CSKH - waiting for the sun to shine
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Nevada's boom ends in record number of empty homes
By CRISTINA SILVA, Associated Press – Tue Mar 15, 12:29 pm ET
LAS VEGAS – The promise of palm tree groves and low-priced real estate lured Alan and Katherine Ackerly across the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Nevada in 2004, where thousands of new houses beckoned brightly as any neon sign.
They came to buy their retirement home. But the real estate bust took its toll, with a flood of short sales and foreclosures in the market, and last month the Ackerly's dream home was foreclosed on, too.
"I pretty much gave it back to them," said Alan Ackerly, a 57-year-old electrician who stopped paying his mortgage because he owed more than the house was worth.
The Ackerly's home is now among a swelling number of abandoned houses in Nevada. There were 167,564 empty houses in the state last year, according to newly released U.S. Census data, more than double the number in 2000. The number of vacant homes represents about one out of every seven houses across Nevada.
The figures are another striking example of how the housing crisis has pummeled Nevada, casting a new light on the severely weakened market after years of boom.
One result is an increase in code violations. In Clark County, home to Las Vegas, such complaints nearly doubled from 2008 to 2009 and the median price of resale homes dropped to $115,000 in January.
Neighbors call to complain of abandoned houses, stagnant pools, wild yards and unsecured doors, said Joe Boteilho, the county's code enforcement chief. But the neighborhoods of newly constructed homes are not facing the same blatant signs of disrepair seen in other foreclosure-ravaged states such as Florida, Michigan and California.
It has been a deep plunge for Nevada. Once a leader in job creation and construction, the state had the highest foreclosure rate in the country in January. Delinquent mortgages, meanwhile, are on the rise, with Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City all in the top eight cities per capita in a national real estate study published last month.
More than 16 percent of Nevadans relocated to new residences within the state in 2008 alone, the highest mobility rate in the nation, the Census data shows.
"We were the hottest market in the nation in terms of the shape of the bubble, how fast it went up," said Nasser Daneshvary, director of the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "And, of course, when something goes up, it comes down hard, too."
The growth fueled by tourism and the gaming industry has yielded few winners. Short sales and foreclosures have slashed homes prices, ravaged neighborhoods and fueled unemployment in the construction sector, one of Nevada's primary industries. The jobless rate is 14.2 percent, and the state's estimated budget gap starts at $1.5 billion.
In Fernley, the fastest growing city in Nevada from 2000 to 2010, the only sign of construction in recent months was a new Walgreens and a Catholic church. One in 49 homes is in foreclosure.
"It was just very explosive," said Mayor LeRoy Goodman. "We hit bottom."
This in what was once the land of plenty. The expansion of glass towers and sprawling casinos on the Las Vegas Strip saw a 3.8 percent unemployment rate statewide in the beginning of 2000. Over the next decade, Nevada would grow by 35 percent, the fastest rate in the nation.
Men and women in hard hats carved homes into mountainsides, raised superstores from the dust and wedged plush golf courses into the desert. The state's residential properties grew by more than 40 percent to 1.17 million homes during those years, affording Nevada the youngest housing stock in the country in 2009, according to the Census data. In Clark County, the school district saw an average of 10 new schools a year at its peak growth.
As houses and condominium towers rose from the ground, so did prices. The median home price went from $150,000 to $300,000 between 2000 and 2007, according to a University of Nevada, Las Vegas study.
"It was a new town," said Dennis Smith, president of Home Builders Research, a Las Vegas real estate firm. "There was money everywhere. Everyone wanted to invest in Vegas."
The state's growing wealth and relaxed lending practices allowed workers with limited incomes to gain home ownership. In many cases, these were the same people who later faced foreclosure. Most Nevadans who lost their homes earned between $24,000 and $72,000, according to a homeowners survey published by the Nevada Association of Realtors in January. Roughly 60 percent said they lost their jobs first, then their homes.
The crash came in 2008, when unemployment passed 7 percent for the first time during the decade.
Even so, nearly 74,000 new homes were built in 2010, according to Census data. Realty companies said there are still buyers who prefer newly-built houses.
A general recovery seems far away. The state's Foreclosure Mediation Program helped more than 4,200 homeowners since its creation in 2009. Nearly 2,000 of those owners were able to keep their properties.
