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.

Germany-based Conergy has announced it is the “world’s first” solar company to offer Europe-wide output insurance, which is designed to provide customers with, among other things, ten-year protection against output decreases stemming from components or configuration defects, degradation and the delamination of modules. It is only available to Conergy customers.

IBC Solar has opened an official Czech Republic subsidiary, IBC Solar s.r.o., in Prague today. The subsidiary will be managed by Gerhard Travnicek, and will take over the activities of the company’s Prague branch office.

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.

Greece’s Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change has signed two new Ministerial Decisions, which have helped to “satisfy some of the photovoltaics (PV) sector’s demands regarding the uplift of certain legal-administrative barriers”, according to PV Legal.

Conergy AG has chosen its new chief financial officer, following the news that the company’s current CFO, Jörg Spiekerkötter, will not be renewing his contract when it expires at the end of October.

Phoenix Solar AG is set to build a 2.2 megawatt (MW) Slovakian solar park following an agreement with green energy slovakia, s.r.o. This, says the company, will be its first project as general contractor in the country.

Three key states will account for 48 percent of the U.S.’s total photovoltaics (PV) market, according to a new report issued by EuPD Research. Aimed at helping the industry understand the downstream PV market, it added that Arizona “could evolve into one of the most important markets in the coming years”.

Aggressive government incentives are set to trigger “booming” growth in solar installations in Ontario, Canada, this year, but regulations requiring the use of locally sourced photovoltaics (PV) products will cause the expansion to slow dramatically next year, according to market research firm iSuppli Corp.

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has expressed its support for Tucson Electric Power’s (TEP’s) plan to purchase 97 megawatts (MW) worth of solar power systems in Tucson, Arizona, the U.S.