U.S. thin film producer and project developer First Solar is looking to hire 120 employees at its Perrysburg Ohio fab. The additional workers are required as First Solar increases its Ohio facility’s output by 100 MW.

Californian solar company SunPower is building out its manufacturing capacity in both high efficiency cells and modules and in Low Concentrating PV (LCPV) in a split strategy it hopes will deliver the diversity it needs to thrive in shifting electricity markets. SunPower announced plans to construct its Fab 5 for completion in 2017 and that it would break ground on a LCPV fab in the Philippines next year – as it delivered its 2015 guidance, at an analyst event today in New York.

IHS analysis released today forecasts the grid-tied residential storage market to increase from 90 MW to 900 MW over the next four years. The startling tenfold market expansion is primarily due to the increasing attractiveness of PV for self-consumption. Subsidies will also play a role, IHS concludes.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has taken a bullish stance when making predictions for the 2015 solar market. It forecasts 58.3 GW to be installed in 2015, with lead analyst Jenny Chase saying the somewhat bullish figure is due to BNEF being, “fed up of being wrong on the downside.”

The Australian Federal Government’s attempt to cut the country’s mandatory target for renewable energy (the RET) has hit another roadblock. The major opposition party, the Australian Labor Party, has walked away from the negotiating table, saying it cannot accept the “deep and devastating cut to the sector,” being proposed by the government.

The foundation stone of a 71 MW ingot through module c-Si solar panel manufacturing facility has been laid in the San Juan province of Argentina. Local utility Energia Provincial Sociedad del Estado (EPSE) will operate the facility, which is being supplied by Germany’s Schmid Group.

The trend of module producers continuing to move into PV project development is continuing. The latest data from NPD Solarbuzz confirms this, with the analysts reporting that 17 of the top 20 solar module suppliers currently having “dedicated project business units.”

An Australian farmer has sent a pro-solar message to the attendees of the G20 Leaders’ summit, by carving “Go Solar” into his fields. The farmer has made the move after the Brisbane Airport rejected a billboard calling for leaders to put climate change on the meeting’s agenda.

North America’s biggest trade show, Solar Power International, was big, brassy and the mood was generally high. pv magazine attended with a team of six and here are five key takeaways.

Last week microinverter supplier Enphase Energy unveiled its AC storage product at the SPI trade show in Las Vegas. The announcement attracted considerable hype and pv magazine spoke to Ameet Konkar, Enphase’s senior director of strategic initiatives about the move.