Markets

The Italian government plans to cut incentives for solar power producers by an average of 18 percent in 2011, according to an official, in a cut below market expectations.

A new world record, confirmed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), for large area silicon wafers has been set.

Rooftop and façade photovoltaics (PV) could generate up to 40 percent of Europe’s electricity demand by 2020, according to a leading industry body.

China has started a massive open tender of utility-scale solar power projects after a smaller tender last year, in an effort, analysts said, to help Beijing set on-grid power prices for such projects, reports Reuters.

The international pressure being placed on Spain’s government seems to be working. Spain’s Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has vetoed the legislative proposal of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Miguel Sebastián, and ruled out subsequent cuts in the Spanish system of compensation for solar energy.

Helping to realize the electrification of rural areas in West Africa, the Juwi group has installed a photovoltaic power plant in a Senegalese health centre. The company has also said that demand for off-grid solar island systems will rise in light of increasing oil and gas prices.

An industry-wide goal to install 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity annually in the U.S. by 2015 has been announced by Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) president and CEO, Rhone Resch.

A new incentive regime is due to be set up in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to encourage the growth of solar electricity.

Following a meeting with solar industry representatives, it has been revealed that Spain will be reducing feed-in tariffs by 40 percent for all photovoltaic installations, including existing ones.

A new survey conducted by Applied Materials, Inc. reveals that two-thirds of Americans believe solar technology should play a greater role in meeting the country’s energy needs.