Global PV markets

3.2 GW, or US$9.6 billion worth of new photovoltaic installations are expected to be added in Japan, following the country’s solar electricity price announcement on June 18.

Tier-two Chinese manufacturer Phono Solar said that the key to making an impact in the current challenging photovoltaic market is continue to develop diverse offerings targeting a number of market segments. Phono Solar’s Global Marketing Manager Eric Yuan spoke to pv magazine at the Intersolar Europe trade show.

India’s Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy has announced the increase of the country’s 2020 renewable energy targets, from six to 15 percent.

The U.S. added several more notches to its “sunbelt” during the first quarter (Q1) of 2012, according to a newly released market report. During the first three months of the year, Tennessee (number five), Hawaii (six),and North Carolina (seven) secured spots among the top ten states, ranked by installed solar capacity—pushing Maryland (12), Oregon (13), and Texas (15) farther down the list.

Bloomberg has reported that changes to Germany’s photovoltaic support program, introduced to the German parliament by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, may not go through, after negotiations with the parliament’s upper house broke down.

Comeback kid Scheuten Solar has celebrated its revival, from the brink, at the Intersolar Europe trade show. With Chinese investor Aikosolar taking over the intellectual property, commercial team and also German manufacturing facilities, the company believes it demonstrates a new way forward for troubled European producers. Scheuten Solar CCO Perry Verberne spoke with pv magazine.

A report from Australia’s leading national science and the technology research organization has found that the challenges posed by the intermitted supply of electricity produced by solar installations can be overcome.

California-based Solar Mosaic have moved a step towards rolling out its “crowdfunded” photovoltaic model, picking up a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE), as a part of its SunShot program.

The IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization, has sent a message to the photovoltaic industry that it needs to collaborate in the global marketplace, in the highly-competitive current market.

The second day of the Intersolar Conference closed yesterday with the CEO panel displaying remarkable optimism in the face of extremely challenging conditions for manufacturers. The CEOs of Canadian Solar and JA Solar were upbeat about predictions for installed capacity in 2012.