California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved the California Solar Initiative (CSI), committing a combined $3.2 billion in incentive funds to drive consumers toward solar power over the next 11 years.

Boeing is to build three huge communications satellites, all of which will be powered by triple-junction GaAs solar cells.

These three companies will renew a 5-year partnership that produced the cell microprocessor for Sony's PlayStation 3 console.

Solar energy giant Suntech said it would invest up to US$20 million over the next two years in research and development to explore new technologies, as the Chinese market booms.

Stocks of solar energy companies posted gains on Wednesday ahead of an expected decision by the California Public Utilities Commission to adopt a $3.2 billion plan to install solar electricity panels on homes and buildings throughout the state.

The new plant, located in central Japan's Mie prefecture and set to start output in April 2007, will process 300-mm wafers to make system chips with a circuitry width of 65 nanometers.

Officials have contributed to the perception that the government is trying to lend more credibility to this policy through the crackdown on UMC.

China's integrated circuit market surpassed the United States and Japan in 2005 with market value grew 32% to US$40.8 billion in 2005. globally for the first time, according to IC Insights.

The Chinese foundry is set to start make solar cells in the first quarter of 2006

The company is shipping its first machines with an Intel processor Tuesday -- six months earlier than it had predicted when it announced this switch last June.