The company said it would downsize its work aimed at DRAM trench capacitors, including an end to the development of large batch thermal systems for that market. It will continue to upgrade systems in the field and supply additional units to customers.

The law says electricity produced from renewable sources must be purchased by utilities according to a generous "feed-in tariff" that sets higher-than-market rates and fixes them for 20 years. Roof-mounted photovoltaic systems installed in 2007, for example, can sell power at ？0.49 per kilowatt-hour, or about seven times today's wholesale price, until 2027. The fixed rate allows investors to calculate returns and removes uncertainty over financing.

According to a note from Piper Jaffray, Spain is considering boosting its cap on solar incentives to 2.26 gigawatts, from a previous cap of 400 megawatts and a previous proposal of 1.2 gigawatts. The news could be good for the industry, but bad for US installers.

As Evergreen Solar nears completion of its 80MW Phase 1 expansion of its Devens, Massachusetts PV plant making its proprietary 'String Ribbon' solar wafer technology, the company has announced Phase 2 expansion at the facility, which will double capacity to 160MW.

Meanwhile, Germany has wound up with more solar panels than any other country in the world - a perverse result for such a cloudy place. It also has fewer wind turbines than it might otherwise - again, an odd outcome for a blustery country. The German government has decided that the subsidy is too expensive, and wants to revise it - just the sort of unpredictable behaviour that tends to alarm rather than entice investors.

Potentials for reducing greater Washington's carbon footprint

March retail shelf-share rankings of top TV display brands saw little movement among the flat-panel leaders, but Samsung showed continued strength in rear-projection TV after maintaining its grasp of the top slot over lame-duck Sony, according the March Display Shelf Share Report from The NPD Group.

ON, Korea's third-largest supplier of television products and current licensee of Thomson's former Proscan brand, recently announced new strategic supply arrangements with Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) and Hisense to ensure product availability through 2008.