Ben Willis

Solar venture capital investments increased by over US$60 million in the second quarter of 2013, having hit a record low in the first part of the year.

Solar mounting system manufacturer Clenergy is to develop 100MW of PV projects in Huaping County in the Chinese city of Lijiang.

Japanese PV manufacturer Panasonic is to close its module factory in Hungary at the expense of 550 jobs.

GE Ventures, part of global power equipment giant General Electric, has taken part in a US$15 million equity investment in leading US solar rooftop installer Sungevity.

India's largest power company, NTPC, has chosen PV developer Tata Solar Power to build a 50MW solar PV project at Rajgarh in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The split between the two bodies that had jointly been working to realise the ambitious Desertec renewable energy vision was the culmination of a long-running dispute over the project’s strategy and governance, it has emerged.

Silicon Valley giant Apple is planning a 20MW solar installation to power a new data centre the company is building in Nevada.

Vienna-based Activ Solar is a PV manufacturer and international developer of utility-scale power stations. Speaking to Ben Willis at Intersolar Europe 2013, chief executive Kaveh Ertefai reveals how the company is keeping ahead in an increasingly competitive global market.

German solar firm JvG Thoma is to supply an unnamed company with manufacturing equipment for a 10MW PV module plant in Nigeria.

French renewables developer Axuo Energy is teaming up with R20, the international environmental body set up by former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, to build 41MW of PV generation in Mali.