When GE sold its home appliance division in September 2014 for US $3.3 billion to Swedish company Electrolux, market rumors surfaced that the company might sell its lighting business too. The company denied intentions of selling its century old lighting business at the time. Instead of selling its lighting business, GE announced it would be spinning off its commercial LED lighting business, solar energy, and energy storage devices into a new startup company on Oct. 7, 2015. According to aBloomberg report, the new business is expected to increase annual sales to about US $5 billion from its current start of US $1 billion.

Rural Agri Ventures, a business incubation firm based in Gurgaon, India, that specializes in assisting the agribusiness sector recently announced the launch of an affordable LED product ‘My Way’, according to a report from Indian media The Hindu.

The U.S. Department of Energy has released a new report on the comprehensive street lighting restoration currently being undertaken by the City of Detroit, which includes transitioning the existing high-pressure sodium (HPS) sources to LED. Entitled Restoring Detroit's Street Lighting System, the report provides an objective review of the circumstances surrounding the system restoration, the processes undertaken and decisions made, and the results to date.

GE announced Current, powered by GE, a first-of-its kind energy company that integrates GE’s LED, Solar, Energy Storage and Electric Vehicle businesses with its industrial strength Predix platform to identify and deliver the most cost effective, efficient energy solutions required by customers today and in the future. Maryrose Sylvester, who as President and CEO at GE Lighting has led the transformation of one of the company’s most iconic businesses, will lead the new enterprise. Current is backed by GE’s balance sheet and financing expertise, and committed to successfully advancing ecomagination-certified technology solutions, new business models and Predix solutions for the energy sector.

UBS forecasted oversupply situation in the LED industry will continue into 2016, while sliding LED prices will nullify growing shipment volume advantages, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.

A new specification from Zhaga adds to a scaled family of circular LED modules. The Book 11 modules operate with a separate driver, and are independently interchangeable. The Zhaga Consortium has published Book 11, a new specification that describes circular LED modules with a maximum diameter of 35 mm that are suitable for spotlighting and related applications. A Book 11 module requires a separate LED driver

Authorities of Shetland, UK, announced the subartic archipelagos will be spending more than GBP 2 million (US $3.05 million) to upgrade its streetlights to LEDs, reported Shetland news.

China’s Light Industry Internet (CLII) recently published important lighting product export statistics for three markets during the first six months of 2015, showed export growth was highest for the Argentina market, and plunged the most in Saint Lucia. Lighting exports to France showed incremental growth.

San’an Opto announced recently its subsidiary in Fujian Province, China has received RMB 170 million (US $) subsidy from Anxi County Finance Bureau to invest in LED R&D, according to a report from Quamnet.

Bangalore (or also known as Bengaluru), the capital of India's southern Karnataka state will be rolling out a LED residential lighting replacement project by January, according to The Times of India and other Indian media.

Today at the IES Street & Area Lighting Conference, North America’s largest conference dedicated to improving the outdoor lighting business of electric utilities and energy service providers, Acuity Brands, through its subsidiary Acuity Brands Lighting, and Silver Spring Networks announced an agreement to jointly develop an intelligent lighting platform for utilities, cities, and large campus operators which will allow them to upgrade their aging lighting infrastructure and establish a path to additional smart city applications and services.

Taiwanese LED chip manufacturer Yang Hwa Technology owner Shih-Hsiung Chan was detained by police on Sept. 11, 2015 for suspected accounting fraud and market manipulation, according to a report by China Times.

Indian government policies are spurring a nationwide LED streetlight upgrade, but parts of Mangalore, Karnataka remain in the dark leading to higher crime rates, as disputes between government organizations over what lighting to install in the industrial park continue, reported NYOOZ.

The U.S. Department of Energy has released a GATEWAY report on the experiences of the City of Portland, OR, in converting its street lighting from high-pressure sodium to LED. Such large-scale conversions are rarely simple matters, and the Portland Bureau of Transportation was an early investigator of LED street lighting and one of the first public agencies to join DOE's Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium, so learning how the city addressed the challenges it encountered can be especially helpful to other cities that are implementing or considering their own lighting transitions.

Installing LED trailer brake lights could mean the difference between a safe stop and a rear end accident, the Chief Executive of the Australian Trucking Association, Christopher Melham, said today.

