Due to lack of sufficient electricity, there are around 400 million people in India that do not have access to any form of electricity, said a report by Voice of America. This is why the country is in desperate need to develop solar installations. To boost the domestic solar industry, the India government plans to set a percentage of India-made solar products in solar installations, said a report by The Wall Street Journal.According to The Guardian, the US has asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to consult with the India government on its solar program that includes the requirement of using domestic content. The two countries have been in dispute over this issue as US-based firms have been providing 60% of solar cells and panels used in solar power plants in India, according to The Wall Street Journal.India is a country where sunshine is abundant. According to a report by The Times of India, Marathwada, a region in the central state of Maharashtra, has almost 330 sunny days a year. According to the same report, this is why many petrol station owners have been adopting solar panels to generate electricity. In addition, India has a serious problem with load shedding, also known as rolling blackout. In the region of Marathwada, most areas face eight hours of load shedding a day, and in some rural regions, 18 hours a day, said the report. By adopting solar installations, the petrol stations can save costs on diesel generators, the report added.Power shortage is a huge problem in India. Hence the government has been eager to develop the solar market. The government announced the ambitious goal of producing 20,000MW in solar power by 2022 through its national program, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. According to the Wall Street Journal report, the India government said solar power generation capacity will increase more than 10,000MW by March 2017 and by that time, the government will spend close to US$1.1 billion in subsidies.Tata Power, an India-based energy provider, "plans to set up a 28.8MW solar plant near Satara, Maharashtra", said a report from India-based news media, The Hindu. The firm has set a target of generating 26,000MW of electricity from solar energy by 2020, according to the same report.With ambitious goals and ample sunshine hours, India is set to become a big solar market. However, like all the other emerging solar markets, the government is trying to protect and nurture the domestic solar industry. This is bound to limit the access of international firms, and hence may stir up a trade war. But, I think in order for India to reduce reliance on imported energy and to provide uninterrupted access of electricity, protectionism is necessary.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, and Power-One, Inc., a leading provider of renewable energy and of energy-efficient power conversion and power management solutions, recently announced that their boards of directors have agreed to a transaction in which ABB will acquire Power-One for $6.35 per share in cash or $1,028 million equity value.The transaction would position ABB as a leading global supplier of solar inverters - the "intelligence" behind a solar PV system - to a market forecasted by the International Energy Agency to grow by more than 10 percent per year until 2021. This rapid growth is being driven by rising energy demand, especially in emerging markets, rising electricity prices and declining costs."Solar PV is becoming a major force reshaping the future energy mix because it is rapidly closing in on grid parity," said ABB's CEO, Joe Hogan. "Power-One is a well-managed company and is highly regarded as a technology innovator focusing on the most attractive and intelligent solar PV product. The combination of Power-One and ABB is fully in line with our 2015 strategy and would create a global player with the scale to compete successfully and create value for customers, employees and shareholders."Power-One has one of the market's most comprehensive offerings of solar inverters, ranging from residential to utility applications, and a broad global manufacturing footprint. It also has a power solutions portfolio that is adjacent to ABB's power conversion business. Power-One employs almost 3,300 people, mainly in China, Italy, the US and Slovakia. In 2012, it generated $120 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) on sales of approximately $1 billion."This transaction delivers significant value to our shareholders and will enable Power-One to accelerate its growth," said Richard J. Thompson, CEO of Power-One. "Together we can better address the growing worldwide demand for innovative, renewable energy solutions and strengthen our global leadership. I believe ABB is the right partner and now is the ideal time for our companies to join forces."ABB's leading portfolio in power and automation, global footprint and service organization make it a natural player in solar PV. For many years ABB has brought its solutions to the solar PV industry and is on track to generate sales of more than $100 million in solar inverters in 2013. Solar inverters are one of the fastest-developing technologies in power electronics, requiring substantial research and development (R&D) resources. In 2012, ABB invested about $1.5 billion in R&D overall."The combination of these two successful companies will create significant value-driven growth based on innovation - which means inverters offer opportunities for differentiation - global reach, high quality and technology leadership," said Ulrich Spiesshofer, head of ABB's Discrete Automation and Motion division, into which Power-One will be integrated. "The acquisition supports the implementation of the division's strategy for renewable energy and the goal to build on our strength in power electronics."The transaction is structured as a merger and is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval of Power One's shareholders at a special meeting and receipt of customary regulatory approvals. The merger agreement contains certain agreed deal protection mechanisms. Investment funds affiliated with Silver Lake Sumeru have entered into an agreement to vote in favor of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2013. ABB will finance the transaction out of its own funds.Credit Suisse acted as financial advisor to ABB, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP acted as legal advisor. Goldman Sachs & Co. acted as financial advisor to Power-One, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP as legal advisor.ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 145,000 people. In the United States, ABB had revenues of $6.7 billion and its workforce grew to nearly 20,000 employees in 2012.Power-One, Inc. (www.power-one.com) is a leading provider of renewable energy and energy-efficient power conversion and power management solutions and a leading designer and manufacturer of photovoltaic inverters. Its renewable energy products enable the industry's highest yielding conversion of power from solar arrays for use by utilities, commercial enterprises and homes. Power-One has a 40-year history as a leader in high efficiency and high density power supply products for a variety of industries including renewable energy, servers, storage and networking, industrial and network power systems. The company is headquartered in Camarillo, California, and has operations in Asia, Europe, and the Americas spanning sales, manufacturing, and R&D.

