SunPower just announced the completion of a joint project with the Rancho California Water District.
The 1.1 MW project, located at the RCWD’s Murrietta water treatment plant, is now up and running. The project will provide emissions-free power to cover some of the energy used by the water treatment plant, saving the water district up to $6.8 million over the next 20 years.
Here’s what Tom Werner, SunPower’s CEO, had to say about the project:… Read the rest
A couple of analyst notes out this morning on Sunpower (SPWRA) according to StreetInsider.com.
Collins Stewart has initiated coverage on Sunpower with a Sell rating and a price target of $20 due to the following:
– rapid price deterioration
– trading at premium valuation relative to its peers
– production costs higher than competitors
– key financial metrics related to asset and capital efficiency below that of peers
Broadpoint downgraded to Neutral and lowered … Read the rest
First Solar just announced that it will work with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to build a 30-MW solar power plant in Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico. The 5,000 solar modules will produce enough energy to power approximately 9,000 houses, and the plant is expected to be online by the end of next year. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has entered a 25-year purchase agreement for power to be produced at the plant, which … Read the rest
After more than 6 six years, First Solar (FSLR) has produced a total of 1GW of its thin film solar modules with 500MW of that being produced in just the past 8 months. The company announced it will soon have the capacity to produce more than 1GW every year which is the equivalent of an averaged sized nuclear plant. A remarkable achievement for a company still in its infancy but emerging as a clear leader … Read the rest
Evergreen Solar just announced a new partnership agreement with RMT, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will work together to market utility-scale solar projects to electric companies and project developers.
The companies will place bids jointly for these types of projects. RMT will handle engineering, procurement and construction and Evergreen Solar will supply solar panels for the projects. So far, the two companies have bid on more than 400 MW worth … Read the rest
Solar stocks continue their ambiguous ways with many stocks in the industry rising after reporting poor results, while others (such as ENER) get crushed. However, for the most part, it appears that most of the bad news is priced into solar stocks and the situation with ENER was an exception. The market is overbought up here, but on any significant pull back I think the time to get into solars for the long term is … Read the rest
Applied Materials has announced that it plans to expand its facility in Xi’an, China. The announcement comes after China’s Vice Premier Li Keqiang toured the facility, which focuses on SunFab’ thin-film modules, c-Si testing and R&D. Applied Materials has now started "Phase 2" of the project, which will turn the facility into a Global Solar R&D Center for crystalline silicon and thin-film solar.
Charles Gay, Applied Solar’s President and the co-chair of the Renewable Energy … Read the rest
Here are some analyst reactions to Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) today following last nights earnings warning. Hat tip to StreetInsider.com for the following analyst notes..
* Merriman Curhan Ford downgrades from Buy to Neutral
“While we continue to believe ECD has compelling and differentiated technology that can resist the pricing pressure caused by the glut of global module supply, the company is certainly not immune the to dismal credit markets. Data from California’s Solar … Read the rest
Canadian Solar (CSIQ) reported a much larger loss then expected this morning, posting an EPS loss of 1.39/share after taking out one time costs. Revenues took a plunge as well, dropping 43% over the year ago quarter to $73 million.
Commenting on the quarter, CEO Shawn Qu highlighted the usual suspects. “In Q4,difficult credit conditions for our customers, market-wide module and raw materials inventory price declines and winter weather in Germany directly affected our revenue … Read the rest
ENN Solar Energy Co., Ltd just announced that through its partnership with Applied Materials it has produced China’s first 5.7 SQM Tandem Junction Solar Panels. The panels were manufactured at ENN’s Langfang, China facility using Applied Material’s SunFab™ Thin Film Line. The panels are almost 4 times larger than conventional panels and they have a higher conversion efficiency thanks to Applied Material’s tandem junction technology.
Dr. Randhir Thakur, senior vice president and general manager of … Read the rest