Solar Panels,Tiles,Lanterns and Inverters Wanted

19 Feb, 2012
Solar Energy

This Post is aimed towards solar panel and inverter manufacturers  who may want to supply the following readers below. This Post will be regularly be updated with more wanted advertizement so solar panel suppliers should regularly watch this space.

Wanted

1) kindly tell me 200,w solar panel and 1000w inverter lowest price,also inform me price of untabed single solar cell.
Thanks and Regards. <Shinwari21@gmail.com>

2)  I also want the solar panel in the range of 50 to 300W. Please inform me if u found..Ajay.khalane7019@gmail.com

3) We are looking for Solar system ranging 30-50KW. Can you send me the formal quote for the same.

Dilli Babu,  Dy Manager Procurements : +91 9840066880

4) we are looking for a d.light s1 solar rechargeable lantern please contact us urgently

gulamtrading@yahoo.co.in

5) Want a solar power supply that can supply a small communty

Speak2kiani@yahoo.com

Renewable Energy Jobs become Less Attractive with Crashing Profits and Stocks

17 Feb, 2012
Renewable Energy,Solar Energy,Wind Energy

Renewable Energy Industry is going through some of the toughest times yet with profits and share prices of Green Companies crashing. 2011 was a horrendous year with the biggest solar company by value First Solar being the worst performer in S&P 500. Many of the biggest wind and solar companies were mired in red ink as competition and oversupply from China led to green indicies falling by more than 50% . Many of the biggest companies collapsed and many others are on lifeline.

2011 also saw the top executives of companies leaving the companies as stock options became worthless and bonuses disappeared. With another tough year expected in 2012 many of the C level executives left to search for greener pastures. In some companies like Q-Cells, First Solar replacements have not been found as companies faile to lure good hires as they lack both monetary firepower and good short term growth. Chinese companies too have not gone unscathed with some like A-Power crashing under accounting problems. The Green Industry without good leaders will face a harder time in seeing over this decline.

Brutal Year for Solar and Wind Stocks

Solar and Wind Stocks have been massacred in 2011 mainly due to the following reasons

1) Chinese oversupply which is outcome of its massive industrial overcapacity and investment. This has decimated wind and solar companies in the West while also leading to margins and profits collapsing

China’s rise in solar manufacturing has been nothing short of spectacular.From less than 5% of world marketshare it has gone to more than 50% in the current quarter.Some of its companies like Trina and Yingli are the lowest cost producers of solar modules in the world today.The Europeans like Solarworld and Q-Cells which were dominant until 2 years ago have been swept aside with Q-Cells bleeding red ink . Even in wind energy , China’s growth over the last 2-3 years has been awesome with more than 100% CAGR . It has helped in growing wind turbine manufacturers through domestic content requirements.Now that these companies have sufficient technology and are able to leverage their low cost advantages , China has removed the restrictions in Jan 2010 to attack other markets. Vestas the leading European turbine manufacturer like the solar makers has fallen into the red. The only way for these companies to survive is to move their manufacturing to Asia . Ultimately the technology will also follow ( Applied Materials has also move its R&D to Shanghai). Just like the semi and electronics industry,Europe will start looking like a marginal player in the global alternative energy industry. Despite strong domestic  demand and policy support , the European industry has been outsmarted and outplayed by  the Chinese

2) Commoditazation of Technology and Erosion of Entry Barriers

3) Massive and Irrational Subsidies by Asian countries to support  Green Industry

First Solar-to-Vestas Wind Profit Crash Deters New CEOs: Energy

Renewable energy companies are losing their allure with top executives after profits and stock prices collapsed across the industry, making it more difficult for boards to replace underperforming managers.

First Solar Inc., the biggest U.S. solar company, ousted its chief executive officer in October and is still seeking a replacement. At Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the largest turbine maker, the chairman and finance director are leaving after the company cut sales forecasts twice in three months, and CEO Ditlev Engel said his own job is safe.Q-Cells SE Chief Financial Officer Marion Helmes resigned in November, leaving her duties to Nedim Cen, the CEO, who has concentrated on refinancing the solar company’s debt instead of replacing her. Conergy AG, a German solar company negotiating with creditors, last month named Chairman Philip Comberg to serve as CEO until the end of this year, filling a post open for 15 months.

Oldest US Solar Panel Producer Uni-Solar Ovonic goes Belly up

16 Feb, 2012
China,Solar Energy,Solar Panels

While US Solar Installers are making Hay while the Chinese Solar Panel Companies flood the world with super cheap solar modules,Western solar manufacturers are being killed at an astounding rate.The second biggest thin film solar panel company in the US United Solar Ovonic has gone belly up.The company was fighting a losing batter as the more efficient crystalline solar panel prices went below its production cost.The company had tried to fight in a the niche of BIPV solar panel market but could not survive. After First Solar,Energy Conversion Devices seemed the mostly likely viable company in Thin Film Technology.After a few quarters of profits in 2008,the company went into the red as its flexible a-Si modules failed to cut costs as fast as others.It has been shutting factories in the US and shifting to low cost locations.

