Exelon and Sunpower just announced that they will work together to build the largest urban PV plant in the country in Chicago. The plant, which will be capable of generating 10MW of solar power, should be up and running by the end of this year. The plant will be located on a brownfield property, putting that property back into productive use.
The plans hinge on Exelon receiving money from the federal stimulus program for the … Read the rest
Bye Aerospace just signed a memorandum of understanding with Ascent Solar Technologies for the development of thin-film solar technologies that could be used in aviation. Bye Aerospace intends to start testing Ascent’s thin-film PV technologies in aircraft by the end of the year.
In a company press release, Dr. Joseph Armstrong, Chief Technical Officer of Ascent Solar, commented on the announcement, saying
“Applications such as those being developed by Bye Aerospace are able to utilize … Read the rest
OK, this is a great example of an earnings report that can be reported positive by one news outlet (the mainstream) and reported negative by me after one time gains are removed. You’ll find that most news outlets report the GAAP number which includes one time gains and losses, distorting the true organic growth or deterioration of a company.
Analysts had predicted that MEMC Electronics (WFR) would report its first quarterly loss since 2002 in … Read the rest
Update: Now it’s being dumped after hours.. down about 10%.
Sunpower (SPWRA) is out with earnings after the bell and missed badly reporting non GAAP EPS of just .05 share vs consensus estimates of .39. Revenues came in about 20% lower than the year ago quarter at $214 million which is considerably lower than estimates of $269.
The CEO commented that the quarter was the most challenging in its history, but despite the headwinds was … Read the rest
According to StreetInsider.com, Piper Jaffray is initiating coverage on Suntech Power (STP) today with a Neutral rating and a price target of $13. It calls the company’s current overcapacity, distressed balance sheet and lower utilization a reason to stay on the sidelines until a meaningful pull back in the stock. They believe unabsorbed overhead and lower margin will persist through 2010. On the bright side, they believe the company is a cost leader vs … Read the rest
SunPower (SPWRA) will begin supplying its high efficiency solar panels and Tracker technology beginning next year to FPL Group (FPL) it was announced today. It’s also being announced that the the company will locate a research and development center employing up to 50 employees in Florida if the state government continues to support the deployment of additional solar energy. This is follow on work to previous partnerships. No word on the size of this deal. … Read the rest
Wal Mart (WMT) announced today it is going to double its use of solar energy in California over the next 18 months by installing solar panels on 10 – 20 of their stores, adding to the 18 solar arrays already in place. The company expects to generate up to 32 million kilowatt hrs of renewable energy per year, remove 22,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and provide 20 – 30% of the total electricity … Read the rest
According to StreetInsider.com Citi is out with a hold on First Solar (FSLR) but is raising the price target from $130 to $150.
Citi believes the solar industry is entering a sustainable period of secular growth with business models in the space “exhibiting positive earnings leverage.”
“Consistent with our investment framework, we believe that solar stocks, in general, should trade at a premium to the broader market given fundamental demand drivers that should fuel earnings … Read the rest
It appears the credit markets are opening up a bit with several financing announcements made recently (although mostly out of China). First Solar (FSLR) and Juwi Holding AG have announced today they have secured financing for a 53MW plant in Germany that began in January and is expected to completed by the end of the year. This project is the ultimate “clean” energy project that not only provides solar energy power, displacing 35K tons of … Read the rest
MEMC Electronic Materials and Conergy, the German solar company that is MEMC’s second-largest customer, appear to have reached an impasse as they attempt to renegotiate a supply contract. Conergy has been attempting to renegotiate the contract due to the economic crisis and the way silicon prices have dropped over the past year.
According to a report on Barron’s, the situation between the two companies has gotten somewhat unpleasant, with Conergy casting doubt on the validity … Read the rest