Global PV markets

Lux Research released a statement today setting out that it was Konarka’s technology and strategy that was to blame in the firm’s failure, not the photovoltaic market itself.

Italy’s government is expected to have a final draft of the Conto Energia V by the end of next week, thus preparing it for publication in the country’s Official Journal at the end of June. Following a meeting with the country’s regions, a number of amendments are likely to be adopted.

According to industry analysts at Jefferies, the anti-dumping and countervailing duty trade case will move to Europe this month.

The Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy (CASE) has today called on the U.S. and Chinese governments to work together to avoid a “destructive” global trade war. Meanwhile, an analyst reports that tariffs are too late to protect U.S. and European manufacturers from Chinese competition.

The European Commission (EC) has said that member states should increase the use of renewable energy (RE) trading. It has also called for a more coordinated approach to support schemes. For RE growth beyond 2020, it has further identified three framework options. In related news, it appears the EU has “rebranded” gas a green energy.

While it reported an operating loss in Q1 2012 of US$35.1 million last week, Hanwha SolarOne believes it is heading in the right direction. The company reduced U.S. shipments to avoid the hefty tariffs imposed by the Department of Commerce in the quarter. pv magazine spoke to Andreas Liebheit General Manager Europe, Africa and Middle East to discuss the company’s position and strategy.

Crystalline-silicon (c-Si) researcher Martin Green has participated in a forum today where the future for German-Australian photovoltaics was said to be in equipment supply and innovation respectively. Australian Ambassador to Germany and German photovoltaic researchers Klaus Kips and Markus Glatthaar joined Green.

In spite of the sharp decrease in feed-in-tariffs (FIT) in the last 12 months in France, photovoltaic systems are still in high demand from French consumers.

This week brought encouraging news from China regarding the development of smart grids to help enable the smart and sustainable cities of tomorrow. In addition to the key role solar can play, the need to focus on technology communication was highlighted – if the application is not visualized to the end-user, the adoption rate of the technology will suffer.

Industry experts are currently discussing the future of the German solar market in Berlin, following the amendments to the country’s renewable energy law (EEG).