Real Goods Solar recently celebrated the completion of a 417 kW system for Richmond Village, an affordable housing community in the San Francisco Bay area. The company will participate in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 4th. So far, Real goods Solar has designed and installed 790 kW worth of solar installations for affordable housing communities in the area.
In a press release, John Schaeffer, Founder and President of Real Goods Solar, commented on the … Read the rest
PlanetSolar just revealed the world’s largest solar-powered boat to the world at the HDW shipyard. The catamaran is powered by 38,000 next-generation solar cells from SunPower. PlanetSolar will start testing the boat in March, and next year it will go on a world tour.
In a press release, SunPower Senior Director Jorn Jurgens commented on the news:
“We are proud to support the unveiling of the world’s largest solar boat, powered by SunPower’s high-efficiency … Read the rest
Suntech announced that their solar panels are being used to power a net-zero showcase home for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. The house, which is currently being used to house Olympic athletes, produces as much energy as it consumes each year, thanks in part to 6 KW of power generated by Suntech’s Just Roof (TM) solar roofing system.
The house, designed by RDC Homes, is so efficient that on an annual basis it may even produce … Read the rest
Yingli Green Energy just announced the signing of a 3 year framework agreement with German solar integrator Gehrlicher Solar AG. Per the agreement, Yingli will supply 285MW worth of PV modules to Gerlicher for the next 3 years, until 2012. The modules will be used in installations across various European markets.
In a press release, Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yingli Green Energy, commented on the agreement:
“We are pleased to … Read the rest
Trina Solar (TSL) has posted strong earnings results this morning, beating analyst estimates by a decent margin. The company posted .74/share on revenues of $313 million. Analysts were looking for only .60/share on revenues of $283 million. The quarter was a big improvement over the year ago period when the company reported just .26/share and also represents a nice bump sequentially. Earnings increased about 15% and revenues 25% over last quarter.
The quarter was … Read the rest
Ascent Solar just announced that its Premier and 2 Meter flexible CIGS solar modules have passed the tests required to receive MIL-STD-810G certification, indicating that they meet military standards for working in a range of different environments worldwide.
In a press release, Ascent Solar President and CEO Farhad Moghadam commented on the news”
“MIL-STD-810G certification is a significant step forward in penetrating the defense application market for military and disaster relief integrated products. These … Read the rest
Apparently Germany will not cut solar subsidies as much as had been expected according to draft legislation released today. They are now planning a 15% cut for solar parks built after July 1st (less than the 25% previously expected), while rooftop system subsidies will be cut by 16% (same as previously expected). Nothing is set in stone yet as the constantly changing rumors indicate and these numbers may very well change when lawmakers meet … Read the rest
Barcays is out with a few solar downgrades this morning..
Suntech Power (STP) gets downgraded from Overweight to Equalweight with a new price target of $12 from $16
Yingli Green Energy (YGE) downgraded from Overweight to Equalweight and price target slashed to $11 from $19
LDK Solar (LDK) downgraded from Equalweight to Underweight and price target halved to $4 from $8
Evergreen Solar (ESLR) downgraded from Equalweight to Underweight with the price target now under … Read the rest
ThinkEquity & Merriman Curhan Ford are out with downgrades of First Solar following earnings.
ThinkEquity downgrades from Buy to Hold
Merriman Curhan Ford downgrades from Buy to Neutral. “We are downgrading to Neutral given the uncertain business outlook in 2H10 despite a strong 4Q09 and management reaffirming its 2010 earnings guidance. Solar module makers are expected to face revenue and margin volatility as a result of changing conditions in overcapacity and FiT policies. (We would … Read the rest
Canadian Solar (CSIQ) is out this morning updating its outlook for the 4th quarter and traders aren’t liking the outlook for a lower gross margin due to higher processing costs, defective production equipment and clearing of old inventory. On the bright side, the company does expect shipments to be slightly higher than previous estimates of 128 – 138MW. Canadian Solar will report earnings on March 3rd.
Shares are down about 10% in premarket trading, but … Read the rest