Markets

The excitement level at this year’s EU PVSEC is slowly picking up. Visions are going beyond the magical year 2020 and stretching to 2050. Speaking to a full hall at the opening conference of the trade show, which opened today in Valencia, Spain, Dr. Giovanni Federigo De Santi, director of the Institute for Energy (IE), Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission ended his speech by asking if the photovoltaics (PV) industry is ready to face the challenges lying ahead in 2050.

Italy is to significantly reduce its feed-in tariffs (FITs) for solar energy, starting from next year. According to EuPD Research, the Conferenza Stato e Regioni – the Italian Committee of Representatives of Italian regions and the central government – announced that incentives for all installation types will be lowered every four months next year.

A new study has stated that Europe is leading the way in terms of photovoltaics (PV) installations. The JRC’s Institute for Energy (IE), which published its ninth Annual Photovoltaics Status Report today, has said that out of the estimated 7.4 gigawatts (GW) of newly installed PV modules worldwide last year, 5.8 GW was located in Europe.

Bringing a boost to the U.S. solar industry, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell has announced that USD$20.5 million in state and federal investments will be injected into 40 clean energy projects. It is hoped that up to 1,400 jobs in the country’s solar sector will be created.

The Saxonian company is already in talks with potential investors. For the time being, production at the Signet Solar facility keeps running. Dismissals are not in the plans at the moment.

Sanyo Component Europe has announced that it is the first manufacturer to sign a binding participation agreement with PV CYCLE, an organization aimed to establish a structure for recycling of PV modules.

Conergy has concluded the largest framework agreement in Greek solar energy history with investment from a major Greek investor. The plans are set to take off from 2011 onwards.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden unveiled a new report last week on how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is investing USD$100 billion in scientific research and advances in technology. The report, ‘The Recovery Act: Transforming the American Economy through Innovation’, highlights that this is to jumpstart the renewable energy sector.

According to U.K. energy regulator, Ofgem, 2,257 British homes in August have been fitted with solar panels. This is a jump from 1,700 in July and 1,400 in June, reports BBC News.

Photovoltaics (PV) project developers must create their own formulas for tackling a fragmented market – and they have to do it while dealing with the fast-paced changes in technologies and polices. That was the sentiment expressed by a panel discussion held in the U.S. last week, which was organized, in part, by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Trina Solar.