SunPower and SolarWorld: Strange Bedfellows
by Paula Mints
Oh, what a tangled web you weave when vying for an exclusion from tariffs via strategic ac-quisition. In April, SunPower (SPWR) announced it had acquired (subject to regulatory approval) So-larWorld US, subsidiary of the company that kicked off the solar tariff dispute with a petition in 2012, focused on China as the dumper of cells and modules. SolarWorld GmbH, based in Germany, could not file the petition. It needed its US subsidiary to do so. As SolarWorld US is, currently, the only crystalline cell manufacturer in the US, it takes on a value beyond the sum of...
Solar cell doubles as battery
Scientists from Toin University of Yokohama in Japan have designed a single, compact device that can both convert solar energy to electricity and store the electricity. "We succeeded in incorporating both photovoltaic and storage functions in a single cell with a thin, sandwich-type structure," said Tsutomu Miyasaka, a researcher at the University. The researchers' photocapacitor is also efficient at capturing energy from weak light sources like sunlight on cloudy or rainy days and indoor lighting.
Yingli is Tanking, but the Solar Industry Remains Vibrant
By Jeff Siegel Solar stocks are getting a thrashing today after Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) came clean about a possible bankruptcy. The stock tanked at the open and is still trading below $1.00 – down from yesterday's closing price of $1.70. Of course, the writing was on the wall with this one. Yingli's been struggling for a long time. And while I'm extremely bullish on solar, I've kept a safe distance from Yingli, as well as a lot of other China solar stocks. That being said, even the solid, revenue-generating companies not operating out of China are...
After Consolidation, Solar Will Shatter Expectations
by Shawn Kravetz, Esplanade Capital
Somewhat catalyzed by COVID-19 disruptions but more so by sector maturation, solar is entering a consolidation phase driven by:
Solar incumbents seeking to fortify market positions and reduce costs through
scale
Legacy/traditional energy and utility players seeking renewables exposure to
diversify away from fossil fuels, accommodate investor concerns, and generate
sustainable, predictable profit streams
Corporates capitalizing on cost of capital advantages particularly in cross-border
acquisitions
Parents, specifically China state-owned independent power producers, privatizing
their separately listed renewable subsidiaries (typically in Hong Kong) to bolster
their renewable bona fides and exploit wide valuation discrepancies (typically
between mainland China and Hong Kong).
Like the entire...
EPOD Announces 100 Kilowatt Solar Install Has Begun
EPOD INTL INC (EPOI.OB) announces that construction of the 100-kilowatt solar power installation previously announced on September 13, 2005, has begun. Phase-One of the turn-key, solar power system for a German agricultural client is projected to be completed within the next two weeks. The system will begin generating renewable energy for sale to the local electric utility under a 20-year power purchase agreement immediately upon completion, and has an estimated lifespan of a minimum of 40 years. The power purchase agreement is part of a federal government energy program whereby residential, commercial, and industrial power users are encouraged to...
Solar Stocks As the Best Play On The Cleantech Revolution? (Part II)
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a recent report claiming that solar PV was going to be at the fore of the "cleantech revolution." I've never doubted solar PV's potential. What I like most about it, besides the fact that it's the most abundant energy form on Earth, is the ability for solar technologies to be deployed either through the building stock as a load-abatement measure or in large arrays of panels as solar parks. No other power generation technology can be scaled simultaneously through these two routes. Besides investments in Energy Conversion Devices (ENER)...
Evergreen Solar Receives $5 Million Line of Credit
Evergreen Solar Inc (ESLR) announced that it has secured a $5 million credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank. The $5 million revolving credit line is available to the Company for a period of twelve months. The funds will be used to further support the Company's ongoing expansion plans and its strategy to be a leader in the global solar energy industry.
The Pros Pick Four Solar Stocks For 2014
Tom Konrad CFA Green 2014 image via BigStock With the average solar stock having doubled in 2013, it’s much harder to find bargains in the solar industry than it was a year ago. But two of the professional green money managers think there is still value to be found. When I asked them for their top three green stock picks for 2014, they came back with two solar picks each. You can also read about my panel’s green income stock picks and...
