Masdar to build thin-film module lines in Erfurt and Abu Dhabi August, 2008: Masdar PV has announced plans to set up thin-film module factories in Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The financially well-endowed Masdar Initiative, sponsored by the Abu Dhabi government, is behind the move. The construction of the plants is part of a massive plan by the Emirate to become a developer and exporter of renewable energy installations. France's Solaire Direct setting up South African module factory July, 2008: French PV integrator Solaire Direct is building a module manufacturing plant in South Africa, not for general sales but to feed its own growing installation business in France.     Rolf Disch builds PV neighborhood September, 2008: Imagine buildings with zero heating and lighting costs that actually produce electricity. EPIA and Eurobat pool their strengths August, 2008: »In the future, energy storage technologies will be important components of PV systems and contribute to the PV industry's further growth.«     GreenVolts breaks ground on America's largest HCPV power plant August, 2008: GreenVolts Inc., a San Francisco-based developer of high-concentration PV systems, this summer broke ground on what would be the largest solar power plant in the US – and one of the largest in the world – to use optics to concentrate sunlight hundreds of times onto tiny solar cells. US congressman officially files national feed-in tariff proposal July, 2008: US Congressmen Jay Inslee, backed by three fellow Democrats, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives on June 26 that would guarantee grid connection to renewable energy generators up to 20 MW in size and offer them 20-year, fixed-rate energy payments.     Hyundai plans 330 MW of cell capacity in move up the value chain August, 2008: Following the May inauguration for the addition of a 30 MW cell line to its module production, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (HHI) now wants to invest 300 billion KRW ($287 million) toward even bigger expansion dreams. Expansion-bound ReneSola raises new cash in follow-on offering July, 2008: ReneSola Ltd. says it has raised close to $190 million from a follow-on offering on the New York Stock Exchange to further expand its ingot and wafer capacity, as well as production of polysilicon.     Falling for PV – and the F-word August, 2008: In a country where King Coal reigns, the plight of Australia’s PV industry, reflected by an embarrassingly small domestic market, has led to several states proposing questionable feed-in tariffs, a promise by the ruling Labor government to »harmonize« them, and the Green Party to introduce its own national scheme. But instead of concentrating on this potential breakthrough, most eyes seem focused on the fate of an inconsequential PV rebate. As Labor takes over reigns in Australia, campaign noises for solar could get louder April, 2008: To refer to Australia as »Down Under« is to describe the country‘s PV market of less than 10 MW per year. But with the changing of the guard in Australian politics as Labor ousted the Liberal coalition in late November, the newcomers‘ solar campaign promises appear to have given PV its best-ever hope of finally taking off – maybe.     Rogol's monthly market commentary June, 2008: We are forecasting more than 25 GW of solar cell/module production in 2010. Nearly no one agrees with this outlook. If you disagree, let me suggest a bet: German cell manufacturer Q-Cells is Number 1 cell producer worldwide February, 2008: Sharp Corporation has been toppled from it’s Number 1 spot in cell production and is now in a head-to-head race with Suntech Power Corp.     Fronius completes ist IG Plus series August, 2008: In 2007, Fronius International GmbH began introducing inverters from its IG Plus series. Tracking system from Ideematec July, 2008: At Intersolar, Ideematec Deutschland GmbH is introducing a single-axis tracking system.     Germany will likely remain the world‘s largest PV market – the only question is whether it implodes April, 2008: For some time, supply has limited demand on the PV market – but what determines demand? The short answer: price. The long answer, at least for solar modules, is a 181 page report titled Detailing Demand – Where will all the Volume go? In this study, solar analyst Chris Porter describes where he thinks a phenomenal 23 GW of modules will be installed in 2010. Today‘s leading market Germany alone will contribute more than 6 GW to that total. Navigant report uses different »metric« for gauging PV market June, 2007: On April 25, Navigant Consulting Inc. (NCI) published its annual PV report. The study – Photovoltaic Manufacturer Shipments & Competitive Analysis 2006/2007 – presents a 2006 cell figure of just 1,982.4 MW, considerably lower than any other industry analysis.     Sharp Solar gets new boss June, 2007: Since April 1, Takashi Tomita is no longer head of Sharp Corp.'s international solar division. He is now in charge of the company's research and development department. The awards tour October, 2006: Just as at every international PV conference, many awards were bestowed upon deserving recipients in Dresden.