Investors have been dumping solar shares based on a misconception about energy
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-solar-is-having-a-great-year-except-on-wall-street-2015-8#ixzz3im4dAtEH
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - By almost any measure, the U.S. solar market is on fire.

Installations of solar panels are expected to soar by a third this year, the price of solar power is now cheap enough to compete neck and neck with gas and coal-fired power in places like California, and the fledgling industry received a vote of confidence last week when U.S. President Barack Obama announced a groundbreaking plan to curb power plant emissions. Even China's currency devaluation could cut panel costs for U.S. solar installers.

Wall Street, however, has been dumping solar shares this year, largely on concern, which investors say is misplaced, that tumbling oil prices will sap demand for alternative energy, even though oil isn't used to generate power.

Stock prices are also suffering from an oversupply of new equity issues by companies raising capital to fund their rapid growth and concern an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve could curb the appeal of their so-called yieldco units.

The carnage has intensified in the last two weeks. The MAC Global Solar Energy index has dropped 36 percent since its 2015 high in April, with industry bellwether SunEdison Inc having lost 55 percent of its value since July 20. SunRun Inc , one of the top residential solar installers, went public last week at $14 a share and closed Thursday at $10.12.

Hood River Capital Management of Portland began shedding its stake in SunEdison earlier this year, according to regulatory filings, and kept selling last month after the company announced a deal to buy rooftop solar installer Vivint Solar Inc – its third acquisition this year.

Investors are concerned that the company is doing too much too fast, that its capital requirements could be too high, and that project development margins would be squeezed, Hood River Capital Principal Brian Smoluch said.

"I agree with that perspective at $30, but at $14 I feel like it's more than baked in," Smoluch said, adding that at current levels he is buying SunEdison again.

Though solar is becoming mainstream, investors still view it as risky. It remains more expensive in most places than conventional power, so must rely on government subsidies and mandates that come and go.

"There are only so many buyers for these types of companies out there," said Robert W. Baird analyst Ben Kallo.
GONE PUBLIC
In the past year, six solar companies have gone public in the United States, raising a combined $1.85 billion, according to IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital. The most recent two — SunRun and TerraForm Global Inc — are both trading more than 20 percent below their IPO prices.

Much of the new issuance has come from "yieldcos" - bundles of solar, wind or other power plants with long-term utility contracts that are spun off by developers into a dividend-paying public entity. Several yieldcos — NRG Yield , Abengoa Yield and Terraform Power Inc — have completed secondary offerings in the last year.

Yieldcos have surged in popularity over the last two years because they provide stable, fat yields and a less risky way to invest in solar.

But investors said a likely a rise in U.S. interest rates would temper that enthusiasm as government debt becomes more attractive. Toronto-based AGF Investments Inc pared back its stakes in SunEdison and First Solar — two owners of yieldcos — earlier this year.

"We felt there would be a short term correction around rate fears," said Martin Grosskopf, who manages AGF's $350 million sustainable investing strategy. "But it’s gone way beyond that in terms of the decline we’ve seen."

South Texas Money Management Ltd in San Antonio, which manages $2.7 billion, holds No. 1 U.S. panel maker First Solar Inc , but isn't using the latest weakness in solar stocks to add shares or pick up others.

First Solar is down about 30 percent from a 52-week high set in September of last year.

"That one's enough heartburn for us," said Christian Ledoux, the firm's director of equity research. "Believe it or not we actually have a profit in it."

Some are buying — albeit cautiously. Zevin Asset Management LLC, a Boston-based firm, has added small amounts to its positions in First Solar and SunPower Corp .

"We wouldn't buy huge amounts, but because we are long term investors we can be opportunistic," said Amber Fairbanks, a portfolio manager with the firm.

Chris Georgandellis of Exchange Capital Management in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said his firm's investment in First Solar is underpinned by the idea that solar will only become cheaper and more efficient over the long term as fossil fuel development and production become more expensive. For now, he is waiting for concern about low oil prices to blow over.

"Attractive fundamentals are often powerless in the face of the arbitrary preferences of the crowd," he said.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Terry Wade and John Pickering)



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-solar-is-having-a-great-year-except-on-wall-street-2015-8#ixzz3im57dpEW

Australian action on Renewables/climate.....
Shorten says solar + storage allowing consumers to lead energy revolution
By Staff Reporter on 14 August 2015

Labor leader Bill Shorten has pushed the case for household solar and battery storage, noting that energy markets are in the midst of a “seismic shift” and an “energy revolution” that is being driven by individual consumers.

In a speech at UNSW on Friday, Shorten said that the upfront and operating costs of solar power are decreasing at a remarkable speed.

“Over 15,000 Australian small businesses have already taken up small scale solar, and taken control of their bills. More than 1.4 million Australian families have embraced household solar power,” Shortens said.

He noted that in NSW, a household could get an upfront loan of $4,000 and install a 3 kW system on their roof, and see their power bills decline from day one and their system fully paid off within five to seven years.

He also quoted Bloomberg New Energy Finance analysis, reported in RenewEconomy, which said that within five years a 4 kilowatt of rooftop solar panels, with a 5 kilowatt hour battery will give you cheaper electricity than you get off the grid.

“This is a consumer revolution, as much as it is an energy transformation empowering Australian households, communities and businesses,” Shorten said. (It is) putting control back in the hands of the user, shifting the balance away from big power companies.”

Here is Shorten’s speech in full:

I want to thank the Chifley Research Centre for organising today’s event, and the University of New South Wales for hosting us.

A couple of weeks ago, Al Gore told me UNSW is leading the world in solar technology.

So this is a fitting place to talk about the opportunities of renewable energy and the way forward on climate change.

We are, I believe, living through a shift in the national mood.

More and more Australians are choosing to reject the empty politics of fear and the great big old scare campaigns on everything.

Australians are demanding, again, action on climate change.

And two essential truths are emerging:

One, the cost of effective action on climate change and embracing renewable energy is greatly outweighed by the opportunities:

New jobs, new industries, new markets and trading opportunities.

And two, it is the economic and environmental cost of inaction that we should be most worried about.

We have a fragile atmosphere, which we all share – and which we rely on for our food, our water, our air and our energy.

The question for the world at the Paris Summit will be: how do we preserve this?

How do we limit global warming to less than two degrees on pre-industrial levels?

Today’s CO2 concentration is higher than it has been for at least 800,000 years.

And this is warming the world at 0.9 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

And if we do nothing, if we watch as warming passes 2 degrees, the environmental consequences are widely reported and well-known.

More extreme weather, more often.

Extreme temperature events used to cover 0.1 per cent of the earth – now they cover 10 per cent.

This means longer droughts in parts of Australia, broken by more damaging floods.

More frequent bushfires and more severe storms.

And beyond the flashpoints of these events – there are the creeping, incremental consequences:

– A massive decline in agricultural production especially in the Murray Darling Basin.

– Irretrievable damage to the Great Barrier Reef.

– Widespread shortages of urban water supply, extreme spikes in global food prices.

– Increase in heat-related deaths and increased airborne disease.

– Heightened instability in the coastal megacities of our region.

– And a surge in the displacement of people in steadily submerged islands adjacent to Australia.

