Solar Energy

[winston]

I've Solargiga 757 listed in HK. Last week, it got whacked and I did not know the reason. As it was a small company, none of the Analysts that I know, follow it. This is the danger of having a position in a small company. Maybe the following is the reason why it got whacked last week..

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By Kevin Baker

The Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF(KWT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) lost 10.45%, while the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index ETF(TAN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) gave up 7.81%.

For both funds, the same three companies did most of the damage. The Norwegian Renewable Energy Corp AS(RNWEF - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) shed 20.91% while German companies Q-Cells AG(QCLSF - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and Solarworld AG(SRWRF - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) shrank 18.83% and 14.15%, respectively.

The selloff in solar energy stocks came from panic selling in anticipation of subsidy cuts by the German government. By the time of writing, the coalition of parties running Germany agreed on smaller-than-expected subsidy cuts, prompting a rebound in these shares.

[winston]

Germany Slashes Solar Subsidies, Threatening Industry `Success'
By Jeremy van Loon

June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Germany is slashing the subsidies that built its solar industry up to $8.8 billion in sales and made the country the world's biggest market for panels that capture the sun's energy.

Homes and businesses earn a government-guaranteed price of as much as 47 euro cents ($0.74) for each kilowatt-hour of solar power they generate, enough to run a vacuum cleaner for 60 minutes and double the market rate. Spain and France are copying Germany's model as a way to nurture clean-energy industries that can reduce reliance on fossil fuels and cut gas emissions blamed for global warming.

Almost nine years of subsidized prices have made Germany the largest market for photovoltaic panels with 17 publicly traded solar companies, and about 40,000 employees, 13 times more than in 2000. While the government says it wants to keep the industry from growing too fast, manufacturers Q-Cells AG and Solarworld AG say that reducing the guaranteed prices will hurt profits and stall the technology's emergence.

``Pressure on margins would be very high,'' said Anton Milner, chief executive officer of Q-Cells, the world's largest maker of solar cells, in a May 14 interview. ``Many smaller German companies would be squeezed out of the market. It's definitely too early for the proposed cuts.''

Germany has installed about 1.5 million solar systems, including 500,000 photovoltaic modules, according to the Berlin- based Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft, a solar energy association. Solar offers the potential of generating about a quarter of the northern European country's electricity, even with the relatively scant amount of sunshine, said Carsten Koernig, president of the association, in a May 13 interview.

Deepening Cuts

The country has trimmed subsidized prices by 5 percent a year from about 1 euro per kilowatt-hour nine years ago to spur the industry to control expenses and improve efficiency. The environment ministry proposes deepening that reduction to 9.1 percent next year, and some lawmakers are demanding a 30 percent cut. A decision may come as early as this week, according to renewable-energy lobby groups.

``Consumers in Germany are paying 5 billion euros additionally per year to subsidize renewable energy,'' said Claudia Kemfert, the Berlin-based DIW Research Institute's chief energy economist. ``It makes sense to lower these subsidies to exercise more pressure to cut costs.''

Germany pioneered feed-in tariffs, as the subsidies are known. The tariffs guarantee the level of payments for solar power over 20 years, obliging utility companies to buy renewable energy from producers, households with panels and entrepreneurs who built solar farms as a result of the price guarantees.

Stocks

Government policy is the ``fundamental driver'' of profit and valuations of companies specializing in renewable energy, including solar, said New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts Thomas Lee and Marc Levinson in a note to advise investors on opportunities and challenges for the industry on May 15.

Q-Cells and Renewable Energy Corp. ASA rallied May 30 after Hermann Scheer, an SPD member of parliament, said Germany's ruling coalition government agreed to implement smaller-than-expected subsidy cuts of about 10 percent annually. The German environment ministry said May 30 that no official decision on the size of the cut had been made.

On May 29, Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Matthew Yates wrote in a note to clients that the reductions could be as much as 25 percent. Bonn-based Solarworld fell 5.6 percent that day, and Q- Cells declined 5.3 percent.

Rising Costs

Germany last year purchased 40 percent of the photovoltaic modules made worldwide, a demand that exceeds domestic production, according to the Merrill analysts in London.

The German system has become a model for 40 countries, mostly in the European Union, according to Deutschland-Hat-Unendlich- Viel-Energie, a Berlin-based renewable-energy group funded by the German government, Q-Cells and other companies. Spain, the second- largest market in Europe for solar cells, is following Germany in lowering tariffs to steer more money to plant-derived fuels and other alternative energy projects.

