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German PV, battery and display production equipment supplier Manz has continued to post strong revenue growth, despite its figures being weighed down by a weak PV equipment market. The tool supplier posted revenues of €87.3 million (US$108.9 million) for Q3 2014, representing YoY growth of 16%.

Humanity yesterday celebrated an historic step towards unlocking the mysteries of the oldest building blocks of our Solar System: Comets. Solar cells carried the European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe, Philae, onto the first-ever landing on a comet.

U.S. thin film producer and project developer First Solar is looking to hire 120 employees at its Perrysburg Ohio fab. The additional workers are required as First Solar increases its Ohio facility’s output by 100 MW.

The latest edition of IREC and VoteSolar’s Freeing the Grid finds no significant rollbacks to state net metering policies over the last twelve months, despite multiple attempts by utilities.

Californian solar company SunPower is building out its manufacturing capacity in both high efficiency cells and modules and in Low Concentrating PV (LCPV) in a split strategy it hopes will deliver the diversity it needs to thrive in shifting electricity markets. SunPower announced plans to construct its Fab 5 for completion in 2017 and that it would break ground on a LCPV fab in the Philippines next year – as it delivered its 2015 guidance, at an analyst event today in New York.

Applied Materials has reported another slow quarter in its Energy & Environmental Services division, a sign that recovery in the PV equipment industry is still far off.

The agreement strengthens the company’s financial position not only in the U.S. but globally as well, according to CFO Charlie Cao.

The new solar power system incorporates both battery storage and diesel generation to ensure continuous access to electricity. It is expected to generate 7,500 megawatt hours of power annually, meeting approximately 50% of regional demand.

IHS analysis released today forecasts the grid-tied residential storage market to increase from 90 MW to 900 MW over the next four years. The startling tenfold market expansion is primarily due to the increasing attractiveness of PV for self-consumption. Subsidies will also play a role, IHS concludes.

The countries intend to better promote trade in green goods and clean energy technologies, a goal that is sure to benefit from a planned U.S. trade mission to China in April led by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.