Europe

The EU-China solar trade dispute looks set to reignite with every indication suggesting that EU ProSun will request a review of the impending expiry of duties on Chinese solar imports into Europe put in place in 2013.

Elkem Solar, the new owner of REC Solar, will partially reopen a wafer plant in Porsgrunn, Norway, with the creation of 80 new jobs.

The CEO of the UK’s largest owner and operator of solar PV, Lightsource Renewable Energy, has expressed concern over government proposals to drastically reduce the support available under the feed-in tariff.

A further dramatic drop in the costs of PV will make it competitive with wholesale power prices by 2030 in the EU, a study has claimed.

UK government proposals to cut its feed-in-tariff (FiT) rates for solar PV installations by as much as 87% have shocked the solar industry, which is already reeling from a recent wave of potentially damaging policy proposals, according the UK's Solar Trade Association (STA).

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is proposing to cut the feed-in tariff (FiT) rates for solar PV installations by as much as 87%.

Germany-based PV developer IBC Solar is planning to complete 80MW of solar projects in its home country this year.

ZN Shine has been formally removed from the minimum import price (MIP) undertaking agreed between China and the EU.

Inverter manufacturer Ingeteam has been granted a €55 million (US$61 million) loan by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for its research and development of renewable energy.

The EU has increased anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar glass to a maximum of 75.4%. The highest original anti-dumping tariff was 36.1%.