Solar Rooftop Lease Securitization A Ground-Breaking Success
Sean Kidney Last week we blogged that SolarCity (SCTY) and Credit Suisse were about to issue a new $54.4 million, climate bond – a rooftop solar lease securitization. It’s out: BBB+, 4.8%, 13 years. The long tenor is interesting – and great. And S&P’s BBB+ rating suggest those credit analysts may be beginning to understand solar. This bond has been long-awaited by the green finance sector, who are hoping it’s the harbinger of things to come. I did get the chance to look at the S&P opinion. Their rating reflected, as they put it, their views on over-collateralization (62%...
Shriveling Yingli Fends Off Bond Holders
Doug Young Bottom line: Yingli is likely to get sold or announce a major government-led restructuring, which could include bankruptcy, before a new round of 1.4 billion yuan in bonds comes due next month. In what looks like a case of deja vu, fast-shrinking solar panel maker Yingli (NYSE: YGE) is in the headlines again as it looks set to default on 1.4 billion yuan ($220 million) worth of bonds set to come due next month. The default would be Yingli’s second within a year, after it failed to pay off part of another big bond that matured last...
Incredible Shrinking Solar Stocks
Doug Young More clouds for solar sector There's a flurry of news coming from the embattled solar sector, led by a sharp cutback by Suntech (NYSE: STP) at its main US plant that looks suspiciously like it is being ordered by Beijing part of a government rescue plan for the struggling company. Meantime, JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO) and LDK (NYSE: LDK) are struggling just to stay listed as their market values quickly evaporate. And in a rare but fleeting piece of good news, Yingli (NYSE: YGE), Trina (NYSE: TSL) and others are getting a temporary boost...
Staying Alive: Could Thin-film Manufacturers Come Out Ahead in the PV Wars? Part 1
Jennifer Runyon As the solar PV market goes through its trials and tribulations, thin-film manufacturers could be poised to take on more market share. In the solar electricity market, capitulation, consolidation and contraction are the buzzwords of the day. Today, all solar PV manufacturers face an over-supplied and underfunded PV market. The oversupply and drop in subsidy markets across Europe and the U.S. has forced crystalline silicon manufacturers to sell their PV panels below manufacturing costs or risk losing all market-share. As the weeks tick by, major manufacturers, one after another, are going under or announcing...
These Solar Panels Do NOT Work!
By Jeff Siegel Solar Failures Rising Those who wish death upon the solar industry are about to be given a gift. According to a New York Times investigation, reports of defective solar panels are starting to rise just as the industry is on the cusp of significant adoption and expansion. Energy analyst Todd Woody points out that no one is exactly certain how pervasive the problem is, writing: There are no industry-wide figures about defective solar panels. And when defects are discovered, confidentiality agreements often keep the manufacturer's identity secret, making accountability in the industry all the...
A Solar Penny Stock Worth Watching?
Dana Blankenhorn As a rule "penny stocks," public companies routinely selling for less than $1 a share, and sometimes just a few pennies, make me nervous. While the intent is laudable – to give small investors a chance to bet on long shots just like the boys on Sand Hill Road – the result has always looked like a rigged casino. Because of its low capitalization and small float it's easy to “pump and dump” a penny stock, boosting its value with some publicity, then selling it short. And if the deal were worthwhile, why isn't the smart...
Is Suntech Overvalued?
Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE:STP) got a nice 5.01% pop on Wednesday on news that it had signed a big supply agreement with a Spanish solar firm. This came a day after the company released overall pretty decent quarterly results. But to some, STP looks richly valued, even after all the good news. Are you one of them? If you have about 5 minutes to spare, I would recommend watching the first segment of yesterday’s Stars & Dogs on Report on Business Television (ROB TV). To watch this video, scroll down to "Stars and Dogs" at 6:00pm. The link...
Introducing PERGY
Impressed by the number of stocks in the Crystal Equity Research alternative energy indices that have delivered exceptional price appreciation, the last few posts have been on a quest to find fundamental characteristics that could give an advance signal of a future star. The post “Alternative Returns” on May 8th introduced the series identified future growth as a precursor of strong stock performance. The next post “Quest for Growth” on May 11th looked at stocks with above average growth predictions. Then the post “Alternative Bargains” looked at stocks in the alternative energy indices that are trading at below average price-earnings multiples.
