Reuters

The non-binding memorandum of understanding had no financial terms, Rory Macpherson, Suntech's director of investor relations, told Reuters, declining to name the South African company involved in the project.

"We're exploring developments of solar projects with an unnamed solar firm," Macpherson said.

Analysts say the total investment for building a 100 MW solar power plant could be between $350 million and $400 million.

Japan's Toshiba Corp said it plans to launch solar power projects in Europe and the United States, hoping to generate 150 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in overseas sales from solar power operations in the year to March 2016.

Toshiba will initiate the push with the construction of a 10 megawatt Bulgarian facility scheduled to come on stream next financial year.

Toshiba Corp plans to construct solar power projects in Europe and the United States, hoping to generate 150 billion yen ($1.76 billion) in overseas sales from solar power operations in fiscal 2015, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Toshiba is initiating the push with the construction of a 10,000-kilowatt Bulgarian facility scheduled to come on stream next fiscal year, the paper said.

Spain's Abengoa Solar should not have to make provisions against possible lower earnings from recent subsidy cuts, Chief Executive Santiago Seage said in an interview on Tuesday.

The solar mirror power plant builder and operator expects the government's draft agreement on reduced sector aid to become law without further regulatory cutbacks.

China plans to issue new standards to regulate the charging infrastructure needed for electric cars, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday.

The government plans to introduce three standards in October that would cover technical requirements, among others, for the charging facilities for electrical vehicles, the Securities News said, citing an unnamed source from the State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Applied Materials Inc forecast quarterly results that beat Wall Street estimates, with demand for its chip-making gear holding up despite fears of weakening technology spending.

But the world's top supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment warned that sales of solar and energy equipment -- a fast-growing business that accounts for about 15 percent of revenue -- would slide 10 percent to 20 percent this quarter.

The modules, which will be sold by Trina Solar's U.S. unit, are expected to be used for projects in North America and Europe by SunEdison, which is a subsidiary of silicon maker MEMC Electronic Materials Inc.

Trina Solar had said in May it expected the United States to account for more of its global shipments in the second half as European governments cut back subsidies and as the U.S. market emerged as a leading growth area for the renewable power source.

A Chinese consortium offered to accept a grid feed-in tariff of as low as 0.73 yuan ($0.108) per kilowatt hour (kWh) in its bid for one of China's second batch of utility-level solar power projects, an industry source said on Monday.

SMA Solar, the world's No.1 maker of solar inverters and an investor darling, missed high expectations for second-quarter profits after the group raised its sales outlook last month.

Inverters are key components that convert direct current generated from solar modules into alternating current, and sales have soared along with modules in the first half of the year, above all in Germany, the world's biggest solar market.

Two of Germany's largest solar equipment companies lifted their 2010 sales outlooks because of a booming global market, even as they joined overseas peers in giving a cautious view of 2011.

Crisis-ridden Q-Cells, the world's No.4 solar cell maker, posted its first quarterly net profit since late 2008 and raised its outlook as its restructuring efforts start bearing fruit, while its main market, Germany, takes off this year.