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SLTD is putting out VSLR type numbers, and it has a value 16X of SLTD...
http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/vslr/revenue-eps
http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/sltd/revenue-eps
Am I missing something?
I'd be happy with half the value.
Half of Australian homes to adopt solar power and move 'off grid' from 2018
New battery technology could allow Australian homes to generate and store solar-powered energy more cheaply than traditional electricity suppliers by 2018, says report
About 15 per cent of Australian homes have solar panels installed Photo: © Milleflore Images - Australiana / Alamy Stock Photo
By Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney10:40AM BST 21 Oct 2015
Australians will be able to use solar panels and batteries to cheaply produce and store electricity within three years, in a “dramatic” development that is expected to revolutionise the nation’s power generation.
A report by The Climate Council, a non-government organisation, found that improvements in battery technology could make homemade electricity cheaper than buying it within three years and could allow half of the nation to start moving “off the grid”.
The panels have led to big electricity savings for the 1.4 million householders who have installed them Photo: Alamy
Australia already has the highest rate of household solar panel use in the world. About 15 per cent of homes have panels installed, roughly double the rate in Belgium, which is believed to have the second highest usage.
The panels have led to big electricity savings for the 1.4 million householders who have installed them, but only about 500 people currently have batteries to store the solar power.
The Climate Council said the cost of producing lithium-ion batteries will fall “dramatically” in the coming years and that each battery’s capacity will grow 50-fold within a decade.
It said a household which spent £5,000 on a battery would make back the money within ten years and that, at such a cost, about half the nation could start adopting solar panels with battery systems.
“By 2018, going off-grid by installing battery storage could be cost-competitive with staying connected as the price of battery storage falls and grid electricity remains expensive,” the council’s report said.
“Together with rooftop solar, battery storage presents an opportunity for Australian households to use a much greater proportion of the solar photovoltaic electricity they generate and minimise the need to purchase expensive electricity from the grid.”
The United States firm Tesla is planning to release a lithium ion battery which is expected to cost less than £2,600 and will be available in Australia – one of the first foreign markets to receive it – by the end of the year.
Power a church get fined $1,000 per day........
Duke Energy urges regulators to fine advocates in solar case
Solar panels at Faith Community Church in Greensboro have become a test of N.C.’s laws against non-utility sales of electricity. File
Duke Energy says the state Utilities Commission should fine an advocacy group $1,000 a day for selling power from solar panels to a Greensboro church.
NC WARN, a Durham group that frequently squares off against Duke, is challenging a state law that says only public utilities may sell electricity. Solar companies and municipal power providers are taking sides.
So-called third-party sales were also the focus of failed legislation this year that would have allowed renewable-energy developers to sell directly to customers.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission has consistently ruled against such interpretations of the law, but asked for comments before deciding the WARN case.
Duke, in filings Friday, said WARN’s request for permission to sell electricity “must be rejected and its blatant disregard for the law and this Commission’s authority should not be condoned.”
Duke has sold power to Faith Community Church since July, without permission, Duke noted.
Duke asked the commission to issue a cease-and-desist order and fine WARN up to $1,000 for each day it violates the law. Those fines could reach about $120,000 if they’re applied to the four months WARN has sold power to the church.
Duke spokesman Randy Wheeless said the commission has assessed fines in other cases and that it’s the commission’s call whether to do so again.
Wheeless said WARN has lost a number of challenges of Duke that the company viewed as baseless and that “there should be consequences for doing that.”
WARN argues that Duke is trying to squelch green energy and advocates for it.
“Duke Energy is entitled to disagree with us, but seeking to financially hammer this 27-year-old nonprofit is more proof that Goliath wants neither competition, criticism, nor scrutiny,” director Jim Warren said in a statement.
WARN insists it is not a public utility because it isn’t selling power to the public but to a specific nonprofit, the church, and providing a “service” in paying the upfront costs of the solar array.
The commission’s Public Staff, which represents consumers, agreed with Duke that the commission can’t legally allow third-party electricity sales. The staff said the commission should order a halt to the sales but did not recommend a fine.
ElectriCities, which represents municipal electric utilities in the Carolinas and Virginia, also sided with Duke.
Interfaith Power & Light, which advocates against climate change as part of the North Carolina Council of Churches, said the commission faces a “moral imperative” to rule that WARN and other third-party sellers should not be regulated as public utilities.
The Energy Freedom Coalition of America, representing solar companies including SolarCity, Silevo Solar and Zep Solar, asked Friday to become a party to the case. The coalition said current law serves as a barrier to companies that lease solar arrays or buy their power.
Bruce Henderson: 704-358-5051, @bhender
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article42209517.html#storylink=cpy
It's Nov 2 2015
Do you know where you elite solar is? LOL!
Humor of the day....
Going Off-Grid ‘Greedy And Selfish’ Says Electricity Exec
October 29, 2015Energy Matters
http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/off-grid-australia-em5157/
Australian solar households installing battery systems and ditching the grid altogether will have a negative impact on the wider community according to network provider Jemena.
“The grid is of so much value here, why don’t you want to share your energy with your neighbours,” Jemena managing director Paul Adams is reported to have said.
“Why don’t you want to do something on a community and social basis, why are you so greedy and selfish?”
Jemena, jointly owned by State Grid Corporation of China and Singapore Power, has $9 billion worth energy and water transportation infrastructure across the east coast of Australia.
The so-called ‘greed’ and ‘selfishness’ may be the result of years of tolerating increasing electricity bills and then reductions in solar feed in tariffs. Add to that the ongoing and unfair targeting of solar owners by some power companies, it’s little wonder many might find the idea of divorcing themselves from mains grid supply entirely quite an attractive proposition.
Some solar owners may have choked on their coffee at the accusation of greed given the surplus electricity they export to the mains grid is re-sold at many times the price they receive for it.
However, it is interesting that big companies in the energy sector are having a much different reaction to residential battery storage than they did with solar initially; particularly given the next generation of home battery storage solutions are yet to arrive (but aren’t far off).
It was only a few years ago many in the electricity generation and distribution sector looked down their noses at solar, not perceiving it to be a threat.
How times change – and how quickly.
According to the latest data from Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator, there are now more than 1,464,000 small solar power systems installed across the country; with a collective capacity exceeding 4,479,000 kilowatts.
While a massive grid defection is possible as a result of the energy storage revolution; it’s also possible most installing battery systems will still keep a mains grid connection as a backup – assuming staying connected is affordable.
Such a scenario will be good for the grid in that it will still help reduce load on the network during peak periods and the need for new poles and wires, which Mr. Adams apparently acknowledges.
We won one!
Judge rejects We Energies plan to assess solar panel owners extra fees
http://www.jsonline.com/business/judge-rejects-we-energies-plan-to-assess-solar-panel-owners-extra-fees-b99606784z1-338962302.html
Customers of We Energies looking to add solar panels won't have to pay extra fees the utility was set to start assessing next year, a Dane County Circuit Court judge ruled Friday.
Judge Peter Anderson decided that the state Public Service Commission did not have enough evidence to back up its decision in December to impose the fees.
Solar companies and renewable energy advocates praised the ruling for stopping a "discriminatory tax on solar," while We Energies and the PSC said they were reviewing their legal options.
