Germany's upper house of parliament backed reductions in solar-power subsidies of as much as 16 percent after offering the industry an extra three months to adjust to the cuts.

The company has estimated revenues grew 23-25% on quarter in the second quarter of 2010, a positive increase over the guidance previously provided that revenues would be up 10-20% sequentially.

Solar-power industry representatives said the bill passed by the lower house of parliament in Berlin today will increase pressure on companies such as Q-Cells SE and Solarworld AG as they face competition from producers in China.

Retroactively from July 1, subsidies for roof-mounted solar-electricity facilities will be cut by 13% instead of the originally planned 16% cut. Subsides to providers generating solar power on open-field sites--such as agricultural land--will be cut by 12% instead of 15%, while the initial cut for sites that have been converted from former military and industrial use would be 8% instead of 11%.

"However, global economic recovery that started in the second half of 2009 is in danger of slowing down due to macroeconomic problems such as the Euro crisis, continued high unemployment in the US...," said IDC analyst. "In such a scenario, the expected growth in the second half of 2010 may be pushed into early 2011."

British householders who have installed the expensive technology are unable to start generating electricity because of a shortage of "inverters".

Shanghai-based JA Solar announced that it had agreed to supply solar panels to MEMC Electronic Materials.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster should make us look to the sun, and start a revolution in how we meet our energy needs.

Shares of most DRAM makers have underperformed their respective benchmark indexes in Asia so far this year, as European sovereign-debt troubles surfaced and clouded views on global economic growth.

The maker of high-speed memory chips changed its focus during a downturn, from retail to direct sales to device makers and sellers, and the company's shares have soared.

Renesas Electronics and Nokia are deepening their collaboration by forming a strategic business alliance to develop modem technologies for HSPA+/LTE and its evolution, according to Renesas. As part of this alliance, the companies have entered into an agreement whereby Renesas is to acquire Nokia's wireless modem business for US$200 million.

Sanyo Electric has decided to sell its semiconductor business to ON Semiconductor for 20-30 billion yen (US$228-341 million), Kyodo News reported Friday, without citing sources.

Silicon Integrated System (SiS) has adopted Cadence solutions for its PC peripheral and multimedia system on chip (SoC) designs, according to Cadence.

Wind turbine farms are set to expand rapidly across Europe's coastal waters, throwing up challenges and opportunities for industry, according to a Reuters analysis of a leaked draft of EU energy strategies.

China's central government has approved proposals to establish a national-level new-energy demonstration city in Turpan in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, and the first low-carbon demonstration township in the Jujiapu Financial District of Tianjin.

The Asian Development Bank is leading the establishment of a nonprofit organization to promote the large-scale development of solar energy in Asia.

WebOS tablet is expected to have most of the features and functionality missing from the iPad. A tablet built on a mobile OS, but including USB or SD memory card ports, front and/or rear facing cameras, and compatibility with Adobe Flash content offers business professionals a number of compelling reasons to shun the iPad.

As compared with previous generations, Micron's new RLDRAM 3 memory offers a further increase in density and speed, while minimizing latency and reducing power consumption for higher performing networking applications. Micron expects to begin sampling its RLDRAM 3 device in the first half of 2011.

Intel continues to make a push back into the cell-phone chip business - "sometimes under the radar" - as it acquired Comsys Mobile Communication and Signal Processing for US$30 million in late May, according to Forward Concepts.

Thin-film solar cells are optimal for use in a high-temperature climate, compared to crystalline solar cells. Sharp's experience in the mass production of thin-film solar cells has enabled Sharp to take part in this project. The thin-film solar cell modules to be used in the power generation plant will be supplied partially from Sharp's solar cell plant at Osaka Prefecture.

Citing "adverse market conditions," MagnaChip Semiconductor said it will not move forward with its planned initial public offering now.

Kingston Digital, the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology, will partner with security company BlockMaster to provide greater availability of centrally managed USB drives.

Micron Technology's shares slumped more than 13% on concerns about the growth rates for DRAM chips. However, some of the analysts who follow Micron seemed unfazed by the potential negativity, saying that such comments may actually end up benefiting Micron.

Atmel has agreed to sell its smart card business to Inside Contactless for US$37 million in cash and up to $21 million more if targets are met. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2010, subject to certain closing conditions.

Infineon has denied it is in discussions with diversified Russian holding company AFK Sistema, according to a report, in a rerun of denials from September 2009 and earlier.

Prices of DRAM fell for the first time in over a year in June, as companies increased production and PC vendors toughened their stance on further price increases. Analysts now say prices will slide for the rest of the year.

French nuclear giant Areva, hinted last week during a meeting in Forbes offices that Areva is developing a hybrid solar power plant concept that combines a solar thermal system with solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.

Tesla will be the first automaker to go public since the Ford Motor Company held its initial public offering in 1956. It expects the stock sale to raise up to $185 million, The Associated Press reports.

Hyundai Heavy Industries said it doubles its annual solar module and solar cell production capacity from current 320MW and 370MW to 600MW respectively by early 2011.

The Goldman Sachs Global Clean Energy team bases its installation forecast on supply forecast of 20GW and 28GW in 2010 and 2011 respectively.