Coto Technology, which has been designing and developing small signal switching solutions to the worldwide electronics industry for over 90 years, has announced the availability of its RedRock RS-A-2515 MEMS-based magnetic reed switch. The switch has a footprint of less than 2.5 mm2 (1.125 x 2.185 mm), is 0.95 mm high and Coto claims it is the smallest MEMS-based reed switch available on the market today.Based on its high aspect ratio MEMS design and manufacturing processes, the switch provides all of the advantages of conventional magnetic reed switch technology, including zero power operation and high-power hot switching.The solution targets applications in the medical, military, and industrial markets.The Coto Technology RS-A-2515 MEMS-based magnetic switch is the first of a new Coto Technology switch family. The company noted the MEMS devices exhibits all of the characteristics inherent in classical reed switches. These include closure sensitivity ranges from 5 to 25 millitesla, permitting operation up to 20mm using a small NdFeB magnet. This provides it with the ability to address a wide range of applications. The switch has a release sensitivity less than 15 millitesla (5mT), minimizing the risk of sticking when the magnetic field is removed. The RS-A-2515 has a maximum switching voltage of 100 VDC with a switching current of 50mA DC or 35mA AC, RMS. The zero operating power is a critical advantage in power sensitive applications, particularly those operating with battery power.The RS-A-2515 is available from stock in evaluation quantities at the unit price of US$29.95. Coto also provides an evaluation kit for US$49.95 in single piece quantities.

Analog-intensive, mixed-signal IC design house Silicon Labs has introduced what it claims to be the industry's first single-die antenna-input-to-audio-output digital radio receiver solution developed for the global portable and consumer electronics markets. Leveraging software-defined radio technology, the new monolithic Si468x receiver ICs bring FM, HD Radio and DAB/DAB+ broadcast capabilities to a wide range of audio applications, from price-sensitive clock and tabletop radios to mainstream mini/micro audio systems and CD boom boxes to high-end multimedia devices with displays such as mobile phones, tablets and personal navigation devices.Silicon Labs indicated that digital radio adoption has been slow due in part to the high cost of delivering a high-performance yet power-efficient RF solution for the consumer electronics market. The Si468x family directly addresses the consumer digital radio market, with Silicon Labs stating that its single-die solution reduces system complexity, bill of materials (BOM) count and power consumption without compromising RF performance.The Si468x receivers support auto-calibrated digital tuning and FM seek functionality based on multiple signal quality and band parameters and provide flexible audio processing features including noise blanking, configurable FM soft mute, FM de-emphasis and FM hi-cut filtering. In addition, Silicon Labs stated that its low-IF digital receiver architecture helps the Si468x family deliver better RF performance compared to existing consumer-grade digital radio solutions.The Si468x family's wafer-level chip-scale package (WLCSP) option also supports very compact designs, enabling a complete digital radio receiver system with only 12 external components to be implemented in less than 100 square millimeters.The Si468x receivers are engineered with small form factor designs in mind. By integrating the RF tuner and baseband functions on a single die, the Si468x family avoids radio self-interference and helps streamline system design, validation and testing. The company added that the devices offers the smallest footprint and lowest power consumption of any digital radio solution on the market (less than 60 mW in analog FM mode and less than 95 mW in HD Radio and DAB/DAB+ modes).The Si468x receivers support worldwide analog FM radio reception and incorporate an integrated decoder for the European Radio Data System (RDS) and North American Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) standards including required symbol decoding, block synchronization, error detection and error correction functions. The Si468x receiver family is compatible with the European Eureka 147 DAB and DAB+ standards and is designed to be fully compliant with the United Kingdom's minimum specifications for DAB and DAB+ personal and domestic digital radio receivers.Samples and production quantities of the Si468x digital radio receivers are available in two package options: a 7 mm x 7 mm 48-pin QFN package and a 3.2x3.8mm WLCSP package. Pricing for the Si468x receiver family begins at US$5.62 in 10,000-unit quantities. Silicon Labs also offers evaluation kits priced at US$550.00.

