Markets

New figures from British bank ING Direct has shown that solar is the most important “non essential” factor in encouraging a prospective buyer to agree to purchasing a house. 38% of respondents to the ING survey of over 1000 people, responded that solar panels were the most important non-essential factor, which would encourage them to buy a property.

U.S. Republicans hailed the bipartisan approval of the “No More Solyndras Act” by the House of Representatives on Friday, September 14, characterizing the bill as “a commonsense solution that will protect taxpayers and encourage a more robust energy future.”

Industry analysts were in agreement at the SPI 2012 conference, held on Thursday, that the solar industry is set for major consolidation over the next 1 year to 18 months. “The reset button needs to be hit; but tremendous value will be unlocked by it,” reckoned Arno Harris, CEO of Recurrent Energy.

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.