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

But the point I want to put new emphasis on today is that every environmental consequence, carries with it a massive economic cost.

A 1.1 metre rise in the sea level, would mean $226 thousand million worth of commercial, industrial, road, rail and residential assets around Australia’s coasts would be damaged by flooding and erosion.

Heatwaves have killed more Australians than any other natural disaster and deaths are projected to double over the next 40 years in Australian cities.

And this will only be part of, hundreds of millions of dollars in increased health costs: respiratory and cardiac conditions in particular.

Two months ago, the respected Medical Journal, Lancet, declared climate change a “medical emergency”.

It warned – if we don’t act, we will undermine all the good progress made in public health in the last half-century.

And drought will affect Australia’s GDP.

From 2020 onwards, the predicted increase in drought frequency is estimated to cost $7.3 billion annually – reducing GDP by 1 per cent, per annum.

This is the cost of inaction.

And the longer we leave it, the more expensive it will become.

This is the price of failure – a price our children should not have to pay in the future.

And a price the world’s most vulnerable people will pay if we do not act.

As Pope Francis wrote this year:

“The gravest effects of all the attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest.”

LIBERAL TARGET and DIRECT ACTION

But this is the exact risk we run, with the Liberals sub-prime emissions reduction target and their substandard policy.

The Government’s target puts Australia at the back of the developed nation pack.

And we have still not seen a skerrick of evidence to suggest this diminished ambition will get us anywhere near the goal of 2 degrees reduction.

It is no secret that the Prime Minister’s core constituency still does not accept the science of climate change.

But, even accounting for ideology, the Liberal target is also fundamental vote of no-confidence in their Direct Action Policy.

Without an emissions trading scheme, without investing in renewable energy, without modernising our overall energy sector – it doesn’t matter what number the government picks – they won’t get there.

The majority of their proposed emissions reductions come from:

– An unspecified safeguard mechanism.

– An unknown energy efficiency plan.

– An unannounced vehicle efficiency policy.

And a ‘miscellaneous’ category: “technology improvements and others sources “.

These are the ‘breakthroughs’ the Government plans to deliver by abolishing ARENA and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

By cutting funding for the bureau of meteorology and the CSIRO.

And by slashing money from Australia’s universities, including over $200 million from this one.

Direct Action is a waste of money built on one counter-productive idea: giving great wads of taxpayer cash to big polluters to keep polluting.

Only last week, Reputex reported that under Tony Abbott’s policy, emissions will actually rise by 20 per cent over the next decade in spite of all the money paid to polluters.

This is as Malcolm Turnbull once said:

“a recipe for fiscal recklessness on a grand scale”.

And I don’t believe, in hard economic times, we can afford to waste taxpayer money on a plan that won’t work.

So, today I announce a Labor Government will put a stop to this.

We will not continue to subsidise windfalls for companies that are already acting.

Yes, we will honour contracts that the Government has entered into, but the largesse ends there.

Based on the remaining uncommitted funding allocated in the 2014 Budget, and the additional $2.4 billion announced this week, abolishing this program today represents a saving of up to $4.3 billion.

There is a better, cheaper, faster and more efficient way for Australia to tackle climate change.

And at the centre of this, is renewable energy.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Australia has some of the best renewable assets in the world.

More sunlight than any other continent.

And we are also one of the windiest places on earth.

We have enough renewable energy resources to power our country 500 times over.

And last month, Labor set a bold new goal for renewable energy.

We have said, by 2030, 50 per cent of Australia’s electricity should come from renewable energy.

This is not about leading the world – it’s about catching up.

China is making massive investments in renewables.

India is pursuing a ‘saffron revolution’ in solar.

I want Australia to get our fair share of the $2.5 trillion in investment in renewables in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030.

Australian State and Territory governments are already on board.

– The ACT has a target of 90 per cent by 2020

– South Australia has a target of 50 per cent by 2025

– Queensland has a target of 50 per cent by 2030

And our city councils are leading too.

The City of Sydney has pledged to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

But as a Melburnian – I should say – we’ll have net zero emissions by the year 2020.

So often, people underestimate the speed of technological change.

In 1980, American telco, AT&T commissioned a study to forecast cellphone use by the year 2000.

They predicted 900,000 users.

The actual figure was 109 million.

Today it’s 6.9 billion.

The same is true for renewable energy.

At the start of this century, experts predicted that worldwide wind capacity would reach 30 gigawatts by 2010.
They were wrong.

By 2010 this goal was exceeded by a factor of 6, by the end of last year, a factor of 12.

At the same time, it was said that the solar energy market would grow by one gigawatt a year by 2010.

This year, it will be exceeded by more than 50 times.

People are talking about waiting for the day when renewable energy will be on par with traditional sources.

But as Deutsche Bank said in January:

“parity without subsidies is already here”.

Consider this:

In 1976 the cost of solar cells was $79.40 a watt.

In 2014, it’s 69 cents a watt.

In the last five years, solar photovoltaic prices have fallen by 75 per cent, and wind power costs have fallen by 14 per cent.

Over the next five years – costs are projected to halve, making solar the cheapest form of electricity generation in many parts of the world.

And the cost of battery storage has been halving every 18 months.

The trend is unstoppable.

For the first time, new global investment in renewables exceeds new investment in traditional sources.

And I believe Australia can be a clean energy superpower.

We can be one of the best markets in the world for this new technology.

But we can’t rely on the market alone – there is a constructive role government has to play.

Providing the right policies, sending the right signals and demonstrating the right leadership.

This is the why Labor’s goal for renewable energy matters.

Our goal will:

– Provide certainty and confidence for investors.

– Encourage research and development in great institutions like this one.

– Foster the right regulatory framework, allowing industries to thrive by generating their own power.

– And managing the transition to a clean energy economy in a fair way, without leaving Australian workers behind.

As decades pass, fossil fuel extraction is occurring in more and more challenging locations…deep below the ocean or from coal seams and shale beds.

And as you would expect, this process has become more and more expensive.

If we don’t modernise our energy system, we are putting our international competitiveness at risk.

And when it comes to fossil fuels, we are bumping our heads on the ceiling of efficiency, our combined effort and investment is generating a diminishing return.

Contrast this with solar.

This university holds the world record for solar efficiency.

And that is 40 per cent.

This means there is still, theoretically, 60 per cent of untapped potential.

I want Australian universities, Australian innovators and Australian researchers to explore this – for the world.

HOUSEHOLD SOLAR

Just as large scale renewable costs have declined dramatically, household renewable energy technology has followed.

Globally, Bloomberg is estimating a $3.7 trillion expansion of solar through to 2040.

And nearly 60 cents in every dollar will flow through to rooftop solar –more than $2 trillion.

We’re talking about a seismic shift in the energy mix of developed and developing countries.

This global movement is being driven by individual consumers.

It is easy to see why.

The upfront and operating costs of solar power are decreasing at a remarkable speed.

Over 15,000 Australian small businesses have already taken up small scale solar, and taken control of their bills.

More than 1.4 million Australian families have embraced household solar power.

One in three houses in Queensland

One in five houses here in New South Wales.

