A study sponsored by the solar power industry has concluded that the United States ran a trade surplus of $1.88 billion in solar technologies last year, as exports of raw material and factory equipment for the solar sector outpaced imports of finished solar panels.

Schott Solar advised that it had achieved 20.2% efficiency on its monocrystalline screen-printed solar PV cell; a feat that was confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).

Renewable Energy Corp. ASA, a Norwegian maker of solar-power components, extended a shutdown of plants in Norway until the end of the year because demand for wafers and cells has failed to pick up.

Japan approved a bill today to subsidize electricity from renewable sources, joining European nations in shifting away from nuclear power after the Fukushima reactor meltdowns in March.

Applied Materials CEO Mike Splinter told analysts on a conference call that he is now expecting chipmakers to spend US$1 billion less on new equipment than the company forecast in July. "We've seen demand from our foundry customers soften significantly in the past six weeks," Splitner said.

"Semiconductor companies now need to become much more systems-oriented," Freescale CEO Rich Beyer said during a technology forum. "We are into an era of connected intelligence where data is ubiquitous, and these devices [such as tablets] will conform to us and not have us conform to them, as in the case of the personal computer."

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Wednesday placed its noninvestment-grade "B+" corporate credit rating for LDK Solar Co. Ltd. under review for possible downgrade after the Chinese solar products company cut its financial outlooks for the second quarter and the full year.

The pressure in the DRAM business today is "untenable for a number of players," with something needing to happen to the struggling Asian memory makers within the next couple of quarters, Micron CEO Steve Appleton was quoted as saying.

"If you get a buyer who is a significant part of the ecosystem, in which they already play a part, it is likely that they would be excluding part of the market and therefore diminishing part of the value of ARM...

MediaTek is looking at acquisition targets globally in a move to grow and acquire new technologies, its chief financial officer said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that it has no intention of taking over Hewlett-Packard's personal computer business.

The price of polysilicon, the main raw material in photovoltaic panels, rose in August for the first time in five months, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said solar-equipment makers are poised for recovery.

German high-tech lighting manufacturer Osram gmbh and its subsidiary, Osram Opto Semiconductors, filed multiple lawsuits in South Korea against companies controlled by LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung LED Co. Ltd., claiming that the companies are infringing core Osram patents.

IKEA's San Diego, California store has officially commenced operation of its 252kW rooftop solar power system; the tenth solar installation the company has completed at its stores nationwide.

Jay Legenhausen previously managed worldwide sales for Actel/Microsemi. Prior to Actel, he spent 17 years working at Cypress Semiconductor in various sales and marketing positions.

Texas Memory Systems, best known for its pricey, yet extremely high-performance NAND flash-based storage arrays, has introduced a new system that it said competes with Tier 1 hard drives on a price-per-gigabyte basis.

A roof-mounted solar panel announced by Ford in the US this week could help to drive electric versions of its Focus small car up to 1600 kilometres a month for free.

First Solar has officially opened its new factory in Mesa, Arizona at a ceremony on Friday morning. Module production at Mesa is expected to begin by Q3 2012 and will employ approximately 600 full-time staff.

SoloPower has received a $197m loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for the construction and operation of three solar module manufacturing facilities.

Germany-based Solar Millennium AG said in a statement released last week that it has changed its plans for the proposed 1GW Blythe solar farm in California, and will install the first 500MW of the facility using PV panels.

When it comes renewable energy solutions, sometimes nature has the best ideas. That was 13-year-old Aidan Dwyer's conclusion after a wintry hike in New York's Catskill Mountains, a trip that inspired him to build a unique and effective solar array design.

Avago's main smartphone customers are Samsung and HTC, but speculation is rife among analysts that some upcoming wireless devices from Apple, including new iPhones and the iPad 3, could use some Avago chips.

The East Kilbride Campus, which ceased production in 2009, was acquired by Clowes Developments (Scotland), an Edinburgh-based real estate developer. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

A Wall Street analyst has predicted that Intel may acquire Micron Technology as the move would diversify its product offerings.

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. has signed an agreement to supply approximately 21MW of solar products to Huanghe Hydropower Development Co., Ltd. by September 2011.