Greenled Oy , the leading Finnish manufacturer and supplier of all-inclusive LED lighting solutions, has won the contract to supply street lighting for the City of Helsinki. The request for tenders emphasized energy efficiency, high quality optics and durable design. In the first phase of the Helsinki LED project Greenled is set to deliver 1 700 Sirius outdoor luminaires to enlighten the Finnish capital. Launched in April 2015, Sirius is an innovative Finnish made LED luminaire that combines advanced lighting technology and robust design.

A surge in global demand for Soraa’s full visible spectrum GaN on GaN™ LED lamps and Optical Light Engines has led the company to name George Stringer as Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing. Stringer, who most recently served as Vice President of North America Sales and Marketing for the company, will report directly to Jeffery Parker, CEO of Soraa. Stringer will lead the company’s global sales organization with offices in U.S., London and Tokyo.

Waning growth in the sapphire substrate market is beginning to impact certain sapphire manufacturers. LEDinside latest reports show declined LED lighting demands triggered a 30% decline in the sapphire industry, leading to Tera Xtal Technology’s decision to cut 180 jobs.

Next generation OLED TV sales have soared 317% during the first half of 2015, according to a report from Business Korea.

Stranded on the barren red planet Mars with few supplies available, astronaut Mark Watney played by Hollywood actor Matt Damon in The Martian is fighting for survival on the harsh planet.

The LED market has shown mixed results in different global regions recently. Stagnant LED shipment growth, and plunging sapphire substrate prices have brought related manufacturers operations under the market lime light.

This LED badge launched at Burning Man this year has an OLED touch screen was designed by applying reproductive science and genetics. The personified light badges “inherit” a particular lighting sequence that can be passed on to another light badge through intercourse, which takes form through blinking lights. However, all sex between the lighting badges is consensual and require the approval of the female badges (yes the badges have different genders). Badges can also engage in homosexual relations. Instead of a walkie talkie users can use the light badge to link up with friends and choose their mate. For further info on the design concept and technology involved please see below.

Chinese manufacturers exported LED lighting goods to India for the first eight months of 2015 reached US $355 million, according to a DIGITIMES report.

Renewable Energy and Power, a diversified corporation with markets in energy-saving technologies of both LED lighting and solar cells, is pleased to announce that the Company has successfully completed the trial testing period of the initial order for LED lighting in a health-care/assisted-living facility of a major health-care organization. Nationwide, the organization operates more than five hundred skilled nursing centers and assisted senior living communities.

TOGGLED®, developer and producer of next-generation solid-state lighting technology and named in the Top 25 Most Innovative Companies in South East Michigan by Crain's Detroit, reported today the addition of Halco Lighting Technologies® to its rapidly expanding Licensing Program.

Leviton recently announced the expansion of its portfolio of LED lighting fixtures with a new line of industrial grade fixtures designed specifically for use in general industrial and hazardous classified locations. These products are designed to provide lighting for areas where water, vibration, maintenance or temperature can negatively affect conventional lighting fixtures. The product category includes a comprehensive collection of area floodlights, linear fixtures and spotlights.

On the evening of October 1st, The Night of Heritage Light will illuminate several UNESCO World Heritage Sites within the UK and Ireland, in acknowledgement of the UNESCO International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL 2015). With this event, the Society of Light and Lighting will celebrate the skills of its members and promote UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Leading Taiwanese LED manufacturer Epistar has acquired nearly 10% stake in Malaysian LED manufacturer Dominant OptoTechnologies, according to a latest report from Chinese-language media UDN.

Was the company revenue performances only bad for the first half of 2015? Or has it been the case for three consecutive quarters? Only LED manufacturers know how they fared this year.“The (Chinese) LED industry is in deep waters, and only a few manufacturers will survive in the next few years,” said several industry insiders during recent interviews with LEDinside’s editorial team in China.

As the Inventor and Manufacturer of the world’s most advanced LED Light Engines, Global Tech LED announced today it has filed a lawsuit against Hilumz USA and other entities for infringement of one its patents entitled “LED Light Bulb” (U.S. Patent No. 8,979,304). Global Tech LED has also initiated a lawsuit against those owners and operators of www.myledlightingguide.com and www.everywattmatters.com. Global Tech LED will continue to enforce its rights and is standing in open arms to any distributors caught in the middle who are interested in purchasing a product that is not infringing.