In this interview from the Solar Power International trade show, Sonnen CEO Christoph Ostermann and Senior VP Blake Richetta talk about the market for backup power, and how this has been influenced by recent disasters

Pioneering solar manufacturer SolarWorld AG is insolvent. It is unclear whether the company’s U.S. subsidiary must now file as well.

Schmid and MacDermid have been selected as pv magazine’s 2017 Technology Highlights award winners. In late March, the prize jury of industry experts met to select the winners, from a shortlist of eight innovative new PV production equipment and materials. Dozens of entries to the award were received from suppliers worldwide. Alongside the two winners, the jury selected Sinton Instruments as worthy of special commendation as having provided the ‘Technology to Watch’ in 2017.

German solar research institute Fraunhofer ISE has reclaimed the multicrystalline PV cell efficiency record, achieving 21.9%. Fraunhofer researchers deployed n-type high-performance multicrystalline technology to produce the record-setting PV cell.

U.S. solar producer SunPower will acquire Taiwan’s AU Optronic’s stake in a cell production facility joint venture the companies entered into in 2010. Under the deal, SunPower will pay $170 million over four years and take complete control of what is describes as “our highest performing solar cell fab.”

The time is now for solar to take a seat at the “adults’ table” and achieve scale within the U.S. energy marketplace. This was one of the key messages at the opening session of the Solar Power International trade show that kicked off in Las Vegas today.

SolarWorld has increased its Q2 2016 shipments 39% YoY, to 342 MW, in 2016. Revenues increased almost 30% for the quarter, to €222 million ($246 million), while achieving an EBIT profit of €20.5 ($22.7 million) million.

Industry analysts IHS Markit expect the grid-tied energy storage market to double in 2016, from 1.4 GWh to 2.9 GWh. IHS expects on-grid storage capacity to reach 21 GWh by 2025.

SolarWorld could face bankruptcy as a result of its polysilicon supply dispute with Hemlock. The U.S. polysilicon supplier is claiming up to $793.5 million in damages, in court documents acquired by Reuters today.

New research has indicated a pathway for perovskites to achieve a conversion efficiency of 31%. The findings were published by researchers from Berkeley Lab this week. Nanoscale images of perovskite solar cells revealed a characteristic of perovskites that points to the potential for dramatically higher efficiencies.