Solar

Tom Konrad CFA Clean Edge's Clean Energy Trends 2012 contains some disturbing predictions for solar stock investors. Clean Energy Trends 2012, the annual report from Clean Edge by Ron Pernick, Clint Wilder, and Trevor Winnie, was released today. On the surface, it seems like good news for the solar sector.  Although headlines in 2011 featured much bad press for Solar PV, the industry has not been "withering on the vine." Here are some key points in the report:   Combined global revenue for PV increased from $71.2 billion in 2010 to $91.6 billion...

Universal Communication Systems Inc (UCSY) announced that the company will launch its new complete range of Patented PV Solar Chargers for the consumer electronics market in May. The new products are all fitted with new exclusively developed "Battery On Board" (BOB) technology, enabling the consumer to apply "charging" to his/her electronic device 24 hours per day, all year round. The entire range of our products is designed to operate both in sunlight, and indoors.

Nearly 36,000 jobs could be created in Texas if an increase in the national renewable energy standard were adopted, according to a new study released by the Union of Concerned Scientists. A national standard would require that 20 percent of the country's electricity come from clean, renewable sources like wind, biomass and solar.

Worldwater Corp (WWAT) announced that it has obtained requisite financing and all applicable rebates for the solar electric system to be installed at Valley Car Wash, Inc. of Van Nuys, California. Construction will begin within weeks on the $676,000 project. Located on Van Nuys Boulevard in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, the rooftop photovoltaic (PV) installation will substantially reduce the car wash's electrical costs. Valley recently received approval of a 42% rebate of the full installation cost by Southern California Gas Company through the California Public Utilities Commission's Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP).

On September 1, 2004, the Portland Oregon Visitors Association (POVA) is scheduled to become the nation's first convention and visitors bureau (CVB) to launch a website 100 percent powered by solar energy. That's right, in a city renowned for its lush, abundant rainfall, the local CVB's website— www.travelportland.com —is transitioning to a completely solar-powered energy source.

SatCon Technology Corporation (SATC) announced that two of its utility grade Powergate® solar inverters are being utilized as the power conditioning units for the new 502-kilowatt solar electric system installed at New Jersey American Water's Canal Road Water Treatment Plant located in Somerset, NJ. I have been taking a close look at SatCon recently for a possible addition to my portfolio. The stock price has been under pressure recently and seems to be retesting the lows of the last six months. The news of some sales and installations above and also some recent work they are...

Magnetek Inc. (MAG) announced that it has secured distribution agreements for its Aurora(TM) solar photovoltaic (PV) power inverters with channel partners in Italy and Spain valued at more than $3 million in sales during calendar 2006, subject to demand and availability. Italy and Spain each have adopted aggressive incentive programs aimed at installing up to 100-megawatts (MW) of new solar capacity, thus emerging as the fourth and fifth largest potential solar power markets in the world.

...but it may take another year to get there by Clean Energy Intel Light at the End of the Tunnel photo via BigStock Suntech Power’s (STP) first quarter earnings report provided some supportive insight into the process of consolidation currently underway in the solar industry. The financial numbers were of course less than constructive, though much as expected as pricing pressures continue to make life difficult for the sector. Perhaps of more interest were the company’s insights into the inroads...

Evergreen Solar Inc (ESLR) announced the filing of a registration statement on Form S-3 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. After the registration statement is declared effective by the SEC, the Company will be able to offer and sell up to an aggregate of $75 million of its common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, warrants and debt securities from time to time in one or more public offerings. The terms of any such future offerings will be established at the time of such offerings.

DayStar Technologies Inc (DSTI) was awared the 2005 Technology Innovation of the Year Award in the field of copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic cells. Each year this Award is given to a company that has carried out new research, which has resulted in innovations that have brought, or are expected to bring, significant contributions to the industry in terms of adoption, change and competitive posture. This Award recognizes the quality and depth of a company's research and development program along with vision and risk-taking efforts that enabled it to undertake such an endeavor. It's nice to see that...

Parabolic Troughs have dominated Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) until recently, but several companies are vying to replace them. Will the upstarts succeed, or will incumbency and improvements to trough technology ward off the competition? Dr. Arnold Leitner, CEO of Skyfuel, Inc., thinks the battle for dominance of CSP will be "winner-take-all." The technology which can deliver power when it is needed at a reasonable price should triumph. Photovoltaic (PV) technologies are rapidly producing price reductions, and can be used almost anywhere, but only produce power when the sun is shining. In contrast, CSP is still cheaper than PV enables...

Aug 11-09 Solar PV Charles Morand A couple of weeks ago, I noted the importance of examining parameters other than module costs when gauging the economic competitiveness of solar PV energy. I noted how multiple factors influence the levelized cost of energy produced by solar PV systems, and thus its relative cost position on the grid. Nothing new here.   However, besides standard test conditions (STC) conversion efficiency, or nameplate conversion efficiency, public data on parameters other than cost per watt-peak is not always easy to come by. That's...

Spire Corp (SPIR) received a Nasdaq Staff Determination indicating that the Company is no longer in compliance with the $10,000,000 minimum stockholders' equity requirement for continued listing set forth in Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4450(a)(3), and that its common stock is, therefore, subject to delisting from the Nasdaq National Market. While this type of event is never a good thing, it certainly doesn't ring the death of this stock. They will just start trading OTC.

By Jeff Siegel Hannon Armstrong (NYSE:HASI), one of my top picks for 2014, just made me very happy. Yesterday, the company announced its Q2 Core Earnings of $4.7 million or $0.22 per share. On a GAAP basis, the Company recorded net income of $2.9 million. Here are some other highlights. . . Raised approximately $70 million in April, 2014 in a follow-on offering. Increased the flexibility and expanded the capacity of its existing credit facility by $200 million. Completed more than $200 million worth of transactions, including the acquisition of a $107 million portfolio of land...

Here is a continuation of my notes from the Solar Energy Conference. The next session was a roundtable of various participants from the solar industry. The topic of this roundtable was what is needed to grow the US market for solar energy. The following people were on the roundtable: Christopher O'Brien, VP of Sharp Solar (Manufacturer) Tom Dyer, VP of Kyocera Solar (Manufacturer) Barry Cinnamon, President of Akeena Solar (Installer) Jeffery Wolfe, CEO of Global Resource Options (Wholesale Distributer) Joseph Henri, Director of Pacific Gas and Electric (Utility) John Ralston, VP of Premier Homes (Homebuilder) William Garnett,...