Markets

Uncharacteristically clear blue skies greeted attendees at the fifth Intersolar North America tradeshow, which began yesterday in San Francisco, California. Despite a number of political and regulatory clouds hanging over the event, which includes the Intersolar North America conference, a number of firms remained upbeat about the prospects for photovoltaics in the country.

Solar Millennium AG’s insolvency administrator has sold the company’s 74.9 percent stake in Flagsol GmbH to Ferrostaal GmbH.

On Friday, July 6, Italy’s ministers signed the new Conto Energia (renewable energy act). It is believed that only an extra €700 million will be made available for photovoltaics. Final security will not be available until the law has been published, however.

As the global solar industry develops, increased corporate transparency becomes a necessity on the back of growing consumer understanding and local market regulations. Subsequently, the services required by test laboratories and certification bodies have undergone a boom in recent times. Speaking to pv magazine, Ulrike Therhaag, director Solar/ Fuel cell Technology at TÜV Rheinland Shanghai discusses the current situation in China.

Germany’s Sovello AG is urgently searching for a new investor, in order to save at least part of its workforce. Company management is said to be optimistic.

First Solar Inc. will have to pay over €5 million back to Germany’s Brandenburg, following the announcement that it will stop manufacturing operations in Frankfurt (Oder) at the end of the year.

Cumulative, grid-connected photovoltaic capacity is forecast to reach 230 GW in 2017, in comparison to just 11 GW of CSP capacity. Deployment is expected to be led by China. However, while the competitiveness of photovoltaics is underscored, it is nevertheless predicted that manufacturing consolidation will continue for the next few years.

The share of solar generated energy significantly increased in the first six months of 2012 in Germany. Around 14.7 billion kWh of electricity were said to have been produced from 1.2 million photovoltaic systems.

The final report submitted by the parliamentary panel on the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year has declared the catastrophe a “man-made disaster”. It states that the meltdown “could and should have been forseen and prevented”.

Scheuten Solar has announced its photovoltaic module production in Germany’s Gelsenkirchen will continue, following the takeover of the company by Aiko Solar Group. However, 160 jobs have been lost.