Europe

Norway-headquartered REC Solar has unveiled a new 275W module aimed at residential and commercial rooftop installations, the ‘TwinPeak Series’.

PV equipment supplier centrotherm is to cut 50 jobs from its headquarters in Blaubeuren, Germany as part of a restructuring process.

IKEA will extend its residential solar offering into eight new markets in the next 18 months following the success of the scheme in the UK.

Energy storage may not be cost effective in Germany in helping the transition to a higher grid penetration of renewable energy until that penetration level reaches as high as 90%, according to a leading think tank.

Global PV manufacturer, SunEdison and its yield co spin-off, TerraForm, have completed the connection of two solar power plants in the UK, totalling 50MW.

German PV systems are regularly generating more power than expected, according to researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).

The China National Building Materials Group Corporation (CNBM) has completed its acquisition of German CIS thin-film module manufacturer Avancis.

Trade body the European Photovoltaic Industry Association has called on the European Council to set binding renewable energy targets for individual EU countries at its next meeting.

Clean energy fund manager Glennmont Partners has raised €500 million (US$657 million). The fund, Glennmont’s second, exceeded its €450 million target.

Shunfeng Photovoltaic, the owner of module maker Suntech, has purchased insolvent German project developer SAG Solarstrom for €65 million (US$85.4 million).