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The government of El Salvador is gearing up to build a 14 MW photovoltaic plant with financial help from German state bank KfW. It is expected to be the largest system of its kind, when complete.

German state bank KfW says it is ready to start support of storage systems for photovoltaic systems in early May. The green light is, however, still to come from Germany’s Federal Environment Ministry in Berlin.

CIGS manufacturer Avancis will turn one of its manufacturing facilities in Germany’s Torgau into a technology center. As such, 67 temporary employment contracts will not be renewed, and employees at the company’s Munich-based research department are to be relocated to Torgau.

According to a new survey, 80% of German citizens have said they want to put a stop to coal power generation. In their opinion, the phase out of coal-fired electricity should be completed no later than 2040.

Chinese solar manufacturers are misreporting and underreporting their imports to evade new tariffs, according to the Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM). It adds that the U.S. DOC has asked Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to review the claim.

MIT Professor Dr. Ernest Moniz made his pledge at the full committee hearing held this Tuesday, which will eventually decide if he is the man to take over as U.S. Secretary of Energy. The fact the U.S. is not spending enough on energy research was highlighted during the Q&A session. Moniz added that more focus needs to be placed on solar.

Yingli was the top module supplier in 2012, as previous leader Suntech slipped to fifth place in the rankings, according to an analysis published by research company IHS. Meanwhile, photovoltaic companies are said to be increasingly internationalizing their business models.

The announcement of strong earnings forecasts for the next three years, more projects acquisitions, a technology acquisition and a new efficiency record; April has already been a huge month for thin film giant First Solar. But what can be made of the recent moves? Principal Analyst at IHS Solar Stefan de Haan speaks to pv magazine.

The 5th Thin Film Industry forum is about to commence in Germany’s capital next week. With the global photovoltaic market shifting to the sunbelt regions and MENA countries, are the prospects for thin film in these parts of the world beginning to look up? Badr Ikken, Director General of Morocco’s Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energy, will be presenting at the Solarpraxis event on April 16. He shares his insights into prospects for the technology in the MENA region with pv magazine.

While photovoltaic energy generation in Italy decreased 14.6% last month, wind and hydro-electric power both recorded a significant boost, reports Terna. Meanwhile, at €6.6 billion, solar funding is nearing its limit.