More short sales and foreclosures are projected to further depreciate homes values across Nevada in 2011. Census data to be released starting in June was expected to highlight the state's robust renters' market.
"This year will be the worst," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas, who co-chairs the Democratic Caucus Housing Stabilization Task Force in Washington. "The unemployment rate is not going down. The values of the homes keep going down and the ability to pay your mortgage is just not there."
The Ackerly family moved into a rental house after they defaulted on their mortgage. The value of their $240,000 North Las Vegas home was worth $80,000 by the time they left. Unlike some of their neighbors, they didn't take the new kitchen cabinets, or the palm trees they had planted in the yard, or any of the other improvements they lovingly made to the house after they moved in.
"We were done with it," said Alan Ackerly.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110315/ap_on_re_us/us_nevada_housing
oh I see, your wife is the "wiz"
Good story, your lucky someone is returning your phone. Apparently they are still some honest people in this world, unfortunately none can be found on wall street.
CSKH is going to continue its trek upward. Nothing beats a sawtooth climb, that way, none of the indicators get so far ahead as to cause people to sell.
The company is reporting private placements of restricted stock that were done a while back.
Sure beats toxic convertible notes the company relied on in the past. Convertible sellers get discounted stock to dump on us at a profit whereas private placement financiers get restricted stock at market prices. For them to make money they need for the stock to go up and remain strong. If they didn't think that would happen they never would have done the deal.
Say the stock was was at .025, do you think I could buy $380,000 dollars worth in the open market and have the price remain at .025 - absolutely not. That is why for bigger investors private placement are advantageous.
ok bring on the 10K!
Date of First Sale 2011-02-25
Total Offering Amount $120,000 USD
Total Amount Sold $120,000 USD
total number of investors who already have invested in the offering: 2
Item 3.02.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities.
On February 25, 2011, Clear Skies Solar, Inc. (the “Company”) raised $120,000 in a private placement to two Accredited Investors of four million shares of common stock, par value of $.001 per share (the “Common Stock”) and warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase, for a prepaid amount included in the closing, up to an aggregate of 7 million additional shares of Common Stock.
The Warrants are immediately exercisable by the warrant holder by delivery of a completed Subscription Notice to the Company; provided, however, the warrant holder shall not be entitled to exercise the Warrant to acquire that number of shares of Common Stock which would be in excess of the sum of (i) the number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by such holder and its affiliates on an exercise date, and (ii) the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Warrant with respect to which the determination of this limitation is being made on an exercise date, which would result in beneficial ownership by such holder and its affiliates of more than 4.99% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock on such date. For the purposes of the immediately preceding sentence, beneficial ownership shall be determined in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 13d-3 thereunder. Subject to the foregoing, such holder shall not be limited to aggregate exercises which would result in the issuance of more than 4.99%. The restriction described in this paragraph may be waived, in whole or in part, upon sixty-one (61) days prior notice from such Holder to the Company to increase such percentage to up to 9.99%, but not in excess of 9.99%.
The Common Stock and Warrants were issued in reliance upon the exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, provided in Sections 4(2) and 4(5), and Regulation D thereof, as a transaction by the Company not involving a public offering. Appropriate restrictive legends were affixed to the stock certificates and Warrants.
The material terms and conditions of the Investment Agreements and Warrants for the foregoing private placement are set forth in the Exhibits 4.1 and 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
Date of First Sale 2010-10-12
Total Offering Amount $380,000
Total Amount Sold $380,000
enter the total number of investors who already have invested in the offering: 2
--------
On October 12, 2010, the Company entered into stock purchase agreements with Chevra Toras Chesed (“Chevra”) and Congregation Kehal Yerayim Ateres Zvi (“Kehal”), pursuant to which, on October 13, 2010, the Company sold an aggregate of 10,000,000 shares of common stock (of which 5,000,000 shares were sold to each buyer) for a purchase price of $0.025 per share (for an aggregate purchase price of $250,000).
On October 13, 2010, the Company entered into stock purchase agreements with Chevra and Kehal, pursuant to which the Company sold an aggregate of 4,000,000 shares of common stock (of which 2,000,000 shares were sold to each buyer) for a purchase price of $0.0325 per share (for an aggregate purchase price of $130,000).