The fees were imposed as part of a campaign by Wisconsin utilities for what they are calling rate fairness. As part of that effort, We Energies wanted to assess an additional fee on customers who generate their own power.
The We Energies proposal generated more outcry and public involvement than any other rate case involving the Milwaukee utility in recent years. Regional and national groups became involved, and the issue prompted radio ads, online videos for and against, and more than 1,500 public comments.
"This is huge," said Amy Heart of the solar company Sunrun and the Alliance for Solar Choice, which filed the lawsuit and is challenging utilities in proceedings across the country. "We hadn't seen any public service commission approve such a high discriminatory charge on solar customers, and the court clearly stated that there needed to be evidence to justify that sort of charge."
Several other aspects of the We Energies rate case decision were allowed to proceed, as they were not challenged by the renewable advocates, the utility said Friday.
"We believe sufficient information was provided for the commission to include a demand charge on customer generation," said Brian Manthey, We Energies spokesman.
Remaining in place is a change that will reduce the rate that We Energies pays customers to buy the electricity they generate, Manthey said.
Also unchanged is the higher fixed charge all customers have been paying on monthly electric bills since January.
What will not go forward for now is a $3.79 per kilowatt monthly charge for solar customers. For a typical 5-kilowatt solar installation on a home, that would have amounted to about $19 a month, and would have reduced by about one-fourth the savings solar panels were providing for such a customer, according to Renew Wisconsin estimates.
Customers using biogas or hydropower would have faced a higher monthly fee, $8.60 per kilowatt of power capacity,
"It's great news for renewable energy and for the We Energies customers who are interested in creating some of their own power," said Tyler Huebner, executive director of Renew Wisconsin.
Separately, the court rejected calls by solar advocates that PSC Chairperson Ellen Nowak should have recused herself from voting on the case because of public comments she made at utility industry meetings asking utilities to file proposals that increase costs for customers generating their own power.
"We applaud the court's decision reaffirming that Commissioner Nowak properly participated in the rate case, but respectfully disagree with and are reviewing the ruling associated with the distributed generation demand charge," said Elise Nelson, PSC spokeswoman.
At issue in the case is whether solar customers create extra challenges for utilities because they rely on the power grid and utility for power when the sun isn't shining. Utilities say that's not fair and needs to be addressed.
Solar advocates, who are facing similar utility proposals around the country, say the utilities are acting to safeguard monopolies from competition and don't recognize the benefits that having more renewable energy create.
"In the short term this keeps solar as an option available for Wisconsin residents," said Heart. "And from a national perspective it reiterates the fact that utilities just can't attack what they see as competition by arbitrarily asking for discriminatory charges on solar customers."
Wisconsin was the second state in the country to impose a solar fee, following a decision by Arizona regulators earlier imposed to impose a $5 monthly fee on solar-generating customers of Arizona Public Service.
When the Arizona utility recently backed off a plan to increase its solar charge, Arizona regulators said they want a thorough study done to review both the costs and benefits of solar — the kind of review solar advocates have been calling for here.
How about a run up to 350¢ today?
Our turn?
First Solar (FSLR) Preliminary Q3 Earnings: Stock Soaring Over 12% on Impressive Earnings and Revenue Beat
By Madeleine Johnson 2 hours ago
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-solar-fslr-preliminary-q3-214309412.html
First Solar Inc (FSLR) is an American company that manufactures photovoltaic (PV) solar modules, or solar panels, and provides utility PV power plants. The company enables clean renewable electricity at affordable prices. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.
Currently, First Solar has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), but it is subject to change following the release of the company’s latest earnings report. Here are 5 key statistics from this just announced report below.
First Solar:
1. Beat earnings estimates. The company posted $3.38 EPS, surpassing our Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.55.
2. Beat revenue estimates. The company saw revenue figures of $1.271 billion, beating our estimate of $1.097 billion.
3. Cash and marketable securities at the end of the third quarter were approximately $1.8 billion, an increase of approximately $34 million compared to the prior quarter
4. CEO Jim Hughes said that "We had tremendous execution in the third quarter from both a financial and bookings perspective. We have now exceeded our book-to-bill target for the year, booked over 1GWdc of volume with deliveries after 2016, achieved strong quarterly earnings and have significantly raised our full year earnings guidance.”
5. FSLR was up $6.44, or 12.63%, to $57.43 as of 4:40 PM ET in after hours trading shortly after its earnings report was released.
This is the ONLY stock green on my watch list...... 2 of mine are flat.
PRESS RELEASE
Solar3D Schedules Conference Call to Discuss Third Quarter 2015 Results
Published: Oct 27, 2015 9:15 a.m. ET
Company Schedules Q3 2015 Financial Results Call on Thursday, November 5th
SANTA BARBARA, CA, Oct 27, 2015 (Marketwired via COMTEX) -- Solar3D, Inc. SLTD, +0.21% a leading provider of solar power solutions, announced today that the Company has scheduled a conference call on Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 4:30 P.M. Eastern Time (ET) to review results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015.
Conference call information:
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2015
Time: 4:30 P.M. Eastern Time (ET)
Dial in Number for U.S. & Canadian Callers: 877-407-8293
Dial in Number for International Callers (Outside of the U.S. & Canada): 201-689-8349
Participating on the call will be Solar3D's Chief Executive Officer James Nelson and Chief Financial Officer Tracy Welch, who will discuss operational and financial highlights for the third quarter 2015, as well as forward looking strategy for the rest of the year.
To join the live conference call, please dial into the above referenced telephone numbers five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled conference call time.
A replay will be available for 14 days starting on November 5, 2015 at approximately 8:00 P.M. (ET). To access the replay, please dial 1- 877-660-6853 in the U.S. and 1- 201-612-7415 for international callers. The conference ID# is 13623534.
About Solar3D, Inc.
Solar3D, a leading provider of solar power solutions, is focused on the design, installation and management of solar power systems for commercial, agricultural and residential customers. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Solar3D is one of the fastest growing solar systems providers in California, delivering 2.5 kilowatt to multi-megawatt commercial systems. Solar3D's technology division is developing a patent-pending 3-dimensional solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity. The Solar3D Cell collects sunlight from a wide angle and lets light bounce around in 3-dimensional microstructures on the solar cell surface. The Company's mission is to further the widespread adoption of solar power by deploying affordable, state-of-the-art systems and developing breakthrough new solar technologies.
To learn more about Solar3D, visit our website at http://www.Solar3D.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, products, and prospects for sales, failure to commercialize our technology, failure of technology to perform as expected, failure to earn profit or revenue, higher costs than expected, persistent operating losses, ownership dilution, inability to repay debt, failure of acquired businesses to perform as expected, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, and U.S. actions subsequently; and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company.
Investor Relations
Andrew Haag
Managing Partner
IRTH Communications
sltd@irthcommunications.com
Tel: (877) 368-3566
<strong>Media
</strong>Eric Fischgrund
FischTank Marketing and PR
eric@fischtankpr.com
SOURCE: Solar3D, Inc.
mailto:sltd@irthcommunications.com
mailto:eric@fischtankpr.com
(C) 2015 Marketwire L.P. All rights reserved.
This is the totally renewable energy company selling power off-grid and on the cheap
Watch the video....
