Speaking to pv magazine, Manz Automation AG CFO, Martin Hipp underlined four strategic aims the company intends to achieve in the next few years under its new partnership with Würth Solar GmbH & Co. KG and the Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW – Center for solar energy and hydrogen research).

SolarEdge Technologies has announced its partnership with Greece-based photovoltaics (PV) project developer Enolia Solar Systems SA, under which SolarEdge will provide Enolia with 1.5 megawatts of solar power harvesting equipment to be installed in Greece.

Last year was a record year for the photovoltaics (PV) inverter market, with shipments of 8.3 gigawatts (GW) generating USD$2.8 billion, according to IMS Research’s latest report on the global solar inverter market. However, it says this is expected to change this year.

The University of New South Wales’ (UNSW) Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence is reportedly being forced to close its doors after Australia’s Labor government stopped its funding, as part of the party’s proposed cuts to finance a “cash-for-clunkers” low-emissions car program, the Greens say.

The Sanyo Electric Company, a major player in the photovoltaics (PV) industry with its HIT (crystalline silicon) solar cell, has announced Japan-based Panasonic’s plans to buy the company out. A spokesperson has told pv magazine the deal has not yet been confirmed, however. Panasonic currently owns a 50.05 percent share in Sanyo.

Propelled by aggressive research and development (R&D) activities, third generation photovoltaics (PVs) are poised to take a huge leap forward, says Frost & Sullivan in a new analysis. The exploratory mass production of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC)-powered consumer durables is likely to alter the future course of research in this segment, says the company.

Solarmer Energy, Inc. has recently achieved a new world record of 8.13 percent for its organic photovoltaic (OPV) cell efficiency, which has been certified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Chevron Energy Solutions, along with the city of Brea, has started construction on a 1.8 megawatt (MW) solar and energy efficiency project, in California, the U.S.

U.S.-based Southern California Edison (SCE) has awarded 36 contracts to independent power producers for a total of nearly 60 megawatts (MW) from photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, which are due to be installed on 31 unused rooftops and five ground-mount sites in SCE’s service territory.

Purdue University, based in the U.S. is to lead a new research center to improve photovoltaic (PV) solar cells as part of a national effort to bring alternative energy technologies to the marketplace. Boosted by USD$5 million in funding from the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, the research initiative is set to team companies with university research centers to work on alternative energy technologies.