Markets

Henning Schorisch demonstrated cautious optimism with regard to the future of the insolvent photovoltaic manufacturer. Thus no layoffs of the 1,300 employees are pending in the near future and the company has again ramped up production.

While criticism is often aimed at renewables for playing a major role in increasing consumers’ electricity bills, new data from Australia predicts that only three percent of forecast price rises in the country will be due to support for renewables. The newly-formed Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) Agents Association released the figures.

CEO’s from the international photovoltaics community have today announced the establishment of a Global Solar Council. The goal is to sustainably and cost-competitively expand the worldwide deployment of solar energy, by emphasizing the importance of “supportive” policies and trade environments.

Haste makes waste – unless, of course, it makes your company among the first to be audited and certified as a preferred vendor under the domestic content provision of the Ontario Power Authority’s updated Feed-in tariff (FIT.2) program.

The U.S. Department of Labor has said the manufacturing employees laid off by SolarWorld Industries America Inc., following the shutdown of its Camarillo photovoltaic module production plant in California, are entitled to federal trade-adjustment assistance.

Chinese photovoltaic players were out in force at the second Renewables Indonesia International Trade Fair on Energy Sustainability, Green Resources and Environmental Technology, which kicked off today in the densely packed capital city of Indonesia. A stark need for renewables in the country has been identified.

Acquisition of solar panels by institutions and individuals keen on installing photovoltaic systems in Kenya could now be made easier after a regional module manufacturer has offered to guarantee bank loans for the purchase of equipment.

Key technical breakthroughs in the past year have pushed the dye sensitized cell (DSC) photovoltaic market out of the research and development stage, making it a technology with solid growth potential in the near future.

Chinese manufacturer, LDK Solar has posted significant fourth quarter (Q4) 2011 losses. Despite this, the company believes there is long term growth potential. It is targeting revenues of between US$2 billion and $2.7 billion in 2012.

650 megawatts (MW) worth of photovoltaics were installed in Germany in January and February, according to preliminary figures from the country’s Federal Network Agency.