There is a...
The Commoditization of the Solar Industry
by Paula Mints Philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist George Santayana said: Those who cannot re-member the past are condemned to repeat it. The solar industry is expert at repeating its behavior and justifying the often devastating results by referring to them as the solar rollercoaster or, the solar coaster. To be clear, the industry’s behavior is closer to a Shakespearean tragedy than it is to a carnival or theme park ride. People choose to ride rollercoasters because once the ride begins they lose control for a brief period. They can enjoy the feeling of being safely...
China Plans Aggressive Renewables Deployment But Falling Incentives
Doug Young Lofty targets contained in a new report show that China intends to push ahead with ambitious plans to build up its renewable energy sector. But perhaps the most interesting thing about this new report is word that Beijing finally intends to sharply reduce the inflated state-set fees now paid for solar and wind-produced power, in one of the sharpest indicators that it expects the industry to stop depending on government support and become commercially viable on its own. Such state support through a wide array of measures, which also include export credits and low-interest loans,...
First Solar Retakes CdTe Crown
James Montgomery Roughly one month ago General Electric (GE) leapfrogged First Solar (FSLR) in thin-film cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar photovoltaic (PV) conversion efficiency, with an 18.3 percent efficient champion cell a full percentage point higher than First Solar's 17.3 percent mark set last year. That reign proved to be short-lived, as First Solar has produced an NREL-verified 18.7 percent cell out of its Perrysburg, Ohio factory and R&D center. Keith Emery, who manages NREL's cell and module performance characterization group (and the cell efficiency records chart), confirms that the new First Solar cell arrived and...
PV Micro Inverters and Optimizers: Not Just for Lazy Designers
by Joseph McCabe, PE More and more solar electric installations are using AC micro inverters and DC to DC optimizer electrical balance of systems (BOS) components. This BOS gear goes directly on the back sides of PV modules providing higher valued electricity than output from the PV cells alone. Two years ago I considered micro inverters as only necessary for lazy designs or bad installation practices. I’ve changed my attitude towards these approaches after organizing two years of forums as the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) Solar Electric Division Chairperson. These forums brought together experts who compared...
Power REIT: No News Is Good News
Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA I first wrote about Power REIT (NYSE MKT:PW) in 2012, when the tiny real estate investment trust unveiled its plans to become what would have been the first Yieldco by investing in the land underlying solar and wind farms... before the term 'Yieldco' had even been invented. In the years since, the company made some progress buying land under solar farms. According to the most recent shareholder presentation, they now own land under seven solar farms totaling 601 acres and 108 MW, in addition to their legacy railroad asset. These assets produce...
China Levies Tariffs on US and South Korean Polysilicon
James Montgomery The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has formally decided to levy antidumping duties on imported solar-grade polysilicon from U.S. and Korean suppliers, turning up the heat yet again in the broader trade disputes simmering between several key markets for solar energy. The antidumping tariffs, which are said to be effective starting July 24, range from 54-57 percent targeting nine U.S. suppliers and from 2-49 percent for 11 South Korean suppliers. (Here's a roughly Googlized translation of the China MOC announcement.) Here's how the antidumping tariffs lay out: Not included in these polysilicon tariffs is any mention of European...
US Solar: Blistering Demand v Expiry of 1603 Treasury Program
by Clean Energy Intel Despite the Solyndra affair and its aftermath in the political arena, the solar industry in the US continues to see a blistering rate of growth. At the same time, the end of year expiration of the 1603 Treasury Grant Program could have a negative affect on the financing environment for all renewables - including solar. Sources of Growth In The North American Solar Sector Source: NPD Solarbuzz North America PV Markets Quarterly report The latest survey-based data from Solarbuzz points to...
Solar Christmas: Coal for LDK, JV for Trina
Doug Young Photo by Tom Konrad I thought I’d get into the Christmas spirit in this first work day after Thanksgiving in the US, so let’s take a look at what solar panel makers LDK (NYSE: LDK) and Trina (NYSE: TSL) are getting in their holiday stockings with the latest company news reports. It seems the struggling LDK won’t be getting much, with word that a Chinese court has added further delays to a case where it is owed $40 million in a business dispute...
