A couple points covering a couple posts: Shorts aren't always making money when longs are losing money. I Don't think people are questioning product development. I am questioning the legitimacy or accuracy of MMMW announcements. Things don't add up. P.S. I'm long on the stock and I'm pretty sure anyone long is losing money at this point.
Clean energy use is at its highest level since the Depression
MAY 28, 2015
The share of renewable energy consumed is at its highest level in nearly 80 years.
A building boom in solar and wind farms as well as the increasing use of biofuels in vehicles pushed renewable energy to nearly 10% of overall U.S. consumption last year, according to the Energy Information Administration. That’s the highest share since the 1930s, when wood burning stoves and wood used for industrial purposes was popular.
Yes, the government considers burning wood to be renewable energy.
Most people define clean energy as coming from carbon-free sources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric dams and generating electricity. But the EIA has a broader definition that includes energy generated from biomass and biofuels. That means ethanol used to fill up certain cars and wood pellets used to power industrial plants are counted as renewable energy. Oddly, wood for heating homes in rural areas is also counted.
Still, electricity remains the biggest slice of the renewable pie with nearly half of all clean energy going to electricity, from solar, wind power and hydropower. But electricity generated from natural gas and coal dwarfs electricity made from renewables.
In fact, clean energy only accounted for 13% of all of U.S. electricity consumption.
The solar industry had a record year in 2014, growing over 34% from the previous year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. There are now more than 20 gigawatts of solar projects in the U.S. (1 gigawatt is like a really big natural gas, coal or nuclear plant), or enough to power more than 4 million average American homes. Their numbers continue to grow quickly. Last year, the SEIA says that there were 195,000 new solar projects installed.
As for the wind industry, four times more capacity came online in 2014 than it did in the previous year, says the American Wind Energy Association. The industry added 23,000 jobs in 2014 for a total of 73,000. States like Iowa with a lot of natural wind assets can power almost a third of the state’s electricity with wind.
U.S. Solar PV Market By Application (Utility, Residential, Non-Residential) Is Expected To Exceed 60.0 GW By 2022:
May 2015
U.S. solar PV market is expected to exceed 60.0 GW by 2022, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Favorable regulatory framework coupled with federal subsidies and state incentives are expected to be key drivers for solar PV market. In addition, declining equipment cost on account of rapidly increasing installations and improved manufacturing processes is likely to augment market growth.
Utility was the largest application segment, accounting for over 50% of U.S. solar PV market installations in 2014. In addition, non-residential segment is also expected to witness the strong growth at an estimated CAGR of over 15% from 2015 to 2022. High growth can be attributed to federal subsidies and state incentives. Furthermore, growing awareness among consumers regarding environmental protection is expected to boost solar PV market over the next few years.
Further key findings from the study suggest:
Residential application of solar PV is expected to witness high growth till 2016 due to ITC (Investment Tax Credit). However, post expiry of ITC, market is expected to witness significant slump resulting in higher installations till 2016. California has the largest installed capacity for solar PV in 2014 owing to the states exposure to high solar irradiance. In addition, tax subsidies in the state are expected to result in high demand for solar PV installations over the next few years. North Carolina is expected to witness the fastest growth owing to increased residential installations in light of the relatively high power prices in the state as compared to other states such as Washington, Louisiana and Kentucky. Reduced solar PV module prices in light of increasing installations and technological advancement is expected to boost market demand in the U.S. Furthermore, raw material prices have witness a sharp decline which is expected to promote production of solar PV modules in turn driving the solar PV market. Key solar PV module manufacturers include First Solar, SunPower, Auxin Solar, Alps Technology and Solar Cynergy. The market has witnessed significant R&D activities with companies trying to gain competitive advantage using technological developments. First Solar used cadmium telluride thin film technology for PV module manufacturing since it provides highest efficiency and increased output. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the U.S. solar PV market on the basis of application and state:
U.S. Solar PV Application Outlook (Installed Capacity, GW; Shipments, Units, 2012 - 2022)
Residential Non-Residential Utility
U.S. Solar PV State Outlook (Installed Capacity, GW; Shipments, Units, 2012 - 2022)
California Arizona New Jersey North Carolina Nevada Massachusetts Hawaii Colorado New York Texas
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