Markets

Having achieved a “historic” year in terms of photovoltaic installations in 2011, the U.S. solar market is estimated to be worth over US$8.4 billion. Declining system prices and improved financing options were said to be among the key growth drivers. Going forward, 2012 is predicted to be a another strong year, with 2.8 GW of installations expected.

Germany’s debate over its solar subsides is continuing – with a focus on the short transition period for the reduction of the photovoltaic feed-in tariffs (FITs). However, in a positive move, the country’s Federal Minister for Economics seems ready to make concessions.

German EPC Belectric and Japanese thin film manufacturer Solar Frontier have formed a new joint venture (JV) company, to develop ground- and roof-mounted power plants. Making reference Solar Frontier’s CIGS technology, which the company refers to as CIS, the joint venture will go by the name PV CIStems.

As part of Germany’s new solar subsidy, feed-in tariffs (FIT) for photovoltaic systems larger than 10 megawatts (MW) are to be eliminated. According to a media report, several companies, including leading project planner Belectric, are considering submitting a complaint against the Renewable Energy Act [EEG] amendment before the German Federal Constitutional Court.

Photovoltaic projects in South Africa being undertaken by the country’s power utility Eskom and independent power producers (IPPs) will be among those to benefit from a financing deal announced early this week between South Africa’s Absa Bank and the French Development Agency (FDA).

During the second day of Solarpraxis’ “Energy Storage” event in Germany’s Düsseldorf, it was claimed that the storage bottleneck needs to be broken, in order to develop large-scale storage solutions, which are critical to the future dominance of both solar and wind.

2011 was a year of extremes for the solar industry: record installations; a dramatic fall in module prices; and a plethora of companies closing their doors. Going forward, indications are that 2012 will remain extremely challenging, with the industry having been firmly caught in the crosshairs of Europe’s economic crisis. Continued oversupply and less installed capacity are to be expected.

Off-grid photovoltaic system provider, Eight19 has picked up an award, as Climate Week kicked off across the U.K. yesterday. The company, which has pioneered a pay-as-you go solar system in Africa, was named Best Initiative for Small or Medium-Sized Business.

The first day has drawn to a close at Solarpraxis’ Energy Storage conference in Germany’s Düsseldorf. Following calls from Germany’s Environment Minister to rapidly develop storage technology in the country, there is a belief that Germany is well-positioned to become an energy storage technology hotspot.

A new U.S. entrant to the silicon-cell machinery market, Twin Creeks Technologies, today released a wafer production system that it claims can produce solar cells for less than US$0.40 per Watt (/W).