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Major US rivals First Solar and SunPower to form yield-co

First Solar and SunPower have issued a brief statement saying that they are in advanced negotiations to form a joint financial yield-co vehicle to contribute PV power plants projects from their existing portfolio of assets.

ZSW and Manz improve CIGS buffer layer to achieve 21% cell efficiency

The Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and technology partner, Manz have achieved a small area CIGS cell conversion efficiency of 21%, verified by Fraunhofer ISE.

Japan FiT review panel proposes 16% cut

The panel that sets Japan’s feed-in tariff (FiT) has proposed a cut of 16%, the country’s Ministry for Enterprise, Trade and Industry (METI) has said.

News

SunEdison guides 2015 project pipeline completions

Major renewable energy development company SunEdison has provided quarterly and full-year project pipeline completion guidance ahead of its Capital Markets Day, today.

UK developer Lightsource sets aside US$193 million for rooftop solar

UK developer Lightsource Renewable Energy has earmarked an investment of £125 million (US$193 million) for the country’s rooftop solar market.

Manz writes-down solar business with €22.5 million hit on 2014 revenue results

High-tech manufacturing equipment firm, Manz AG reported preliminary record 2014 full-year financial results while incurring a €22.5 million depreciation hit on its solar segment and shifting c-Si PV equipment operations to China.

Nepal and World Bank sign deal for 25MW of solar

An agreement between the Government of Nepal (GoN) and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group to generate 25MW of solar photovoltaic generated electricity was signed today.

ABB to supply inverters for South America project

ABB, an inverter company, has been selected to supply more than 45 of its ULTRA central inverters to the second-largest installation of its kind in South America.

PV-Tech Storage

Ensuring residential battery storage systems are sold responsibly

UK PV installer Martin Cotterell argues that the renewables industry needs something in place to make sure that battery systems are sold appropriately; for instance, there is the potential for customers to get charged extra for a battery ‘add-on’ that doesn’t really give them a whole lot of benefit.

In Depth

Solar searches for place in Japan’s energy revolution at PV Expo

The PV Expo exhibition and conference takes place in Japan this week and will look both to the present task of executing projects from a 50GW-plus pipeline and to the longer term challenges faced by an industry entering the final years of its feed-in tariff (FiT).

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