ITC Holdings Corp, an independent electricity transmission company based in Michigan, wants to build a grid of transmission lines to carry wind-generated electricity to homes across the Midwestern region of the country. The proposed project, which the company is calling the "Green Power Express," would consist of 3,000 miles of 756,000-volt transmission lines and would serve up to 3.6 million homes.
ITC Holdings just filed for incentives to help cover the cost of the project … Read the rest
JA Solar (JASO) is down nearly 10% in after hours trading after cutting estimates for 2009. The company said that due to macro economic conditions and tight credit markets, revenues are expected to be softer than expected and in the range of $830 – $952, vs the consensus estimates of $1.12 billion.… Read the rest
There’s a good video over at Fortune taking a look at the technology behind Raser Technologies (RZ) geothermal system in Utah which is expected to ship power to Anaheim, CA soon. The plant is expected to serve 11000 customers and took just 6 months to build. … Read the rest
Yowza! In an environment where most companies are shedding 10 – 20% of their workforce, Aerovironment (AVAV) which remains one of my favorite green companies is looking to hire 100 employees for its Efficient Energy Systems division which manufacturers EV charging systems and rooftop wind turbines. This is exciting news because its Energy division only makes up 15% of revenues for the the company. It currently gets the bulk of its revenue from unmanned surveillance … Read the rest
Vestas Wind Systems (VWSYF) is the largest wind energy company in the world so its earnings reports provide a good barometer of the state of the sector. The Danish company posted big revenue and earnings growth in 2008, but as always the market places the most importance on the future. The company didn’t disappoint there either, maintaining estimates for this year but did acknowledge that job cuts aren’t out of the question if the global … Read the rest
Are the tides turning for the solar industry? After months of doom and gloom forecasts, downgrades and price target cuts some upgrades and positive notes are beginning to slowly trickle in from analysts. Ah oh, time to sell!
Barron’s reported today that Merrill Lynch came out with a report today saying that improving second derivative trends suggest the industry is headed for a cyclical bottom. They went on to say that while demand won’t recover … Read the rest
There’s a good piece over at Portfolio.com about Google’s green energy initiatives and collaboration with GE. Google’s goal is to make every home energy efficient so that appliances know when to power up and down while heating and cooling respond automatically to the prices in energy. Before that can happen big time upgrades must happen in the transmission lines which are horribly outdated and inefficient.
Google aims to do with energy what it’s done for … Read the rest
Applied Materials (AMAT) is trading down after hours after reporting no profits which was in line with analyst estimates on revenues of 1.33 billion, a touch below estimates. That compares with a .25/share profit in the year ago quarter.
“We acted early and decisively to reduce costs in line with economic conditions that have resulted in an unprecedented decline in demand,” said Mike Splinter, president and CEO. “With our leading technology and strong balance sheet, … Read the rest
Yingli Green Energy (YGE) posted flat earnings growth over the year ago quarter with a non GAAP EPS of .15/share in the latest quarter on revenues of 258 million (about a 25% increase over the year ago quarter.
YGE reaffirms that its PV module shipment target is expected to be in the estimated range of 550 MW to 600 MW for fiscal year 2009, which represents an increase of 96.1% to 113.9% compared to fiscal … Read the rest
Zoltek Companies (ZOLT), the maker of carbon components for wind turbines reported an awful quarter after the bell with just .02/share in earnings which badly missed analyst estimates of .13/share. Revenues declined by 4% from the year ago quarter to 38.6 million.
“This year our results were further affected by customer reaction to increasingly serious global economic uncertainties. Customers in the computer and automotive markets, along with one of our wind turbine customers, postponed or … Read the rest