Your daily dose of Photovoltaic Technology Developments and Solar News

With the new Sharp Energy Solution Europe Division, centered in Hamburg, Sharp Solar has tightened its grip on the solar business in Europe. The new structure aims to fortify the European PV market and to work on building future markets. Operating as a separate division of Sharp Electronics Europe since October 2008, The Sharp Energy Solution Europe (SESE) has been responsible for the pan-European solar business and will now be led under the new operating title by Hiroshi Sasaoka as President, with Peter Thiele as Executive VP.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order Monday that increases the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard to 33% by 2020 and promises to streamline California's renewable energy project approval process. He also announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with federal agencies to establish a coordinated approach in the expedited permitting process to reduce the time and expense for developing renewable energy on federally owned state land.

The French government has proposed a sweeping plan to double the amount of energy provided by solar power and other renewables by 2020, according to a Reuters report. The incentive plans call for a massive increase in installed photovoltaics as part of the package, which seeks to increase to 23% the amount of total energy provided by green sources in France over the next 12 years.

Centrotherm photovoltaics said it is buying Michael Glatt Maschinenbau, a 74-year-old Bavarian manufacturer of industrial pressure containers and apparatus, from previous owner Büechl Handels-und Beteiligungs for a purchase price said to be in the single-digit millions of euro.

Eyelit, Inc., a manufacturing software provider for visibility, control and coordination of manufacturing operations for the aerospace and defense, discrete electronics, semiconductor and photovoltaic penal industries, released revenues for its first nine months of 2008. It recorded a two times increase in its third quarter revenue, the highest third quarter revenue recorded in company history.

Spire announced that it will postpone its third-quarter 2008 earnings announcement previously scheduled for today. The solar manufacturing equipment and turnkey module production line company said it is delaying the earnings announcement because it is evaluating the timing of revenue recognition with respect to a single multielement contract with one customer and analyzing its impact, if any, on prior periods.