Energy Conversion Devices also cuts down US production and increases Manufacturing in Mexico

All US Solar Companies have majority of their  production being manufactured outside of the USA except for Energy Conversion Devices (ENER).Now ENER is also joining the rest of its peers as it cuts down jobs in the USA and increases production in Mexico.This should have come much earlier as ENER continues to lose loads of money due to its high cost operations.Note the other major companies like First Solar and Sunpower have almost 90-100% of their solar modules being made in Asia while Evergreen Solar has also recently outsourced production to China

The company has sold off its battery operations and has filed for Chapter 11 bankrutpcy.Other smaller thin film companies like Nanosolar,Miasole too look on their way out.Stion and Heliovolts have found foreign partners to survive which means that First Solar might be the only thin film solar company in the US to survive.The Chinese solar industry continues to bankrupt non-Chinese solar companies across the world.

The Chinese Dominance of the Solar Industry in the last 2 years have seen numerous Western companies go bust . This has accelerated sharply in 2011 with companies like Evergreen Solar,Spectrawatt, Solar Millenium, Solon, Photowatt etc. either gone for good or in various stages of bankruptcy. Other US Solar Panel Manufacturers like First Solar, Sunpower have fired thousands and some are continuing with large losses. European Solar Companies are the worst off given their high cost structure and lack of differentiation. Solland Solar recently killed its solar module line while some like Schott have killed their solar wafer lines.

Solar Jobs have been cut in the tens of thousands this year by a number of European Solar Companies including marquee names such as REC, Q-Cells, Solarworld ,SMA Solar besides many of the smaller names. Some of the solar companies like Solon have completely shut down. 5000 solar companies have downed shutters in 2011 according to German association BSW. This is despite global solar demand in 2011 increasing by around 30-40% compared to 2010. The reason is that massive overcapacity has been created in China and other parts of Asia. Backed by cheap loans and massive subsidies, around 50 GW of solar panel capacity has been created . This has led to a crashing of solar panel prices by 60% which has decimated the higher cost companies in Europe.

Thin Film Solar

Solar Thin Film Technology has been growing rapidly despite falling costs of the mainstream Photovoltaic Crystalline Silicon Technology.While the current solar supply glut has resulted in some of the thin film solar film companies going out of business,big thin  film suppliers continue with their growth plan.Solar Thin Film Technology is supposed to be  the 2nd Generation successor to the mainstream Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) Technology which accounts for around 85% of world production.While a number of Weaker Hands in Thin Film have downed shutters,Thin Film Producers continue to grow and expand.The massive growth potential of Solar Energy makes it possible for both of these PV technologies to flourish.Thin Film Technology unlike c-Si has a number of variants.Amorphous Silicon (a-Si),Copper Indium Gallium Sulphide (CIGs) and Cadmium Tellurium (Cd-Te) are the 3 main types of Thin Film Technology.There are a number of manufacturers of all of these 3 types of Technology.CIGs Technology is said to have the most potential in improving efficiency and competing with c-Si,however Cd-Te is currently the top dog as the world’s biggest solar producer First Solar currently uses this technology.a-Si Technology is not that hot with low efficiencies however Oerlikon and Sharp are pushing ahead with developing this technology.

Larget US Solar Installer Suncity gets Sued by Sunpower for Corporate Espionage

14 Feb, 2012
Solar EPC,Sunpower

Solarcity which is the largest US Solar Installer has got sued by Sunpower for stealing trade secrets. Note Sunpower which was recently bought by French Oil Giant Total is facing tough times. Sunpower which makes the most efficient solar panels in the world is facing tough competition from super cheap Chinese solar panels. In fact according to Total CEO the company would have been already bankrupt with Total support. Beside making solar panels, Sunpower is also one of the biggest solar integrators and developers. The company has been in the business of installing solar panels after it acquired solar system intstaller Powerlight.

Sunpower another of the biggest solar companies in the world too is surviving due to its big parent Total.Note the CEO of Total was candid enough to say that Sunpower would be facing Chapter 11 without its support.Total just increased stake in Sunpower as the company continues to make losses.Sunpower has a high cost structure which in these times means you are dead .Even the most cost efficient companies in the West like First Solar faces survival questions.Sunpower with its high cost and high efficiency solar panels would have been dead by now.Note Sunpower too has a bad balance sheet,contorted accounting (already faced a scandal).In fact there are similarities between Sunpower and LDK.

