Ningguo City could be first solar-powered city in China
A Chinese tellurium mining company, Apollo Solar Energy, has signed a non-binding letter of intent with the Ningguo Municipal Government to begin a joint venture to design, build and run a 30x50 square kilometre solar city in Anhui Province, China.
The letter presents Apollo with the chance to become a 51% shareholder with the Ningguo City Investment Company, which could lead to proving how cost-efficient the use of solar energy for an entire community could be. Other investors would own 49 percent of the ventures shares between them.
As it stands, if the plans go ahead, Ningguo will be the first city in China to use solar power as its number one source of energy. Apollo's eventual aim, it says, is to make a completely zero-emission city in China. It won't be easy, though: it's believed that the entire project including a 10 GW grid-connected solar power station, will take up to 8 years and costs up to $14 billion.
SourceLabels: China, Solar power, Solar Powered, Solar Technology
Chinese solar stocks shine
Seven out of the eight U.S. listed Chinese stocks made it to the overbought screen Thursday morning. Gains for the sector look limited from here as LDK Solar (NYSE:LDK), ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE:SOL) and Solarfun Power (NASDAQ:SOLF) have approached theoretical highs. Suntech Power (NYSE:STP), Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL) look better from a technical point of view but again, advance of Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) and China Sunergy (NASDAQ:CSUN) look excessive compared to the rest of the sector.
...
Back to solar stocks: high oil price helps alternative energy plays such as solar, wind and hydro power. Solar stocks look good based on fundamentals as well after hitting a bottom in the middle of 2009. Shipments have dramatically increased while margins have stabilized. JA Solar (NASDAQ:JASO) has just raised 2010 Q1 shipment guidance. Four solar stocks out of the total eight reported revenue and earnings growth for the last quarterer of 2009.
Continue
readingLabels: China, China Sunenergy, CSUN, LDK, ReneSola, SOL, Solar Stocks, STP, Suntech Power
BlackRock clean fund targets Asian solar stocks
BlackRock's New Energy Fund is "cautiously" investing more in solar companies after a glut in solar panels and falling prices saw producers' margins squeezed over the past two years, its fund manager said.
The BlackRock New Energy Fund was launched in 2001 and had some $3.9 billion assets under management as of Dec 31.
The fund delivered returns of 21 percent in 2009. That compared with 27 percent returns to the wider MSCI index of global stocks .WORLD
"We're now cautiously increasing our weightings in solar, it is cautious because we think it's a u-shaped recovery in demand," co-head of the fund Robin Batchelor told Reuters on Wednesday.
"Were focusing a bit more on the Asian producers which we think have a structural advantage over some of the European producers," he said in a telephone conversation from London.
"(Manufacturing in China) gets a big subsidy on power, cheap land, you've got cheap employment, it takes a bit quicker to get your permitting, all your environmental issues taken care of, these are things which all cost a lot in the western world."
"Power is a big component in manufacturing cost, that's putting a structural benefit towards some of the Asian producers."
The BlackRock New Energy Fund cut its exposure to solar from up to 30 percent "several years ago" to 5 percent, in advance of the solar panel over-supply developing, Batchelor said.
ABN AMRO's Solar Energy .ABNZSOL was down 3 percent last year, while the DJ-SAM (Dow Jones-Sustainable Asset Management) World Solar Index .SOLEX was down 2.4 percent.
More than half of BlackRock's New Energy Fund is invested in companies specialising in renewable energy, with the rest in stocks for example focused on "green" buildings, electric car batteries, emissions trading and carbon capture and storage -- a technology meant to remove carbon emissions from coal plants.
Source:
ReutersLabels: blackrock, China, Solar Industry, Solar Stocks, Solar Technology
China To Launch 2-GW Solar Power Project
A large-scale contract has been signed between an American solar power company and a Chinese power systems producer in this respect.It will result in the setting up of solar thermal power facilities on several locations in China that will produce more than 2 GW of power.
The agreement was reached last week in the Chinese State Council building, will join U.S. solar power plant developer eSolar to Penglai Electric for implementing what is expected to be China's biggest concentrating solar power project so far.
The first round of the program, which will build a solar power facility that will be operated by Chinese Shaanxi Yulin Huayang New Energy Company and will produce 92 MW of power, will start this year.
SourceLabels: China, Solar News, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks
Suntech solar panels sold out in early 2010
Supply seems not enough to fill all Suntech's Solar Panels demand,
and prices always rise on those conditions:
- Fully booked on panels through second quarter
- Company sees panel prices stable in Q1
- Expects panel prices to fall in second half of year
Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd's (STP.N) solar panel is sold out through at least the second quarter of 2010, a company executive said on Tuesday.
"We were basically in a sold-out situation in Q4 and we're in a sold-out situation at least through Q2," Steve Chadima, vice president of external affairs at Suntech, said at a conference hosted by Needham and Co in New York.
"We're basically selling anything we can produce and I know we're not alone," Chadima said.
