Americas

BMW and US installer Solarcity have signed a partnership agreement in the US.

Two solar projects, totalling 181MW, have been approved by Chile’s Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA).

Internet giant, Google, has once again teamed up with the global investment firm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) and North American solar project developer, Recurrent Energy, for US$400 million worth of solar projects, according to the Wall Street Journal.

A poll in Arizona has found that 77% of people would be less likely to vote for an election candidate if they proposed ending support for solar.

Thin-film developer Ascent Solar (Ascent), has released financial results for the third quarter of this year in which the company reported that product revenue was up by US$102,000 over the previous quarter.

Swedish furniture retailer, Ikea, is doubling the size of its US Maryland PV installation.

The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais is in line to become home to the country’s first PV cell and module manufacturing plant.

Hoku Materials’ never-used polysilicon plant in Idaho has sold at auction for US$5.3 million. The company had invested an estimated US$700 million in the facility.

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), which represents all investor owned utilities in the US, has been urged to confess or condemn the use of so-called “dark money” to pay for campaigns against solar net metering.

Real Goods Solar (RGS) has reported higher revenue and gross profit, lower operational costs and lower net loss for the third quarter of 2013.