So what are the criterea for staying alive in 2012

a) Government Support in Some Form – Most of the Tier 1 Chinese Solar Companies will fall into this bracket. However given that there are so many you would have to look at the biggest like Suntech, LDK, Yingli for survival in any case. LDK is a BANKRUPT COMPANY ,the only reason it continue to produce a solar panel is because of the Chinese government support

b) Low Cost – Though seems like an obvious idea, there are still companies existing which have high costs like Q-Cells, REC. You just can’t invest in them given that even low cost is a necessary though not sufficient condition to survive

c) Branding – Very necessary to get financing for solar projects as without a brand you are not bankable and will have to sell at a 10% discount in a market which is already selling at below cost

Solar Energy is the fastest growing industry in the USA and has been one of the fastest globally as well with solar demand rising by more than 150% in 2010 fueled by massive cuts in prices of solar panels especially those from China.While this has led to a major drop in solar energy stock prices this has also led to a massive boost in volumes due to demand elasticity.Only the top solar companies will be able to survive this brutal consolidation that is taking place with some companies like Solyndra already consigned to the death list.Solar Industry is a global one and has a big supply chain as well.This means that looking at only one stock market will deprive you of better opportunities that might exist in other stock markets.There is also a big supply chain associated especially with crystalline solar panels.There are companies that exist only in Polysilicon,Wafers,Cells,Modules.There are also companies that are suppliers of material like encapsulants and metal alloys to these industries.This article will give you a very broad idea on the complete list of solar energy stocks that exist in each part of the supply and different parts of the world.You can also look at the 2 solar ETFs that trade on the US stock markets TAN and KWT .

Solar Companies have proliferated in the last decade as the Solar Energy Industry has seen a 50% CAGR in the past 10 years exploding by almost 150% in 2010.Falling costs of Solar Energy ensures that Solar Industry will continue to grow at a 25-30% growth rate in the next 5-10 years as well as Solar […]