Akeena Solar just announced that it has entered a supplier relationship with MS Solar Solutions Corp, a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. Under the agreement, Akeena Solar will provide MS Solar Solutions with its Andalay AC panels and grant the company a royalty-bearing limited license to manufacture and sell them. MSSS Solar Solutions will use those panels in its efforts to help low-income households across the country get solar power. Akeena Solar will be MSSS’ exclusive … Read the rest
Category Archives: Solar Energy
Hoku (HOKU) And Solarfun (SOLF) Renegotiate Contracts
Hoku Materials, Inc. and Solarfun just announced a renegotiation of the polysilicon supply contract between the two companies. Solarfun was previously obligated to pay Hoku $18 million by March 31st, but the agreement has been changed so that Solarfun can pay in installments according to the following schedule: 1) $5 million paid on March 30; 2) $8 million in July $2009; 3) $5 million to paid in installments of $1 million each during August and … Read the rest
Barron’s Expects Negative Impact On Solar Stocks Due To Plummeting Silicon Prices
In an article released this morning entitled "Nightfall Comes To Solar Land," Bill Alpert of Barron’s predicts that the massive drop in silicon prices over the past year, combined with cooling demand for solar energy, will have a negative impact on the solar industry in general, particularly thin-film manufacturers like First Solar (FSLR) and Energy Conversion Devices (ENER). These two companies based their business models on a market in which there was not enough … Read the rest
SunTech (STP) Boosts Conversion Efficiencies
Suntech Power Holdings Limited just announced that their Pluto technology has enabled the company to boost its conversion efficiency by 2.5 percentage points on monocrystalline PV cells and 1.5 percentage points on multicrystalline PV cells. Suntech is now able to produce monocrystalline PV cells with 19% conversion efficiency and multicrystalline cells with 17% conversion efficiency.
This is good news, a TradingMarkets.com explains:
The big improvement in the conversion efficiency will help the solar cell producer … Read the rest
Applied Materials (AMAT) To Collaborate With DISCO Corporation On Wafer Thinning Technology
Applied Materials just announced a collaboration with DISCO Corp to develop wafer thinning processes for manufacturing through-silicon vias in 3-dimensional semiconductors. The companies will combine respective skills to develop standardized processing procedures to lower the cost, reduce the risk and increase the speed of manufacturing next-generation through-silicon via chips.
From a company press release, here’s more about the technical side of the process, what each company will bring to the collaboration, and why it is … Read the rest
First Solar (FSLR) Downgraded From Buy To Hold by Collins Stewart
According to StreetInsider.com, Collins Stewart is downgrading FSLR this morning to Hold from Buy. It’s basically a valuation call after a big run in the stock. They said…
“Due to the price increase seen in recent sessions, FSLR has reached a point where we find the risk/reward more balanced for investors. With yesterday’s rally, the shares are now within 16% of our $175 price target and trading at 22.5x our FY09 EPS forecast of … Read the rest
More Details On China Solar Policy From Friedman Billings Ramsey
A hat tip to StreetInsider.com for these notes from Friedman Billings & Ramsey regarding China’s solar policy. As you probably know the solars took off in a big yesterday, particularly the big China plays such as Suntech (STP) and Trina Solar (TSL). They ran on a report that China would be supportive of local solar development and offer subsidies but details have been fuzzy.
After some extensive checks with their contacts in China, FBR is … Read the rest
China Solar Energy Stocks Soar On DigiTimes Report That China Will Support Local Development
Can you say short squeeze! Wow, what a move in the China solars today. Looking at the board to my left, both TSL and STP are up over 50% and some of the other China solars are up anywhere from 20 – 40%. It’s hard to believe that an article speculating that the China government will be supportive of local solar development would cause a move of this magnitude but when you consider the amount … Read the rest
Trina Solar (TSL) Completes Largest Rooftop Installation In The US
Trina Solar has completed what is currently the largest rooftop solar array in the United States. The 2.4 Mw installation consists of 13,400 of Trina Solar’s solar modules installed on top of the Atlantic City Convention Center. It will meet about one quarter of the building’s energy needs and save about $4.4 million in energy costs over the next 20 years.
Jifan Gao, Trina Solar’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented on the occasion in … Read the rest
SolarFun (SOLF) Reports Another Steep Loss, Sees Gradual Improvement
These solar earnings reports really aren’t a surprise anymore. Just more of the same – global economic weakness, credit difficulties, plummeting raw material prices, an inventory glut and so on. From here it’s just a matter of demand picking up to offset the weakness in the cost of the finished product. The important thing to remember is that solar stocks will begin rising long before that equation comes into balance. We’ve seen a good pop … Read the rest