Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
Researchers at the Cornell University have created the basic elements of a solar cell that they hope will lead to solar cells with much better efficiency. The research team fabricated a simple solar cell called a photodiode from an individual carbon nanotube.
About the size of a DNA molecule, the nanotube was wired and eventually revealed that the narrow, cylindrical structure of the carbon nanotube caused the electrons to neatly squeeze through one by one thereby generating more electricity by utilizing the spare energy from the light. Though scaling up the device would prove to be expensive, it does show a possibility where highly efficient solar cells could be developed to solve the energy crisis.
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Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
At 72 dollars a barrel oil today sits at a dramatic, 50% lower level than last year’s high of 147. However, 147 dollar oil is not a price that either you or I ever experienced. It was a brief moment in time over several trading days, and then it was gone. The relevant price of oil in 2008 was of course the average for the whole year: 99 dollars. Sorry, if you thought you were living in a world of 150 dollar oil last year. You weren’t.
What’s astonishing therefore is that with national unemployment just below 10% and surely to go higher, oil this Summer has only been 25-35% lower than last year’s average. Oil at 65-75 is bad enough with 10% unemployment. When you consider the broader measure of unemployment however, now above 16%, oil prices in this range are a shocker.
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Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
The revelation that Google is developing its own reflective surfaces for solar thermal technologies and a turbine that can connect directly to a solar thermal collector is great news – for Microsoft.
Generally, when high-tech companies try to branch out and then fail, the attempt becomes an embarrassing distraction that leads to lots of soul searching.
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Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
A major announcement is expected this week at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China regarding a deal between the U.S. and China. The deal seeks to establish a working relationship that will allow the two economic superpowers to collaborate on cleantech initiatives and lead the world into a low-carbon global economy in the 21st century.
“Entrepreneurs and financiers from the world’s two biggest polluters have marked out the development strategy for a trillion dollar greentech market for inclusion in a bilateral climate agreement that is expected to be signed by the two governments when Obama visits China in November,” The Guardian reports.
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Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
As part of its push into grid-scale electricity storage, Altair Nanotechnologies is looking to supply its lithium-ion batteries to support a 1.4-megawatt solar project on the Hawaiian island of Lanai.
That’s according to Joe Heinzmann, senior director of energy storage solutions for the Reno, Nev.-based battery maker, who was in San Jose, Calif. on Thursday at a sustainability conference sponsored by Wesco. AltairNano has supplied some grid-sized batteries to utilities, notably, two 1-megawatt trailer units to help utility AES regulate frequencies on the grid, he said.
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Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
It never fails. You’re expecting an important phone call and your cell phone dies. With no electrical outlet in sight, what to do? Imagine using the power of the sun to power all your important electronic devices! USB solar chargers provide portable power for people on the go. Great for camping, hiking or road trips, these handy devices may also be a lifesaver in case of an emergency.
Gadget lovers are sure to appreciate the portability and convenience of USB solar chargers. The bulky and costly solar chargers are being replaced by smaller and more affordable models.
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Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
Two days ago, MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) issued a late earnings warning stating that it “…experienced a disruption in production at its polysilicon facility in Pasadena, Texas due to an equipment failure on August 7, 2009, requiring a large portion of the facility to be shut-down…The lost production and related costs are expected to negatively affect the company’s revenue and margins in the third quarter of 2009. ” The stock closed down on the day by almost 4%. Since then, buyers have stepped in with notable volume. WFR has now recovered all its post-earnings losses and at the time of writing is up another 4%.
Normally, I would not think much about this action, especially since WFR’s business is under pressure from falling poly-silicon prices. However, last week, Nick Perry from Schaeffer’s Investment Research, reported heavy call trading volume on WFR. The volume was so impressive, I also decided to jump in with the herd (my analysis on options trading volumes suggests that the signal can be quite ambiguous unless the trade follows prevailing trends. WFR is currently stuck in a 5-month trading range, so this play was a stretch for me). Now that buyers have shown they are willing to look past the latest operational problems at WFR, I am even more intrigued by this trade and anticipating higher prices in the coming week.
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Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
Applied Materials Inc. has developed the fab2farm business model for solar deployment, which the company says represents a complete regional ecosystem, bringing together communities, utilities and solar panel manufacturers to drive down the cost of solar electricity, create green jobs and spur local economic activity.
A central component of the fab2farm model is a locally sited solar panel factory built by a solar module manufacturer using Applied’s SunFab thin-film production line. Because the electricity generation is sited for distribution near load centers, a solar farm can be quickly deployed without the need for extensive, costly transmission lines, the company notes.
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Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
It is obvious that Asia’s PV market is heating up not only in China, but also in Japan. According to Japan’s Kyodo News agency report, Sanyo Electric, Sharp, Mitsubishi Electric and another 24 solar cell manufacturers in Japan reported second-quarter sales of solar cells in Japan rose 82.5 percent year over year to 830MW, a record high. The new-to-power Democratic Party has decided to implement a new policy for the power companies to buy up the electricity generated by home solar power generation systems. It is reportedly believed that the new government has pledged to speed up the green revolution along with China, and solar energy will be one of the industries promoted under the new administration.
Under the new initiative passed by the Chinese congress, China has set a goal of 20GW in solar energy by 2020. Many companies have signed mega contracts with local governments, with sizes ranging from 100MW to 600MW. On Tuesday, China granted a solar farm contract to First Solar (FSLR), and the company has agreed to built a 2GW solar farm in Inner Mongolia by 2019. The latest winner is China’s Solarfun (SOLF), which signed a 600MW contract to build a farm that is adjacent to First Solar’s 2GW farm. China has set Inner Mongolia as the solar energy base for providing electricity to the entire nation. It is expected that Solarfun (SOLF) and some other Chinese solar names will get more contracts down the road. Companies such as Renesola (SOL), JA Solar (JASO), Yingli Green (YGE) and Suntech Power (STP) are gaining ground in the Chinese solar market. Goldman Sachs has put Renesola in the conviction buy list due to its improving business model and the potential. The following is the listed of companies who recently signed mega contracts:
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Sep 11
New post on: Solar Feeds
Richard Newell, the recently appointed administrator of the Energy Information Administration, launched an Energy and Financial Markets Initiative today to improve understanding and analysis of what drives energy prices.
“EIA’s traditional coverage of ‘fundamentals’ such as energy consumption, production, inventories, spare production capacity, and geopolitical risks is essential, but moving forward EIA must also assess other influences, such as speculation, hedging, investment, and exchange rates, as we seek to fully understand energy price movements,” Newell said. “The initiative I am launching today will help improve energy market transparency, support sound policy and efficient markets, and increase public understanding-activities that are central to EIA’s mission.”
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