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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.

Plans to add 22 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale solar power in New Mexico, the U.S. by electric utility company PNM Resources, have been approved by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. Set to be installed across various sites in New Mexico, the U.S. Regulators capped the facilities’ cost at USD$101.7 million. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

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.

Following the introduction of attractive feed-in tariffs in April, Germany-based Centrosolar has opened up a subsidiary in the U.K. According to the company, Centrosolar UK Ltd. will be in a position to respond to increased demand for photovoltaics (PV) systems, particularly in England.

Tempress Systems, Inc., solar subsidiary of Amtech Systems, Inc. based in the Netherlands, has announced it has received around USD$37 million in new solar orders for its diffusion processing systems, from several new and existing customers in Asia.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, Germany has announced that operations have begun at its megawatt laboratory for photovoltaics (PV) inverters.

Martifer Solar says it is to install a three-megawatt peak (MWp) solar power turnkey project, composed of three ground-mounted photovoltaics (PV) plants, in Italy’s Lombardy region, located near Milan. When completed, says the company, it will be one of the region’s largest ground mounted PV projects.

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.