Solarcity has been the fastest growing solar installer in the USA rapidly expanding across the US geography entering new states. Now the company faces charges that former Sunpower employees stole confidential data and gave it to Solarcity.The lawsuit alleges top former officials like Tom Leyden, a Managing Director for the company’s East Operations  of  stealing highly confidential data from the company’s SalesForce database with information on the company’s major customers accounting for over $100 million in sales for 2011 .SunPower is holding five former employees criminally liable under California Penal Code § 502(c)

Silicon Valley-based solar panel giant SunPower sued five former employees and competitor SolarCity today, contending that shortly before they left SunPower, the employees connected USB drives to the company’s computer network, “and used them to steal tens-of-thousands of computer files” with confidential and non-confidential proprietary information.

In addition to civil damages and injunctive relief, SunPower also wants to hold the ex-employees criminally liable for violating a California lawprohibiting unauthorized computer data access and fraud.

List of Top US Solar Installers

1) SunEdison/MEMC – US Polysilicon and Wafer Producer MEMC bought Sunedison which was one of the largest solar installers in 2008.Now MEMC is strongly expanding the system installation business not only in the US but other parts of the world like India,Europe,Korea,Canada and other places.The company recently installed one of the biggest solar plants in the world in Rovigo,Italy

2) Sunpower – Sunpower is a vertically integrated solar energy company known more for its highest efficiency solar panels.The company bought Powerlight a few years ago to enter the solar systems market and has bolstered the business constantly to become a major global installer.Sunpower is present in all 3 segments of the solar sytems business namely a)residential b)commercial and c) utility. It is one of the largest US installers and has recently won a number of large utility contracts for building solar farms.

3) First Solar – First Solar is the largest producer of solar panels in the world using its properietary thin film technology.The company is also one of the biggest utility solar system developer in the world focusing mainly on the North American Market.The company has built and sold the world’s largest solar farms in Sarnia,Ontario.The company has beefed up its solar installation business by buying project development teams and pipelines from Ausra,OptiSolar Turner etc.

4) Sharp/Recurrent Energy – Sharp recently bought Recurrent Energy one of the large independent solar power developers and system integrator in the US.Sharp already had a big presence in the California market where it is now facing increasing competition from the low cost Chinese players like Trina Solar,Yingli etc.

5) REC Solar - The Norwegian based Solar Company REC has started it solar system in the US a year or two ago and has managed to win some contracts..It is targeting all the 3 segments and is present in the major solar states of the US like New Jersey and Californa.It claims to be the largest residential solar installer in California with 17 MW of installations in 2010.

6) Solarworld - Another European company like REC,Solarworld is mainly targeting the utility and big commercial market recently winning a 11.6 MW order from LADWP.The company has a big manufacturing facility in Oregon and has aggressive expansion plans in the US as its domestic German market slows down.

7) Mitsui/Sunwize - Mitsui,the giant Japanese tradings house bought Sunwize in 2006 to enter the solar system market in the US.Note Mitsui is not a big solar panel producer like Sharp,Panasonice and others.The company sells mainly in Oregon and Californai and targets all the 3 segments of the market

The Solar Financing/Leasing Companies

8 ) Sungevity - Sungevity is a California company targeting the residential market through a solar leasing plan.It extensively uses the Internet to design the system and has a JV with US Bank to provide financing to its customers.

9) SolarCity - SolarCity is a full-service solar provider for commercial and residential customers and does solar power system design, financing, installation and monitoring services from a single source.SolarCity is introduced  a new solar lease option, called SolarLease.It also has other options like PPA .The company’s footprint extends to Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington D.C.

 

4 Ways Chinese Solar Panel Companies are already Short Circuiting Future US Import Duties

14 Feb, 2012
China,Solar Panels

The US Import Sanctions on Chinese Solar Panel imports will become a non-event soon as Chinese solar panel producers are easily short circuiting the sanctions. They are using a number of  strategies to protect themselves from the upcoming duties and anti-dumping measures. This shows that globalization makes the use of specific duties on a nation quite useless and only benefits the lawyers . The reason is that private companies are much more faster and nimble compared to the slow moving bureaucrats .

The Chinese solar panel producers are using different methods to short circuit the upcoming sanctions

a) Buy Solar Cells from Taiwanese Solar cell makers which have huge capacities without the competitiveness of the Chinese solar panel makers.Note Taiwan does not have strong low cost integrated solar players like China. They also lack the heft of the South Korean chaebols like Samsung and LG. So they can be easily exploited by the Big Chinese Solar Companies.

b) They will set up factories in low cost locations in places like East Europe, Malaysia, Mexico .These companies will  export solar cells and fabricate solar panels in these locations. Note most of the value addition is done till the solar cell stage with solar module being mostly an assembly exercise. Setting up a 100 MW solar panel plant is also quite cheap these days

 China-based makers concerned, due to worries about possible punitive measures imposed by DOC, are planning to set up PV module factories in Southeast Asia, Mexico and East Europe to cope with the potential negative impact, according to industry sources in Taiwan.The PV module factories to be established will each have an annual production capacity of 100-300MWp, with solar cells to be imported from China, the sources indicted. The selection of Southeast Asia, Mexico and East Europe is based on consideration of total production cost and cost of shipping PV modules to the US market, the sources pointed out.

c) They will set up solar factories in the US itself where they will import cells and make the modules.

d) The Chinese have already built massive inventory stocks in the US of Chinese solar panels .There was a massive surge of solar panel imports in December which indicates that this strategy has already been employed.

