Recently, many of the solar stocks have been holding up relatively well in the face of bad news indicating that much of it had been priced in and a bottom in this sector was near. I still believe that to be the case but their will be hiccups along way such as the Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) poor outlook after the bell today. The stock is being punished more than 25% in after hours trading.. … Read the rest
Category Archives: Solar Energy
Hoku Scientific (HOKU) Should Have Portion Of Idaho Plant Running This Year
Hoku Scientific CEO Dustin Shindo told the HonoluluAdvertiser.com that the company expects to have part of its Pocatello, Idaho plant up and running by the end of this year. At full speed, the $390 million plant will employ approximately 200 workers to produce 4,000 metric tons of silicon per year.
The plant should have power by June or July, according to Shindo, who stated "One of the reasons we selected Pocatello and the state of … Read the rest
Applied Materials (AMAT) Announces Launch of HCT MaxEdge Wire Saw
Applied Materials just launched a revolutionary new product called the HCT MaxEdge Wire Saw. Why is this revolutionary? The saw uses a dual-wire management system with four independently-controlled direct drive motors and advanced process control to reduce wire tension. Lower wire tension reduces wire wear, decreases ingot scrap and unplanned downtime, and most importantly, allows silicon to be cut into thinner wafers without reducing their throughput capacity. So, solar PV manufacturers will be able to … Read the rest
Suntech (STP) Announces Activation Of Santa Barbara Solar Installation
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. and the City of Santa Barbara have announced the activation of the City of Santa Barbara’s first large solar power system. The 384 KW system system uses Suntech modules and is capable of producing 550,000 kWh of clean energy per year, taking out the equivalent of 191 metric tons of CO2.
"Working with the City of Santa Barbara and Tioga Energy has been a pleasure for Suntech," said Marco Garcia, … Read the rest
LDK Solar (LDK) To Move Into Europe PV Station Field With Q-Cells
LDK Solar is planning to expand into the European PV station market through a partnership with Q-Cells SE, one of the world’s top solar cell producers, according to TradingMarkets.com. Up until now, LDK had not attempted to stake out part of the PV station sector. Here’s how TradingMarkets.com expects the move to benefit the company:
… Read the restThe win-win cooperation will help LDK Solar and Q-Cells win more orders, once the silicon market warms up, estimated
Piper Jaffray: "Sell LDK Solar"
According to StreetInsider.com, Piper Jaffray is out with a Sell rating on LDK after the company reported poor earnings yesterday and slashed the price target from $9 to $3. Here are Piper’s notes on LDK:
– steadily deteriorating balance sheet
– plan to construct a polysilicon plan too much of a risk and possible liquidity drain
– hundreds of millions of customer prepayments that had been promised to fund the new plant are now … Read the rest
Suntech (STP) & 3rd Rock Systems In 7.2MW Solar Power Alliance
3rd Rock Systems of San Francisco and Suntech Power (STP) have announced a strategic alliance in developing 7.2MW of solar power within the US. 3rd Rock will be the developer and leverage existing relationships to raise project financing while Suntech will supply the solar modules, engineering and construction services through its subsidiary, Suntech Energy Solutions.
“This alliance creates an excellent opportunity to leverage 3rd Rock’s expertise in monetizing a broad variety of tax credits, loans … Read the rest
ReneSola (SOL) Holding Steady After Earnings, Sichuan Project Progressing
ReneSola (SOL) reported an expected EPS loss in the 4th quarter, posting a loss of .05/share on revenues of $158.6 million which was a touch above estimates and 65% over the year ago quarter. The quarter marks the first time in 2 years that the company didn’t post sequential quarterly revenue growth. For the full year 2009, the company expects sales of $650 – 700 million, vs the analyst expectation of $700 million
RenSola … Read the rest
Clean Energy & Climate Change Funds in the Omnibus Bill
A hat tip to Earth2Tech for laying out the components in the $410 omnibus bill that represent clean energy and climate change. The “imperfect omnibus bill” was signed into law by Obama today behind closed doors. Here’s to more government waste but at least there are some clean energy bucks in there..
* EPA gets $7.6 billion (increase of $174 million over last year). $224 million for grants to states to implement the Clean Air … Read the rest
Hoku (HOKU) Signs New Polysilicon Agreement With Alex New Energy
Hoku Materials, Inc just announced that it has signed a new 10-year polysilicon supply agreement with Shanghai Alex New Energy Company, Ltd. Under the contract, Hoku will resell a portion of the polysilicon production capacity it recaptured after amending a contract with Jiangxi Jinko Solar Company. Alex New Energy had been planning to buy Hoku polysilcon indirectly from Jinko, but will now buy directly from Hoku instead.
Hoku has amended the contract with Jinko as … Read the rest