Markets

The SolarWorld-backed organization will announce on Wednesday further measures ahead of the expiration of the European Union’s minimum import price and volume policy for Chinese solar PV manufacturers. EU ProSun President Milan Nitzschke calls EPIA’s stance “embarrassing.”

Shared solar for homes and businesses could represent as much as 49% of the U.S. distributed PV market by 2020 and reach up to 11 GW in the period, according to a new report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Trina Solar will develop a distributed generation PV project of up to 300 MW in China’s Anhui Province as the leading solar company expands its DG activities across the country.

The Spanish power integration expert is again partnering with Grupo Ortiz on a solar PV plant in Central America. The Honduran installation will boast a peak capacity of 42.38 MW.

While some observers have questioned the Egyptian government’s solar policies and expressed concern over the country’s FIT program and grid capacity, local players appear unworried. pv magazine spoke to Rana Alaa, co-founder and technical director of Cairo-based SolarizEgypt, about the country’s coming wave of solar development.

The German engineering group is expanding oversees with new facilities focusing on local metallization paste modifications. Heraeus recently relocated its PV business unit headquarters to Shanghai.

The U.K. company has refinanced and extended its revolving acquisition facility from £100 million to £120 million in order to back future project acquisitions. All of the 10 solar installations in its 233 MW portfolio are fully operational and secured ROC accreditation ahead of the March 31 deadline.

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has officially spoken out against the European minimum price on PV modules on Chinese and Taiwanese solar cells and modules. EPIA has taken the position against the EU minimum price because of the negative impact it is having on the EU solar market.

German PV and battery manufacturing equipment supplier Manz has claimed a module efficiency world record for CIGS technology on its innovation line. The 16% conversion efficiency record was unveiled on Monday at the SNEC conference and trade show in Shanghai.

Eric Luo has applauded EPIA’s position on the EU minimum price, saying that renewable energy rollout should not be blocked anywhere in the world by protectionism. The Shungfeng CEO told pv magazine that the company is seeking to position itself as an integrated energy service provider as the solar market transitions from component sales to a service-based industry.