Without slashing the guaranteed price for solar power, consumers will be forced to spend an extra 120 billion euros ($187 billion) on electricity in the next two decades and Germany will end up buying most of the world's solar modules, said Joachim Pfeiffer, a lawmaker and energy spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats. That would benefit overseas producers, and the subsidies are meant to help only German companies, he said.

40,000 Jobs

``The costs are threatening to explode,'' he said in a May 8 interview. ``In the next three years, all this global solar panel production will be sucked up like a vacuum cleaner by Germany. This can't be in the interest of Germany or the industry.''

``Mr. Pfeiffer has to ask himself whether he wants to threaten 40,000 jobs,'' Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, a Social Democrat, said in a May 14 interview, when asked whether he will have to compromise with the Christian Democrats and slash the subsidies more than planned. ``The subsidies have been a success, clearly.''

Negotiations between the parties may result in ``significantly'' smaller cuts of about 10 percent annually, said Hermann Scheer, an SPD member of parliament. The environment ministry said there is no official decision yet.

German Rooftops

Electricity generated from solar panels on German rooftops will be cheaper than power produced by coal and nuclear plants after 2016, Koernig said, citing his group's own research. Until then, some customers may stop using solar if the subsidies decline too far, too fast, he said.

``Only the top two or three companies will be alright, and even that assumes they have made meaningful improvements in costs,'' said Catharina Saponar, an analyst at Nomura International in London, adding that the subsidies have been critical in creating the industry. ``The rest may not survive.''

[blid2def]

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/us/27 ... K/5wiSyxLQ

NY Times: Citing Need for Assessments, U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects

Extract here. Visit the link for the full article.

DENVER — Faced with a surge in the number of proposed solar power plants, the federal government has placed a moratorium on new solar projects on public land until it studies their environmental impact, which is expected to take about two years.

The Bureau of Land Management says an extensive environmental study is needed to determine how large solar plants might affect millions of acres it oversees in six Western states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.

But the decision to freeze new solar proposals temporarily, reached late last month, has caused widespread concern in the alternative-energy industry, as fledgling solar companies must wait to see if they can realize their hopes of harnessing power from swaths of sun-baked public land, just as the demand for viable alternative energy is accelerating.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Holly Gordon, vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs for Ausra, a solar thermal energy company in Palo Alto, Calif. “The Bureau of Land Management land has some of the best solar resources in the world. This could completely stunt the growth of the industry.”

[kennynah]

if this goes thru...how the legislators get money from oil companies...

[winston]

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has set a target to raise the use of solar cells 10-fold from present levels by 2020, with the government considering subsidies and tax breaks for households turning to solar power.

Japan, which has virtually no natural energy resources of its own, aims to take the lead in environmentally friendly energy.

It has put climate change high on the agenda for this year's summit of leaders from the Group of Eight rich nations, which it will host next week.

[winston]

Toyota to add solar panels to some Prius hybrids
Mon Jul 7, 2008 3:49am EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp plans to install solar panels on some Prius hybrids in its next remodeling, responding to growing demand for "green" cars amid record-high oil prices, a source briefed on the matter said on Monday.

The panels, supplied by Kyocera Corp would be able to power part of the air-conditioning on high-end versions of the gasoline-electric Prius, the source said.

"It's more of a symbolic gesture," said the source, who asked not to be identified. "It's very difficult to power much more than that with solar energy."

Toyota is due to launch the third-generation Prius next year.

Big automakers are racing to come up with alternative solutions to using fossil fuels to appear ecologically conscious and to lure consumers looking to save money at the pump.

But solar power is not seen as a viable solution to power cars. Solar panels are expensive due to rising silicon prices and storing energy is difficult, the source said. It was unknown how much the solar panels on the new Prius cars would cost, or how many solar-mounted versions Toyota would build.

A Toyota spokesman declined to comment, saying the company does not talk about future product plans.

Mazda Motor Corp briefly offered a solar panel option on two car models, the Eunos 800 and Sentia, in the early 1990s to ventilate the sedans while parked on hot summer days. The expensive option was unpopular and discontinued after a few years.

Kentaro Endo, a director at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry who specializes in renewable energy, said the application of solar energy was severely limited in vehicles.

"Even if you laid solar panels out on the entire roof of a house, you only generate enough energy to run two hair dryers," he said.

"It's an interesting idea, but it would be very difficult to power a whole car, even with technological advances."

Toyota has struggled to keep up with demand for the Prius as soaring gasoline prices put consumers off of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Rival Honda Motor Co will also step up its hybrid push with a new, low-cost model early next year, followed by several other gasoline-electric cars.

