Convertible Solar Bonds: Trina, SunPower Stoke Fire; Ascent Descends
by Sean Kidney Trina’s $150m 3.5% 5yr convertible solar bond In June Chinese solar manufacturer Trina announced the private placement of $150m of 5 year, 3.5% convertible bonds to “institutional investors” (no details provided). Trina weren’t clear how they would use the proceeds, but they are planning to build 400-500MW of solar plants over the rest of this year. Book-runners were Deutsche Bank, Barclays, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs (Asia), with co-manager HSBC. SunPower issues $400m 7yr 0.875% (!) convertible solar bond That same month SunPower announced a private placement of $400 million, 7 year, 0.875% senior convertible bonds. What...
Bright Forecasts from Renesola
Doug Young ReneSola (NYSE:SOL) boosts revenue and margin forecasts More good news is coming from the battered solar panel sector, with mid-sized player ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) sharply boosting its revenue and margin forecasts for the current quarter in the latest sign of a sector rebound. ReneSola isn’t forecasting a return to profitability just yet, but the latest signs do seem to indicate the sector’s strongest players could return to the black by the end of this year if current trends continue. Some could also interpret this upbeat news...
Suntech Plunges as Reckoning Day Approaches
Doug Young I rarely write about the same company 3 times in a single week, but in this case the developments are coming so quickly at plunging solar panel pioneer Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) that an update to this fast developing story is necessary. Company watchers will know that Friday was the official deadline for Suntech to repay some $540 million in bonds that have just come due. The company has no cash to make that repayment, and earlier this week received a 2 month extension on that deadline from a majority of bondholders. (previous post) Meantime, Chinese...
Will Buffett Rescue Suntech?
Doug Young Solar Lifeline image via Bigstock Intriguing rumors that billionaire investor Warren Buffett might be eying bankrupt former solar superstar Suntech (NYSE: STP) are breathing new life into embattled solar shares, as traders bet that western investors could help to revive the sector. Such a move would indeed be a major vote of confidence in this tarnished industry, since most observers believe that no private investors would want to bet on this group and a state-led rescue will be necessary to save the shaky sector. But...
Ascent Solar: Grounded
By Brandon Qureshi Recently, Ascent Solar Technologies (ASTI: Nasdaq) , a publicly traded solar power company, received an additional $5.0 million from institutional investor Ironridge Technology, thereby completing a $10 million Series B Preferred Stock investment. AST, based in Thornton, Colorado, has emerged as a leader in the development of flexible, thin, high-performance solar panels. In order to examine AST within an industrial context, a profile of the solar power industry is necessary: According to sources such as Time and E&E Publishing, the industry has experienced record levels of popularity in the United States in the last...
China Won’t Impose Tariffs on EU Polysilicon: Solar Trade Tensions Cool
Doug Young After months of heated rhetoric, the voice of reason is growing between Europe and China as they seek to end their dispute over Beijing’s state support for its solar panel sector. In the latest sign that a potential agreement to resolve the dispute could be near, Beijing has decided not to levy punitive tariffs against European polysilicon, the main ingredient used in making solar panels. (English article) Many had seen China’s launch of an anti-dumping investigation into European and US polycilicon imports last year as a retaliatory move for similar US and European investigations into Chinese...
Is The Largest Solar Manufacturer a Bargain?
by Debra Fiakas CFA In the previous post on Canadian Solar (CSIQ: Nasdaq) I suggested a multiple of 10 times the consensus estimate for earnings in 2014 might be a compelling value for the solar module producer. Putting a value on is competitor Yingli Green Energy Holding (YGE: NYSE) is not so easy given the string of losses reported by Yingli. The usual price to earnings multiple cannot be used to value a company swimming in red ink. That leaves the multiple of price to sales. Yingli trades at 0.5 times sales compared to the one-to-one multiple...
Community Solar Providers In ConEd Territory
See the Buyer's Guide to New York Community Solar for details on how New York community solar works and lists for other utility territories.
VENDOR NAME
PRICING STRUCTURE
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
SPECIAL OFFERS
Ampion
10% discount subscription model
Free cancellation at any time, excess credit is banked
BlueWave Solar
10% discount subscription model (Broker for solar farms)
Links to own development as well as any external ones. Available services in your area found through ZIP code search.
Sunset Solar Park
20% discount subscription model
YSG Solar
10% discount subscription model
Credits offered can be increased or decreased to suit usage
UGE International
10% discount subscription model
2-year contract, No cancellation restrictions
OnForce Solar
10% discount subscription model
Extra credits carried on;...