In connection with the foregoing, the Company relied on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for transactions not involving a public offering.
1
Investment. The Buyer is acquiring the Stock for its own account for investment and not with a view to, or for sale in connection with, any distribution thereof, nor with any present intention of distributing or selling the same. The Buyer is an “Accredited Investor” within the meaning of Rule 501(a)(3) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Buyer understands that the Stock has not been registered under the Securities Act by reason of a specific exemption from the registration provisions thereof which depends upon, among other things, the bona fide nature of its investment intent as expressed herein. The Buyer will not transfer the Stock except in compliance with Applicable Securities Laws and the terms of this Agreement.
NITE has 41k in prints on the best bid, so he's buying a small amount. Whats with selling today ????
ARCA is backstopping .0401 with is 999 size
how's Germany looking now?
someone is selling this stock (NITE unloading his remaining shares???)
only 132k traded so far
we're still sleepy over here, lol
a solar installation, whether its sub-contracted or not, adds revenues to the coffer.
In 2010 the company did $15M in rev's (if guidance holds true, we'll know in 16 days) and it was ALL commercial. Residential may be smaller, but do enough of them and it will add to the bottom line.
"...we expect to be installing 30 to 40 homes per month in the next 60 days..." -02/17/2011
That's a lot of rooftops imo
ah, but the reason is 99.9% penny stocks have no fundamentals. So they have to run on hope and hype.
What happens when there are good fundamentals - BANG ZOOM
but we all know what fundamentals are worth on the OTC.
I think there is not enough
"...California still has fewer than 100,000 grid tied PV systems out of more than 10 million rooftops..."
Could CSKH do 10 million rooftops in this life time?
67 boardmarks, it was 54 for the longest time
mark CSKH's board people if you haven't already
3 MM's offering .05
Today will be the day we hit a nickel !!!
Solar Power is not Corrupted as our Top Political Elite
Why do our Top Politicians still refuse to admit, that there is no future for our civilization without a total change of Energy and Pollution policy?
Why our top Leaders do not want to fully support Endless Solar Power and other Renewable Energy Sources, which are not harmful to our environment?
Why are we still spending hundreds of $billions for Oil, Coal and Deadly Dangerous Highly Radioactive Nuclear Material?
Because of the catastrophic level of CORRUPTION and LOBBYING among the highest leadership. Because of the immense Power of Money of Global Corporations.
How long it is going to take to finally realize that only the limitless, pollution free energy is from our sun!
Solar: Not Just for California Anymore
Monday, 14 March 2011 getsolar.com
Todd Woody of Grist Magazine summarizes nicely a recent solar industry report, saying solar power is “not just a California thing anymore.” More specifically, Woody reports that
back in 2004-2005, California accounted for a whopping 80 percent of the U.S. market. In 2010, that share fell to 30 percent, with 258.9 megawatts of the 878.3 megawatts of photovoltaic power installed that year …
If California’s share of the solar pie is shrinking, it must mean that other states’ are growing. New Jersey in 2010 maintained its number two spot, installing about 137 megawatts (MW) of solar power — roughly equal to about 27,400, 5-kilowatt (kW) residential home energy systems.
Other gainers include Nevada, Texas, New Mexico and North Carolina — but note that these states solar markets are dominated by big, utility-scale solar power plants. Residential solar energy systems, in other words, don’t yet make up a meaningful share of the pie in these states.
U.S. Solar Energy Capacity Installed, 2010
Credit: U.S. Solar Market Insight: 2010 Year in Review
Why aren’t more Nevada homeowners installing solar panels? My guess is that it’s because Nevada — along with Texas, North Carolina and New Mexico — doesn’t have in place a statewide residential solar rebate program or similar incentive. Despite a 30-percent solar tax credit from the federal government, homeowners in these states aren’t quite there yet.
Another noteworthy trend is occurring in Pennsylvania, which has gone from a solar zero to solar hero in just a couple of years. In 2009, for example, the Keystone State saw just 3 MW of solar installed. In 2010, that figure rose to forty-seven. The number of Pennsylvania solar panel installations will likely to continue to grow.
