Last week saw some signs that solar manufacturers are continuing to struggle with lower prices, although this time it’s a China-based company. however, other news across the industry was more positive. For instance, what’s likely the world’s largest battery is now fully installed and operational, providing energy storage for renewable energy. Also, some counties are considering making solar on rooftops of new homes mandatory and at least one company is developing DIY solar kits, making it easier for people to go solar on their own.

First off, China solar giant Suntech’s woes increased last week, when its creditors filed bankruptcy proceedings against the company. The company defaulted on a $541 million bond payment—more than Solyndra’s DOE loan, which spurred so much controversy in the US. The filing against Suntech is also interesting because the Chinese companies are often associated with lowering PV prices below that which their competitors can match in order to gain marketshare. It looks like that might have come back at them in this case.

This week, Duke Energy, the Department of Energy and Xtreme Power will unveil what’s likely the world’s largest battery system. The system, which is capable of storing 36 megawatt hours of energy, was deployed at the 153 megawatt Notrees Windpower Project, in Ector and Winkler counties, Texas. The battery array will help to moderate the power that comes from the wind farm so it’s easier for utility operators to balance the load of electricity on the grid, whether or not the wind is blowing.

On a more local level, Lancaster, Calif., is considering making PV mandatory on all new homes. The Los Angeles suburb is considering requiring all new homes to carry at least 1 kilowatt of solar on their roofs. The city is making the decision this week. If it decides to approve the building code it would be the first municipality in the nation to adopt such a regulation.

That’s one way to make it easier to go solar. Of course, not everyone can live in Lancaster. That’s why another option for homeowners are DIY kits, like those developed by Florida’s Peak Solar, which is making near-DIY kits. Basically it’s offering pre-packaged, easy to set up PV kits to installers. The same systems could feasibly be installed by a homeowner and then be connected by an electrician, but it still depends on local regulations and utility rules.

Indiana’s Indianapolis International Airport may soon have the largest PV array at an airport in the US. The new array will be almost 10 megawatts and cover 75 acres at the site. Indianapolis Power and Light, which owns the system, broke ground on the project last week. The project has been in planning since at least 2011 and is now slated for completion in fall 2013.

It’s projects like that that are making sure solar continues to grow, and the solar installers are hungry for the business. For instance, Borrego Solar recently purchased a roughly 3 megawatt portfolio of projects in Southern California. The projects were already in mid- to late-stages of development, but the companies that had started them, for whatever reasons, were not pursuing them further. The purchase allows Borrego to get some ready projects without going through all the permitting and other issues that early stage projects have to go through.

Similarly Soltage, a northeast project developer just received a financial shot in the arm, when it received a $30 million investment from NewWorld Environmental Infrastructure. The investment will help it complete six solar projects, totaling 11.6 megawatts in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The investor group focusses on supporting clean energy developments.