Demand for solar power products has rebounded after a difficult 2009, when the global credit crisis dried up financing for new projects and panel prices plummeted.
Chinese players such as Suntech, Trina Solar Ltd (TSL.N) and Canadian Solar Inc (CSIQ.O) have seized on rising demand, turning their low-cost structures into sales, and several plan to boost production capacity in 2010.
Labels: Canadian Solar Inc., China, CSIQ, STP, Suntech Power, Trina Solar, TSL
Suntech Power to Develop 20% of China's Solar Rooftop Program
Suntech Power (STP) continues to gain more solar contracts in their home country, China:
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), the world's leading manufacturer of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules, today announced that it expects to develop approximately 20% of the 91MW of solar projects that were approved under China's Solar Rooftop Program.
China's Solar Rooftop Program, which was launched in March this year by the Ministry of Finance, is designed to increase the energy efficiency of buildings through the installation of building-attached and building- integrated PV solar systems. The first set of applications was submitted in April, and recently 111 solar projects totaling 91MW across China were approved to receive funds through the program. The system owners are expected to receive a 13-17RMB per watt rebate for all projects approved through the program. Suntech targets to develop approximately 20% of the successful applications and will also participate as the system owner or partial investor in some projects. Suntech has completed 4MW of its approved projects and plans to develop the remainder by mid-2010. Specific project agreements will be signed prior to implementation.
"Building energy use accounts for roughly 28% of total energy consumption in China and is a critical front in the drive to achieve higher energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions," said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO.
Labels: China, Solar power, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks, STP, Suntech Power
Chinese Solar Stocks Slide After China 'Crash'
Market moves south, and Solar Stocks follow:
Shares of China-based solar stocks are down across the board today after the Shanghai stock market fell 6.7% overnight on fears that the country’s economic growth could slow due to a slowdown in lending growth. Acording to Bloomberg, former Morgan Stanley Asian economist Andy Xie said the China market could drop another 25%, on top of a 22% slide in August.
Among the China-based solar names:
JA Solar (JASO) is down 14 cents, or 3.9%, to $3.48.
LDK Solar (LDK) is down 32 cents, or 3.5%, to $8.92.
China Sunergy (CSUN) is down 29 cents, or 6.3%, to $4.29.
Suntech (STP) is down 78 cents, or 5.2%, to $14.27.
Canadian Solar (CSIQ) is down 60 cents, or 4%, to $14.59.
Yingli Green Energy (YGE) is down 46 cents, or 4.2%, to $10.56.
ReneSola (SOL) is down 9 cents, or 1.6%, to $5.64.
Labels: Bearish, China, CSIQ, CSUN, JASO, LDK, Solar Stocks, STP
China to unveil plan for "new energy"
Coal-dependent China will unveil a plan to foster the development of "new energy" sources, including wind, solar and nuclear, by the end of this year, state media on Monday quoted a senior energy policy official as saying.
Sun Qin, vice head of the National Energy Administration (NEA), told a forum in southern Guangzhou city that a guide for developing energy technologies would also be released, but gave no further details.
The development and utilization of clean coal technologies would be an important part in the "new energy" plan, Sun was quoted as saying.
China has long been seeking to diversify away from coal, which currently provides over 70 percent of its power, but produces large amounts of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and pollutants like acid-rain causing sulfur dioxide
Source:
ReutersLabels: China, Solar News, Solar Projects, Solar Stocks
Chinese Firms Poised to Roll Thin-film Solar Cells
An exhibition of solar photovoltaic technologies indicated that full-scale mass production of thin-film solar cells will begin in China within 2009.
At Solarcon China 2009, an exhibition that took place at Shanghai New International Expo Center in Shanghai, China, from March 17 to 19, 2009, Best Solar Energy Technology Co, Chint Solar (Zhejing) Co Ltd, Baoding TianWei SolarFilm Co, Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, etc exhibited samples of their thin-film solar cells and announced their future production plans.
Also, Oerlikon (Shanghai) Co Ltd and Applied Materials Inc, which provide turnkey lines to these companies, exhibited the track record of contracts with Chinese companies, showing their enthusiasm for the Chinese market.
Full articleLabels: China, solar cells, solarstocks, STP, Suntech Power, Thin film solar cells
China to Build Solar Power Plants in 2009
Beijing, Jan 12 (Prensa Latina) Two large solar power plants will be built in the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Yunnan this year, as part of a nationwide project to boost renewable energy.
Qinghai's solar station will cost 146 million dollars and will be jointly built by China Technology Development Group and Qinghai New Energy Group.
In the beginning, the plant will generate 30 megawatts, but after completion, it will produce one gigawatt and will be the world's largest solar power plant, investors said.
Works on another solar power plant will begin in the southern Yunnan province. The plant will produce 166 megawatts and will cost 1.3 billion dollars.
SourceLabels: China, News, Solar Plant, Solar power
