The second day of the Intersolar North America trade show in San Francisco wound down on Wednesday with upbeat assessments from exhibitors as the event continued its focus on new technologies, products and funding opportunities.

The North American chapter of the Intersolar trade show opened its doors on Tuesday with a stirring speech by California Governor Jerry Brown, a major solar supporter who said that there was still a great deal to do to boost photovoltaic capacity in the state.

The first day of the Intersolar North America trade show wrapped up on Tuesday at the Moscone Center in the city of San Francisco. While the number of exhibitors is down considerably on previous years, they nevertheless unveiled a broad range of new products and technologies.

The Intersolar North America Awards, which took place on Tuesday, the first day of the three-day trade show, recognized landmark photovoltaic projects and production technologies.

Goetz Fischbeck, executive director of Equity Research at Bankhaus Lampe, discusses First Solar’s capital increase, the company’s strategy and potential growth possibilites, particularly in China.

Martifer Solar has launched its Energy Portal today, allowing power plant owners to monitor in real time their photovoltaic power plants. The portal integrates data from 250 Martifer plants worldwide.

Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary MidAmerican Energy Holdings has issued $700 million in series A senior secured notes, to help finance its 579 MW Antelope Valley Solar Projects (AVSP). The notes will be due in 2035.

Only days after officially opening its new Turkish plant, China Sunergy (CSUN) has announced that it has commenced shipments. The production facility will have a capacity of 300 MW in modules and 100 MW of photovoltaic cells, when fully ramped.

Module manufacturer Hanwha SolarOne will expand its activities in Japan, opening a second sales office in the booming solar market. Japan Daily Press reported that a Hanwha official has said that weak global demand makes Japan a priority for the producer.

While the politics surrounding the EU tariffs on Chinese photovoltaic modules continues to play out, possible effects of the tariffs are beginning to emerge. Manufacturers in Taiwan look set to benefit, but whether European cell and wafer capacity is ready or adequate to pick up the rest of the slack is yet to be seen.