The solar photovoltaic (PV) market is poised to rise from its 2011 manufacturing crisis to grow to $155 billion in 2018, as market forces engineer a turnaround to a healthy 10.5 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), according to Lux Research.

The global electric power industry is evolving from a model that relies on large centralized power plants owned by utilities to one that is more diverse, in terms of both the sources of generation and ownership of localized generation assets, notes Navigant Research.

First Solar Inc. announced it is acquiring TetraSun, a solar photovoltaic (PV) technology startup which has developed a new cell architecture capable of conversion efficiencies exceeding 21 percent with commercial-scale manufacturing costs comparable to conventional multicrystalline silicon solar cells.

GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA®) have released their annual report, U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year-in-Review 2012, which indicates that solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in the United States last year grew 76 percent over 2011.

The U.S. Solar Market Insight: Q1 2012 report, released by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA®) and GTM Research, finds that growth in solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in the United States is sustaining its strong pace from 2011.

As financial incentives are reduced in some major markets, other factors — in particular price reductions, new residential financing mechanisms, and third party ownership models — will become the key drivers for the solar photovoltaic (PV) market, according to a report from Pike Research.