Right now, a homeowner here in New South Wales could get an upfront loan of $4,000 and install a 3 kW system on their roof.

They will see their power bills decline from day one, and have the system fully paid off within five to seven years.

Bloomberg have said, within five years: a 4 kilowatt of rooftop solar panels, with a 5 kilowatt hour battery will give you cheaper electricity than you get off the grid.

This is a consumer revolution, as much as it is an energy transformation.

Empowering Australian households, communities and businesses.

Putting control back in the hands of the user, shifting the balance away from big power companies.

In Australia today there are now over 1 million self-generators – mums and dads, small businesses and local councils.

Renewable energy is giving freedom and choice to millions of Australians.

And remote communities are able to secure reliable and cheap electricity.

These benefits will continue to multiply, as more efficient battery storage and smart meter technology become more common.

Mr Abbott’s right.

This is, partly, a debate about electricity bills.

He’s just on the wrong side.

But renewable energy is not just about the environment, it’s not just about a more competitive price environment for consumers – it’s about jobs.

The good jobs and modern industries of the future.

20,000 Australians work in our renewable industry.

This will at least double by 2030: with more jobs in advanced manufacturing, installation, maintenance and in programming and development.

This is the case for renewable energy: new jobs, new investment, new industries.

Cutting pollution, downward pressure on prices and more empowered consumers, businesses and farmers.

And what is the case against?

Well…Tony Abbott rode his bike near a windmill once and didn’t like it.

Joe Hockey drives past a windfarm on his way to Canberra and he finds it ‘utterly offensive’.

…and that’s about it.

Millions of dollars of investment, tens of thousands of jobs – an entire future industry – hostage to the Prime Minister’s personal prejudice and the Treasurer’s delicate taste.

This is not leadership, this is gambling.

And as the stakes get higher, Australia cannot afford to double-down on denial.

Friends

In the past, at Kyoto, and Copenhagen.

Even on the floor of our own Parliament.

People from both extremes have created excuses not to act.

But we are running out of chances, and we are running out of time.

For more than 30 years, we’ve had the very best science on our side.

Evidence mounting, every year.

And perhaps for too long, we have assumed that this is enough.

That the case would make itself.

But that’s not how the world works.

Reform is not inevitable – and progress is never guaranteed.

It’s not enough to know you’re on the right side of history, the argument has to be won.

Labor will lead on climate change, we will set the direction.

But whether Australia chooses action, or delay…

Whether we succeed, or fail, is up to all of us.

We have to make action on climate change the common cause of all Australians.

So, friends, a decade from now…when the students among us have graduated.

When the researchers among us have been published, and acclaimed.

When our children are adults…

When governments have come and gone…

We can look back on this day and these times and say we were the generation that broke the shackles of denialism.

We were the ones who set the course for a renewable energy future – and the jobs, investment and opportunity it brings.

We can say when the world gathered in Paris to choose a way forward…Australia stood up to be counted.

We can say when the question was put…

When the moment came…

Australians proved, once again, we were smart enough and brave enough to seize the opportunity for action.

Together let us meet the future.

Let us, Advance Australia.

Is osolar3d the Irish one...

1 week to go untill Fresno contract.....

I consider that VERY important. Spread that knowledge throughout the company.....

It will be a VERY LOW COST system. Just replace tracking with many more panels...
Do a whole neighborhood in a day... Bam Bam Bam!
And with plug and play even faster...

Racking might be outdated soon......
Something closer to peel and stick is supposed to be coming.

Do I have this right?
Assuming SLTD with $50 in FRevs
And Elite with 20M in revs
=$70M VS 50M a 40% increase.....
Nice deal. Worth the small dilution. We will have to remember not whining when it drops 10% one day.....

Market down, us up.
Market up us down?

At least they are talking about us...
Solar3D Short Interest Up 37.9% in July (SLTD)
Posted by Jim Brewer on Aug 13th, 2015
http://www.wkrb13.com/markets/724865/solar3d-short-interest-up-37-9-in-july-sltd/
Shares of Solar3D (NASDAQ:SLTD) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,106,196 shares, an increase of 37.9% from the July 15th total of 802,025 shares, MarketBeat reports. Approximately 7.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,296,967 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.
In other news, CEO Abraham Richard Emard sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total value of $78,195.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark J. Richardson acquired 12,521 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.35 per share, with a total value of $54,466.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.
Separately, Cowen and Company assumed coverage on shares of Solar3D in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $5.00 target price for the company.
Shares of Solar3D (NASDAQ:SLTD) opened at 3.75 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3.49 and its 200 day moving average is $4.06. The company’s market capitalization is $66.50 million. Solar3D has a 12 month low of $2.46 and a 12 month high of $8.88.
Solar3D (NASDAQ:SLTD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10 million. Equities analysts expect that Solar3D will post ($0.02) EPS for the current year.
Solar3D, Inc., is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the business of developing and marketing a three-dimensional (NASDAQ:SLTD) solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity. In February 2014, Solar3D Inc acquired Solar United Networks, Inc., a provider of solar systems.

JN had a passion to develop the cell. But developing the cell is expensive. In his conservative roots, he wanted to develop it without a government loan/money. So it will take longer.
He is not the Elon Musk type where he will do everything to get stuff out faster. It was always my opinion to get a loan and get it going faster, for faster payback. But I've accepted that it is not his way.
Actually the cell was "done" June 2014. All that we needed was a "partner".
He has admitted that the cell was more complicated than he thought. So it is taking longer.
In the mean time he used his skills to become an installer. And that has worked out nicely.
If he has rushed everything we either would have been they biggest in the world or BK....
I was lucky enough to get in at the right time with this company....
So right now, while we are developing the cell......
We are an installer, basically debt free and on the edge of profitability.
The problem with his go slow approach, is that somebody may pass us up.
I'm hoping for this year.
We have gone in a couple of years from no product with about a million or 2, to a company worth about $65M
Imagine, the coal companies worth billions a few years ago, now we are worth 2x some of those companies.
It seems soooo slow, but in reality, there have been HUGE changes in the company in just a couple of years...
It has me up from a few hundred $$$$ to thousands. It actually has me on a "free ride" now. After the company went6 up about 10X I sold 25% where I'm on "their money". And I actually have a "portfolio" of CABN and SLTD..... All on their money+ a small profit....
Being on a free ride has helped with my patience. Thanks TJS for suggesting selling that 25%...
It also haloed to sell another 10% this year to see a little REAL MONEY. Ok, it was only $400, but it was SOMETHING....

Next on the list:
1) Fresno
2) Cell commercialization person......
____________________________
2 months of Elite in 4th QTR

It's worth it!

http://www.elitesolarca.com
SLTD 3.55 0.00% 3.80 3.95

India wants to install 75GW by 2022.
That like 270,000,000 solar panels.
If we can cut that inn half using "the cell" how much could we collect on that? Hundreds of millions. And that is JUST INDIA.... Add China ETC!
Hundreds of millions of $$$$

Bid | Size 3.56 | 400
Ask | Size 3.57 | 100
All that it takes is a few hundred dollars to move this puppy......
Bid | Size 3.58 | 200
Ask | Size 3.60 | 100

3,63 put us up 1.54% for the year! Weeee!
https://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1439323200000&chddm=98532&chls=IntervalBasedLine&q=NASDAQ:SLTD&&fct=big&ei=jxHKVeDlJ9SNmAGG-72QDw

You CAN be both. A trader and a long. With the volatility in the stock making a few pennies here and there will end up with many dollars......