Spire Corporation Reports Increased Revenues Driven By Strong Solar Equipment Sales
Spire Corp (SPIR) reported revenues for the year ended December 31, 2005 of $22,422,000, a 30% increase from $17,278,000 for 2004, not including $6,320,000 and $3,000,000, respectively, of gains recorded in 2005 and 2004 from the sales of licenses. Net income for 2005, including the gain on the sales of licenses in both 2005 and 2004, was $44,000 or $0.01 per share, compared with a net loss of $4,120,000 or $0.60 per share for 2004.
Solar ETFs Breaking Support
Steve Sollheiser KWT Breaks Support There is very interesting price-action in the Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (KWT) in the last trading day. We can see that price has closed below the support level of $3.40 which is a bearish signal. We can also see that the breakout price was touching an ascending resistance line twice - which creates this a Descending Broadening chart pattern. We would expect price to continue downwards with target at approximately $2.00. If price opens above the level it will be a sign that the support...
ECD Ovonics Selects Site for Its 50-Megawatt Solar Cell Manufacturing Plant
Energy Conversion Devices Inc (ENER) has announced plans to build a third solar cell manufacturing plant to be located in Greenville, Michigan. In February the comapny approved plans to expand United Solar Ovonic's module manufacturing capacity to 300 megawatts (MW) by 2010. The first phase of the expansion plan includes the construction of the Greenville manufacturing facility with an annual capacity of 50MW, which is expected to be operational in calendar year 2007. United Solar Ovonic's existing 25MW production facility is located in Auburn Hills, Mich. In July 2005, United Solar Ovonic broke ground for a second 25MW...
Time To Buy Solar Stocks?
Tom Konrad CFA Renewable Energy stocks have been suffering for over a year. but the sector's poster-child has also been the whipping boy. While the S&P 500 has risen 8% percent in 2010, the broader alternative energy sector is down 10% and solar has fared even worse. Solar is down 27% for the year, with a 17% drop in the last 2 weeks (see chart.) Ian Tharp - CIBC World Markets These numbers were brought home to me by a presentation by Ian S. Tharp, CFA, an Executive Director and Cleantech and Renewable Energy...
EPOD to Build Five Megawatt Solar Panel Factory
EPOD INTL INC (EPOI.OB) announced that they intend to construct a solar panel manufacturing facility in Kelowna, B.C. An estimated two megawatts of production capacity is anticipated to be available within six months, with the annual capacity of the plant projected to be five megawatts upon completion.
What Shouldn’t Be in a Green Energy Portfolio
The London Accord took a look at what portfolio theory would suggest as the most effective ways to address Climate Change. Knowing which technologies don't make the cut is at least as useful as knowing which technologies do. Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA I recently looked at a paper from the London Accord which used portfolio theory to recommend the best mixes of technologies to deliver different levels of carbon abatement. The most useful technologies to achieve the needed levels of carbon abatement were Forestry, Hydropower, Biofuels, Wind, Efficiency, and Geothermal. I suggested stocks that investors might consider to invest in...
Uni-Solar Ovonic Receives an Additional Order from Alwitra for UNI-SOLAR Product, Increasing Sales to...
Energy Conversion Devices Inc (ENER) announced that it has received an additional order of 750 kW of photovoltaic (PV) products from Alwitra GmbH & Co. (Alwitra) of Germany, which increases the total planned shipment to Alwitra to 1.5 MW in 2004. "Alwitra, with a large customer base, is a major player in the German roofing market offering PV systems. We are delighted that Alwitra has chosen us to address the rapidly growing PV market in Germany," said Salama Naguib, Vice President of Sales and Global Marketing of United Solar Ovonic.
XsunX Developing New Nano-Crystalline Opaque Solar Cell
XSUNX Inc. (XSNX) announced that it has expanded its business opportunities to include the product development of a new opaque solar cell device. This unique four-terminal solar cell design uses a combination of thin film transparent cell technology, derived from the company's Power Glass initiative, with that of a nano-crystalline solar cell. XsunX believes that the combination of these two technologies into a single device holds a promising opportunity to deliver low cost, high efficiency, flexible, and light weight solar cells providing performance characteristics commonly found only in various forms of expensive crystalline wafer technologies. The decision to...