To sum up, California is still a big piece of America’s solar energy market. No matter how you slice it, however, other states are stepping up to challenge its claim to first place.
http://www.solarfeeds.com/getsolar/16196-solar-not-just-for-california-anymore
Solar Up on Nuclear Hate
Cameco Crushed
Monday, 14 March 2011 Climateer Investing
In early premarket trade the solars appear to be beneficiaries of the drumbeat against nuclear power:
First Solar is up 4.52% at $146.05.
Suntech is up 6.09% at $8.04
Trina Solar is up 6.48% at $25.80.
Yingli up 7.43% at $11.28.
Cameco, the world's largest publicly traded uranium miner is down 14.61% at $31.92. We'll have more in a bit.
Japan Nuclear Crisis: Will US Rethink Nuke Policy?
03/14/2011 10:40 AM
SustainableBusiness.com News
Will fears of a meltdown at a nuclear plant in Japan, following Friday's earthquake and tsunami, lead the US to reconsider its renewed interest in nuclear energy?
And the $38 billion subsidy the US government gives the nuclear industry each year (HOW MUCH DOES SOLAR GET?) In a year of budget cuts, will Congress end these subsidies?
Reports this morning show a second explosion at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, where engineers are working to contain critical situations with up to six different nuclear reactors that lost power following the tsunami. Reports said 11 workers were killed in the second explosion in three days.
With the loss of power, the cooling systems for the reactors have been unable to function properly, and more than 180,000 people have been evacuated from surrounding areas, while 160 people reportedly have suffered from radiation exposure.
Tokyo Electric Power Co, which operates the nuclear plant, has been using a back-up pump to fill the reactors with sea water, but Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edan said this morning that fuel rods in three separate reactors may have melted.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, and organization that has opposed the building of new nuclear power plants, explained the situation in an e-mail:
"This power failure resulted in one of the most serious conditions that can affect a nuclear plant -- a “station blackout” -- during which off-site power and on-site emergency alternating current (AC) power is lost. Nuclear plants generally need AC power to operate the motors, valves and instruments that control the systems that provide cooling water to the radioactive core. If all AC power is lost, the options to cool the core are limited.
"The boiling water reactors at Fukushima are protected by a Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) system, which can operate without AC power because it is steam-driven and therefore does not require electric pumps. However, it does require DC power from batteries for its valves and controls to function.
"If battery power is depleted before AC power is restored, however, the RCIC will stop supplying water to the core and the water level in the reactor core could drop. If it drops far enough, the core would overheat and the fuel would become damaged. Ultimately, a “meltdown” could occur: The core could become so hot that it forms a molten mass that melts through the steel reactor vessel. This would release a large amount of radioactivity from the vessel into the containment building that surrounds the vessel.
"The containment building’s main purpose is to keep radioactivity from being released into the environment. A meltdown would build up pressure in the containment building. At this point we do not know if the earthquake damaged the containment building enough to undermine its ability to contain the pressure and allow radioactivity to leak out."
The SUN DAY Campaign, one of many safe energy advocates that have been speaking out about the risks of nuclear power for more than three decades, stated that nuclear plants can never be designed to withstand all potential "acts of God."
The group said aside from major accidents like Chernobyl in 1986 and Three Mile Island in 1979, the nuclear industry also has been "plagued" both the U.S. and internationally with "hundreds of other radioactive releases, unplanned shut-downs, and other mishaps" over the years.
Meanwhile, in the US Congress, some lawmakers are calling for a review of U.S. Energy policy, in light of the situation in Japan.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/22043
Ford Installs Solar Power At Michigan Assembly Plant
Monday, 14 March 2011 SustainableBusiness.com
Ford (NYSE: F) announced the completion of an on-site solar power and energy storage system that will provide clean electricity at its Michigan Assembly Plant.
The renewable energy captured by the system will help power the production of Ford's all-new Focus set to hit showrooms this month. The plant will also produce Focus Electric, Ford's first zero-emission battery electric passenger vehicle and the C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid.
The solar energy system will serve as a pilot alternative energy project to be evaluated for possible use at other Ford manufacturing facilities in the future.