I agree. It's easier for some of us because we are from the 1¢ days. So we are all up. But in the last year we have improved everything but the PPS. It is beginning to look like the only way to make money is flipping.
Sometimes we wonder, if the company is making so much money. management is making money, why aren't we?
Yes, it's beginning to look like selling on the news type of situation.... Using good judgment of course.
Don't tell them what you are doing as they tend to hate flippers here...

The Triumph of Solar in the Energy Race
by 3p Contributor on Tuesday, Aug 11th, 2015
http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/08/the-triumph-of-solar-in-the-energy-race/
By L Hunter Lovins

We stand on the cusp of the biggest transformation of our lives.
Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on Unreasonable.is. http://unreasonable.is/triumph-of-the-sun/

Humanity is in a horse race against catastrophe. The bad news is all around us from loss of species to global warming, social fragmentation, and growing inequality. The good news is that we’re in the race.

And we might just be winning. The speed with which renewable energy, especially solar, is growing means we can solve the climate crisis, create jobs, reinvigorate manufacturing and buy the time needed to do the more fundamental work of implementing the Regenerative Economy – an economy in service to life.

Solar
In the last year, the chronology of change has been inspiring. In June 2014, Citi Group released its Energy Darwinism report, warning of the “alarming fall in the price of solar.”
https://www.citivelocity.com/citigps/ReportSeries.action?recordId=21
Alarming to whom? Citi stated that this was now the Era of Renewables, predicting that within 10 years solar, even without subsidies, would be the cheapest way to generate electricity.

The September 2014 report by the CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) https://www.cdp.net/CDPResults/CDP-SP500-leaders-report-2014.pdf reaffirmed the business case for sustainability that Natural Capitalism Solutions pioneered. Its Climate Action and Profitability study showed that companies that integrate sustainability into their business strategies outperform those who fail to show such leadership. Companies that are managing their carbon emissions and are planning for climate change enjoy 18 percent higher returns on their investment than companies that aren’t, and 67 percent higher than companies that refuse to disclose their emissions.

In January 2015, Deutsche Bank analyst, Vishal Shah, predicted that rooftop solar will be the cheapest electricity option for everyone in the U.S. by 2016. http://cleantechnica.com/2015/01/14/deutsche-bank-predicts-solar-grid-parity-80-global-market-2017/

Only one month later Agora Energiewende, a German think-tank, reported that solar electricity was already a low-cost renewable energy technology in many regions of the world and stated that by 2026 it will be the cheapest form of electricity everywhere. It described how large-scale photovoltaic installations in Germany fell from over 40 cents per kilowatt-hour (c/kWh) in 2005 to 9 cents per kWh in 2014, with even lower prices reported in sunnier regions of the world.

Even with no technological breakthroughs, the report http://www.agora-energiewende.org/topics/optimisation-of-the-overall-system/detail-view/article/solar-energy-emerging-as-cheapest-power-source-in-many-parts-of-the-world/ concluded that there is no end to cost reduction, with costs of 4 to 6 cents per kWh (competitive with just the running cost of a natural gas plant) expected by 2025, and 2 to 4 cents per kWh by 2050. At that price, solar will compete with energy efficiency. The study warned, “Most scenarios underestimate the role of solar power in future energy systems.”

That price was achieved for utility scale solar four months later when Austin, Texas, announced that the utility had “received offers for 7,976 megawatts of projects after issuing a request for bids in April. Out of those bids, 1,295 megawatts of projects were priced below 4 cents per kilowatt-hour.”

Change is happening fast
In March 2015, Bloomberg Business http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-26/california-just-had-a-stunning-increase-in-solar reported that, from 2013 to 2014, California went from utility-scale solar installations supplying 1.9 percent of its electricity to 5 percent. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi issued a report stating that solar energy is on track to achieve grid parity in 80 percent of countries within the next two years.

In April 2015, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/fossil-fuels-just-lost-the-race-against-renewables Michael Liebreich of Bloomberg New Energy announced: “Fossil fuel just lost the race with renewables … The world is now adding more capacity for renewable power each year than coal, natural gas, and oil combined. And there’s no going back.”

In June, 2015, http://ieefa.org/global-energy-markets/ The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis warned of slowing demand for coal and rapidly rising investment in renewables. Tim Buckley, the Institute’s director of energy finance stated: “Globally, 2014 was the year of the renewable energy installation juggernaut … Wherever you look around the globe, be it China, India, Europe or the U.S., the trend of a rapidly-expanding renewable energy industry is the same. 2015 will inevitably see this gather pace.”

He’s right. South Africa http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/south-africa-doubles-down-on-renewables-with-plans-for-6-3gw-auction-49192 is using solar and wind to meet its capacity shortfalls cheaper and faster than new coal or nuclear facilities could. This saved the country $69 million in 2014, created jobs and increased local industrial capacity. With proposed coal plants on hold because of soaring costs, South Africa commissioned 79 renewable energy projects, totaling more than 1 gigawatt. That is roughly a nuclear power plant-sized chunk of capacity, but a new nuclear plant would take 10 years to build and would cost $6 per watt, according to one recent estimate. Coal, long thought of as dirt cheap, comes at $2.30 per watt. Top Chinese http://www.solarreviews.com/news/top-chinese-manufacturers-will-produce-solar-panels-for-42-cents-per-watt-in-2015/ manufacturers are producing solar panels for 42 cents per watt.

South Africa’s renewable capacity http://www.rechargenews.com/wind/1397249/south-africa-plans-to-procure-63gw-more-re-in-future-rounds will hit 5.24 GW in 2015, up from nothing in 2012, with another 6.3 GW to be commissioned in 2015. No fossil technology can scale this quickly.

Across the Atlantic, Brazil’s commitment to biofuels http://www.rechargenews.com/solar/1387554/2015-OUTLOOK-Brazil-gets-serious-about-solar and hydroelectricity made it independent of imported oil in 2006. Since 2009, Brazil has added solar and wind energy, contracting 14 GW of wind power at prices below any other option. In 2014, at prices only a bit higher, Brazil also brought on almost 1 GW of solar energy. As a severe drought drives Brazil’s electricity prices higher, industries eager for access to reliable and affordable power are turning to renewables that do not require dams and abundant rainfall.

The biggest user of energy, China, http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/44202.wss is becoming the world’s renewable energy powerhouse. Growing its installed solar capacity by 20-fold within only four years, China went from a capacity of 0.30 GW in 2009 to 13 GW by 2013 and is now preparing to install 17.8 GW of new solar energy for 2015.

China burns a lot of coal, but its Green Horizons program has committed to clean the air in its cities and cut carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent from 2005 levels within the next five years.

