utility prices.

STMicrolectronics has filed a complaint in the Northern District of California alleging that InvenSense infringes nine ST patents.

Samsung Electronics has started producing the industry's first 4Gb, low power double-data-rate 2 (LPDDR2) memory utilising 20nm class technology.

Some nine million pre-orders have already been logged for Samsung's new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, according to the Korea Economic Daily.

ARM CEO Warren East says the notebook space will be a better opportunity for ARM than the crowded mobile chip market will be for Intel.

With a solid cash position, we believe that Micron will be able to win the bid for Elpida and position itself to capitalize the consolidation in the DRAM market.