"This solar energy system allows us to test the viability of alternative energy to supply power for our manufacturing facilities around the world. It serves as a significant initiative within our corporate emphasis on sustainability," said Jim Tetreault, Ford vice president, North America Manufacturing.
Ford collaborated with DTE Energy to install the 500-kilowatt solar photovoltaic panel system at Michigan Assembly. The system will be integrated with a 750-kilowatt energy storage facility that can store 2 million watt-hours of energy using batteries--enough to power 100 average Michigan homes for a year. The project will also include a 50-kilowatt-hour facility to demonstrate the potential reuse of vehicle electric batteries for stationary energy storage.
Michigan Assembly's energy storage system also will be able to recharge from the smart grid during off-peak hours when energy is available at a lower cost. This in turn can provide inexpensive power during peak operating hours when the cost per kilowatt-hour is usually higher, and can help reduce peak demand on the grid.
Xtreme Power of Austin, Texas, is supplying its Dynamic Power Resource on-site energy storage and power management system.
The Michigan Assembly project is funded by a $3 million investment from DTE Energy's SolarCurrents program, a $2 million grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission in support of the state's smart-grid initiative, and approximately $800,000 worth of in-kind contributions from Ford.
Ford will install 10 electric vehicle charging stations at Michigan Assembly to demonstrate advanced battery charging technologies for vehicles using renewable energy and other smart-grid advances. The stations will be used to recharge the electric switcher trucks that transport vehicle parts between adjacent buildings at the manufacturing site. Part of the pilot project involves a demonstration of the possibility for using electrified vehicle batteries as stationary power storage devices after their useful life as vehicle power sources is over.
http://www.solarfeeds.com/sustainable-businesscom/16191-ford-installs-solar-power-at-michigan-assembly-plant-f
California still has fewer than 100,000 grid tied PV systems out of more than 10 million rooftops.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2011/03/top-ten-california-solar-installers-pre-and-post-2007
Solar, Wind and Biomass worth $188 billion in 2010
By Dana Blankenhorn
March 14, 2011
The main renewable energy industries grew 35% last year, and revenues should double again this decade, according to the Clean Energy Trends 2011 report issued today by Clean Edge Inc., the Portland-based research company.
This boom has been going on for a decade and shows no signs of stopping, the report said. Since 2000 the market for solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind has grown 20-fold, with the price to install solar panels falling by nearly half, and the percentage of the country's venture capital invested in the space growing from less than 1% to last year's 23%.
The report's authors were not beneath a little gloating. They noted that their growth estimates 10 years ago turned out to be very conservative, with solar energy growing three times faster than projected although “many observers, to put it kindly, thought we were being optimistic.”
Projections for the next decade are more of the same. The report expects slightly faster growth for wind energy than for others in the renewable “big three,” led by Chinese investments.
Some of the most promising estimates are in the area of cost parity:
"For the first time in history, these clean-energy technologies are reaching cost parity in select markets. And by 2015, we project that distributed solar PV systems will be cost-competitive for residential retail customers in at least 11 states, and for commercial customers in more than six states. By 2020 that number, based on our projections, grows to an astounding 47 states for residential customers and more than 35 states for commercial customers."
As important as production growth may be, the report says efficiency and technology are proving just as important. The move of lighting from incandescent bulbs to (over the coming decade) LEDs, lower-cost “green building” construction and the discovery of alternatives to “rare earths” will all contribute to reducing fossil demand and raising the market share of renewables.
Tom Konrad of AltEnergyStocks has also seen the report and come up with a list of 10 companies he thinks may benefit from the coming LED boom.
The numbers confirm what many other researchers are finding. Here are a few other headlines from the last week.
*
The Solar Industries Energy Association says the sector grew 67% last year powering 200,000 homes, up 33% from a year earlier, with solar water heating coming to over 65,000 more.
*
The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) reports renewable energy generating capacity of over 50 gigawatts last year.
*
A new Zprime report says renewables powered over 10% of the American electricity grid last year.
*
An Australian report shows that, contrary to fossil fuel propaganda, solar panels do not raise electricity prices.