The IEEFA study agrees: http://ieefa.org/global-energy-markets/ “While real economic growth in China exceeded 7 percent, electricity demand grew by less than 4 percent.” Rapid supply diversification saw China’s coal consumption decline 2 percent and coal imports fall by 11 percent in 2014. China’s coal demand will permanently peak by 2016 and decline thereafter, the report predicts. In the first three months of 2015, Chinese coal imports fell by 42 percent from a year before.
Profound global transformation
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/13/chinas-coal-imports-fall-nearly-half-in-12-months-as-anti-pollution-drive-bites%20[article%20removed%20from%20Guardian%20site%20–%20try%20Reuters]%20or%20http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/238583-chinas-coal-imports-drop-by-nearly-half
The transformation has only begun. The 2015 China 2050
http://www.rff.org/Documents/Events/150420-Zhongying-ChinaEnergyRoadmap-Slides.pdf High Renewable Energy Penetration Scenario and Roadmap study found that renewable energy could economically provide China the majority of its energy by 2050. In July 2015, Wang Yimin, representing the State Grid Corporation of China, told the United Nations Global Compact meeting on pricing carbon that by 2050 China would be 80 percent renewable.

Tesla is now valued http://www.teslamotors.com/gigafactory at half the market capitalization of General Motors, despite selling 300 times fewer cars. Why? Tesla is not a car company; it’s a battery company. With cheap and ubiquitous batteries, solar and wind become firm power and can replace all fossil power plants. This is, in part, why over 100 companies have already committed to go 100 percent renewably powered.

Traditional utility companies face the Death Spiral. http://www.natcapsolutions.org/publications_files/brittlepower.htm. Their old business model of building large fossil plants is no longer a viable model. Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu stated: “The utilities are in danger of getting ‘Fed-Exed’ just like the Post office got ‘Fed-Exed’ as roof-top solar modules drop in price.” In Europe, where feed-in tariffs allow farmers, cooperatives, communities and citizens to make money from installing renewable energy, RWE and Eon, two of the biggest European utilities have divested of ownership in fossil and nuclear facilities, declaring themselves to be distributed renewables companies, after losing 60 percent and 91 percent profits respectively in the first nine months of 2014.

Most utilities, however, still fight the transition. And fossil energy is still heavily subsidized. The recent IMF figure puts annual support for energy at $5.3 trillion or 6.5 percent of global GDP. This amounts to $10 million a minute and exceeds all spending in the world for health care.

What can you do?
Your daily choices say what your values truly are. Have you invested in solar for your home? Companies from Sun Edison to SolarCity to Sungevity will install it on your home — no money down. Or if you have the ability to finance it, own your own electricity system. It’s what I have done at my ranch.

Get active politically. Although the dramatic progress in renewable energy has required entrepreneurs and companies working in the private sector, good public policy is essential if we are to implement what we know how to do in energy efficiency and renewable energy fast enough to escape the worst ravages of climate change.

Germany, hardly the country you would first think of to be a leader in solar energy, became so because advocates like Hermann Sheer and politicians like Ernst Ulrich von Weizaecker formulated and implemented Germany’s feed-in tariff and Energiewende. Without such policy, Germany, the same latitude as Labrador, would not now occasionally get up to half of its energy from the sun. It aims to get 45 percent from renewablesfull time by 2050. Similarly, the Chinese clean energy surge is driven by the government’s commitment to clean its air, deliver abundant affordable energy for development, and support domestic industry.

Much of the best renewables programs in the United States are run by municipal utilities, with the investor owned utilities having to be dragged kicking and screaming into the solar age. In Boulder, Colorado, the citizen’s voted to become their own utility so that they could move away from Xcel Energy’s commitment to coal and implement 100% renewable power.

Divestment matters
Perhaps the most powerful thing that you can do personally is to divest. The Boulder, Colorado-based financial advisory company, Principium, has built what may be the first truly fossil fuel free portfolio, using the principles of the Regenerative Economy to pick companies in which people concerned about building a finer future would want to invest.

The Union of Concerned Scientists study, The Climate Deception Dossiers, showed that for decades the oil and coal companies have conducted a coordinated campaign to spread climate disinformation and block climate action to protect its profits.

How can you fight such power and money? You can take yours out.

As John Fullerton puts it, all investment has impact. His description of the risk of carbon bubbles and stranded assets sets forth fundamentals that should guide investors in the age of climate crisis.

How money is invested — whether by companies, by colleges, or by you — determines whether we trash the planet or save it.

The Oxford’s Stranded Assets Programme’s report concluded: “Divestment outflows, even when relatively meagre in the first wave of divestment, can significantly and permanently depress stock price of a target firm if they trigger a change in market norms.”

Peabody Coal’s recent filing with the SEC warned that, “Divestment could significantly affect demand for our product.” One analyst observed, “Shares in Peabody, the world’s biggest private-sector coal company, have sunk 84 percent since 2010. Its debt has slipped to three rungs below investment grade. The company lost $525 million in 2013 and hemorrhaged $787 million in 2014.”

Bank of America stated in May 2015 that coal mining companies pose an increasingly risky investment: “Going forward, Bank of America will continue to reduce our credit exposure to coal extraction companies.” It also committed to increasing lending to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and carbon capture and storage. The spokeswoman said the bank’s renewable energy portfolio was currently more than three times as large as its coal extraction portfolio.

Coal stocks are an increasingly risky investment. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates coal stocks have lost 50 to 90 percent of their value since 2005. Trading at $60 a share in 2011, Peabody Coal traded 1 July 2015 at $1.68.

“Coal companies’ underperformance against the global equity market is unprecedented,” said IEEFA’s Tim Buckley. “A more than 50 percent decline in coal prices has seen most listed coal companies globally lose 80 to 90 percent of their equity market value in the last four years. While the sun will undoubtedly rise for renewable energy in 2015, for coal, there remains a lot further to fall.”

Oil has not performed much better. A Financial Times article from 2013 described the performance of international oil and gas companies as “lamentable from a shareholder perspective” over the last decade. Since June 2014, big oil has lost $200 billion.

Not surprisingly, evidence is pouring in that fossil-free portfolios have been outperforming fossil heavy ones. FTSE’s North American fossil fuel-free index has consistently outperformed the conventional benchmark index. In an analysis earlier this month, the stock market index company MSCI found that fossil-free funds have earned a higher return than conventional ones in the last five years.

Ellen Dorsey, founder of the divestment movement hits it on the head when she says, “If you own fossil, you own climate change.”

That also means you own all of its impacts — from fires and floods, melting glaciers and droughts, rising sea levels and acidifying oceans, to failing crops. Investors now realize that they stand to lose trillions of dollars from the value of their holdings if climate change continues unchecked.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way
Whatever you do, understand that getting involved is key to crafting a finer future. The International Energy Agency reported in early 2015 that the world’s efforts to limit carbon emissions has begun to work. For the first time in 40 years, global carbon emissions from the energy sector stalled and began to decline.

