May 26-29: Dow, NASDAQ Rise; Solar Stocks Soar

Yingli, Canadian Solar and Suntech up over 30%

The DJIA packed on 223 points ending at 8500.33, a 2.7% rise. NASDAQ did even better gaining 82+ to 1774.33 points, a 4.8% jump for the week. Eighteen stocks of the 20 Solar Stocks Index (20SSI) rose making the total average stock gain over 13%.

Yingli (YGE), Canadian Solar (CSIQ) and Suntech (STP), were the biggest gainers of the index. Strangely, First Solar, the industry's darling for awhile now was one of two losers dropping just .75%. The other was not unusual: Entech Solar dropped a tidge again but not much should be expected from a company that does not make or install anything at this time.

Yingli's smooth sailing could be attributed to its exclusive supplier agreement with AES Solar announced May 15. AES Solar of Arlington, VA develops, finances, constructs, owns and operates utility-scale PV power plants worldwide. Also, Yingli's Q1 09 gross margin was at 15.3%, up 2.1% over Q4 last year, a triumph in a very tough first quarter for the industry.

CSI is evidently gaining ground with its line of E-Modules which use "solar grade" (actually upgraded metallurgical grade or UMG) silicon which is very slightly less pure than standard grade silicon but accordingly shaves panel prices around 40 cents a DC watt. CSI is also committed to making their E-Modules 14% efficient be year's end which would nearly put them on par with average standard silicon panels.

An AP story today reported "shares of Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. jumped on Friday after the company said it closed its public offering of 23 million American Depositary Shares, each representing one ordinary share of the company, and received $277 million in net proceeds." Suntech, the leading panel maker globally, said the proceeds will go to working capital and general corporate purposes to include repurchases and redemptions of its existing securities.

Solar likely would do even better as potential customers--residential and commercial--want to go solar but for many banks still being stingy with credit. Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) is contracting sales agreements now for its UniSolar PV laminates for projects that may not begin for 12 to 18 months, contingent on (hopefully imminent) bank loans for several committed customers.

Week of May 26-29, 2009 (Revised 6/5/09)

	Monday Open	Friday Close	Up/Down	% Change	Close 1/5/09*	Close 3/6/09**
Dow Jones DJIA	8277.32	8500.33	+223.01	+2.694	8952.89	6626.95
NASDAQ	1692.01	1774.33	+82,32	+4.865	1628.03	1293.85
Akeena Solar AKNS	1.12	1.20	+.08	+7.142	2.28	.61
Amtel Systems ASYS	4.50	4.55	+.05	+1.111	4.00	2.73
Applied Materials AMAT	10.67	11.26	+.59	+5.529	10.67	8.70
Canadian Solar CSIQ	10.01	13.23	+3.22	+32.16	7.00	3.0601
ECD (UniSolar) ENER	15.06	17.21	+2.15	+14.27	29.33	17.45
Entech Solar ENSL.OB	.191	.19	-.001	-.0053	.28	.23
Evergreen Solar ESLR	1.76	1.86	+.10	+5.682	3.60	1.03
First Solar FSLR	191.72	190.29	-1.43	-.7515	157.80	108.49
GT Solar Int. SOLR	6.25	6.42	+.17	+2.720	4.00	4.02
JA Solar JASO	3.70	4.23	+.53	+14.32	5.09	1.91
Kyocera KYO	76.68	78.53	+1.85	+2.412	71.87	54.21
LDK Solar LDK	7.77	9.12	+1.35	+17.37	14.84	4.40
MEMC Elect. WFR	17.06	19.29	+2.23	+13.07	15.76	13.68
Renesola SOL	3.69	4.24	+.55	+14.90	5.15	2.1201
Satcon SATC	2.02	2.37	+.35	+17.33	1.60	1.23
SolarFun SOLF	6.24	7.48	+1.24	+19.87	6.12	2.30
SunPower SPWRA	26.60	29.03	+2.43	+9.135	45.13	23.39
SunTech STP	12.48	16.34	+3.86	+30.93	13.55	5.34
Trina Solar TSL	20.73	24.78	+4.05	+19.54	10.09	7.23
Yingli YGE	9.35	12.82	+3.47	+37.11	7.25	3.888
Cumulative Data:	Previous 427.60	Current 454.44	Change +26.84/+6.27%	Avg Stock +13.19%	20SSI 1/05/09 415.41	20SSI 3/06/09 266.01

* The starting date of the 20 Solar Stock Index (20SSI).
** NOTE: Concensus claims the "new" bull market began on Monday, March 9, 2009.

