Central & East Asia

A 100MW PV plant in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, has come one step closer to beginning construction after officials from the South Korean and Uzbekistan governments signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) this week to cooperate in bringing solar power to the country.

Japanese thin-film PV manufacturer Solar Frontier is to build its fourth CIGS module assembly plant in Japan with a nameplate capacity of 150MW.

Chinese PV manufacturer Goldpoly New Energy Holdings has continued the expansion of its downstream business with the acquisition of a Zhongli Talesun subsidiary and with it 180MW worth of PV projects.

The State Grid Corporation of China, the world’s largest state-owned utility company, has joined the Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii).

The liquidators of Suntech Power Holdings are to investigate the planned sale of the company’s main Chinese manufacturing unit to Shunfeng Photovoltaic International for possible legal breaches.

China Wind Power (CWP) has been awarded a CNY490 million (US$80 million) of 15-year long term project loans from the China Development Bank (CDB)

Hanwha Solar One has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology to jointly develop, construct, finance and grid-connect PV projects.

PV cell manufacturer, Jinko Solar has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Lingwu City government for a 200MW solar plant.

Domestic shipments of solar cells and modules in Japan showed consistent growth again in the second fiscal quarter of 2013, according to the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA).

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help Uzbekistan to build a 100MW solar project, the country's first utility-scale solar power plant.