SunEdison and Gyeongsangnam-do (GSND), a provincial government in southeastern Korea, have announced the execution of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of 400 megawatts (MW) of solar power plants in the Korean province. The projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

The 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition / 5th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (25th EU PVSEC / WCPEC-5) closed its doors last Friday after five days in Valencia, Spain.

Hong Kong-based Wellkey Solar Technology Co. Ltd has signed an agreement with the Sanshui Government of Foshan City, Guangdong Province, China to set up its photovoltaics (PV) module production line in LePing High Tech Industrial Zone, located near Guangzhou Airport. The company has said it plans to reach one gigawatt (GW) of annual module production capacity by 2015.

Underwriters Laboratories (UL), has opened a testing and certification facility for photovoltaic (PV) equipment in Ise City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. It added that it has plans to open a further facility in India.

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd., has signed a financial partnership agreement with the Shanghai branch of China Development Bank (CDB) in China, for up to RMB30 billion (around USD$4.4 billion, €3.5 billion) of credit facilities and financing.

One of Europe’s largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants is set to be built in the Puglia region of Italy. The 48-megawatt (MW) park will reportedly consist of 600,000 solar panels spread across 250 acres.

Thin film solar module producer, Trony Solar Holdings Company Limited has signed separate agreements with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to co-develop solar battery technology. The news comes as the company inaugurated its Hong Kong office in the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has supplied 1.2 megawatts (MW) worth of photovoltaics (PV) modules to Japan Airport Terminal Co., Ltd, in Tokyo, Japan, which manages Tokyo International Airport.

Astronergy has announced it will increase its production capacity by 45 megawatts (MW) from 30 megawatts (MW) today to 75 MW by the end of the year. The news comes as the company signs a follow-up purchase agreement with Oerlikon Solar for its thin film equipment.

A spokesperson at Solar Frontier has told pv magazine that its parent company, Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K, has established a joint venture with Kitakyushu City in Japan, with the aim of establishing the country’s first recycling facility for solar panels.