SEPA Names Top 10 Solar Utilities in U.S.

CA utilities rank 1, 2, 3 and 9

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) released its second annual "Top Ten Utility Solar Integration Rankings" based on data through 2008. U.S. utilities were ranked according to installed solar capacity in categories including customer-side of the meter (net metering); utility-side of the meter; solar capacity per customer and more.

As expected, California held four of the top 10 utilities for total megawatts of solar installed in 2008, including the top three spots. Pacific Gas & Electric (Central to Northern CA) ranked first with 84.9MW installed in 2008 followed by Southern California Edison (LA to AZ border) at 32.4MW installed and San Diego Gas & Electric was third with 16MW installed. Sacramento Municipal Utility District ranked ninth with 2.9MW installed. Rounding out the top 10 in order were utilities from Colorado (14.2MW), New Jersey (5.5MW), Arizona (3.56MW), Hawaii (3.54MW), Oregon (3.538MW), New York (2.5MW).

Total cumulative solar capacity through 2008 showed five California utilities in the top ten. In order these were Southern California Edison with 441.4MWac total capacity installed; Pacific Gas & Electric, 229.5MW; Nevada Energy, 7.9MW; San Diego Gas & Electric, 49.3MW; Public Service Co. of Colorado (Xcell Energy), 28.5MW; LA Dept. of Water & Power, 13.6MW; Public Service Electric & Gas Co. of New Jersey, 13.2MW; Arizona Public Service Co., 10.6MW; Sacramento Municipal Utility Dist., 10.2MW; and Long Island Power Authority of New York, 7.7MW installed.

To download the complete report, go to: http://www.solarelectricpower.org/docs/SEPA%20Utility%20Solar%20Integration%20Rankings-2008.Public%20release.pdf

May 18-22: Dow, NASDAQ Up Smidgen; Solar Up 5.67%

Looming GM bankruptcy blights Dow's week

With just days left for General Motors officials to complete a major financial revamping, the former cornerstone of blue chippers could file for bankruptcy next week. Although this action would enable the troubled automaker to get $30M in federal money, it drove down GM's stock by 25% today and took several other down with it.

The DJIA finish up just .001% for the week; the NASDAQ was up .007%. The 20 Solar Stocks Index (20SSI) fared better at 5.667% up regaining about one-quarter of last week's losses.

Solarfun Power Holdings was the biggest gainer for the week at +30.54% attributed to a strong first quarter earnings report released Tuesday.

Canadian Solar Inc (CSIQ) was close behind, gaining nearly 30% since Monday. The AP reported yesterday that CSI's "healthy balance sheet, product line strategy and underappreciated stock prompted an analyst to upgrad the solar energy product manufacturer, sending shares jumping."

Trina Solar was another PV industry winner climbing nearly 23% during the week. Evidently, investor sentiments are positive for solar stocks seen as being driven up by rising crude oil prices.

Solar stock watchers seem convinced the industry hit bottom in early March. Dow and NASDAQ averages generally have climbed since then, as well.
Week of May 18-22, 2009

	Monday Open	Friday Close	Up/Down	% Change	Close 1/5/09
Dow Jones DJIA	8268.64	8277.32	+8.68	+.0010	8952.89
NASDAQ	1680.14	1692.01	+11.87	+.0070	1628.03
Akeena Solar AKNS	1.16	1.12	-.04	-3.571	2.28
Amtel Systems ASYS	4.13	4.50	+.37	+8.958	4.00
Applied Materials AMAT	10.71	10.67	-.04	-.0037	10.67
Canadian Solar CSIQ	7.71	10.01	+2.30	+29.83	7.00
ECD (UniSolar) ENER	-14.80	15.06	+.26	+1.757	29.33
Entech Solar ENSL.OB	.22	.191	-.029	-15.18	.28
Evergreen Solar ESLR	2.08	1.76	-.32	-18.18	3.60
First Solar FSLR	177.43	191.72	+14.29	+8.054	157.80
GT Solar Int. SOLR	5.37	6.25	-+.88	+16.38	4.00
JA Solar JASO	3.11	3.70	+.59	+18.97	5.09
Kyocera KYO	77.51	76.68	-.83	-1.082	71.87
LDK Solar LDK	8.02	7.77	-.25	-3.217	14.84
MEMC Elect. WFR	15.74	17.06	+1.32	+8.386	15.76
Renesola SOL	3.36	3.69	+.33	+9.821	5.15
Satcon SATC	2.05	2.02	-.03	-1.485	1.60
SolarFun SOLF	4.78	6.24	+1.46	+30.54	6.12
SunPower SPWRA	25.05	26.60	+1.55	+6.187	45.13
SunTech STP	14.34	12.48	-1.86	-14.90	13.55
Trina Solar TSL	16.98	20.73	+3.75	+22.08	10.09
Yingli YGE	8.50	9.35	+.85	+10.00	7.25
Percent change all 20 stocks this week:				+5.667%