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2015/s4339390.htm
Australia's first 100 per cent renewable energy utility company will use solar, battery storage and off-grid living to deliver what they say will be lower prices, and it shapes as the latest curve ball for existing energy retailers.
ranscript
LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Tomorrow, an Adelaide company will launch the country's first 100 per cent renewable energy utility company. It'll use a combination of solar, battery storage and off-grid living to deliver what it claims will be lower prices. It has some high-profile backing, but the traditional energy sector is sceptical and believes many Australians will end up paying more than they do now. Alex Mann reports.
ALISTAIR RAY: Looking good. Nice and tidy. And the grass and the hay's looking good from there as well.
ALEX MANN, REPORTER: Near the picturesque McLaren Vale, just an hour from Adelaide, Alistair and Andrea Ray's home is nearing completion.
No expense has been spared to realise their dream.
ALISTAIR RAY: Yeah, it's a modern family home with all the toys. We have an American bar-style fridge going in here, a cook top in here and then an oven. Over here will be a cocktail bar with the wine fridge, a big widescreen TV on the fireplace and an audiovisual sound system going in the corner.
ALEX MANN: But there's one problem: right now, they've got no power. And while their house is close to paradise, they're too far away from the main power grid.
ALISTAIR RAY: The mains electricity is about 300 metres away. That's a significant cost to get the house connected.
ALEX MANN: Just how much was it gonna cost you to get it connected?
ALISTAIR RAY: It was very hard to actually get anybody to commit to a figure, but you're looking at $200,000.
ALEX MANN: Their solution is to ditch the grid altogether.
ALISTAIR RAY: We'll go through to where the solar system is. Yeah, it's tucked neatly out the way in the back of the garage there. It's pretty low maintenance. The batteries are in these cabinets at the bottom here. They just get checked every year.
ALEX MANN: Alistair and Andrea's house will be powered entirely by solar and these new batteries will hold enough of that power to run all of his toys.
So what happens on those days when the sun's not shining for a week?
ALISTAIR RAY: We have three days' worth of battery supply and the added contingency of a generator, a diesel-powered generator, so on the rare occasions there, we can still have enough power to run the core appliances.
ALEX MANN: The Ray family's set-up is at the luxury end of an energy revolution that's sweeping across Australia and which could spell the end of the power grid as we know it.
The uptake of rooftop solar in Australia or rooftop PV has increased at lightning speed.
MATTHEW WARREN, ENERGY SUPPLIERS ASSOC. OF AUST.: Australia has the highest levels of rooftop PV in the world. There's no country remotely close to the number of houses per capita that we have in Australia with panels on our rooves. Change is the new normal in this sector and really no-one knows where that change ends.
ALEX MANN: The challenge for energy providers and battery manufacturers is how to store that solar power cost effectively and how to do it on a large scale.
MATTHEW WARREN: If we can get cost-effective storage, it changes the game. The really big challenge with electricity is that we haven't been able to store it at scale cost effectively for 100 years. So if we can do that, it changes everything and that changes everything for the better.
ALEX MANN: Now one Adelaide company says it's got the answer. Tomorrow Richard Turner will launch the country's first 100 per cent renewable energy company.
RICHARD TURNER, CEO, ZEN ENERGY: It's the full end-to-end service that we're able to provide everything from the generation of power to building power networks and working with the incumbent utilities to build and operate those power networks through to retailing power into those communities.
ALEX MANN: For years, Zen Energy has been putting these battery units in people's homes. Now Richard Turner plans to take entire communities off the grid, from social housing stock to apartment buildings in regional communities. He says he'll generate the power and sell it back to users at a fraction of the current costs.
RICHARD TURNER: We're looking at a spot in the market very soon where we're gonna be almost half the cost of the grid.
ROSS GARNAUT, ECONOMIST & ZEN ENERGY CHAIRMAN: The message of our new Prime Minister is that Australia has to be agile and innovative and embrace disruption.
ALEX MANN: Zen Energy's plan has attracted some big names. Economist Ross Garnaut wrote the Climate Change Review for the Rudd Government in 2008 and is in planning mode for tomorrow's big launch. He's the company's new chairman.
ROSS GARNAUT: The big thing that's changed is a faster reduction of costs than had been anticipated. And I've been disappointed that the established energy companies have not taken on the opportunity that's there.
ALEX MANN: In councils across Australia from Byron Bay to Western Australia, local governments are looking to ditch their dependence on the expensive old grid and generate, store and use their own renewable energy. But there's a catch. When the wind stops blowing or cloud cover lasts for weeks, all of these communities will need a back-up option, and for most of them, that means at least one connection back to the grid.
MATTHEW WARREN: It's no good saying, "I only use the network a lot some of the time. I should pay less," because everyone's gonna make that claim eventually.
ALEX MANN: Matthew Warren represents existing energy suppliers and retailers. Their challenge is how to pay for a grid that's increasingly being used as a back-up.
MATTHEW WARREN: And there's no guarantee that just because you're an incumbent player, that you're gonna survive that transformation to a consumer good market. Everyone's gonna be working out ways to make money and survive in this brave new world.
ALEX MANN: And that could mean electricity consumers end up paying higher tariffs.
MATTHEW WARREN: Disruption's gonna keep occurring. We don't want to stop especially those disruptions that improve the efficiency of the system and decarbonise the system. We've just gotta make sure when we do have this disruption, it doesn't occur at the benefit of some and at the cost of others unfairly.
ALEX MANN: Either way, Alistair and Andrea Ray will avoid the tariffs. They say it's just a matter of time before more people follow them in leaving the grid behind.
ALISTAIR RAY: Everybody's fed up with paying sky-high electricity prices and with a bit of upfront investment, I think in the long term, it makes sense.
LEIGH SALES: Alex Mann reporting.
Big collapse in fossil fuel prices....
How it will affect us, as we are part of the cause.
http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/natural-gas.aspx
Electricity death spiral edges closer
By Unconventional Economist in Carbon Economyat 8:13 am on October 27, 2015
By Leith van Onselen
http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2015/10/electricity-death-spiral-edges-closer/
The electricity “death spiral” has, for a long time, been a key risk facing electricity generators/distributors globally.
The “death spiral” arises when demand for power declines, due in part to customers taking up solar, leading to higher prices to cover fixed network costs. That is, the more people that take-up solar power, the faster decline in electricity demand, and the more fixed costs must be spread over a smaller volume of electricity, raising costs for everyone else.
As reported on ABC’s 7.30 Report last night, the death spiral has drawn further into view with an Adelaide company, Zen Energy, today launching the country’s first 100% per cent renewable energy utility company that will use a combination of solar energy, battery storage and off-grid living to deliver what it claims will be lower prices.
Already, Australia has the highest levels of rooftop solar power (PV) in the world. But to date, solar power has suffered from one major drawback, namely that there is now way to store surplus electricity during daylight hours for use during the evening.
In Australia, electricity suppliers offer solar users a “feed-in tariff” for surplus electricity fed back into the grid, but these are typically one-third to a quarter the amount charged for electricity off the grid.
Some utility providers, such as in Queensland, have also reduced the per unit charge for electricity, while raising fixed network charges, thereby making switching to solar even less financially beneficial.
As such, solar power doesn’t yet make financial sense for most people in Australia, in particular those that are usually away from home during the day (e.g. CBD workers).
All this is changing, however. Electric car maker, Tesla, will soon to launch a battery pack for people’s homes – something that would enable solar users to store surplus electricity during the day for use at night, and enable them to disconnect from the grid entirely.
