SunEdison, a division of MEMC Electronic Materials Inc, received final approval from the Italian government this week to develop and build a 72-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar power plant in Northeastern Italy, near the town of Rovigo. When completed, this is expected to be the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Europe.

XINYU CITY, China and SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LDK Solar Co., Ltd. ("LDK Solar") (NYSE: LDK) announced today that Munich Re's Special Enterprise Risk unit's new insurance solution will cover the performance warranty of its photovoltaic modules.

The insurance solution covers the performance warranty of LDK Solar modules for a period of 25 years. The warranty guarantees that the modules will perform to at least 90 percent capacity in the first ten years and to at least 80 percent in the remaining 15 years.

ROSEVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The County of Ventura, Solar Power, Inc. (“SPI”) (OTCBB: SOPW), and Solar Power Partners (“SPP”) held a dedication ceremony on March 10, 2010 at Ventura County’s Saticoy Operations Yard celebrating the completion of the installation of photovoltaic (“PV”) solar systems on two of the County’s buildings. The two systems, a 334.56 kW DC system on the Fleet Services and Public Works buildings at the Saticoy Operations Yard, and a 157.44 kW DC system on the County’s Vanguard building, have begun to provide power to the County’s operations at each location.

TAINAN, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Applied Materials, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of equipment to the semiconductor, flat panel display (FPD) and solar photovoltaic (PV) industries, today announced the opening of its newly expanded Tainan Manufacturing Center in Tainan, Taiwan. The nearly 15,000 square meter facility will enhance Applied’s capability to serve its FPD and thin film solar PV customers in Asia while capitalizing on Taiwan’s excellent location, strong talent pool and supply chain efficiencies.

ROVIGO, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SunEdison, a division of MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (NYSE: WFR), received final approval from the Italian government to develop and construct a 72 Megawatt (MW) photovoltaic solar power plant in Northeastern Italy, near the town of Rovigo. When completed, this is expected to be the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant in Europe.

Southern California Edison (SCE) and SunPower Corp. have reached a deal for SunPower to provide 200 megawatts (MW) of solar panels to the utility, which plans to use them to cover 80% of the capacity needed for its solar photovoltaic installation program.

ROSEVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Solar Power, Inc. (“SPI”) (OTCBB: SOPW) a leading designer, manufacturer and installer of photovoltaic solar power systems worldwide, today announced that Steve Kircher, Chairman and CEO, Jeff Winzeler, CFO will be presenting at the Roth Capital Partners 22nd Annual OC Growth Stock Conference on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 5:00 P.M. Pacific time (8:00 p.m. Eastern time). The conference is being held at the Ritz Carlton in Dana Point, California.

Canadian Solar Inc. ("the Company," "Canadian Solar" or "we") (Nasdaq: CSIQ), a leading vertically integrated provider of ingot, wafer, solar cell, solar module and other solar applications, today announced the activation of a 540kW ground-mount photovoltaic (PV) solar electric system at Minturn Huller Cooperative, Inc., a premier almond huller and sheller for more than 260 almond growers in Central Valley, Calif.

First Solar has signed a 300-megawatt (MW) power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) with electricity from a utility-scale solar photovoltaic power facility that First Solar is developing in Southern California.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With solar panels and wind turbines popping up across the region, the Tennessee Valley Authority's homegrown renewable energy program, Generation Partners, now has enough power to meet the annual electricity needs of a fairly large subdivision.

ROSEMEAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southern California Edison (SCE), an Edison International company (NYSE:EIX), and SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB) announced today that SunPower has won a contract to provide solar technology for generating up to 200 megawatts, or 80 percent, of the solar power capacity needed for the utility’s large solar photovoltaic installation program.