Italy: Further FIT cut claims disputed
News has emerged this week stating that Italys Government is looking to apply further tariff cuts, of up to 30 percent. It seems, however, that the information was just a “negotiation maneuver”.
Ontario developer receives $15 million for solar rooftop projects
Blackstone Solar Inc. has received a CAD$15 million financing facility to develop rooftop solar projects in Ontario, Canada.
PV module inventories continue to soar
Photovoltaic module inventories have “soared” due to weak quarter one demand, says Solarbuzzs new quarterly report. They are now expected to hit a “record” 8.6 gigawatts. The second half of the year will be “challenging”.
UK labour leader challenges solar cuts
Leader of the UKs opposition party, Ed Miliband, has challenged the governments decision to slash the countrys photovoltaic feed-in tariffs (FITs) for systems over 50 kilowatts in size.
NSW Solar Summit 2 criticized, but not all was negative
The second in a series of Solar Energy Summits held in the Australian State of New South Wales has drawn criticism from industry insiders, despite the announcement of some new key policies.
SolarWorld turns its back on Asia; US becomes key PV focus
In a move away from the Asian regions, SolarWorld has sold its stake in a South Korean solar panel production facility, stating that it prefers to focus on Western photovoltaic markets.
DOE offers three further PV conditional loan guarantees
The U.S. department of Energy (DOE) has awarded three more conditional loan guarantees to photovoltaic projects, worth a total of USD$4.5 billion. Around 1,400 jobs and 1.3 gigawatts of photovoltaics are expected to be created.
Suntech terminates wafer agreement and thin film venture
Suntech has terminated a solar wafer supply agreement with MEMC. It will also discontinue investment in thin film subsidiary CSG Solar AG. Overall, the company will incur expenses of around USD$236 million.
Californian college US first to go "grid positive"
Californias Butte College has announced it is the first college in the U.S. to go “grid positive”. Generating over 100 percent of its electricity from solar power, the educational institution says it will feed power back to the grid.
UK: Coventry is the first cathedral to sign up to solar
A 50 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic array is to be installed on the roof of Coventry Cathedral. It is the first time a cathedral in the U.K. will utilize solar power in this way.
