Greek municipalities go solar
The Greek Ministry of the Interior recently approved a program that aims to upgrade local governments infrastructure, including the installation of solar PV systems in municipality buildings throughout Greece.
Energy Trend: PV manufacturers shifting focus to China
Leading PV manufacturers are increasingly heading to eastern markets, particularly China, according to Taiwan-based research group TrendForce.
Czech Republic ends FIT program, extends solar tax
The upper house of the Czech Parliament on Friday passed a bill that ends feed-in tariffs (FITs) for all renewable energies and extends a tax imposed on solar PV plants. The Czech PV industry body is set to take legal action.
Jordan’s next round of large-scale project applications set to begin
The Jordanian government is accepting proposals for large-scale solar and wind projects. The country’s solar PV market, focused primarily on utility-scale projects larger than 1 MW, is expecting modest growth.
French PV industry demands urgent action to boost solar sector
Enerplan, the French union of solar energy professionals, is asking the French government to adopt new measures to revive the domestic solar sector following the recent publication of disappointing results.
Cyprus aims for 60,000 residential net metering installations by 2016
Applications for the Cypriot net metering program are now open. Cyprus’ installed solar PV capacity, currently at 25 MW, is expected to grow fivefold within the next two years.
Investment group plans £200 million UK solar investment
The Foresight Solar Fund would finance eight U.K. ground mount plants with the profits from a planned London IPO. A partner for the fund says solar offers a more attractive investment in the UK than wind.
Micro generation projects driving Portugal’s new solar PV installations
Portugal added 16.8 MW of solar PV in May and June, but latest figures show that micro generation is still the country’s dominant sector.
Greek PV warns against job losses
Yesterday the Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO) sent an open letter to the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras warning him one third of the solar sector jobs have been lost in 2013 and asking him to take measures to “restart the Greek solar PV market.”
Czech lower house votes through end to FiT payments
The lower house voted through an anti-subsidy bill and retroactive tax before being dissolved in the wake of the corruption scandal that brought down Petr Necas’ government. The upper house will consider the bill later this month.