Interesting Site.
At the bottom of the page you can check your SUN HOURS for your location in the lower 48....
http://www.solarenergybyzip.com

Not trying to feed the animals, But 1 YR we are down 11%.....
https://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1439280433674&chddm=98532&chls=IntervalBasedLine&q=NASDAQ:SLTD&&fct=big&ei=MK3JVdmjMJe1mAG-mJygAw
______________________________
Off topic. But interesting tonight is the Perseid Meteor Shower
Perseids Peak This Week in One of the Brightest Meteor Showers of the Year
her.com Staff Writer
August 11, 2015; 2:51 AM ET
The peak of the Perseid meteor shower, a favorite among astronomy fans, is set for the nights of Aug. 11-12 and favorable viewing conditions are in store across the Plains and the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys.
"It's one of the two best annual meteor showers, and the only one that happens during warm weather," Slooh Astronomer Bob Berman said.
The Perseids is a favorite among stargazers due to these meteors being brighter than most showers, according to Slooh, a community observatory that has connected telescopes to the Internet for public use.
The Perseids will peak when Earth passes the thickest part of the debris stream on Aug. 11-12. Slooh stated that in a clear, dark sky as many as 60 meteors can be seen in an hour. With a new moon on Aug. 14, skies will be dark all night, providing excellent viewing conditions.
The Perseids are similar to most meteor showers in that they are simply dust-sized pieces of icy debris expelled from a comet, according to Slooh.
Berman stated that the best time to view the Perseids would be after midnight both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. He added that "people away from cities should see one a minute starting at midnight both nights; but city dwellers will only see the brightest ones, reducing the number to maybe one every 10 minutes. Also, an open area of sky is best. Don't just try to peek between trees or buildings."
Stargazers who will encounter inclement weather or cloudy skies can view Slooh's live broadcast of the meteor shower below starting at 8 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12.
For observers across New England, an area of low pressure will bring clouds and thunderstorms during the meteor shower, resulting in poor viewing conditions, stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Jordan Root.
"Farther south across the mid-Atlantic, clouds from this system may clear out in time for viewers to catch a glimpse of the nighttime sky, but folks along the Southeast coast will not be so lucky," Root said.

A storm system bringing clouds to the central High Plains could disrupt viewing conditions at times, but not all night.
"The best viewing conditions will certainly be across the Plains, Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and into the Tennessee Valley as a large area of high pressure will keep clouds away," Root said.
Root added that clear skies will be present across most of the West and southern Plains, making for excellent viewing conditions.
"Perseids are reliable, and one-third of them leave behind lingering "trains" that glow for a second or two after the meteor is gone," Berman said.
The first recorded observation of the Perseids was taken by Chinese astronomers in 36 A.D.

Solar demand is going to sky-rocket!
Solar undercuts coal in India
We need that 3D cell!
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/solar-undercuts-coal-in-india-as-another-bank-quits-adani-mega-mine-42984
This week, the second nail – and arguably, the far more serious threat to Adani’s mega-coal mine development – comes in a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, which predicts a rapid decline in coal imports to India – 20 per cent a year, effectively starting now – due largely to a changing energy market where new solar generation is already cheaper than that from coal.

There IEEFA report notes that the tariffs agreed for solar in the July 2015 Telangana and Madhya Pradesh state solar tenders were around 1 rupee/kWh cheaper than electricity from imported thermal coal and fixed for 25 years, which would result in a considerable deflationary impact.

“With falling prices of solar, imported coal has become the most expensive source of incremental electricity generation,” said Jai Sharda, the report co author and a financial expert from Equatorial research.

The installation of 175GW of renewable energy – equivalent to three times the electricity capacity of Australia – is one of a number of key policy initiatives that will enable the rapid transformation.

“As momentum builds, the Indian electricity market is rapidly pivoting toward a significantly higher reliance on renewable energy and energy efficiency,” said Sharda.

In July alone, the IEEFA report notes, there have been eight major deals, with the single biggest international endorsement being SoftBanks’ $US20 billion, 20GW solar joint venture.

Facilitated by a $US50 billion grid upgrade, solar electricity is key, with IEEFA forecasting installs of 75GW by 2021/22 capable of delivering 110TWh, or 22 per cent of the required electricity increase.

“India is replicating Germany’s and China’s systematic electricity sector transformation, with the added advantage that the cost effectiveness of this is accentuated by the fact that the price of solar electricity has dropped by 80 per cent in five years,” said Tim Buckley, director of Energy Finance Studies at IEEFA.

“While many commodity forecasters have assumed Indian imports will continue to grow, as a result of the transformation, IEEFA forecasts a peak in Indian thermal coal imports in 2015, with a rapid ~20 per cent pa decline thereafter, says the report.

“The profound transformation announced in 2014 by the Indian government is gaining momentum,” said Buckley. “While most financial commentators have questioned India’s capacity to deliver, all sign are pointing towards success.”
____________________________________________
http://www.rtcc.org/2015/08/10/australian-coal-is-no-answer-to-indias-energy-needs/
India’s population of 1.24 billion comprises 247 million households, 68% of whom live in rural villages. According to the 2011 Census, 45% of these rural households — 75 million— have no electricity. Of urban households, 6 million remain without electricity, or about 8% of the total.

These figures have not changed appreciably since 2001, though around 95,000 MW of new largely coal-based electricity generation capacity was added during the intervening decade.

In other words, the benefits of adding new generation capacity accrued largely to the existing, affluent consumers.

There are a number of reasons why this is the case.

In the rural areas, many remote villages are beyond the reach of the electricity grid. There are also many families in electrified villages who cannot pay for expensive electricity.

Studies have shown that when a village is more than 5 km from the grid, the cost of supplying electricity from solar and other off-grid solutions is far below the costs of supplying from conventional sources such as coal.

This is due to the high cost of building out the poles and wires to provide access to coal electricity and the technical losses involved in transmitting and distributing electricity to the consumers.

Charge for the grid? EVEN IF YOU DON'T USE IT!!!!!!!!!!
Networks propose compulsory fees for all – to stop grid defections
By Giles Parkinson on 5 August 2015
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/networks-propose-compulsory-fees-for-all-to-stop-grid-defections-28523
The main lobby group for electricity network operators in Australia is pushing for compulsory connection fees for all homes and businesses – even if they are not connected to the grid – and penalties for those who choose to disconnect, as part of a last-ditch effort to protect their declining revenue streams.
The Energy Networks Association says the proposals are deliberately calibrated to stop people from leaving the grid, and kicking off what is often described as the “death spiral”, as the networks seek to recover lost revenues from those consumers who remain.

The change to a decentralised grid, based around solar and storage rather than big centralised generation, is seen as inevitable, and many analysts say that networks – which in Australia account for more than half of most bills following a massive ($45 billion) and questionable spending splurge in recent years – will have to change the way they do business, or even write down the value of their assets.

But the networks are digging in, refusing to countenance write-downs, and now want consumers to pay for the networks whether they use them or not. Alternatively, they want any households that leave the grid to pay their “historic” share of grid capacity as a penalty for leaving.

Grid defection is likely to become a real option for many consumers, because of the huge falls in the cost of rooftop solar PV, and the falling cost of battery storage. Soaring network fees and rising fixed charges is reducing the pay-back for solar-only installations, but is likely to encourage more battery storage.

As well, many households currently receiving high solar tariffs – such as the 160,000 households in NSW – are looking to battery storage to avoid the situation where they are exporting their solar power back to the grid for little or no compensation.

