Brean Murray is out with a bullish call on the smart grid sector this morning and believes that with healthcare reform out of the way, the government will return its attention back to energy and energy efficiency. Hat tip to Street Insider for the following analyst comment.
“…With (Fed’s) funding checks expected by the second half of 2010 accelerating smart grid deployment projects, and an expectation for increased federal attention back toward energy and efficiency … Read the rest
Clean Energy Fuels just announced that the LA Metro Transit Agency has awarded it contracts worth approximately $8.4 million. Per the agreements, over the next year and a half Clean Energy Fuels will upgrade CNG compressor equipment at 4 of Metro’s CNG fueling stations. The fueling stations in question are operated by Clean Energy Fuels.
In a press release, James N. Harger, Clean Energy’s Chief Marketing Officer, commented on the news:
“We are pleased to … Read the rest
Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) was out with some more contract news this morning, but traders are more focused on a negative Barron’s piece over the weekend, warning that the company needs cash to expand while Pickens will need to cash out sooner rather than later. Yep, that means dilution and Barron’s believes the stock could take a 30% hit after quadrupling in the past year. Here are a few highlights from the article..
– stock … Read the rest
A123 Systems (AONE) is getting a bit of a pop this morning after Lazard Capital said that Chrysler has confirmed it will use A123 Systems lithium batteries for its Fiat 500 electric cars which are expected to hit the US market in 2012. Lazard believes this could potentially be a $100 million dollar deal. That seems a bit far fetched to me, but traders like it this morning sending the stock up about 4% in … Read the rest
Ascent Solar just announced that it has been chosen by Cambrios Technologies to be a research partner for Cambrios’ contract from the U.S. Army’s Natick research facility. Under the contract, Cambrios, which has distinguished itself by developing unique, wet-processed, transparent conductive films, will look for ways to apply these films to copper-indium-gallium-selenium (CIGS) photovoltaics to create more efficient solar cells.
Researchers believe that flexible solar cells made with Cambrios’ film will be one to three … Read the rest
On Friday, it was announced that the state of Massachusetts chose the EnerNOC (ENOC) Enterprise Energy Management System to help reduce energy costs at nearly 500 state owned facilities. The initial 3 yr project aims to reduce energy costs by 5 – 15% and save up to $10 million a year when fully deployed.
EnerNOC will deploy its SiteSMART, SupplySMART and CarbonSMART suite of energy applications across office buildings, universities, prisons and hospitals providing real … Read the rest
A few noteworthy analysts comments and rating changes in the solar space today…
Soleil Securities reiterated its Sell rating on First Solar (FSLR) but back pedaled a bit saying they are raising their estimates and wouldn’t be short heading into earnings. They still have a sub $100 price target. How’s that for conviction. Shares of FSLR were initially positive this morning, but are now trading down fractionally. Get your FSLR Trend Analysis.
Morgan Stanley … Read the rest
FPL just announced that its new FPL’s Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center has opened at Kennedy Space Center. The 10 MW facility consists of about 35,000 SunPower solar PV panels. SunPower designed and built the installation for FPL and NASA, who worked as partners on the project. Over the life of the panels, the center is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 227,000 tons.
In a press release, FPL President and … Read the rest
I’ve just put the finishing touches on an initial list of green mutual funds, most of which are fairly new and don’t have a long history so invest with caution. The other thing I’ve come across in my research is that some mutual funds claiming to be green aren’t at all green which I discuss in more detail in my report. There are some decent funds such as those put out by Gabelli and … Read the rest
Hoku Materials just announced that it has actually started producing polysilicon at its Pocatello, Idaho facility. The plant is currently in a testing phase that it expected to last about 3 weeks.
In a press release, Scott Paul, president and chief executive officer of Hoku Corporation, commented on the news:
“This is a significant milestone for Hoku Materials. Commencement of this pilot production run marks the beginning of our plant ramp-up and is the result … Read the rest