imagine what the pps would do if this PR had ClearSkies instead of SunDurance...
Yingli Scores On The Jersey Shore
March 2, 2010 - 8:01 am
Jonathan Fahey writes about energy, technology and science for Forbes
Yingli Green Energy (YGE), just off a scorching fourth quarter in which it was the top seller of commercial and residential solar panels in California, is taking its show Back East. This morning it is announcing it has an agreement to sell ten megawatts of panels in the first three quarters of this year to a developer that will erect ten solar projects in New Jersey.
The developer, SunDurance Energy, http://www.sunduranceenergy.com will build a series of ten projects with Yingli panels under the deal. Eight of the projects are ready to begin construction, including at William Paterson University in Wayne and with the government of Morris County, in north-central New Jersey, according to Yingli.
The ten megawatt deal is by no means a huge one--in 2009 Yingli had capacity to produce 600 megawatts. And New Jersey is still a small market even for the United States, which, though poised to grow, is still relatively small itself. But it's an important one for Yingli as it broadens its reach beyond California. New Jersey's solar subsidy program is one of the nation's most generous, and it is spurring the growth of solar in the state. "We’ve had great success in California, but this size sale in New Jersey reflects our success there too," says Petrina. "New Jersey is a significant market and it's very important for us to be viewed as a supplier of choice there."
California is by far the nation's biggest solar market. In the fourth quarter of last year Yingli won 27% of the commercial and residential installations in the state and was the single biggest player, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. (Though solar market share leaders can change quickly from quarter to quarter based on a few big projects.) Yingli is part of a wave of Chinese solar panel makers who ramped up production capacity and are winning business in the U.S. In California last quarter, Chinese makers won 46% of the new installations, led by Yingli. This is up from just 2% in 2007. Citing cost advantages, Deustche Bank upgraded the shares of several Chinese panel makers last week, including Yingli, Trina Solar, Suntech Power and ReneSola. (Though, as we outlined last week, there are some major questions about the outlook for solar company stock prices.)
Chinese firms winning more and more of a market that is so heavily subsidized by taxpayers raises some hackles, of course. Yingli, citing its long-term commitment to the U.S. market, says it is planning to build a 100-MW factory here. Petrina says the company will likely decide this month whether to build it in Phoenix or Austin and it will have the plant up and running by the end of this year or early next year. (A process that would take just two months if it were in China, by the way.) Suntech Power plans to have its first U.S. factory, a 30-MW plant in Arizona, up and running by the third quarter.