May 11-15: Dow, NASDAQ, Solar All Down

NASDAQ 9-week resurgence ends

For the first time since the week of March 2-6, the NASDAQ composite finished at 1680.14, nearly 59 points down, a 3.5% loss from last week. Still, the index is up 386 points from March 6, nearly 30%. The DJIA finished down 306.01 points wiping out 82% of last week's gain of 362. Seventeen of the 20 Solar Stocks Index (20SSI) lost value and the composite finish was off nearly 13% from last week.

MarketWatch (www.marketwatch.com) attributed Dow losses to a slide for life insurers and some large American banks. Energy companies were affected by a drop in crude oil prices. Decline in the financial sector may have stemmed from the Fitch Ratings which stated it is considering lower credit ratings on nine U.S. financial companies which implies a higher vulnerability to a tightening of credit. All nine banks named by Fitch traded sharply lower this week.

Not much information if available as to why solar stocks dropped as much as they did. Obviously, profit-takers yield much of the answer after last week's great showing but continuing credit tightening exacerbated by Chrysler and GM shuttering nearly 2000 dealerships nationwide must account for the market's shakiness of late. However, cleaner energy demands and urgently-needed job creation points to solar as the industry most expected to grow during the current bad economy.

Week of May 11-15

	Monday Open	Friday Close	Up/Down	% Change	Close 1/5/09
Dow Jones DJIA	8574.65	8268.64	-306.01	-3.700%	8952.89
NASDAQ	1739.00	1680.14	-58.86	-3.503	1628.03
Akeena Solar AKNS	1.42	1.16	-.26	-22.41	2.28
Amtel Systems ASYS	5.00	4.13	-.87	-21.06	4.00
Applied Materials AMAT	11.89	10.71	-1.18	-11.02	10.67
Canadian Solar CSIQ	8.50	7.71	-.79	-10.25	7.00
ECD (UniSolar) ENER	17.01	-14.80	-2.21	-14.93	29.33
Entech Solar ENSL.OB	.215	.22	+.005	+2.325	.28
Evergreen Solar ESLR	2.39	2.08	-.31	-14.90	3.60
First Solar FSLR	191.05	177.43	-13.62	-7.676	157.80
GT Solar Int. SOLR	7.49	5.37	-2.61	-48.60	4.00
JA Solar JASO	3.92	3.11	-.81	-26.05	5.09
Kyocera KYO	81.11	77.51	-3.60	-4.645	71.87
LDK Solar LDK	9.61	8.02	-1.59	-19.83	14.84
MEMC Elect. WFR	17.49	15.74	-1.75	-11.12	15.76
Renesola SOL	4.04	3.36	-.68	-20.24	5.15
Satcon SATC	1.97	2.05	+.08	+4.061	1.60
SolarFun SOLF	5.49	4.78	-.71	-.14.71	6.12
SunPower SPWRA	29.00	25.05	-3.95	-15.77	45.13
SunTech STP	16.45	14.34	-2.11	-14.71	13.55
Trina Solar TSL	16.64	16.98	+.34	+2.043	10.09
Yingli YGE	8.92	8.50	-.42	-4.941	7.25
Percent change all 20 stocks this week:				-12.98%

May 4-8: 16 of 20 Solar Stocks Up for Week; Average Gain 10%

Solar handily outpaces NASDAQ again

Pile on another good week for solar stocks now gaining in seven of the nine weeks since the new bull market began March 9. The Dow was up 362.24 points or 4.441%; NASDAQ was up 19.80, up 1.151%. Stocks in the 20 Solar Stock Index (20SSI) were up a composite of 10.03% for the week.

Four solar stocks were up over 20% with Akeena and Solarfun climbing above 30%. Canadian Solar International shot up a whopping 32+% on Monday, settling at nearly 24% up be end of trading today. This is likely attributed to a 5MW sales agreement with Topinfrasolar, a top Korean integrator. This is in addition of 3MW already delivered to that company this year. Also, much of CSI's gain came from news financing from three Chinese banks. First Solar cooled a little after last week's sparkling gains but still went up nearly 6%.