And Zen Energy plans to take energy storage to whole new level:
RICHARD TURNER, CEO, ZEN ENERGY: It’s the full end-to-end service that we’re able to provide everything from the generation of power to building power networks and working with the incumbent utilities to build and operate those power networks through to retailing power into those communities.
ALEX MANN: For years, Zen Energy has been putting these battery units in people’s homes. Now Richard Turner plans to take entire communities off the grid, from social housing stock to apartment buildings in regional communities. He says he’ll generate the power and sell it back to users at a fraction of the current costs.
RICHARD TURNER: We’re looking at a spot in the market very soon where we’re gonna be almost half the cost of the grid…
ALEX MANN: In councils across Australia from Byron Bay to Western Australia, local governments are looking to ditch their dependence on the expensive old grid and generate, store and use their own renewable energy. But there’s a catch. When the wind stops blowing or cloud cover lasts for weeks, all of these communities will need a back-up option, and for most of them, that means at least one connection back to the grid.
Zen Energy’s business model has existing energy retailers worried about the ‘death spiral’:
MATTHEW WARREN, ENERGY SUPPLIERS ASSOC. OF AUST.: If we can get cost-effective storage, it changes the game….
It’s no good saying, “I only use the network some of the time. I should pay less,” because everyone’s gonna make that claim eventually…
Disruption’s gonna keep occurring. We don’t want to stop especially those disruptions that improve the efficiency of the system and decarbonise the system. We’ve just gotta make sure when we do have this disruption, it doesn’t occur at the benefit of some and at the cost of others unfairly…
ALEX MANN: And that could mean electricity consumers end up paying higher tariffs.
While the emergence of home battery storage and alternative energy sources is great news, it does raise a big dilemma for regulators and social equity. That is, the wealthy are most likely to install solar and battery storage, since they can afford the large upfront costs. This leaves poorer households and renters facing potentially huge rises in their power bills as fixed network costs are spread across a diminishing pool of customers.
Even so, Australia cannot escape the fact that revolutionary technological change is coming to the electricity sector, offering significant efficiency benefits but also a huge conundrum for power suppliers and regulators alike.
unconventionaleconomist@hotmail.com
What to Look For When Solar Energy's Big 3 Report
SolarCity, SunPower, and First Solar all report earnings this week. Here's what you need to watch for.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/26/what-to-look-for-when-solar-energys-big-3-report.aspx
Three of the biggest and most important companies in the solar industry report earnings later this week and what they say will give us an indication of where the industry is heading. SolarCity (NASDAQ:SCTY) will give indications of growth and cost reductions in residential solar, First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) will tell us how utility scale projects are selling, and SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) is a barometer for the entire industry's health.
Here are the biggest factors to watch and listen for later this week.
What Wall Street expects
We don't put a lot of faith in Wall Street's expectations each quarter, but an earnings beat or miss can move a stock dramatically short-term, so it's good to know what Wall Street is expecting. Below I've outlined what analysts are expecting from SolarCity, SunPower, and First Solar for revenue and earnings per share.
There's a lot that goes into cost per watt, like project timing and seasonality, but the key for SolarCity to remain competitive when the investment tax credit drops in 2017 is to keep cost reductions coming. Will Q3 be another leap forward or a step backward?
I'll also be watching for SolarCity's growth plans in the future. The company has been doubling installations every year and plans to install as much as 1.0 GW in 2015. But that investment takes a tremendous amount of operating expense. To hit 2017 cost targets it needs to slow growth spending, so a slower rate of planned growth in the future would be a prudent plan given the current uncertainty in the future of residential solar.
First Solar's continued transformation
One of the biggest turnarounds in the last year has been First Solar's incredible efficiency improvement and strengthening financials. In the second quarter, the company said it increased fleet panel efficiency by 1.4% year over year to 15.4%, an incredible jump for any solar manufacturer. I'm looking for continued progress on that path toward 20% panel efficiency.
On top of improving technology, I'd like to see if First Solar can continue to report a solid profit that tops margins competitors are achieving. 2015 guidance calls for 21% to 22% gross margin and $3.30 to $3.60 per share in earnings so any improvements on those levels would be welcome for investors.
Can SunPower take back its efficiency lead?
SunPower has long been the manufacturer of the most efficient solar panels in the world, a title that was (sort of) stolen by SolarCity. Its new panel won't be in full production until at least 2017, so it isn't a real threat to SunPower yet, but it puts a target on the company's products.
Third quarter earnings may not be a time to release a new product but early in November the company is holding an analyst day, when we could see a 23% efficient solar panel. Progress in that direction would be welcome for investors in the next couple of weeks.
Financially, analysts are expecting a loss in the third quarter, primarily because revenue recognition from projects sold to the yieldco 8point3 Energy Partners won't hit until the fourth quarter, when analysts are expecting $1.37 per share in earnings. What I'll be looking for is solid margins on the products it is installing and improving margins in commercial solar, which has been a drag recently. A newly released product called Helix could help the commercial space, but we may not see an impact until 2016.
Growth is another factor to watch for. A 350 MW capacity expansion should be ramping up and when combined with concentrator projects being built in China we should see SunPower become more of a growth company than it's been for years. If that comes to fruition it would certainly help investor confidence.
More to come
It's a big week in the solar industry and with changes happening faster than any other part of energy it's worth watching what leading companies are up to. Check back to fool.com for more coverage as solar industry earnings season unfolds.
This business model is pure genius
The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early-in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here.
Travis Hoium owns shares of First Solar, 8point3 Energy Partners, and SunPower. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends SolarCity. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
I don't sign on to Seeking Alpha.
Florida Supreme Court Clears Hurdle Out Of The Way For Solar Power To Flourish
BY ERIN AUEL - GUEST CONTRIBUTOR OCT 22, 2015 1:19PM
Solar power could soon be flourishing the Sunshine State. Thursday morning the Florida Supreme Court approved an initiative for the 2016 ballot that would allow Floridians to vote to reduce the state’s restrictions on rooftop solar power.
Although solar is growing exponentially nationwide, it has not thrived in Florida. Florida is one of a handful of states that prohibit residents from purchasing electricity from a source other than an electric utility. This has locked out third-party solar rooftop companies, such as SolarCity and SunRun, which install rooftop solar panels on a customer’s property at no cost and sell solar-generated power to that customer at a reduced electric rate.
As ThinkProgress previously reported, a coalition of solar advocates called Floridians for Solar Choice has been leading the effort to change this policy by pursuing a ballot initiative to permit third-party financing for rooftop solar by private companies. To get the initiative on the ballot, Florida required the coalition to first collect 68,314 voter signatures and then have the initiative language approved by the state Supreme Court.
On Thursday, the ballot initiative cleared this major hurdle when the Florida Supreme Court approved the “Solar Choice Amendment” for the November 2016 ballot. Advocates now have to collect the requisite 683,149 signatures to ensure the initiative goes on the ballot. It will then have to pass with 60 percent of the vote in 2016.
