In another sign of the steady growth in the Australian solar market, figures released today show that more than 750,000 homes now feature photovoltaic arrays. This brings cumulative capacity, on residential rooftops, to 1.7 GW.

New research published by IMS Research indicates that due to a surge in installations, the money set aside for Italy’s fifth Conto Energia will be insufficient to fund the scheme, and the Italian market will effectively be operating without subsidies in 2013.

With a new energy framework only months away, photovoltaics is shaping up as the prime candidate to replace the nuclear reactors on which the country draws around 40 percent of its power.

Bloomberg has reported that SolarWorld AG has had its lenders agree to relax terms on €375 million (US$475 million) of loans, in the face of “challenging market conditions.”

The U.S. Export-Import bank has authorized two loans worth US$57.3 million to support the development of three photovoltaic power plants in India, which will use First Solar thin film modules.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has published figures showing that a record number of photovoltaic projects were purchased last year, worth approximately US$10.8 billion. BNEF found that “approved and operating” projects were seen as high yield investments.

Uncharacteristically clear blue skies greeted attendees at the fifth Intersolar North America tradeshow, which began yesterday in San Francisco, California. Despite a number of political and regulatory clouds hanging over the event, which includes the Intersolar North America conference, a number of firms remained upbeat about the prospects for photovoltaics in the country.

The Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) has walked away from a restructuring deal with bondholders after failing to gain approval from them for the measures. The company has, however, pushed ahead with plans to raise capital through two share issues and has been in successful in negotiating for a large bank loan’s maturity to be pushed back to 2014.