Automakers have teamed up with battery makers to develop and produce lithium-ion batteries to store more energy in smaller packages to extend cruising distances.

Toyota has partnered with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co while Nissan Motor Co has a joint venture with the NEC Corp group. Mitsubishi Motors Corp is working with GS Yuasa Corp.

The Prius, the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car, first went on sale in Japan in late 1997 and in other markets in 2000. Cumulative sales have topped 1 million units worldwide.

Toyota has a goal of selling at least 1 million hybrid cars a year in the early part of the next decade by offering the fuel-saving system on more vehicles.

Toyota shares ended 1.4 percent higher at 4,990 yen as the dollar rose against the yen. Kyocera lost 0.1 percent to 9,740 yen, while the Nikkei average gained 0.9 percent.

[winston]

An ETF With a Bright Future
By Christian Hill

The world of exchange traded funds (ETFs) is ever-evolving. Nowadays, you can invest in a fund that covers just about any niche market. One that has caught my interest lately is the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index ETF, with the ticker symbol TAN. (Apparently, even Wall Street has a bit of a sense of humor.)

The fund selects companies based on "the relative importance of solar power within the company’s business model." In other words, the fund covers only companies that derive more than one-third of their revenue from solar-related business. This includes companies directly involved in the production of solar power equipment and products for end users, as well as companies that fabricate parts for solar companies, provide services for solar-equipment producers, or supply raw materials, among other criteria.

While many solar companies have been beaten down this year, the industry still shows great promise. Solar currently generates less than 1 percent of America’s power needs, which means there is plenty of room for growth.

The solar industry still faces hurdles, such as the current worldwide shortage of polysilicon, a key component of photovoltaic cells. Fortunately for us, one of the companies in TAN is MEMC Electronic Materials (MEMC), a major supplier of silicon wafers. So even if actual production slows, you still own a company that benefits from the shortage of silicon.

The ETF is diversified amongst countries, with Chinese companies making up 30 percent of the index, Germany 29 percent, and the U.S. around 26 percent. Market capitalization is mostly small cap (at just over 42 percent) and mid cap (at 30 percent). This means the fund isn’t reliant on one company or country for success, and should be able to weather any growing pains facing the solar industry.

This is a long-term buy and hold position, as it will likely take many years for solar to gain widespread acceptance as the future of energy. When that time comes, TAN will be the ETF you want to own.

[winston]

Not vested.

5 Solar Stocks That Could Soar

Investors have the potential to make fortunes in solar stocks as the world quickly moves towards alternative energy sources in the face of skyrocketing commodity prices. The solar industry has a number of strong reasons that could lead to explosive growth like concerns with global warming, reduced energy costs and a need to cut the dependence on foreign oil.

Legendary oil investor Boone Pickens is also behind the idea of solar energy as a viable alternative energy source. During an interview Monday on CNN Pickens said, "You have resource from Texas west to California. You've got solar. Those two resources have to be developed." His focus on the space is sure to draw additional investor attention to solar plays.

Due to the recent market selloff in China, some of the Chinese solar names are beginning to look very attractive from a valuation perspective. Opportunities for money making plays in solar stocks have never looked better.

Here are the names of 5 solar stocks you have to buy today that could make investors some big money:

First up is Trina Solar (TSL). Trina is a China-based manufacturer of standard solar modules and multicrystalline solar modules. The company recently raised its second-quarter 2008 revenue estimates by 18% and said it’s on track to meet or beat full-year revenues estimates of $770 million to $808 million. The company’s ability to raise revenue guidance demonstrates it has operational momentum and is executing on its business model.

The stock trades at a forward P/E ratio of 6 and is well off its 52-week high of $68.26. The stock also has a high short interest of 22% and small float of only 21 million shares available for trading. If the company continues to perform a major short-squeeze could be in the cards.

Another strong name in the solar energy complex is "best of breed" U.S.-based First Solar (FSLR). The company designs and makes photovoltaic solar modules using a thin film semiconductor technology process based on CdTe, to produce solar thin-film cells. The stock trades at a very rich trailing P/E of 100, but Wall Street has awarded the company with a higher valuation due to its ability to crush earnings and revenues estimates.

Collins Stewart analyst Daniel Ries recently upgraded the stock from hold to buy and raised his estimates for 2009 to $2.174 billion in sales and $7.24 a share in profit. Ries thinks the stock is heading to $320 a share. It’s worth noting that one of the largest hedge funds in the world, New York-based D.E. Shaw Group, holds a 1.8% stake in the stock. Fortune magazine described D.E. Shaw as the most intriguing and mysterious forces on Wall Street.