Florida’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has been an active opponent of these efforts, arguing against it to the state Supreme Court. In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, Bondi called for the ballot initiative to be rejected due to misleading language. “Because local solar energy already exists in Florida, the summary misleads by suggesting the existence of ‘barriers’ and implying that the Amendment is necessary to allow local solar energy,” she stated. However, according to Floridians for Solar Choice’s website, current law “prohibits customer choice and blocks the growth of this abundant, clean homegrown energy source.” The measure is aimed at “expanding solar choice by allowing all customers the option to power their homes or businesses with solar.”
Over the past few months, Bondi has joined the state’s utility companies to push for a rival ballot initiative. Consumers for Smart Solar has focused on discrediting the Floridians for Solar Choice initiative, and says their goal is to “[establish] the right to solar in Florida’s constitution.” The group also claims that the Solar Choice initiative is “shady” and privileges solar companies. Fossil fuel funded organizations like the National Black Chamber of Commerce have “decried the Shady Solar Amendment as misleading.” Critics of the rival initiative have noted that Floridians already have the right to install solar panels, and that efforts to stall third party financing are intended to protect the utility companies’ interests.
Building the state’s renewable energy sector will be important to facilitate compliance with the Clean Power Plan, which requires Florida to reduce its emissions from fossil fuel power plants by 25% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. According to analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Florida could meet its CPP 2030 goal by increasing renewable energy generation to 10 percent of the state’s electricity mix. The Solar Energy Industries Association ranks Florida as third in the nation for rooftop photovoltaic potential and the National Renewable Energy Lab estimated that the rooftop solar panels in the state could generate between 5 and 6 kWh per square meter installed per day.
Following the release of the Clean Power Plan, the Florida Public Service Commission — the state body responsible for regulating electricity — issued a news release listing the state’s carbon pollution reductions since 2008 and touting the 530 MW of renewable generation that has been added since 2008. This includes rooftop solar, utility-scale projects, and power-purchase agreements. But 530 MW of renewable generation pales in comparison to estimates of Florida’s potential if third party financing was available. In fact, back in 2008, the Florida PSC released a report saying that rooftop solar alone had the potential to generate nearly 100 times that amount.
Attorney General Bondi is also fighting the Clean Power Plan, joining 14 other attorneys general in filing with the DC Circuit for a stay of the rule’s compliance deadlines. Bondi joined them in arguing that EPA’s rule must be stopped because it would cause “irreparable harm” to the states. The Koch-funded group Americans for Prosperity praised Bondi for her participation in the coalition, calling the Clean Power Plan requirements “egregious and unattainable.”
But state polling indicates that both the Solar Choice amendment and the Clean Power Plan are popular among Florida voters. According to a survey conducted by the Republican firm North Star Opinion Research, 74 percent of Florida voters say they support the Solar Choice ballot proposal. And recent polling by Public Policy Polling found that 63 percent of Florida voters say they support the Clean Power Plan.
As a result, Florida is in the midst of a paradoxical fight to limit its ability to increase renewable energy deployment and decrease carbon pollution in accordance with the Clean Power Plan. On the one hand, Bondi and the utility companies argue against renewable energy that cuts pollution and saves money on homeowners’ power bills. On the other hand, Bondi argues that cutting pollution could irreparably harm the state.
As of Thursday morning, Florida voters cleared a hurdle to be able to decide for themselves in 2016.
Erin Auel is a special assistant for the Energy Policy team at the Center for American Progress.
UPDATE
This post was updated to reflect the correct required number of signatures to advance the measure to the Supreme Court for review.
Not helping to have Natural Gas hitting record lows.........
http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/natural-gas.aspx?timeframe=1y
While a sales are doing fine, the perception is that we aren't selling......
Renewable Energy Cuts Wholesale Cost Of Energy
October 20th, 2015 by Joshua S Hill
A new report has concluded that renewable energy is cutting the wholesale price of energy as well as decreasing the impact of subsidies on bill payers.
Specifically, wind and solar generators reduced the wholesale cost of electricity by £1.55 billion in the UK in 2014. In net terms, the cost of supporting wind and solar generation technology in 2014 was only £1.12 billion — 58% less than the cost reflected in the country’s Levy Control Framework.
These are the primary conclusions from a new report published by British energy company Good Energy, and with the backing of the University of Sheffield.
“This analysis puts the bill payer at the center of the debate around renewable energy subsidies,” said Good Energy Chief Executive Juliet Davenport, OBE. “Let’s give them the full picture and not just half of it. What is not taken into account is the fact that renewable energy, such as wind and solar, has actually been bringing the cost of energy down for consumers. The bill payer money invested into supporting renewables yields significant benefits, let’s be very clear about that.”
The report comes at the same time as the UK Government is scaling back numerous renewable energy support schemes, including the Feed-in Tariff and Renewables Obligations schemes — all under the onus of keeping taxpayers energy bills lower.
The report aims to investigate a phenomenon known as the Merit Order Effect, whereby government support mechanisms increase tax payers utility bills in the short term, while renewables act to reduce them by driving down wholesale electricity prices. Specifically, according to the report, the Merit Order Effect will actually increase the more renewable energy is deployed, with the authors of the report noting that “the current level of savings suggest that, if renewable support is viewed in net terms, the projected future overspend of the Levy Control Framework may not be a reality.”
Overspend of the Levy Control Framework has been one of the primary driving factors given by the UK Government for slashing renewable energy subsidies. The Framework was so successful that it reached its original total much earlier than anticipated, and overspend was anticipated. However, according to this new report, when viewed in terms of net terms, the overall savings by the end of the original Levy Control Framework period may be greater than the suspected overspend.
The report was also backed by researchers from the University of Sheffield, who are planning to publish their own report on the savings onshore and offshore wind are contributing to wholesale energy costs.
“Decarbonising electricity generation is critical for the future sustainability of the planet,” explained Dr Lisa Clark, from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield. “In the UK wind is a really important source of renewable electricity.”
“At the moment the costs of renewable subsidy schemes such as Feed-in Tariff and Renewable Obligation have cast doubt over future of renewables. But there are very few reports of the actual financial savings from renewable generation like wind and existing savings to consumers. However, this report provides clear evidence that UK wind generation is typically saving UK consumers around £1.5 billion per year. This is more or less the same amount that the subsidies cost. At the University of Sheffield we have recently finished a similar study and we find very similar numbers.
“So not only is wind energy decarbonising our electricity generation, it isn’t costing any more than any other source of electricity to do so.”
Solar panels Market at $24.2 billion in 2014 are expected to reach $180.7 billion by 2021:
ResearchMoz
Published: Oct 20, 2015 10:11 p.m. ET
The 2015 study has 537 pages, 212 tables and figures. Worldwide markets for solar panels are growing as units become more efficient and less costly for generating electricity. Rapid adoption of solar panels worldwide is occurring as systems provide peak power efficiently.
The ability to remain competitive depends upon the ability to develop technologically advanced products and processes. What better investment in infrastructure on the part of a government than solar power? Cheap energy promises to provide water, cheap manufacturing, electric vehicles, all sorts of things more useful than a war that the government might alternatively spend its money on.
Get Sample Research Report:
http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=245659
Main areas of solar panels is for: large scale utility systems connected to the electrical grid. Residential and commercial markets are evolving further.
Solar panel market driving forces relate primarily to the prospect of inexpensive, lasting energy from the sun. In 2015, analysts agree, a tipping point has been reached, solar panel markets are at the critical point in the market development, where an inevitability of adoption is certain. Solar panels markets have been an up and down evolving situation that was completely dependent on government subsidies.