The networks are worried that, as network fees continue to rise and battery storage and solar costs continue to fall, it could be economic for individual households and businesses to quit the grid altogether, rather than pay high fixed charges.

Some analysts say this could happen within years, driven by technology breakthroughs, and the mass-market uptake of battery storage caused by new arrivals such as the Tesla PowerWall. They say it will be accelerated by the recent moves to lift network charges, and to increase the fixed component of those charges, meaning that consumers that use less electricity get hit twice as hard.

To try to stop this, the networks have presented five options to try to shore up the revenues of the networks.

The proposals include:

1. higher fees for connection to the grid, which it argues would “reduce the risk of future stranded assets”.

2. Exit fees, which would charge customers leaving the grid equivalent to their “historic share of network capacity”.

3. Compulsory “rates” style fees that would charge network fees to all homes and businesses regardless of whether they used the grid or not. “This would recognise the broad community benefit of a ubiquitous grid to all (whether individual users take advantage of the opportunity to connect or not),” the ENA argues. It says it would “potentially avoid inequitable outcomes where some users sought to ‘exit’ the grid, placing an increased burden on those customers remaining connected.”

4. Increase network charges to “compensate for future stranding risks”. In other words, charge more now in case the networks suffered revenue falls later. This would be done through calculations of cost of capital, but these charges flow through to consumers.

5. Offer tax advantages such as faster depreciation.

The proposals are likely to be fiercely resisted by consumers, consumer groups and the solar and battery storage industry. Already, the industry is complaining that higher fixed charges, and the introduction of “demand tariffs” in some states are part of a deliberate ploy to make the uptake of rooftop solar unattractive.

Wind Energy just git a record low of 2 1/2¢ per KWH
And the price is falling....
Solar is dropping and so is storage.....
SLTD just hit a record residential installation month...
Wind energy is in a boom....
Time is on the side of renewables.....

It's a lottery ticket.
I sold HYSR 1 day before it rallied 3200% Grrr!
No doubt that BSRC could go back to 8¢
Also could rally big too....
You have a personal decision..... We plan on sticking with our little amount......

The competition is doing good! (Wind)
Wind energy cost in US at an all-time low, averaging under 2.5¢/kWh
Wind energy pricing is at an all-time low, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The prices offered by wind projects to utility purchasers averaged under 2.5¢/kWh for projects negotiating contracts in 2014, spurring demand for wind energy.

“Wind energy prices–particularly in the central United States–have hit new lows, with utilities selecting wind as the low cost option,” Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist Ryan Wiser said. “Moreover, enabled by technology advancements, wind projects are economically viable in a growing number of locations throughout the U.S.”

Key findings from the U.S. Department of Energy’s latest “Wind Technologies Market Report” include:

A new algorithm improves the efficiency of small wind turbines
Wind is a credible source of new electricity generation in the United States. Wind power capacity additions in the United States rebounded in 2014, with $8.3 billion invested in 4.9 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity additions. Wind power has comprised 33% of all new U.S. electric capacity additions since 2007. Wind power currently meets almost 5% of the nation’s electricity demand, and represents more than 12% of total electricity generation in nine states, and more than 20% in three states.
Turbine scaling is enhancing wind project performance. Since 1998-99, the average nameplate capacity of wind turbines installed in the United States has increased by 172% (to 1.9 MW in 2014), the average turbine hub height has increased by 48% (to 83 meters), and the average rotor diameter has increased by 108% (to 99 meters). This substantial scaling has enabled wind project developers to economically build projects in lower wind-speed sites, and is driving capacity factors higher for projects located in various wind resource regimes. Moreover, turbines originally designed for lower wind speeds are now regularly deployed in higher wind speed sites, further boosting project performance.
Low wind turbine pricing continues to push down installed project costs. Wind turbine prices have fallen 20% to 40% from their highs back in 2008, and these declines are pushing project-level costs down. Wind projects built in 2014 had an average installed cost of $1,710/kW, down almost $600/kW from the peak in 2009 and 2010.
Wind energy prices have reached all-time lows, improving the economic competitiveness of wind. Lower wind turbine prices and installed project costs, along with improvements in expected capacity factors, are enabling aggressive wind power pricing. After topping out at nearly 7¢/kWh in 2009, the average levelized long-term price from wind power sales agreements signed in 2014 fell to just 2.35¢/kWh–the lowest-ever average price in the U.S. market, though admittedly focused on a sample of projects that largely hail from the lowest-priced central region of the country. The continued decline in average wind prices, along with a bit of a rebound in wholesale power prices, put wind below the bottom of the range of nationwide wholesale power prices in 2014. Wind energy contracts executed in 2014 also compare very favorably to a range of projections of the fuel costs of gas-fired generation extending out through 2040. These low prices have spurred demand for wind energy, both from traditional electric utilities and also, increasingly, from commercial customers.
The manufacturing supply chain continued to adjust to swings in domestic demand for wind equipment. Wind sector employment increased from 50,500 in 2013 to 73,000 in 2014. Moreover, the profitability of turbine suppliers has generally rebounded over the last two years, after a number of years in decline. For wind projects recently installed in the U.S., domestically made content is highest for nacelle assembly (>90%), towers (70-80%), and blades and hubs (45-65%), but is much lower (<20%) for most components internal to the nacelle. Exports of wind-powered generating sets from the United States rose from $16 million in 2007 to $488 million in 2014; tower exports equaled $116 million in 2014. Despite the significant growth in the domestic supply chain over the last decade, however, far more domestic manufacturing facilities closed in 2014 than opened. With an uncertain domestic market after 2016, some manufacturers have been hesitant to commit additional long-term resources to the U.S. market.
Berkeley Lab’s contributions to this report were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

YES!

This is helping us win!

Just a reminder.. 11 days (9 trading days) until Aug 20.....
So potentials...
1). Marketing person for the Cell
B). New Acquisition
III). Fresno
Sell and wait? No way.
IF I would be doing any flipping, it would only last hours. Never overnight.

ENA Tackles Grid Defection Threat
http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/ena-grid-defection-em4973/
August 6, 2015Energy Matters
The Energy Networks Association may have just made itself a very unpopular organisation among energy-efficient and solar households in Australia.
Big Energy is in big trouble.
Pushed by higher power prices and acting on increasing environmental awareness, millions of Australians have been taking action to reduce their electricity bills; by becoming more energy-efficient and/or installing solar power systems.
Fed up with their treatment by the incumbents, many Australians may also take the next step of installing battery storage and ditching the grid altogether.
The time has long passed since Big Energy finished laughing at solar.
Even the most cynical power network execs appear to be trembling in their boots as to what power to, for and by the people means.
The Energy Networks Association, which represents electricity transmission and distribution businesses throughout Australia, has offered some options that would discourage Aussie battlers taking power back into their own hands; but acknowledged some of them would be rather unpalatable.
The organisation says changes in demand, technology and cost conditions make the assumption future consumers will kick in for capital costs of long-lived power infrastructure less certain.
Some of these capital costs have been called “gold-plating” in the past. In 2012, then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard pointed out $11 billion in infrastructure caters for peak events “that last for barely four days per year”. Today, more than 1.4 million home solar power systems are helping take the edge off such events.
It seems the fear is that there will be fewer customers to enable the networks to continue being profitable. It’s a real fear, but one that may have been self-inflicted. Of course, the profits can still be made regardless, but perhaps financed by bigger bills for end-users – electricity customers.
A new report from the ENA titled “Future Network Cost Recovery And Depreciation” provides some rather chilling options.

