Manufacturing

A tough domestic market prompted solar inverter company SMA to raise 70% of its revenues from outside Germany in 2012.

Downstream solar companies dominated the global venture capital (VC) fundraising arena in the first quarter of 2013, finally benefiting from historically cheap panel prices, according to consultants Mercom Capital Group.

With shares in insolvency-hit solar manufacturer Suntech leaping yesterday to close at US$0.48 on rumors Warren Buffett is interested in a purchase, all eyes will be on the stock when the market reopens at 3.30 pm today.

Representatives of more than 1,000 representatives from European companies have written to the EU to criticize any plan to apply anti-dumping duties to Chinese-made solar modules.

The smart grid market in central and eastern Europe (CEE) will be worth a cumulative $10.3 billion by 2023, according to a report by market research group Northeast Group LLC.

With solar manufacturer Renewable Energy Corporation’s (REC) recently released annual figures highlighting the Norwegian company’s heavy reliance on a shrinking European market, the panel maker has taken a step in the right direction by supplying a 1.7 MW solar project in Japan.

Despite China’s reputation as the promised land for the solar industry, the latest report from NPD Solarbuzz says wild fluctuations in demand in the country could mean suppliers which rely on markets outside the People’s Republic will enjoy an advantage.

Laos-based Sunlabob has secured its biggest Pacific contract to date with a deal to supply off grid solar systems to the outer islands of Kiribati.

California solar installer and leasing company SolarCity will make its first foray into the utility market by building a 12 MW photovoltaic project for the Kaua’I Island Utility Co-operative (KIUC) in Hawaii.

EnStorage Inc. has developed the first ever grid-connected hydrogen-bromine (HBr) flow battery with its 50 kW battery connection at the company’s test site in southern Israel. The battery is said to provide up to 100 kWh of storage capacity.