SolarWatch for week of 30 April

All the latest solar-energy-related news from around the globe:

• Environmental Leader reports that a proposed 10-megawatt photovoltaic installation in Chicago could become the largest urban solar farm in the US;
• The Guardian today examines a new technology that could use molten salts to store solar energy for use at later times when the sun isn’t shining;
• Adept Technology plans to showcase its automation solutions for solar manufacturing at the SNEC PV Power Expo in Shanghai, China;
• The nanoelectronics research institute IMEC says plasmonic (metal-based nanophotonics) technology could one day be used to create highly efficient thin-film solar cells;
• Manz Automation AG plans to focus on research and development efforts in 2009 while waiting for the solar market to rebound;
• Stuart Wenham, Suntech Power Holding’s chief technology officer, has won the top prize at the 2009 Inventor of the Year awards hosted by NewSouth Innovations, the technology commercialization company of the University of NSW, Australia;
• Writing in today’s Climate Progress, Michael Hogan, power programme director for the European Climate Foundation, examines the “secret to low-water-use, high-efficiency concentrating solar power“;
• Thin-film photovoltaics firm First Solar reports that it saw earnings improve in the first quarter of this year and has also launched a search for a new CEO;
• Schering-Plough has flipped the switch on a 1.7-megawatt rooftop solar panel system that is one of the largest in New Jersey;
• Neatorama reports on a homeless camp in Japan that features a “Zero Yen House” equipped with a solar panel;
• Nature News says the Japanese Government has launched an effort to regain the country’s status as a leader in solar energy research;
• A merger between Sunfilm and Sontor could “create a powerhouse manufacturer of amorphorous silicon solar panels,” according to Greentech Media;
• The largest commercial solar-energy tower in the world recently began operations in Spain;
• Renewable Energy Corp. has lowered its polysilicon production forecast and plans to halve its output of photovoltaic modules this quarter;
• BTU International reports continued growth into the photovoltaics, crystalline and thin-film solar markets;
• PV Tech cites Japanese news sources indicating that Hitachi and Showa Shell Sekiyu are currently discussing a possible partnership and entry into the photovoltaics market;
• With two $15 million grants, scientists and engineers aim to revolutionise solar cells and provide the fundamental science for geological storage of greenhouse gases as part of two Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) established at The University of Texas at Austin by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE);
• Global solar industry consultant Solarplaza has announced “The Solar Future” Conference to be held in Munich, Germany on 26 May;
• China-based Chint Solar has boosted its coffers with a $50 million settlement in a patent lawsuit;
• Science Foundation Arizona announced five new solar investments totaling $4 million and the opening of the Solar Technology Institute (STI) to advance Arizona’s renewable energy leadership.