Sunny Day for Solar Stocks and the Shorts Come Off
L. Myron Clark Solar energy stocks took a huge jump today in U.S. trading. While the sheen faded slightly as afternoon skies turned overcast in the eastern U.S., as of the NYSE closing bell about half the sector was up 20% or better. Absent major industry news or earnings blowouts, short covering is the most plausible explanation for the sudden sharp rise. Among the biggest winners were: Hanwha SolarOne Co. Ltd. ADS (HSOL) +36.80% JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. ADS (JASO) +34.72% JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. ADS (JKS) +31.86% ReneSola...
Solar Stocks Bask In Hawaiian “Aloha”
By Jeff Siegel I’ve been all over the world, and without a doubt, there is no place more beautiful than Hawaii, particularly the island of Kauai. The weather, the ocean, the rain forests, the food - it just doesn’t get any better. Although if state lawmakers get their way, there could soon be a cherry on top for renewable energy supporters. As recently reported in Greentech Media … Lawmakers in Hawaii passed legislation last week (in a 74-2 vote) requiring the state to generate 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy resources by 2045. If HB 623...
Coupled Solar and Energy Storage Market to Grow
David Appleyard LONDON The symbiotic match between the solar and energy storage sectors shows significant market promise and could see the sector yielding a US $2.8 billion market over the next five years, Assessing the emerging market for combined solar and energy storage, Lux Research analysts found that residential applications dominate through 2018. As lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and overall storage arrays fall in price, residential systems will gain the most, growing to 382 MW in 2018, the report suggests. Meanwhile, the light commercial segment will increase to 220 MW although heavy commercial/industrial systems will...
Inverter Stocks: A Backdoor to Solar and Wind Energy
Avoiding the Rush Whenever there is a gold rush, the people who make the real money are seldom the gold miners, but rather the suppliers to the miners that come home with the lion's share of the profits. This is not because there is not an incredible amount of money to be made in mining gold, but because the nature of a gold rush is that too many optimistic miners are encouraged by the early profits of a few to rush to pursue too few opportunities. To many, the rush into solar stocks seems to be just...
Beijing Taking Hands-Off Approach To Solar Recovery
by Doug Young China sent an important message to the struggling solar panel sector last week when one of the country’s major manufacturers was forced to turn to global capital markets to raise new funds, hinting that it couldn’t receive the money from state-backed domestic sources. The move sparked a sell-off for New York-listed shares of Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE), as its request for funds met with a frosty response on Wall Street. The fact that Yingli had to seek funding from commercial-oriented western investors indicates Beijing is taking a hands-off approach to financing...
Yingli Can Make Debt Payment, But It’s Still Weak
Doug Young Bottom line: Yingli appears to be in financial distress but will avoid defaulting on debt obligations coming due next week, while China’s broader solar panel sector is likely to face new anti-dumping tariffs in Europe later this year. The solar panel sector has become quite a turbulent place these days, riding high one day on reports of major new plant construction, only to stumble the next on signs of conflict and financial distress. This kind of conflicting news reflects the fact that the industry is still in the midst of a major overhaul that could...
New Energy Exchange Limited Has A Market Cap of $3 Million, But Owns $54...
Esplanade Capital Issues Open Letter to the Board of New Energy Exchange Limited Urges the Company to Reregister with the SEC to Maximize Value for Shareholders Esplanade Capital LLC, a significant shareholder of New Energy Exchange Limited (OTC PINK: EBODF), announced today that it has issued an open letter to the Board urging the Company to reregister with the SEC in order to maximize value for shareholders. The full text of the letter follows: April 25, 2017 New Energy Exchange Limited (f.k.a. Renewable Energy Trade Board Corp.) Board of Directors Shun Tak Centre West Tower...
The Solar PV Shipment Shell Game
by Paula Mints Outsourcing has been a common practice in the photovoltaic industry since…always. Ignoring it in favor of reporting higher shipment numbers has been a common practice since…always. There is more outsourcing now than there was ten years ago because the industry is bigger. When the PV industry was at megawatt levels, outsourcing was at megawatt levels. Now that the industry is at gigawatt levels, outsourcing is at gigawatt levels. Today’s outsourcing is also more acceptable in the past everyone did it quietly, today it is out in the open. Yet despite this openness and acceptability,...