Now the government subsidies seem certain. Market development without government subsidies seems certain. Utilities have to have solar energy. Governments have to have solar energy. People have to have solar energy. The stability of the solar panel market leads to a new and irreversible positive thrust for the market. Market development is certain to occur, the question is simply how fast.
Browse full report at:
http://www.researchmoz.us/solar-panels-market-shares-strategy-and-forecasts-worldwide-2015-to-2021-report.html
Solar panel markets have crossed a threshold and gains will possibly have significant momentum, triggered by the technology. Solar panel adoption is now a dynamic process of innovation, insight, and influence through advocacy. The critical point in solar panel adoption is a process that is now unstoppable.
The growth of solar has been driven by a single paradigm at the federal and state levels worldwide. Now, with China so entirely dedicated to making solar less expensive than coal electrical generation, solar energy will take hold worldwide. Almost all solar has taken advantage of -- and needed to take advantage of -- state-level incentives.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/solar-panels-market-at-242-billion-in-2014-are-expected-to-reach-1807-billion-by-2021-researchmoz-2015-10-20
Browse all reports of this category at:
http://www.researchmoz.us/power-market-reports-26.html
Solar panels have moved from the trial stage to the early adopter stage. Markets at $24.2 billion in 2014 are expected to reach $180.7 billion by 2021. Growth is expected to achieve rapid adoption of renewable energy.
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ResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.
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Australia Prepares for ‘Inevitable’ Grid Defection
Environment Minister Greg Hunt pushes for more battery support, even after an apparent U-turn on carbon policy.
by Jason Deign
October 16, 2015
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/australia-prepares-for-mass-grid-defection
Australian clean-energy agencies are paving the way for mass consumer grid defection, even as the government backs away from other pro-renewable energy policies.
Environment minister Greg Hunt reiterated plans to support Australia’s growing residential solar-plus-battery market in an interview on Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s influential Lateline television news program.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the nation’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) will be brought under a single agency to encourage “more storage, more off-grid activity, lower emissions and also lower electricity costs,” he said.
Having a significant number of Australians independent of the grid is “inevitable," said Hunt. "Increasingly, we will see adoption of storage, which is the key thing that allows people to be off-grid.”
The tone of the interview was markedly different from Australia’s previous Liberal Party leader, Tony Abbott, who drew criticism for cuts to support for renewables programs. Abbott was ousted by Malcolm Turnbull in September.
One of Hunt’s first actions under Abbott was to abolish the Climate Commission, a government agency set up to inform the public about climate-change risks and mitigation measures. The Abbott administration also pledged to do away with ARENA and the CEFC.
Hunt told Lateline host Emma Alberici, “Our long-term position hasn’t changed, but we think that they can be used quite dramatically more effectively. They exist. We should be using them. The previous government did not integrate them.”
Hunt’s office and the CEFC did not return requests for information from GTM. ARENA declined to comment on political issues, but confirmed it is looking at new storage projects, from technology development to large-scale deployment.
"Residential electricity storage can allow network operators to manage demand more effectively by delivering stored power into the grid at peak times," said ARENA’s CEO, Ivor Frischknecht.
At the moment, battery storage is still not economic for most Australian consumers, ARENA said. Payback periods are around a decade. “System prices will need to come down before the payback period drops under 10 years and becomes more financially appealing,” according to the agency. “The value of storage will also be affected by future tariffs.”
However, Frischknecht earlier this year said the situation could change “within a few years.”
ARENA has already spent more than AUD$80 million (USD$58 million) as part of a total AUD$200 million (USD$146 million) in funding across 20 storage-related projects in Australia.
These include a residential PV-and-battery pilot with Ergon Retail, a mobile energy storage test facility at the University of Adelaide, and a comparison of six major lithium-ion battery brands to existing advanced lead-acid technologies.
In June, ARENA also commissioned an extensive study of the Australian energy storage market from AECOM, the global professional services firm.
“The role of enabling technologies such as energy storage is becoming more important as Australia moves toward higher penetrations of intermittent renewable generation such as solar and wind power. Some parts of Australia are already experiencing the technical limitations of intermittent renewables, leading to emerging power quality issues or curtailment of renewables," read the report.
AECOM recommended ARENA should support the development of new markets for enabling technologies that could help with the growth of Australia’s renewables market efficiently and at lowest cost.
“Energy storage is perhaps the most significant enabling technology, providing the ability to both smooth and shift renewable generation to match demand profiles,” it said.
Batterymakers See a Big Break Coming -- No, Seriously This Time
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-16/batterymakers-see-a-big-break-coming-no-seriously-this-time
By Mark Chediak
>California utilities say storage is competing with gas plants
>Global market expected to grow to 11.3 gigawatts by 2020
Energy storage developers have been saying for a decade that the industry’s on the verge of a big breakthrough that will finally turn the battery into a major player in the power market.
At least this time around, they’ve got customers backing them up.
Utilities Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric said at a storage conference this week that supply from batteries now competes against natural-gas fired plants that start up when demand peaks. Storage developers are inking deals with big corporations including InterContinental Hotels Group Plc and Whole Foods Markets Inc., which want to install storage units to save on power bills.
Batteries account for a tiny fraction of global power resources. The technology has been prohibitively expensive and, until recently, relatively unproven. The U.S. government’s Argonne National Laboratory, the same one that built the first nuclear reactor to generate power, just offered its help to companies developing storage. The Energy Department has said the technology is key to adding more of the intermittent solar and wind power that President Obama has called for in his Clean Power Plan.
“For the past century it has been cheaper to schedule coal, gas and hydroelectric generators than to store energy in batteries,” said Hugh Bromley, an analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “That is starting to change as technology costs are pushed down the learning curve, largely due to the experience and scale nurtured in the consumer electronics and electric vehicle industries.”
Last year, Southern California Edison signed contracts for 264 megawatts of storage, more than five times the amount required by the state as part of its plan to replace a shuttered nuclear power plant, said Stuart Hemphill, a senior vice president for the utility. The company didn’t plan to ink deals for batteries beyond the requirement, but the offers were more "competitive" with other resources than it thought they would be, he said.
800,000 Households
California’s regulators have asked the state’s three biggest utilities to add 1.3 gigawatts of energy-storage capacity by 2020. A gigawatt is enough to power about 800,000 households.
“This is no longer a science experiment,” said Stem Inc. Chief Executive Officer John Carrington. The developer has sold battery systems to companies including InterContinental Hotels and Whole Foods that allow them to store power when it’s cheap and use it when it’s expensive, he said.
Still, there remains a tangle of regulations and rules that need to be straightened out to allow for battery users to take advantage of the resource, said Jon Wellinghoff, a former chairman of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "The rules of the market have not yet caught up with the technology," said Wellinghoff, who is now a partner in San Francisco with the law firm Stoel Rives LLP.
‘Scaling Stage’
In 2015, about 2 gigawatts of energy storage is forecast to be installed globally in countries including the U.S., Germany, Japan and South Korea, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. By 2020, that number is projected to grow to 11.3 gigawatts.
General Electric Co. sees battery costs falling fifty percent over the next five years, a decline that may mimic or even surpass the recent drop in costs for solar and wind power, Pratima Rangarajan, general manager for energy storage at GE, told hundreds of attendees at the Energy Storage North America conference in San Diego. GE has 40 megawatt-hours of operating energy storage systems running and plans to install another 65 megawatt-hours next year, she said.
