While the rain fell outside, solar industry proponents have put their case to an independent committee in Sydney this week. The committee has been established to determine tariffs photovoltaic producers receive for electricity fed back into the grid. Electricity retailers presented a vastly different case to the committee members.

In the presentation of its 2012 guidance today, First Solar has announced a strategy to focus on serving “non-subsidy” markets in the future. The key will be to reduce costs to ensure that its photovoltaic power plants can compete with traditional power producers.

While most recent news from Norwegian polysilicon and module producer REC, has involved it scaling back its higher-cost manufacturing operations, the company has signaled its intentions to move into the Japanese market.

The University of the South Pacific has connected Fiji’s largest grid-connected photovoltaic system, to the island of Suva’s electricity grid on Saturday. The landmark installation is a part of a wider project by Fiji and the university to equip Pacific Islanders with the requisite skills to see the photovoltaic industry provide electricity to communities throughout the region.

PV Japan has opened today while a battle over the composition of the committee, which will determine the specifics of the renewable energy feed-in tariff (FIT), rages.

A study released this week, by the Australian Photovoltaic Association (APVA), has shown that while photovoltaic systems are approaching or have realized retail cost competitiveness throughout the country, large-scale ground mounted installations require government support to compete on the wholesale market.

German module manufacturer and integrator Q-Cells has claimed to have achieved a world-record CIGS module aperture efficiency of 17.4 percent, for a test module 16 square-centimeters in size.

While its second quarter (Q2) 2011 gross figures were impressive, recording a USD$45.9 million profit, ReneSola has posted a loss of $7.7 million, for the third quarter (Q3) 2011.

Vertically integrated photovoltaic manufacturer LDK Solar has announced its third quarter (Q3) results for 2011, revealing a USD$17 million loss.

In the latest move in its campaign against the government’s halving of its feed-in tariff (FIT), the UK Solar Future campaign rallied today at the Houses of Parliament.