Solar

Solarworld AG (SWV.DE) will buy businesses from Shell to take over as the top maker of solar power equipment in the United States. The news prompted a leap in Solarworld shares, already buoyed by President Bush's pledge to promote new technology to make the United States less dependent on imported oil. The agreement covered Shell factories in Germany and the U.S. and sales operations in Germany, Singapore and South Africa. The price of the deal was not released and is still waiting for regulatory approval.

Renewable energy like wind and solar power and hydrogen fuel cells could blossom into a $100 billion a year global market in less than a decade as technology costs fall, according to a study. The combined market for "green" sources of energy has already grown 68 percent since 2002 to more than $16 billion last year, according to Clean Edge, a research and publishing firm based in California. You can view and download the complete Clean-Energy Trends report at the following link.

Energy Conversion Devices Inc (ENER) announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Biohaus PV Handels GmbH for sale of up to 9.6 MW of photovoltaic (PV) laminates. Biohaus will incorporate the UNI-SOLAR® BIPV laminates with its proprietary panel design to address Germany's expanding grid-connected PV market. Using United Solar Ovonic's thin-film amorphous solar laminates, these thin-film products will be the highest rated peak power modules available on the German market.

Tom Konrad, Ph.D. The last panel I attended at Solar 2009 focused on investment opportunities in Solar.  This is the first of several entries with ideas from the speakers.   They were: Allen Goodman, of ECG Consulting Group James Groelinger, of Bellegrove Associates J. Peter Lynch, of Salem Financial, Inc. Pradeep Haldar, Ph.D., MBA of the University at Albany Each had perspectives on the solar (mostly photovoltaic (PV) industry, and struck me as very knowledgeable in the field.  The caliber of the industry and investment knowledge on display impressed me, so I'll share with readers some of the...

Shares of solar-energy technology companies rose sharply Thursday, with several chalking up 52-week highs, as California regulators approved a solar-energy package. The plan is the largest solar energy policy ever enacted in the United States: an 11-year, $3.2 billion incentive program aimed at spurring installation of solar panels.

Magnetek, Inc. (MAG) is exhibiting its new, state-of-the-art Aurora(TM) photovoltaic (PV) inverter line, just listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), at the Solar Power 2004 trade show opening today at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Center in San Francisco. Designed for residential applications, the 3.0-kilowatt Aurora inverters change the direct current produced by solar panels into utility-grade alternating current. Magnetek's new inverters are UL-1741 listed for connectivity to the electric utility grid and also UL tested for compliance with CEC and NYCERTA standards for grid-connection. Connectivity to the electric distribution grid enables Aurora inverters to feed power from solar panels...

British Telecom has announced a three-year plan to get all of its energy needs from renewable sources - the biggest such project in the world. The electricity used, worth hundreds of millions of pounds, could power a city the size of Nottingham. Renewable sources of energy include wind, wave and solar power, rather than using fossil fuels like oil or coal.

Shares of XSUNX Inc. (XSNX) are currently under pressure and are currently down over 50% since the start of the month. The stock is now accelerating down this morning and the shares are currently down another 13% this morning. There was some nice support at the $1 level and the stock is currently trading down below this level. There may be many causes for this sharp decline. It could be the general market weakness is causing people to look for ways to take profits. This stock has been up more than 200% in the past year...

Worldwater Corp (WWAT) announced the successful installation of a 200 horsepower solar-powered irrigation system at a commercial citrus ranch in California. The announcement was made by Quentin T. Kelly, WorldWater Chairman and CEO. WorldWater's proprietary AquaMax(TM) solar motors are powering the $2 million dollar water pumping installation. It is the largest solar power system in California's San Diego County, and the largest solar-driven irrigation system in the world.

And Why I Just Got Back Into This Stock By Jeff Siegel DISCLOSURE: Long SCTY. I'm not sure how many people realize it just yet, but something very big happened last year in the world of solar. A small start-up called Mosaic came onto the scene offering New York and California residents the opportunity to invest in solar projects. These investments offered a 4.5% annual return, net of servicing fees, with terms of about nine years. This is basically a crowdfunding opportunity for those looking to invest in small solar projects. It's a pretty simple...

Worldwater Corp (WWAT) announced the signing of an agreement to introduce WorldWater & Power's solar energy and technology to the NAI Global network of commercial property managers and clients. According to the terms of the agreement, NAI will help to identify prospects for the purchase of equipment, electric power or services from WorldWater & Power. In addition, NAI may assist in negotiating such purchases and in obtaining governmental approvals necessary for the construction of projects designed by WorldWater & Power that NAI has been instrumental in arranging.

Charles Morand The relationship - or lack thereof - between oil prices and the performance of alt energy stocks has been a long-time interest of mine. I discussed it last in late March when I looked at correlations between the daily returns of alt energy and fossil energy ETFs. At the time, I found that only a weak relationship existed between the two and that if someone wanted to make a thematic investment play on Peak Oil, alt energy ETFs were not an ideal way to do so.  Seeing as the popular press and countless "experts"...

Tom Konrad CFA The Once Bright Future of CSP Solúcar PS10 solar tower. Photo by afloresm via Flickr Since before I started writing about investing in clean energy in 2006, I’ve been fascinated by Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (CSP.)  CSP held the promise of much cheaper energy than was then available from photovoltiac (PV) solar, combined with thermal storage, which eliminated the variability problems of PV.  Unlike other renewable energy able to produce baseload power (geothermal, biomass, and hydro), CSP is scaleable: The solar resource in areas...

Debra Fiakas CFA Image by Olga Palma via Wikimedia Commons On the first word of an initial public offering investors flock to the Securities Exchange Commission website to get financial details on the heretofore private company.  Earlier this week solar energy solutions provider SolarCity Corporation announced its IPO plans, but investors will have to wait a while to get a look behind the SolarCity curtain.  The company is among the first to take advantage of a new “confidential” registration for emerging growth companies. The process...

California officials are proposing that half of all new homes in the state be running on solar energy in 10 years, an effort spurred by $100 million in annual incentives paid for by electricity consumers. This type of legislation would be a boon for the solar energy companies in California. In related news Kyocera Corp (KYO) announced today that it will begin large-scale assembly of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules this fall at its maquiladora facility in Tijuana, Mexico, with plans to establish a regional office in San Diego for solar system engineering and marketing.