"We are ready to go to the next stage,” Rangarajan said, “which is the scaling stage.”
While everybody is sleeping....
Solar energy set to hit a major milestone in the US
http://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/solar-energy-set-to-hit-a-major-milestone-in-the-us/8525039/
Posted on 16 October 2015.
Solar power is growing aggressively in the residential sector
Solar energy has been gaining ground in the United States. The country is quickly approaching a major milestone when it comes to solar power systems installed at homes.
Solar and wind power surge in US as shale drilling and coal mining falter
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/solar-and-wind-power-surge-in-us-as-shale-drilling-and-coal-mining-falter-20151012-gk7gat.html#ixzz3oOSMP9ft
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook
October 13, 2015 - 8:34AM
Wind and solar energy continues to fall in cost. Photo: Justin Sullivan
?While the production of fossil fuels drops in the United States, solar and wind power is skyrocketing as technology and cheaper financing drive down the costs.
"In the US, we've known that wind energy can be cheaper than (natural) gas in some states, but solar is now inching toward that same milestone," said Jacqueline Lilinshtein, US analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a firm that advises industry clients on energy issues.
Texas leads the US in wind power, with about 10 per cent of its power from wind. California, Nevada and North Carolina are the nation's top solar states and dominate the market.
The federal government expects a surge in renewable energy in the coming year, especially as solar expands from its traditional base of home rooftop panels to major utility-scale production.
"US solar and wind power generating capacity is expected to see double digit growth in 2016," said Adam Sieminski, the head of the US Energy Information Administration.
This comes as America's fracking boom is starting to falter. The crash in oil prices is shrinking the profits for drillers. Estimated US crude oil production dropped by 120,000 barrels a day last month and is forecast to keep going down for most of the coming year at least.
Coal continues its downward spiral. Even coal areas that weathered past hard times, such as Indiana and Western Kentucky, are having a tough year, and major coal companies are going bankrupt.
"Production is expected to decrease in all coal-producing regions in 2015, with the largest decline on a percentage basis occurring in the Appalachian region," according to the Department of Energy.
Costs of generating electricity from coal and natural gas are rising as renewables penetrate the market and fossil fuel plants run less, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
In the meantime, the cost of wind and solar continued to go down this year, signaling "a significant shift in the generating cost comparison between renewable energy and fossil fuels."
"Onshore wind and solar are both now much more competitive against the established generation technologies than would have seemed possible only five or 10 years ago," said Luke Mills, an energy economics analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The average US price of coal and natural gas power is still cheaper than renewables at $US65 ($88) a megawatt-hour, compared with wind at $US80 and photovoltaic solar - generating electricity from sunlight - at $US107.
But that gap is shrinking, and renewable costs can be even lower with federal subsidies. Ethan Zindler, head of policy analysis for Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said he saw a solar power purchase agreement in Texas for $US50 per megawatt-hour.
"There are definitely markets where solar is competitive," Zindler said.
Renewables could run into problems, though, as lawmakers push back against helping the industry. The federal solar tax credit is set to expire in 2016 unless Congress renews it.
In North Carolina, which has emerged as a national leader in solar power, the legislature is ending its state renewable energy tax credit at the end of the year.
There's also debate in Congress over the wind tax credit, which allows a reduction in tax payments for the first 10 years of a project. Some lawmakers are targeting the incentive for extinction, but American Wind Energy Association CEO Tom Kiernan said he's optimistic.
"The support we have on Capitol Hill is significant and enduring," Kiernan said.
McClatchy , via? Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/carbon-economy/solar-and-wind-power-surge-in-us-as-shale-drilling-and-coal-mining-falter-20151012-gk7gat.html#ixzz3oOT0E8xo
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I know that this has been said/done before. But here are my numbers compared to VSLR.
Hard numbers
VSLR Revs so far 25,680,000 market cap $1.3B
SLTD Revs so far 16,663,000 so by my calcs we should have a market cap of $841,000,000
With 17.74M shares we should be at $47.45 per share
Now THAT would be nice!
Compared with SCTY $26.25
Compared with FSLR $3.54
Compared with SUNE $3.51
IF my numbers are right...
Damn, we get grumpy with no news...
New Report: U.S. Renewable Energy Surges to Historic Levels, Coal Use 21% Below 2005
Energy efficiency remains key to tectonic shift in America's energy sector
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's reliance on wind, solar and other renewable sources of energy has reached historic levels and is poised to make even greater gains in the near future, according to new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
NRDC's Third Annual Energy Report, "A Tectonic Shift in America's Energy Landscape," found that the energy sector in the United States emitted less dangerous carbon pollution last year than in 1996, with a full 10 percent reduction over the past decade. Meanwhile, coal and electricity consumption are down nationwide, while oil use today is lower than in the early 1970s, the report shows.
"The economic and environmental performance of America's energy systems has never been better, and the single most important contributor to these positive trends is energy efficiency, the largest and least expensive way to meet the nation's energy needs," said Ralph Cavanagh, co-director of the NRDC energy program. "However, America can, should, and must do more to increase our efforts to help stabilize the world's climate."
The report cites two important U.S. advances this year in the global fight against catastrophic climate change: the Obama administration's August release of the Clean Power Plan to limit power plant pollution and California's new climate legislation (SB 350 signed yesterday). California has set the world's strongest combined targets for energy efficiency, renewable energy and transportation electrification, a path that other states could follow. "These developments, along with the good energy news noted in the report, offer hope for significant progress in the global climate negotiations scheduled for December in Paris," Cavanagh said.
Sierra Martinez, report co-author and NRDC's California Energy Project legal director, said the report shows the United States was relying on an unprecedented amount of renewable energy by the end of 2014.
"The amount of renewable energy from wind turbines, solar panels, and other technologies now equals roughly 10 percent of the nation's energy use," Martinez said. "That's like powering the world's largest economy for more than a month without using any pollution-spewing coal, oil, or natural gas, and without additional harm to our lands, waters, and wildlife that is associated with extracting fossil fuels."
The report also notes the country is already two-thirds of the way toward meeting President Obama's goal of cutting 3 billion tons of carbon pollution by 2030 through his administration's efficiency standards for appliances and federal buildings.
Other key findings:
ELECTRICITY: Thanks in large part to efficiency, electricity consumption rose a mere 7.5 percent from 2000 to 2014 even as the U.S. population grew at nearly twice that rate. This is the first time that our electricity use has grown more slowly than our population for an extended period.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Efficiency remains America's largest and most productive energy resource. The amount of energy required to produce an inflation-adjusted dollar of economic output dropped by almost 60 percent between 1970 and 2014, thanks to smarter energy use.
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Wind power continues to dominate the nation's renewable energy growth, contributing roughly two-thirds of generation from our renewable resources other than hydropower. Wind power production scored a 33-fold increase from 2000–2014. Meanwhile, solar power doubled its output over the previous year (for the fourth year running) and, for the first time ever, eclipsing the annual generation of the nation's geothermal resources.
