Markets

Underpinning its U.S. market expansion, Fronius has announced it will begin inverter production at new headquarters in Portage, Indiana soon. The Austrian-based company will also introduce its Fronius Service Program to the U.S.

Consolidation, but steady growth. This is the conclusion of many at the end of this year’s Solar Power International (SPI), which closed its doors yesterday in Orlando, Florida.

According to media reports, Spain-based Isofotón is looking to acquire Sovello. The German company’s insolvency administrator says Sovello is looking to find an investor by the end of October.

Photovoltaic producers will now have to pay a 6% tax on any income they earn from generating solar power, including from feed-in tariffs (FITS).

Californian CPV company, GreenVolts has suspended operations, following “a sudden, and unexpected, change in direction from a major strategic investor,” the company said in a statement issued earlier this week. The startup based in the San Francisco Bay Area appears to be pointing to a recent investment and distribution deal that had been struck with power infrastructure giant ABB.

In its bid to significantly lower the costs of solar technology and make it competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade, the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot program has unveiled a competition inviting participants to demonstrate faster, cheaper and easier ways of installing rooftop photovoltaic systems.

Make photovoltaics more competitive through global collaboration. This is the goal of the newly formed Global Solar Alliance, which presented 2 new initiatives at the Solar Power International tradeshow in Florida yesterday.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has underlined its commitment to the solar industry at this year’s Solar International tradeshow, following the addition of 3 new members to its advisory group. It also announced the introduction of a new sustainability report and handbook.

Evidence is mounting that Japan’s solar market is in the early stages of a boom. Reports of US$2 billion in investments in only months, a proposed zero-nuclear future energy plan, and analyst predictions of a shift towards commercial, industrial and utility scale PV are all pointing to a new era for photovoltaics in Japan.

“You are the future of America,” stated former U.S. president, Bill Clinton, yesterday at the Solar Power International tradeshow in Florida. He appealed to the photovoltaics industry to intensify its communication about the solar success story in the political debate.