There has been debate over whether the cost of using renewable energy sources is too high. According to a March 23 article from USA Today, people in Germany will have to pay 11% more for their electricity in 2013 compared to 2012 because of the government's subsidy programs for renewable energy. For countries that have financial difficulties, finding money to fund renewable energy programs may be less important than finding the money to pay for public benefits or infrastructure construction.Countries hope to increase solar installations to reduce reliance on generating electricity using coal or nuclear, and to reduce carbon emissions. Big carbon emitter countries, such as China, have introduced solar subsidy programs in hope to stimulate installations. However, what if carbon emissions fall in a country not because of increasing solar installation, but because of a slower economy? What will happen to solar demand in that country?According to a report by Bloomberg Business on March 28, Europe's carbon emission market is crashing. The European Union Emissions Trading System is the biggest carbon market in the world, according to the report, and the price tag of a ton of carbon emission has dropped from EUR31 (US$40) since the beginning of the trading system to EUR4.15/ton on March 22, 2013, said the report. The falling prices of carbon emissions are due to a slower economy causing lower emissions.This means firms no longer need to buy carbon emission permits. This is good news for the world as the air is fresher and global warming may ease a little. But with lower carbon emissions, the motivation for people to install and switch to solar power is weak. If people can maintain the current lifestyle without making changes, people will be reluctant to change.According to IHS, a market research firm, solar demand in Europe is likely to account for 32% of the global market in 2013, a significant drop from 57% in 2012.

Memory chipmakers as well as module firms are in a favorable and more profitable position in the second quarter of 2013, as prices for DRAM and NAND flash chips continue to strengthen.Early April contract prices for 4GB DDR3 modules went up 8-10% to US$25-26, with corresponding 4Gb chips quoted between US$2.80 and US$2.95, a recent Chinese-language Commercial Times report cited sources at module makers as disclosing. Meanwhile, prices for 2GB parts topped US$15 with average prices for 2Gb chips arriving at US$1.50, according to the report.Contract prices for NAND flash memory also saw a substantial rally during the same period, including those for higher density solutions, the report indicated. Prices for mainstream 32Gb MLC chips rose 5-12% in the first half of April, while those for 128Gb ones increased by 2-9%, the report said.As peak season approaches, prices for DRAM and NAND flash chips are expected to edge higher later in the second quarter of 2013. Companies including those that had losses in their most-recent quarter will benefit from the continued price increases.Chip firms including Nanya Technology, Winbond Electronics and Inotera Memories stand a good chance of swinging to quarterly profits sometime in 2013, market watchers were quoted in previous reports as saying. Meanwhile, module firms such as Adata Technology and Transcend Information, as well as fabless designers Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology (ESMT) and Etron Technology, are set to make bigger profits, the watchers also believe.

Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Samsung Electronics' local branch over allegations concerning an advertising campaign to smear its rival HTC, according the Taiwan's state-run Central News Agency (CNA). If the allegations are found to be true, Samsung could be fined up to NT$25 million (US$835,000), CNA cited the FTC officials as indicating.In response, Samsung Taiwan said it had not been informed about the investigation. However, the Taiwan branch put a statement on its local Facebook page saying that it has stopped online marketing activities associated with its online comments forums, until all work complies with the company's principles of honesty and transparency.Also in the statement, Samsung Taiwan claimed that it appreciates online product reviews and does not intend to influence user ratings.Samsung allegedly hired local students to write and post negative comments about HTC devices, according to various reports from Taiwan's Chinese-language media.A screenshot Samsung Taiwan's statement on its Facebook page in the wake of the FTC probe

Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) is a state-owned electric power utility providing electricity to Taiwan and its other islands. According to Wikipedia (English and Chinese), in 1994 a measure was adopted to allow independent power producers (IPPs) to provide up to 20% of Taiwan's electricity. The electricity provided by the IPPs is then purchased by Taipower. Up to the end of 2010, Taipower has 11 hydro-electric power plants, 11 fossil-fuel power plants, three nuclear power plants and a total electricity generation of 40,810,000kw.The company has been plagued by controversies for years, but the biggest ever has been the ongoing debate whether Taipower's fourth nuclear power plant (Nuke 4) project - now almost complete - in Taiwan should continue. According to the Control Yuan - Taiwan's highest government watchdog body - Taipower has been censured many times for such issues as allowing outsourced firms to provide substandard products for the new nuclear power plant, delayed construction, and misuse of funds.In 2003, the Control Yuan censured Taipower twice over the construction of Nuke 4. According to the Control Yuan website, on January 10, 2003, Taiwan-based China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSBC) and Taipower, the two companies responsible for the procurement of the base for a reactor unit at Nuke 4 were censured due to failing to monitor their contractors who used substanard products. This resulted in cracks in the first welding layer, affecting the quality and safety of the reactor unit.Taipower is rebuilding a dock around Nuke 4. For the dock construction, the Control Yuan on September 16, 2003 faulted Taipower for failing to gather scientific figures while compiling an environmental impact evaluation report.On June 8, 2011, Taipower was censured again for ignoring the safety of Nuke 4 by changing thousands of items in the original design. Taipower was also censured because it did not monitor and test the power lines, delaying the commission date.On July 19, 2011, Taipower was censured for the concrete procurement for Nuke 4. Taipower failed to procure the required concrete due to a shortage. Taipower further twisted the law governing the bidding process for the project.On August 8, 2012, Taipower was censured for not following the "Nuke 4 Construction Quality Guarantee" guidelines, resulting in flooding at various locations in the plant during a test run.On March 20, 2012, Taipower was censured for not having a general contractor for the entire Nuke 4 project. Poor coordination meant 835 additional procurement caes, spiking up service charges. In addition, some equipment procured did not meet the requirements and standards.On January 15, 2013, Taipower was censured for numerous flaws in the procurement and installation process of the bendable metallic conduits. Some conduits were installed at the wrong spots and the supplier does not guarantee the products meet the safety requirements for a nuclear power plant.These are just the cases that the Control Yuan have dealt with regarding Nuke 4. There are more cases regarding Nuke 1, 2, 3, and other power generation plants owned by Taipower. Seriously, who can guarantee the safety of the four nuclear power plants in Taiwan?Fourth nuclear power plant (Nuke 4) of TaiwanPhoto: Jackie Chang, Digitimes, April 2013

While market outlets pay close attention to Samsung Electronics' rise and Intel's entry - both a threat to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Globalfoundries has quietly been making strong progress in manufacturing technologies and capabilities.Globalfoundries was named by IC Insights a top performer in the 2012 semiconductor industry, along with fabless chip giant Qualcomm. According to the research firm in its new report, Globalfoundries enjoyed a 31% revenue increase in 2012, driven by "its success in attracting new IC foundry customers (e.g., STMicroelectronics, Freescale, Qualcomm, etc.)."Globalfoundries recently reached a deal to buy more than 1,000 sets of production equipment installed at the 12-inch wafer fab of Taiwan-based ProMOS Technologies - a DRAM maker looking to go fabless. ProMOS also disclosed that they are in talks to transfer the whole 12-inch plant as well as the existing employees stationed at the facility, raising speculation that the US foundry might have Taiwan a base for regional operations.A number of fabless companies specializing in IC parts, such as application processors, panel driver ICs, touchscreen controllers and consumer IC solutions, are headquartered in Taiwan. It is already being rumored that Globalfoundries has landed 28nm chip orders from MediaTek, which contracts TSMC and UMC to manufacture its smartphone solutions.In addition, Globalfoundries has laid out a roadmap for 2014 that includes 3D FinFET transistors at the 14nm process - a move to keep up with TSMC and also technology leader Intel.Globalfoundries in a June 2012 Digitimes report said that it would unseat UMC as the world's second-largest pure-play semiconductor foundry in 2012, and aims for global leadership position among contract chipmakers, and the first goal already achieved.

Google's attempt to induce the next wave of display technology is charming, but in my opinion is bound to fail. That is a heavy statement right off the bat and I am generally optimistic about Google's endeavors, but I have not been able to stop laughing since I have seen the ads of people sporting the glasses, and wish that I could consult Google on choosing its product development strategies.The technology reminds me of when TV vendors were starting to promote 3D TVs. Remember all those ads (which still exist) featuring a family sitting on their couch wearing big goofy glasses while appearing to look giddy and excited? Those glasses were mocked by everyone and probably everything under the sun, and until now have not helped TV vendors bump up their value-added features for their products. Likewise, Google Glass is unlikely to make an impact on the display world as well as the company's display product line, as few people are going to actually want to wear the glasses (at least in public) because they will probably realize that looking into a tiny apparatus placed above their eyes is more uncomfortable than it is useful.The glasses are designed so that you have to look up to view whatever information you are seeking. I am guessing Google did this in order to avoid blocking peoples' vision (smart thinking), but having to constantly look upwards with my eyes personally gives me a headache and probably will not be any safer than being able to view a smartphone or tablet at eye level while doing other tasks such as walking down the sidewalk without bumping into people.Also, I do not know about you, but I do not care to look like Cyclops from X-Men. Now, do not get me wrong, Cyclops is a pretty cool guy, but unless the glasses can beam energy and knock out evil villains, I am not sure that wearing another accessory on my face is necessary instead of having a smartphone in my pocket. Also, in terms of glasses wearers it could be that Google will provide some sort of magnifying glass-type looking device that clips onto a person's spectacles, but that would be more suitable for a biologist observing cell development in a petri dish in my opinion.However, if Google were to make Google Contact Lens that would allow me to watch movies at work without anyone visibly noticing the content being played and giving people the impression that I am immersed into my computer screen, well then that would be fantastic.