Markets & Finance

The number of workers employed by the German PV industry fell by almost 50% last year, according to figures released on Monday by the German energy and economics ministry.

PV equipment specialist, Meyer Burger Technology is streamlining its R&D activities at its Roth & Rau subsidiaries technology and product centre in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany with the loss of around 120 positions.

Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy have purchased a 50MW PV plant from First Solar.

Non-silicon mono wafer costs are plummeting and could challenge the predominance of monocrystalline silicon wafers, according to the head of a leading Chinese wafer producer.

A key topic of debate during SNEC 2014 in Shanghai has been the concern over meeting Chinese government targets for distributed generation (DG), which are becoming seen as increasingly over ambitious.

Capital One Bank has invested US$100million into a partnership with residential installer and leasing company SolarCity, marking the US bank’s first ever investment in renewable energy.

Sales of PV monitoring equipment surpassed global PV installations in 2013, according to analysis by GTM Research.

EDF Renewables has sold 50% of its remaining stake in the 143MW Catalina PV project in California to financial services firm TIAA-CREF.

The US Department of Commerce has delayed the preliminary solar anti-dumping decision hearing from 11 June to 24 July.

Preparing to do business after the FiT scheme ends in 2020, whether or not the government maintain the country’s “no nuclear” energy policy, will be crucial to survival for solar in Japan, according to one expert.