Overall, the picture painted by these reports is one of a booming industry.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2011/03/solar-wind-and-biomass-worth-188-billion-in-2010
PowerShares Global Clean Energy, Solar ETFs Shining
By Murray Coleman
Contrarian-minded investors are bidding up some popular alternative energy ETFs, namely in solar and broad clean energy areas.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery in New York has retraced some of its earlier losses and is down 75 cents at $100.41 a barrel. Brent crude in London is also still down, now by 55 cents at $113.29 a barrel.
At the same time, concerns about Japan’s energy refineries and nuclear plants underpin what some see as an opening for alternative energy sources.
One of those is the PowerShares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD). The ETF’s down more than 6% in the past 12-months and flat-to-negative so far this year. Still, it’s up 1.7% today.
The Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (KWT) is up 7.5% on the day. Its top name First Solar (FSLR) is ahead by 4.7%. In this week’s column, Tiernan Ray writes that the stock’s the gold-plated name in the group at this point.
Also, the Guggenheim Global Solar ETF (TAN) is up Monday by 6.4%. Its top name is also First Solar. The second-biggest holding, Trina Solar (TSL) is ahead by 9.8%. It’s No. 3 in TAN.
But some analysts remain cautious on solar stocks.
Credit Suisse’s Satya Kumar points out that the country may push for greater use of solar as it rebuilds energy generation capabilities. Still, he notes a few company-specific issues exist, including Japan’s preference for technologies that don’t seem to be in First Solar’s sweet spot, according to Kumar.
http://blogs.barrons.com/focusonfunds/2011/03/14/powershares-global-clean-energy-solar-etfs-shining/?mod=BOLBlog
There is 1 comment
+ 3:00 pm March 14, 2011
+ gebby Barron's wrote:
can the analysts see that the solars have an incredible future. They are so busy downgrading the solars and no amount of news which could be viewed as favorable for the solars will get them to look past 2 months from now. Japan will rebuild with solar. it is the fastest way for japan to tap the grid. nuclear is out in japan. 40 gwatts gone. The amount of solar to be deployed in japan is very great starting as soon as is possible. Incredible but the analysts are cautious on soar because of maybe a delay in Italy? wow.
*
o 9:51 pm March 14, 2011
o frankx Barron's wrote:
analysts will keep bashing solar as long as the big boys are quietly accumulating
rethinking nuclear - could solar gain a push from this?
Japan's blasts cast doubt on nuclear renaissance
In this image made off Japan's NTV/NNN Japan television footage, smoke ascends from the Fukushima Dai-ichi …
By ANGELA CHARLTON and JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Angela Charlton And John Heilprin, Associated Press – 1 hr 25 mins ago
PARIS – Switzerland freezes plans to build new nuclear plants, Germany raises questions about its nuclear future, and opposition to atomic reactor construction mounts from Turkey to South Africa.
Will explosions and other worries at a tsunami-stricken Japanese nuclear plant halt what has come to be known as the nuclear renaissance?
Fears about nuclear safety that took a generation to overcome after the accidents at Chernobyl and Three-Mile Island are resurfacing around the globe. They are casting new doubt on a controversial energy source that has seen a resurgence in recent years, amid worries over volatile oil prices and global warming.
"Europe has to wake up from its Sleeping Beauty slumber" about nuclear safety, Austria's Environment Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich told reporters in Brussels. He suggested an EU-wide stress test for nuclear plants, much like European banks have been tested for their ability to cope with financial shocks.
Yet some experts and officials say those fears are overblown, given the exceptional nature of Japan's earthquake and ensuing tsunami. The Japanese blasts may slow the push for more nuclear plants, but appear unlikely to stop it, given the world's fast-growing energy needs.
The governments of Russia, China and Poland said they are sticking to plans to build more reactors. Even earthquake-prone Chile says it won't discard a nuclear option. Spain warned against hasty decisions.
Japan's nuclear plant explosions come as the U.S. government looks to expand its nuclear energy industry by offering companies tens of billions in financial backing. Administration officials said the U.S. would seek lessons from the Japanese crisis but said the events in Japan would not diminish the United States commitment to nuclear power.
"It remains a part of the president's overall energy plan," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "When we talk about reaching a clean energy standard, it is a vital part of that."
