One-third of Germany’s electricity demand in 2015 was provided by renewable energy, with onshore wind and solar PV leading the way. Renewables academic Volker Quaschning published the findings today, compiling the data from a range of sources.

Li Guangmin, Hanergy Thin Film Power Group executive director and financial controller, has stepped down. The move comes as reports mount that the company is seeking investment from a Chinese state-owned investor in exchange of its parent company’s hydropower assets.

New entrant to the stringer market M10 Industries has announced the sale of two of its Kubus stringer systems to Indian manufacturer Emmvee. The sale is M10’s first to India.

Germany’s VDMA has reported that sales of manufacturing equipment for the PV industry are up 56% in the first nine months of 2015, compared to results from the previous year (Y/Y). The rebound represents a return to order volumes not seen since 2012.

In what has been described as a “sweeping bill” to keep the cogs of the U.S. government turning, legislation has been introduced to Congress in which an extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit has been included. Tacked onto the ‘miscellaneous’ section of the legislation, the bill would see the ITC maintained at 30% through to 2020, and then stepped down in a measured fashion in the following years.

With an appropriation bill including an extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) currently before the U.S. Congress, Bloomberg New Energy Finance notes that it may result in utilities putting more pressure on net metering regimes around the country.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) have coordinated funding efforts to back a 25 MW solar farm in central Queensland. Located at the remote town of Barcaldine, the project will provide generation at the edge of the grid, supporting peak demand and providing voltage control.

German production equipment supplier Manz has postponed its Capital Markets Day, originally scheduled to take place on December 10. Manz has cited “the examination of strategic options for the solar segment” as the reason for the delay.

Japanese CIGS producer Solar Frontier has announced a record efficiency with its technology of 22.3% on a 0.5cm x 0.5cm cell. The company claims the result as a world record for a thin film solar cell.

German battery storage software provider Younicos has secured $50 million in growth capital to fund its continued expansion. First Solar and Grupo ECOS are a part of the consortium of investors, including an undisclosed lead investor.