Germany may pass legislation to cut solar-power subsidies before July 7 should the government and regional leaders reach a compromise this week, according to an official at the Federal Environment Agency.

May was a record month for solar energy production in Germany, with 4 billion kilowatt hours of electricity generated by the country's solar panels.

Germany may call on the European Union to apply high import tariffs on Chinese solar panels that are sold at less than production costs, Environment Minister Peter Altmaier told the WirtschaftsWoche busniess magazine.

China-based energy group Hanergy is set to buy part of Q-Cells, the insolvent Germany-based solar-panel maker, in a deal that highlights the buying power of Chinese energy companies in the troubled European solar market.

Solar power plants in Germany produced a world record 22GW of electricity per hour - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity - through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said.

The German Federal Council has determined that that the bill earlier adopted by the German Parliament for the reduction of solar subsidies will be going a the mediation committee, which will allow for the federal and state governments to negotiate finding a comprise.

German solar-power companies expect sales to decline by 50 percent this year because of subsidy cuts in the world's second-largest market for the industry, according to a survey by the BSW-Solar lobby.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's effort to create jobs in renewable energy is faltering as subsidy cuts and competition from Chinese manufacturers forces the industry to stop hiring for the first time in eight years.

German solar installations may have more than tripled in the first quarter from a year ago, the country's deputy environment minister said.

Germany's parliament approved record cuts in aid for solar power, aiming to reduce the annual pace of installations by half in the world's biggest market for the industry.

Globalfoundres announced that its Fab 1 in Dresden, Germany has shipped a quarter of a million semiconductor wafers based on 32nm High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) technology. The milestone represents a significant lead over other foundries in HKMG manufacturing, it claimed.

Installations of solar panels will continue to increase strongly in Germany in the first six months of the year, government and industry sources told Reuters, dealing a blow to efforts by the ruling coalition to get the market under control.

Around 11,000 people gathered in Berlin on 5 March to protest against further cuts to the support for solar photovoltaics (PV) in Germany from April.

At 1pm local time Monday March 5, thousands, including employees from around 50 solar companies, will converge in Berlin at the Brandeburger Tor to protest against harsh cuts to the proposed feed-in tariff legislation.

SMA Solar, Germany's top solar company, forecast sales and operating margins will fall significantly in 2012, blaming the German government's March 9 decision to slash state-mandated incentives for photovoltaic electricity.

Germany, the world's biggest solar- power market, may delay a plan to cut subsidies in the industry by at least three weeks to allow developers to complete projects, a lawmaker said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet endorsed plans on Wednesday to cut state-mandated incentives for photovoltaic electricity in the world's largest market for solar power by up to 30% on March 9, coalition sources told Reuters.

BSW-Solar fears that, despite considerable opposition from the solar industry, the new legislation is likely to be passed in a meeting of the Federal Cabinet tomorrow.

Germany, the world's biggest market for solar power, plans record reductions in subsidies for the industry as part of a program to rein in a boom in installations.

One of the world's biggest green-energy public-policy experiments is coming to a bitter end in Germany, with important lessons for policymakers elsewhere.

Fears Germany will cap or cut green energy subsidies is boosting demand for solar panels, and uncertainty about the shape of the measures could give the country's battered solar sector an advantage against Chinese rivals.

LDK Solar Co. (LDK)'s plan to buy Germany's Sunways AG (SWW) provides China's second-largest solar-panel maker with access to new technology and a distribution network in the world's biggest photovoltaic market.

The German Solar Industry Association (BSW) has announced that German solar power producers have increased electricity output this year by 60 percent over 2010 to 18 billion kWh. This is more than three percent of total power output volumes.

REC modules were selected for a 60MW module supplier agreement with the German project developer GP JOULE for solar power plant installations in France and Germany.

German solar-power developer Solar Millennium AG said Wednesday it has filed for insolvency after it was unable to sell four US solar-power projects, in the second such filing by a German solar firm in a week.

Alterations to Germany's green policy are causing outrage. The country's environment minister, Norbert R繹ttgen, has rejected the economy minister's calls to cut renewable energy subsidies further.