Turkish administrators have finally approved the construction of two photovoltaic power plants. The licenses have now been issued and work on the solar plants is set to begin. Contracts for a further 580 MW of photovoltaic capacity are still in limbo.

The company plans to bundle production and development of inverters and storage systems at its headquarters in Baden-Württemberg after closing facilities in Hamburg and Hessen.

Following its acquisition by Taiwanese group Sunrise Global Energy, production at the former Bosch-owned Aleo Solar in Prenzlau, Germany, has begun again. The PV manufacturer is now producing its high-efficiency 300 W modules at the 120 MW capacity fab, where 190 employees have retained their jobs.

Interview: Goetz Fischbeck, CEO of Smart Solar Consulting, sees the recently announced acquisition of insolvent SAG Solarstrom AG by Shunfeng Photovoltaics as a win-win for both parties. Shunfeng in particular benefits from the German PV company’s expertise in project planning and implementation, while SAG Solarstrom’s creditors can expect a high insolvency dividend and the staff can look forward to retaining their jobs.

Operators of wind turbines and biomass facilities will have to register their systems with the Federal Network Agency, which already keeps track of PV plants in order to determine solar subsidy degression rates based on the number of installations.

The government parties have come to an agreement on the EEG reform. The policy makes everything more complicated.

The development comes two weeks after the onset of preliminary insolvency proceedings against parent company Photon Holding, over a tax bill. The publishing arm had emerged from the bankruptcy of predecessor Photon Europe 18 months ago.

The publishing company based in Aachen, Germany, whose assets include industry magazines Photon International and the German Photon Das Solarstrom-Magazin, is insolvent.

The companies signed a purchase agreement in March. The French photovoltaic manufacturer has agreed to take over 128 of the approximately 230 employees and continue the production of solar modules.

The Ankara government has capped its incentive program at 600 MW of new PV plants. It has now awarded the first two licenses. The remaining projects are expected to follow this year.