In Atlanta, the CEO of Southern Co. said Monday he does not expect Japan's problems to delay construction of two more nuclear reactors in Georgia, at the first nuclear plant in the United States to break ground in a generation.
Elsewhere, governments began questioning their vision of a nuclear-energized future amid rising threats of a meltdown at one Japanese reactor.
Switzerland ordered a freeze on new plants or replacements "until safety standards have been carefully reviewed and if necessary adapted," Energy Minister Doris Leuthard said. The decision put on hold the construction of nuclear power stations at three sites approved by Swiss regulatory authorities.
Switzerland now has five nuclear power reactors that produce about 40 percent of the country's energy needs. It also has nuclear research reactors.
In Germany, the government said it is suspending for three months a decision to extend the life of its nuclear power plants. That also means that two older nuclear power plants will be taken off the grid shortly — at least for now — pending a full safety investigation, Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters.
A previous government decided to shut all 17 German nuclear plants, but Merkel's administration last year moved to extend their lives by an average 12 years.
"The pictures from Japan show us that nothing, even the worst, is unthinkable," EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio.
The European Union called a meeting Tuesday of nuclear safety authorities to assess Europe's preparedness in case of a nuclear emergency.
Individual EU members including Britain, Bulgaria and Finland also urged a nuclear safety review.
Meanwhile, opposition voices rose up in Turkey and Sweden to renounce or scale back governments' nuclear expansion plans. And anti-nuclear groups staged rallies around France, the world's most nuclear-dependent country, as the government sought to reassure the public that the risks remain minimal.
Environmental group Earthlife Africa said it wants South Africa, the only African country with an existing nuclear plant, to follow Germany's example. But South African government officials want to expand nuclear power.
German popular opinion continues to favor non-nuclear sources of energy. But elsewhere in Europe, people have become increasingly open to using nuclear power as memories fade of the accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine — the world's worst nuclear accident, 25 years ago next month. Eastern Europe sees nuclear energy as a way of gaining a measure of independence from Russia's burgeoning gas and oil empire.
Statistics from the International Atomic Energy Agency show there are 442 nuclear reactors in operation worldwide, with 65 new facilities under construction. Construction last year was started on 14 new reactors — in China, Russia, India, Japan and Brazil. In 2005, in comparison, ground was broken for only three reactors.
Boosters have argued that new-design reactors pose fewer safety risks, and that nuclear-produced electricity doesn't emit the pollution that causes global warming.
Even as Japan's damaged reactors were beginning to deteriorate Friday, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera told state television that "the new so-called smart technologies, are technologies that are absolutely earthquake-proof in terms of security. And that's why we are studying this option, because Chile can't categorically reject any alternative in energy generation."
Pinera is planning to sign a nuclear energy accord with the U.S. during President Barack Obama's visit to Santiago next week.
The head of the Ukrainian Chernobyl Union called for setting up nuclear safety squads of professionals trained to respond to nuclear accidents who could be rapidly dispatched to any accident site.
"Nuclear accidents will continue happening as nuclear energy develops," Yuri Andreyev told the AP.
Experts said it was too early to evaluate all the consequences of the Japanese explosions.
"This is a massive earthquake, followed by a massive tsunami," said Physics Prof. Paddy Regan of the University of Surrey at Guildford. "Imagine if this would have been next to a chemical plant or a gas plant that would have exploded. ... There is a risk here but we have to keep the fears rational."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110315/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_nuclear_energy
1.6M volume, not to shabby
firedog, I think you'll like what you find here.
There are quite a few us here that have been buying CSKH for over a year. We bought the dilution on the way down and intend to hold though the uptrend now in place that will eventually result is a more realistic valuation for the company.
you might like this post... #msg-60740616
A post with substance!
I like it.
(3).042 x .0445(1) vol: 1.350M
Getting ready to pop imo
volume before price
1.2M volume - should be an interesting afternoon
powerhour action is a good possibility today.
when the 10k comes out in 17days I'll update it.
This is happening because investors are finding out about CSKH, see the value, and want a piece of the action.
Some of the best moves in a stock are on pure speculation, no news required.
btw, there is a lot of recent news and that can and will continue to fuel investor interest.
CSKH's chart has "buy" written all over it!
That's some good DD fo9!