Hanergy Thin Film has issued a warning in which it forecasts a “substantially decrease[d] revenues for 2015. The company has attributed the sharp decline to damage to its reputation as a result of the ongoing suspension of trading in its shares.

Driven by end-market growth in the U.S., India and China, PV manufacturing margins bounced back to 22% in 2015. IHS released the finding today, noting that improving margins for manufacturers could result in a “wave of capacity expansions.”

Manz has announced a strategic collaboration with Shanghai Electric that will enable the German equipment supplier to continue its operations in the solar industry. Manz will increase its number of shares, from today’s value, by 43%. This will allow Shanghai Electric to purchase 29.9% of shares in Manz, under the new issuance.

Singapore’s Sun Electric has celebrated its first retailing of solar electricity in the island state. It plans to develop up to 20 MW of projects in 2016.

Leading PV cell and producer JA Solar has upped its Q4 2015 shipment guidance from 1.1 to 1.2 GW to 1.32 to 1.35 GW. When announcing its Q4 and full-year 2015 on March 15, JA Solar is now expected to announce FY shipments between 3.92 to 3.95 GW.

SolarCity will launch a new tax equity fund, to finance $249 million of residential solar installations. The financing partner in the deal has not been identified, but SolarCity reports that it is the fourth fund the two firms have created in partnership.

U.S. high efficiency cell and module manufacturer SunPower has claimed a module efficiency world record of 22.8%. In a result verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) SunPower claims its latest X-Series module is now the most efficient on the market.

The Australian residential rooftop solar sector has continued to slump, with the latest figures from local analysts Green Energy Markets revealing the number of rooftop systems installed nationally decreased by over 25%, MoM.

The Premier of Western Australia has ruled out an increase in fixed charges for households that have installed a PV array. The increase, dubbed a “solar tax” by the PV industry, had been suggested by the state-owned utility and the Western Australian treasurer.

China’s GCL New Energy has purchased a project pipeline of eight PV power plants in the U.S., through the acquisition of developers Wilson Project Companies and the Jackson Project Company. The entire 68.5 MW project portfolio is located in North Carolina.