Markets

Ten new long-term contracts with photovoltaics (PV) industry leaders in China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan have been signed by international producer and distributor of cryogenic liquids and gases, Air Liquide.

Egyptian electricity and energy minister Hassan Yunis has said Egypt will open its first solar energy plant by the end of this year, according to AFP.

Miasole, manufacturer of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, has announced that the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) independently confirmed the 13.8 percent efficiency of its large area production modules (one square meter in size).

Burger King has unveiled a new energy efficient restaurant in Waghausel, Germany. More than 720 solar photovoltaic modules have been installed, which are set to generate over 53,500 kWh of electricity per year.

The first commercial installation of Skyline Solar’s High Gain Solar (HGS) 1000 system has been announced.

This year’s Intersolar Europe trade show saw record visitor numbers, with an increase of around 23 percent on the previous year.

A joint venture to build the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant in the Middle East has been announced. If successful, it will be the first of its kind in the area.

A five-fold increase in UK photovoltaic (PV) installations is expected this year, according to an analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) into the prospects for the UK solar PV market, which also said that Britain is currently lagging a decade behind other leading European countries in terms of solar installations.

The Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) has told pv magazine it has joined forces with the Energy Research Center of Netherlands (ECN), in order to conduct a life cycle analysis of its operations and to evaluate its carbon footprint.

American Capital Energy, Inc., (ACE) and MSM Energy (MSME), are planning a joint solar energy venture in India.