There were several big headlines this week:
European renewable energy company EDP Renewables (EDPR.NX) announced their intention to devote $4 billion dollars to building new wind farms in the US through the year 2012. That’s in addition to $1.5 billion the company said it spent developing 800 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity this year. EDP Renewables is the parent company of Horizon Wind, which commissioned a 200-MW wind farm in Indian on Thursday. EDP credited the tax incentives put in place by the Obama administration for its decision to invest heavily in the US, and urged for the creation of a nationwide renewable energy standard (RES) to generate stronger demand.
Suntech Power (NYSE: STP), the largest Chinese solar panel producer, announced the
selection of Phoenix, Arizona as the location of its
first US module assembly plant. The plant will have an initial production capacity of 30 MW and is expected to begin production in 3Q10. Suntech said it selected the Phoenix area, because of Arizona’s
leadership in research through Arizona State University, and statewide
renewable energy policies. The Suntech U.S. plant will employ around 75 full-time employees and may double its staff within the year as the North American
market develops.
Chinese wind-turbine maker A-Power Energy Generation Systems, Ltd.
(Nasdaq: APWR) and the U.S. Renewable Energy Group (US-REG) signed
a cooperation agreement for the development and construction of a new
production and assembly plant in the United States. The location of the facility has not been announced, but it is planned for a capacity of 1,100MW of wind turbines annually and will employ about 1,000 workers. The plan also calls
for many key components to be sourced from U.S.
manufacturers. Last month U.S. Renewable Energy Group and China’s Shenyang Power Group (SPG) announced plans to develop a $1.5 billion, 600MW wind farm a in Texas. A-Power, which is a shareholder of Shenyang Power, has been designated as the turbine supplier for that project.
First Energy Bank (FEB) announced plans to build a $1 billion polysilicon production plant in Saudi Arabia. The plant is expected to go online in 2013, providing
7,500 tons per year of polysilicon to the region’s budding manufacturing
base for photovoltaic solar cells and modules. The project, which will be managed and developed by Cosmos
Industrial Investment Corporation, a subsidiary of First Energy Bank.
Solar thermal company Ausra is reportedly looking for a buyer. The company has received about $130 million in venture capital from high profile firms like Khosla
Ventures and Kleiner Perkins. In January of this year the company shifted its focus from developeding utility-scale solar thermal plants to selling equipment for the plants. Reuters reported that the company is in discussions with three separate global conglomerates. Ausra has not confirmed the information.
Thin-film solar manufacturer MiaSolé announced that it has
started shipping modules from its California
production facility. The company makes CIGS solar cells with a roll-to-roll process. The National Renewable Energy Lab tested the efficiency of the cells at 10.2%. The company said commercial projects have been completed using their cells and that they are ramping up production capacity for 2010.
And in general solar news, the glut of module oversupply may have peaked according to industry research firm iSuppli. Solar installations in Europe surged over the summer on lower prices, increasing demand beyond earlier projections. New figures show a 66% overage through the end of the year, compared to an earlier forecast of 92%.
As evidence of this, several solar companies reported 3Q09 results that outperformed Wall Street expectations. Despite a year-over-year drop in income
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) doubled per share earnings forecasts as reported by Reuters, and raised earnings and revenue significantly from 2Q09.
Similarly, Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) increased revenue and profit quarter-to-quarter and said it would double shipments in 2010.
German solar firm Q-Cells SE (QCE.DE) didn’t fair as well on the bottom line, though the company stressed that group sales increased 30% quarter-to-quarter. The company is in the midst of reorganization, cutting 500 positions to help adjust for the falling cost of solar panels. The company has lost EUR 945 million to date this year, but said that the financial effects of reorganization should become evident in 1Q10.
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