As the price of PV falls, the technology will become more competitively priced in Europe and the U.S. before its prices are competitive in China.

Suntech Laid Off 10%, Factories Running at 50%–60% Capacity

UPDATED: Suntech spokesman said he erred in saying some workers had to take long unpaid leave. The Chinese solar panel maker refutes claims made by a news story reporting that the company has carried out a massive layoff.

Optisolar Lays off 300, Half the Staff

Optisolar, one of the fastest growing solar companies in the market, has cut half its staff due to lack of financing.

Solar

SolFocus Scores $47.5M to Peddle Concentrating Solar Technology

The California startup aims to increase the total installations of its solar energy systems from 0.5 MW to 100 MW by 2010.

Solar

American Solar Industry's Secret Sauce: Innovation

A new Greentech Media market research report surveys the North American solar industry and finds the explosive growth in emerging technologies the key to U.S. dominance in the global solar market.

Solar

Nanosolar: Tubular Thin Films Are Overrated

Nanosolar CEO Martin Roscheisen penned a blog to refute claims by Solyndra, which came out of stealth mode earlier this year to announce unusual solar panel designs and big contracts.

Solar

First Solar Creates Tough Act to Follow

Solar startups will have trouble replicating the thin-film solar panel market leader's performance in today's poor economy, industry watchers at a Photon International conference warn.

Solar

150 Solar Startups

VC investment in solar has risen from a trickle to a flood in the previous four years. In this three-part series, Eric Wesoff digs into these solar investments to see what turns up.

Solar

SolFocus Boosts Solar Efficiency

The California startup launches a new concentrating solar system that ups sunlight-to-electricity efficiency to 25 percent, up from 18 percent in its last system.

Solar

First Solar Shares Jump 24.5%

Analysts upgraded their ratings on the thin-film company after the Tempe, Ariz.-based company announced new sales agreements and posted earnings that beat expectations this week.

Solar

SolFocus Turns On First U.S. Commercial Installation

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi flips the switch on a 7.2-kilowatt system for a radio station in California, which expects to be the first concentrating-photovoltaic customer to be eligible for state solar rebates.

Solar

Solyndra Signs $250M GeckoLogic Deal

Thin-film startup's $250 million deal to sell its panels to GeckoLogic is part of the $1.2 billion in sales contracts Solyndra has inked with customers.

Solar

Startups Undeterred Despite Weak Economy

Greentech startups Hyperion, Wattbot and Planar are raising cash, and all three say they expect to close deals in the first quarter of 2009.

Google Plays U.S.-China Matchmaker

Google.org is giving $250,000 to the U.S. National Academies to fund a study on how the United States and China can collaborate on solar and wind energy generation, energy storage and grid tech.

Solar

Evergreen Sues Barclays, Lehman for Shares

The solar-panel maker wants a U.S. bankruptcy court to order the return of 12.2 million shares of its stock that Lehman sold to Barclays.

Solar

Solar Roundup: As Shares Climb, Will Expansion Plans Pan Out?

As solar shares outpace the Dow and the Nasdaq, Oregon considers the first U.S. state feed-in tariff modeled on the German system, Energosolar ships an amorphous-silicon manufacturing line and Wacker reveals plans for an additional 10,000 tons of silicon capacity.

Solar

Solyndra Still Raising Cash

The company, which has raised $600 million in equity funding since 2005, plans to expand manufacturing capacity as quickly as possible and is continuing to talk to investors, CEO Chris Gronet says.

Solar

Solyndra Increases Beta Testing

The company says it has 15 projects being tested globally. Meanwhile, some question whether today's testing requirements – which some have called "abundant" and others have called "onerous" – really ensure reliability.

Solar

Suniva to Start Production Next Week

The Atlanta-based startup will begin making its monocrystalline silicon solar cells to fulfill the almost $1 billion in contracts it already has signed.

Solar

Soliant Lands $21M

General Electric Energy Financial Services leads the round with a $2.5 million investment in the concentrated photovoltaic solar startup

Solar