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Sunfilm AG has announced it has set a world record of 9.6 percent total area efficiency for a thin film tandem junction silicon solar module of 2.6 meters x 2.2 meters. The record module, Model F, achieved a maximum stabilized output power of 546 Wp, says the company.

Spain’s government wants to pass drastic retroactive and future cuts as well as ceilings for photovoltaics (PV) feed-in tariffs, pv magazine has learnt. This is the result of a two-day round of talks between government and industry representatives.

Pacific Blue Energy Corp. (PBEC), a development stage renewable energy company, has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of 100 acres in Gila Bend, Arizona, the U.S. in order to develop a 150-megawatt (MW) solar farm.

The global building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) market will reach USD$8.2 billion in revenues by 2015 driven by the cost advantage that BIPV can provide versus conventional photovoltaics (PV) solutions, according to NanoMarkets, a U.S. Virginia-based market research and analysis company.

The Australian state of Victoria has unveiled its plans to increase electricity supply from large scale-solar power to five per cent by 2020. Premier John Brumby announced that target was Australia’s most ambitious solar commitment and would be backed by the nation’s first feed-in tariff (FIT) for large-scale solar.

Utility-scale solar is set to be a big new trend, Brad Meikle, senior analyst and managing director of Renewable Analytics has told pv magazine. He also issued pricing advice on how module manufacturers can create a larger market for themselves.

Phoenix Solar AG has been commissioned by Canada-based energy company Etrion Corporation as general contractor for the turnkey construction of a 3.5-megawatt (MW) ground-mounted photovoltaic plant in Borgo Piave, Italy. The contract value is approximately €10 million.

Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd., based in Qidong, Jiangsu Province, China, has said it is to increase its cell capacity by 50 megawatts (MW) through the enhancement of its manufacturing processes, and will convert 160 MW of its existing cell lines to high-efficiency selective emitter technology. Both aims are to be completed in the early first quarter of next year, says the company.

Suntech-owned KSL-Kuttler Automation Systems GmbH, based in Dauchingen, Germany has announced 62 redundancies today following the news that the company will be redirecting its efforts towards the photovoltaics (PV) industry.

As Intersolar North America drew to a close, analysts left the industry with upbeat forecasts for the solar market. “Things couldn’t be better in 2010,” Jefferies analyst Jesse Pichel told pv magazine.