Among them is a network exit fee – leave the grid and be penalised. Another is to charge based not on usage, but on access to the grid; i.e. if the necessary electricity infrastructure runs past a premises, customers would be charged whether they are connected to the mains grid or not. Another recommendation is to charge for possible future losses preemptively.
In a statement that would even make Captain Obvious cringe, the ENA has acknowledged some of the recommendations are “likely to encounter resistance” and another recommendation regarding flexible depreciation tools may be a better option.
The ENA is suggesting changes be made soon.
“Just as households can both save and have greater flexibility by paying off a home loan early, network customers as a whole may benefit by bringing forward the recovery of investment costs during the current phase of lower financing costs.”
The options are by no means a done deal. Aside from anything else, the ENA will possibly have the reactions of many of the 1.4 million Australian solar households to contend with. Collectively, Australia’s solar households could have a huge amount of clout if they band together under organisations such as Solar Citizens.
The ENA represents (among others) ActewAGL, Endeavour Energy, Ausgrid, Essential Energy, Transgrid, Energex, Ergon, SA Power Networks and TasNetworks.
http://www.energymatters.com.au/residential-solar/battery-storage/
http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/em3328/
http://www.solarcitizens.org.au

It may be not be about SLTD but the SE/NASCAR tie-up can give a boost to Solar Power....
SunEdison + NASCAR = Solar Hi-Tech Teamup
August 8th, 2015 by Tina Casey

Originally published on Gas2.

NASCAR is awash in tradition when it comes to pushing the limits of stock car performance, but that hasn’t stopped the US auto racing organization from latching on to emerging cleantech hand over fist. In the latest move, NASCAR has just announced its first official Solar Energy Partner. That would be the world’s largest solar energy developer, SunEdison, which is now tasked with engaging fans, racing teams, suppliers, and track owners in solar energy.

The official announcement of the new solar energy partnership was thin on details, but last Friday SunEdison Senior VP Vikas Desai graciously made some time with Gas2.org on the phone to fill in some of the blanks.
The SunEdison/NASCAR Solar Partnership

According to Desai, the new partnership builds on the success of an earlier endeavor, in which SunEdison made itself a presence at the Sonoma Raceway NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) venue in California.

SunEdison gave fans the opportunity to sign up for solar energy right at the racetrack, and the response was strong enough to warrant bumping it to the next level.

For the new partnership, SunEdison will expand its outreach to fans at NASCAR tracks. The company will also work with track owners to build new relationships for its cutting-edge solar technology.

The ripple effect really kicks in regarding another element of the arrangement, in which SunEdison anticipates working with other NASCAR partners.

That will bring the solar energy message deep into the NASCAR supply chain, enabling the solar message to spread into new territory.

“Trying to have a big impact is the idea,” says Desai.

Working with NASCAR could also lead to new initiatives with NASCAR partners that are already involved in sustainability action.

Coca-Cola, for example, is the official soft drink of NASCAR, and among its other activities, the Coca-Cola Company is involved in watershed and habitat preservation in the US and elsewhere. That could result in some interesting interplay with SunEdison’s solar water pump solution for farmers in underdeveloped communities.

Another example is NASCAR’s partnership with ACORE, the American Council on Renewable Energy. Sponsored by Lockheed-Martin, the partnership aims at training the up-and-coming workforce for skilled jobs in the clean energy sector.



Why NASCAR?

Most major US sports organizations have been engaging fans in sustainability issues to one degree or another, but NASCAR appears to have the most comprehensive program in the form of its “NASCAR Green” initiative.

“First of all, we were really impressed with the NASCAR Green approach,” says Desai. “It’s a combination of renewable energy, recycling, and clean air.”

In addition to providing an umbrella for more than 60 “green” suppliers and other partners, NASCAR Green provides a platform for far-ranging fan outreach programs that could dovetail with solar energy. Some examples are highlighting electric vehicles through the Obama Administration’s Workplace Charging Challenge, and recruiting alternative fuel vehicles — Ford’s Focus EV and Toyotai’s Mirai hydrogen fuel cell EV — to serve as pace cars.

Also favoring the new partnership, NASCAR venue owners have already begun installing solar. Our sister site CleanTechnica took note when the Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania gave its parking lot a solar makeover. Several other tracks are now sporting solar panels, giving fans an up-close look at the technology.

According to Desai, that kind of first-hand experience can have a significant effect on a homeowner’s willingness to try solar. To sweeten the pot, new financing instruments enable individuals to get rooftop installations with no out-of-pocket expenses, paying only for the energy they use:

If an employer has rooftop solar, it has quite an impact on solar penetration among employees. The validation is having solar at the racetrack. The individual homeowner can see that someone else has gone ahead and done the research. They can see how easy it is for the customer. Now, there is no risk.

NASCAR’s own fan research backs this up, as Desai notes:

The research shows that four out of five NASCAR fans see climate change as an issue, and two out of three want to do something about it, such as recycling or installing solar. These are amazing numbers.

The Message From SunEdison

With the NASCAR partnership, SunEdison hopes that the coast-to-coast, broad appeal of stock car racing will hammer home the message that everyone is affected by climate change, that Americans have to rally together to take action as a nation, and that ordinary individuals can also act for themselves, and transition to using safer and more sustainable forms of energy.

We’re betting that, as the 2016 presidential race heats up, candidates (such as this guy) will be aiming to pump up their “ordinary” appeal by visiting NASCAR venues.

Given the SunEdison partnership on top of all the many other NASCAR green initiatives, it looks like the presidential hopefuls will be pumping up their renewable energy image as well — whether they like it or not.

He DID hit that an acquisition was very close.
Then Aug 20th...
nice to be loaded with good news....

Kinda makes us sound terrible... Headline says we missed...
Solar3D (SLTD) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.06 EPS
Posted by Joseph Griffin on Aug 6th, 2015 // No Comments
Solar3D (NASDAQ:SLTD) announced its quarterly earningsresults on Thursday. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06, MarketBeat.Com reports. The firm had revenue of $11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10 million.
In other news, Director Mark J. Richardson acquired 12,521 shares of Solar3D stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.35 per share, for a total transaction of $54,466.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Abraham Richard Emard sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.01, for a total transaction of $78,195.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.
Shares of Solar3D (NASDAQ:SLTD) traded down 2.61% during trading on Thursday, hitting $4.10. 578,523 shares of the stock were exchanged. Solar3D has a 12-month low of $2.46 and a 12-month high of $8.88. The stock’s market cap is $72.65 million. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.50 and a 200 day moving average of $4.08.
Solar3D, Inc., is a development-stage company. The Company is engaged in the business of developing and marketing a three-dimensional (NASDAQ:SLTD) solar cell technology to maximize the conversion of sunlight into electricity. In February 2014, Solar3D Inc acquired Solar United Networks, Inc., a provider of solar systems.