OIL: Although the amount of oil used in U.S. vehicles, homes, and businesses rose negligibly in 2014 (about 0.5 percent), the total still was more than 13 percent below its 2005 peak. In fact, oil use today is slightly lower than in 1973, when the nation's economy was about one-third its current size. Recent fuel economy and clean car standards have helped reduce our dependence on oil imports. Providing more alternatives to driving, like public transit, and further accelerating electric vehicle sales could save the United States nearly 4 billion barrels of oil annually by 2035 – which, in one year, would almost equal how much oil the government estimates can ever be recovered from drilling all our offshore waters from Florida to Maine.
COAL: America burned less coal in 2014 than in 1990, and U.S. coal use is down more than 21 percent from the peak year of 2005, primarily due to the movement of utilities away from aging and uneconomical coal-burning power plants. For the first time in two decades, domestic coal production dropped below 1 billion short tons in 2014, reflecting the power sector's move to cleaner sources to generate electricity.
NATURAL GAS: Although natural gas raised its market share to a 40-year high in 2012, exceeding 30 percent of electricity generation, the figure was below 28 percent last year; it is likely to surpass 30 percent again in 2015. In April 2015, U.S. power plants for the first time generated more electricity from natural gas than coal.
NUCLEAR: Nuclear power remained below 20 percent of total electric generation for the fifth consecutive year in 2014 – and was below the average for 2006-2011.
SUNE is coming back nicely.
When is our turn.
I think that we need better headlines!
http://trackutilitiesllc.com
Where Shane Mace came from
Solar and wind power just passed another big turning point
October 7, 2015 - 11:47AM
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/energy/solar-and-wind-power-just-passed-another-big-turning-point-20151006-gk2vn7#ixzz3nqplYpEd
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook
As more renewables are installed, coal and natural gas plants are used less, making them less cost-effective. Photo: Nicolas Walker
Wind power is now the cheapest electricity to produce in both Germany and the UK, even without government subsidies. It's the first time that threshold has been crossed by a G7 economy.
But that's less interesting than what just happened in the world's largest economy, according to a Bloomberg analysis.
To appreciate what's going on in the US, you need to understand the capacity factor. That's the percentage of a power plant's maximum potential that's actually achieved over time.
Consider a solar project. The sun doesn't shine at night and, even during the day, varies in brightness with the weather and the seasons. So a project that can crank out 100 megawatt hours of electricity during the sunniest part of the day might produce just 20 per cent of that when averaged out over a year. That gives it a 20 per cent capacity factor.
One of the major strengths of fossil fuel power plants is that they can command very high and predictable capacity factors. The average US natural gas plant, for example, might produce about 70 per cent of its potential (falling short of 100 per cent because of seasonal demand and maintenance). But that's what's changing, and it's a big deal.
For the first time, widespread adoption of renewables is effectively lowering the capacity factor for fossil fuels. That's because once a solar or wind project is built, the marginal cost of the electricity it produces is pretty much zero-free electricity - while coal and gas plants require more fuel for every new watt produced. If you're a power company with a choice, you choose the free stuff every time.
It's a self-reinforcing cycle. As more renewables are installed, coal and natural gas plants are used less. As coal and gas are used less, the cost of using them to generate electricity goes up. As the cost of coal and gas power rises, more renewables will be installed.
The virtuous cycle has begun
Wind and solar have long made up a small fraction of US electricity - about 5 per cent in 2014. But production has been rising at an exponential rate, and those two energy sources are now big enough to influence when coal and natural gas plants are kept running, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).
There are two reasons this shift in capacity factors is important. First, it's yet another sign of the rising disruptive force of renewable energy in power markets. It's impossible to brush aside renewables in the US in the same way it might have been just a few years ago. "Renewables are really becoming cost-competitive, and they're competing more directly with fossil fuels," said BNEF analyst Luke Mills. "We're seeing the utilisation rate of fossil fuels wear away."
Second, the shift illustrates a serious new risk for power companies planning to invest in coal or natural-gas plants. Historically, a high capacity factor has been a fixed input in the cost calculation. But now anyone contemplating a billion-dollar power plant with an anticipated lifespan of decades must consider the possibility that as time goes on, the plant will be used less than when its doors first open.
Capacity Factors Take a Sharp Turn
Most of the decline in capacity factors is due to expensive "base-load plants that are being turned on less because of renewables," according to BNEF analyst Jacqueline Lilinshtein. Plants designed to come online only during the highest demand of the year, known as peaker plants, play a smaller role. In either case, the end result is that coal-fired and gas-fired electricity is becoming more expensive and the profits less predictable.
The opposite is true of wind and solar, as well as new battery systems that can be paired with renewables to replace some peaker plants. Wind power, including US subsidies, became the cheapest electricity in the US for the first time last year, according to BNEF. Solar power is a bit further behind, but the costs are dropping rapidly, especially those associated with financing a new project.
The economic advantages of wind and solar over fossil fuels go beyond price. Still, it's remarkable that in every major region of the world, the lifetime cost of new coal and gas projects are rising considerably in the second half of 2015, according to BNEF. And in every major region the cost of renewables continues to fall.
Bloomberg
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/energy/solar-and-wind-power-just-passed-another-big-turning-point-20151006-gk2vn7#ixzz3nqqRmQZY
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Panasonic announces 22.5% module-level efficiency solar panel
By Ian Clover on 7 October 2015]
PV Magazine
Company claims new solar module prototype sets new world record for module-level efficiency based on mass-production technology. New HIT N330 high-powered module set to debut in U.K.
Renewables to lead world power market growth by 2020
By Roseline Okere on October 7, 2015 4:27 am
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/10/renewables-to-lead-world-power-market-growth-by-2020/
Renewable energy will represent the largest single source of electricity growth over the next five years, driven by falling costs and aggressive expansion in emerging economies, the International Energy Administration (IEA) said in an annual market report.
Pointing to the great promise renewables hold for affordably mitigating climate change and enhancing energy security, the report, which was released at the weekend, warns governments to reduce policy uncertainties that are acting as brakes on greater deployment.
“Renewables are poised to seize the crucial top spot in global power supply growth, but this is hardly time for complacency,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol as he released the IEA’s Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report 2015 (MTRMR) at the G20 Energy Ministers Meeting. “Governments must remove the question marks over renewables if these technologies are to achieve their full potential, and put our energy system on a more secure, sustainable path.”
The reported noted that renewable electricity additions over the next five years will top 700 gigawatts (GW) – more than twice Japan’s current installed power capacity. “They will account for almost two-thirds of net additions to global power capacity – that is, the amount of new capacity that is added, minus scheduled retirements of existing power plants. Non-hydro sources such as wind and solar photovoltaic panels (solar PV) will represent nearly half of the total global power capacity increase”, it added.
The report sees the share of renewable energy in global power generation rising to over 26 per cent by 2020 from 22 per cent in 2013 – a remarkable shift in a very limited period of time. “By 2020, the amount of global electricity generation coming from renewable energy will be higher than today’s combined electricity demand of China, India and Brazil”.
The report said that the geography of deployment will increasingly shift to emerging economies and developing countries, which will make up two-thirds of the renewable electricity expansion to 2020. China alone will account for nearly 40 per cent of total renewable power capacity growth and requires almost one-third of new investment to 2020.
It noted that renewable generation costs have declined in many parts of the world due to sustained technology progress, improved financing conditions and expansion of deployment to newer markets with better resources.
I'd be more excited if we had more volume.