Next up is Canadian Solar (CSIQ), a vertically integrated solar company that’s incorporated in Canada but does all its manufacturing in China. The company recently raised its second-quarter revenue guidance due to higher sales expectations for its e-Module products. The solar firm also said it’s on track to meet or beat its full-year revenue guidance. The stock has been under selling pressure recently, following the announcement of a follow-on public offering of 3.5 million shares. The stock has a 33% short interest and a small float of shares available for trading at 14 million shares. This one is another strong candidate for a big short-squeeze.

Another strong candidate in the solar sector is China-based Yingli Green Energy (YGE). The company and its subsidiaries engage in the design, development, marketing, manufacturing, installation and sale of photovoltaic products. Piper Jaffray recently reiterated its buy rating on the stock and said that Yingli could raise its 2008 guidance when it reports second-quarter earnings. The company is expanding production capacity and has the lowest non-silicon processing cost. The stock trades at a forward P/E ratio of 1.27 and is down 59% year-to-date. The current short interest on the stock stands at 8.4%.

My final play on the solar complex is ReneSola (SOL), a China-based solar company that manufactures and sells solar wafers and related products. The company came public in the U.S. through a secondary offering back in January at $13 a share. The stock shot up following the IPO reaching a high of $29.48, but is now well off that level at around $16 a share.

Piper Jaffray recently said they see upside to Wall Street consensus estimates on ReneSola for the second-quarter. The stock trades at a forward P/E ratio of 7 and the firm has $190 million net cash on the books.

[mojo_]

'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution

Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system

Anne Trafton, News Office
July 31, 2008

In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.

Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."

Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera's lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.

The key component in Nocera and Kanan's new process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity -- whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source -- runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.

Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.

The new catalyst works at room temperature, in neutral pH water, and it's easy to set up, Nocera said. "That's why I know this is going to work. It's so easy to implement," he said.

'Giant leap' for clean energy

Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year.

James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis who was not involved in this research, called the discovery by Nocera and Kanan a "giant leap" toward generating clean, carbon-free energy on a massive scale.

"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem."

'Just the beginning'

Currently available electrolyzers, which split water with electricity and are often used industrially, are not suited for artificial photosynthesis because they are very expensive and require a highly basic (non-benign) environment that has little to do with the conditions under which photosynthesis operates.

More engineering work needs to be done to integrate the new scientific discovery into existing photovoltaic systems, but Nocera said he is confident that such systems will become a reality.

"This is just the beginning," said Nocera, principal investigator for the Solar Revolution Project funded by the Chesonis Family Foundation and co-Director of the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center. "The scientific community is really going to run with this."

Nocera hopes that within 10 years, homeowners will be able to power their homes in daylight through photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen to power their own household fuel cell. Electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past.

The project is part of the MIT Energy Initiative, a program designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by improving today's energy systems. MITEI Director Ernest Moniz, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, noted that "this discovery in the Nocera lab demonstrates that moving up the transformation of our energy supply system to one based on renewables will depend heavily on frontier basic science."

The success of the Nocera lab shows the impact of a mixture of funding sources - governments, philanthropy, and industry. This project was funded by the National Science Foundation and by the Chesonis Family Foundation, which gave MIT $10 million this spring to launch the Solar Revolution Project, with a goal to make the large scale deployment of solar energy within 10 years.

[winston]

Taiwan's Solar Industry May Reach NT$500 Billion in 2012
By Tim Culpan

Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's solar industry may grow to NT$500 billion ($16 billion) by 2012 as the government promotes the use of renewable energy, the Cabinet said.

Revenue from makers of solar-electricity components was NT$11.3 billion for the first six months of this year, the Cabinet said in a statement posted on its Web site last night, following a visit by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan to two manufacturers yesterday.

``The solar energy industry is the star of tomorrow,'' Liu was cited as saying. ``We mustn't let high oil prices use up our competitiveness.''

Liu urged Taiwan's legislature to pass a renewable energy bill to spur the development of new energy sources. The island wants to cut its dependency on oil and gas imports as fuel prices surge.

A delegation including Liu, chairman of the National Science Council Lee Lou-chuang and vice minister of economics Hsieh Fada yesterday visited Sino-American Silicon Products Inc., Taiwan's largest supplier of silicon used in solar cell making, and Gintech Energy Corp., Taiwan's second-largest maker of solar cells.