The US Department of Commerce has found a large surge in Chinese solar imports, which could trigger 90-day retroactivity if it finds duties are warranted.In the latest developments in the spat between US and Chinese solar manufacturers over potential dumping of Chinese solar products into the US market, the US Department of Commerce has taken action against the surge of Chinese solar cell and panel imports ahead of Commerce’s first preliminary determination on duties, now scheduled for 2 March, 2012.

Note Solarworld which has led the petition against the cheap Chinese solar panel imports has already filed an extension to include Chinese made solar cells as well. However, does not look like that will help also as the making of solar cells can also be outsourced cheaply to Taiwan, Malaysia and other places

 

 

Why Energy Storage will be the Biggest Gainer from Solar Grid Parity

14 Feb, 2012
Solar Energy

Solar Grid Parity has not really given that great a boost to Solar Stocks as oversupply from China has led to a massacre of the stocks prices in the sector.However the fact remains that Solar Prices have now reached grid parity in various places in the world without a lot of people realizing it. In countries like Brazil and Italy, Solar Energy Electricity price is already lower than the Retail Price of Electricity. So it is on most islands in the world like i,Caribbean and elsewhere. These islands which are mostly powered by dirty diesel generators are seeing rapid deployments of solar power. In fact Hawaii is already getting saturated with solar . However the Achilles heed of Solar Energy that is the lack of continuous power is starting to bite.

The cost of generating electricity from the sun will compete with conventional power delivered on a grid in half the world by 2015, according to Suntech Power Holdings Co., the world’s largest photovoltaic panel maker.“Solar is getting so cheap,” Chief Executive Officer Zhengrong Shi told Bloomberg Television today in an interview in Davos. “We believe by 2015, there will be around 50 percent of countries that reach grid-parity.”“Solar now is already cheaper than diesel generating electricity in India,” Shi said. “This is not only happening in India but in many countries around the world.”

With most utilities and power grids opposing the use of excess solar power as these intermittent sources of power can cause grid instabilities at higher percentages, the need for Energy Storage has increased. Note there is no one solution to Energy Storage for Renewable Energy sources .A wide variety of chemical,mechanical solutions exist. Lead Acid Batteries offer the cheapest solution however the low number of cycles, maintenance etc makes it a difficult choice for a longer duration. Lithium Batteries are expensive while other solutions like Sodium Sulfur Batteries too have their problems.

Storing Energy through large scale solution like hydro and air storage is not feasible for small scale green power sources. However with solar panel prices falling has made solar energy prices very cheap. This is increasing the need for cheap and reliable energy storage sources . This will provide the biggest opportunity for energy storage companies like A123 Systems, Exide, Enersys and others. These companies which mainly  rely on the automobile markets for most of their revenues will increasingly get most of their revenues from  the electricity market.

Pumped Hydro Storage Introduction

Pumped Hydro Storage along with Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) are the less glamorous cousins of Energy Storage Approaches like Lithium Batteries,Flywheels and Capacitors .The Green Investing Limelight has been firmly taken over by startups like A123 Systems which have failed to perform to their initial hype.Pumped Hydro Storage on the other hand is already extensively used by Power Companies to store low cost electricity during off peak hours and then used during peak times to supply the high demand.There is90 GW of Global Pumped Hydro Storage already existing in the world and with increasing Solar and Wind Energy  this Capacity is only going to grow.The main use of Pumped Hydro Storage is for Grid Energy Storage rather than Energy Storage for Automobiles and Electronic Products.The Electric Utilities are the main customers of this Technology using Pumped Hydro Storage for

  1. Load Balancing – Storing Power during Low Usage Periods and Generating Power at High Usage Periods
  2. Accommodation of Intermittent Sources of  Energy – Solar Energy and Wind Energy are  growing at a scorching fast rate of 50% and 30% CAGR over the last several years.Larger share of these forms of renewable energy in the Electricity Mix is driving the growth Grid Storage.
  3. Reducing Capital Investments as Peak Power plants like Natural Gas Combined Cycle Plants are much more expensive to run than normal Thermal and Nuclear Energy Plants

 

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