Solar continues to climb because its time has come. Even Heartland America sees the burning of fossil fuels as main culprit in global heating: Kansas citizens blocked two proposed coal-fired power plants last year. Solar power mitigates the nuclear waste disposal issue. Finally, solar can reduce electric bills from the day they are commissioned on a home or on a factory. As opposed to conventional power plants that must be fed depleting--and increasingly more costly--resources to make electricity, the sun provides 1000 watts per square meter of the Earth's surface at 12 noon every day. And it's free.

Week of May 4-8, 2009

	Monday Open	Friday Close	Up/Down	% Change	Close 1/5/09
Dow Jones DJIA	8212.41	8574.65	+362.24	+4.441%	8952.89
NASDAQ	1719.2	1739.00	+19.80	+1.151	1628.03
Akeena Solar AKNS	1.07	1.42	+.35	+32.71	2.28
Amtel Systems ASYS	4.60	5.00	+.40	+8.695	4.00
Applied Materials AMAT	12.18	11.89	-.29	-2.439	10.67
Canadian Solar CSIQ	6.86	8.50	+1.64	+23.91	7.00
ECD (UniSolar) ENER	18.71	17.01	-1.70	-9.994	29.33
Entech Solar ENSL.OB	.22	.215	-.005	-2.325	.28
Evergreen Solar ESLR	2.11	2.39	+.28	+13.27	3.60
First Solar FSLR	180.89	191.05	+10.16	+5.616	157.80
GT Solar Int. SOLR	6.58	7.49	+.52	+6.95	4.00
JA Solar JASO	3.50	3.92	+.42	+12.00	5.09
Kyocera KYO	78.50	81.11	+2.61	+3.324	71.87
LDK Solar LDK	8.20	9.61	+1.41	+17.20	14.84
MEMC Elect. WFR	16.54	17.49	+.95	+5.743	15.76
Renesola SOL	3.45	4.04	+.59	+17.10	5.15
Satcon SATC	2.16	1.97	-.19	-9.644	1.60
SolarFun SOLF	4.1701	5.49	+1.3199	+31.65	6.12
SunPower SPWRA	26.72	29.00	+2.28	+8.532	45.13
SunTech STP	14.58	16.45	+1.87	+12.83	13.55
Trina Solar TSL	15.90	16.64	+.74	+4.654	10.09
Yingli YGE	7.35	8.92	+1.57	+21.36	7.25
Percent change all 20 stocks this week:				+10.03%

Solar PV Trackers Can Boost Power Bigtime

They're getting better...

When I was cutting my teeth in the PV industry, I sold nothing but UniSolar panels and laminates. UniSolar works well in diffuse light because of its triple-junction technology which is more responsive to the sun's light spectrum. Therefore, directly tracking the sun's path was not as important and, because thin-film PV requires more area, tracking becomes cost prohibitive.

I was also conditioned to think why anyone would add something mechanical--requiring maintenance and susceptible to breakdown--to something that works well statically, the solar panel. In fact, when researching trackers earlier this decade I read one PV system owner using a tracker say "if you have enough time on your hands and like to tinker, use a tracker. Otherwise, I don't advise it." But since then I've become more accepting of tracking.

Single-axis tracking (SAT), which pivot panels along the sun's path from east to west throughout the day can increase electricity production over fixed flat panels by as much as 38%. SAT panels produce 23% more power than arrays fix tilted at 15 degrees south. Obviously, this is significant if one's rebate or feed-in tariff is based on monthly kilowatt-hour output. Power purchase investment groups also came to require single- or dual-axis trackers to make the numbers work for a viable power purchase agreement.

So in order for trackers to go from novelty to mainstream, they had to become better overall at what they do particularly for large-scale projects. And they did. The apparent next phase of large-scale (sometimes called utility scale) PV systems is in concentrated PV arrays utilizing dual-axis tracking. CPV panels use less silicon and maximize that silicon's output with mirrors or Fresnel lenses sometimes requiring less area than flat plate panels, less mounting hardware, less labor to install. One company, Opel Inc., in Shelton, Connecticut, says its Mk-Id high concentration photovoltaic module (at right) with its dual-axis tracker will require 25% less gross DC wattage than a flat-plate array to get the same kWh production. The Mk-Id design has sunlight shining through a 11"x11" fresnel lens which concentrates rays on a tiny 10mm x 10mm silicon chip. The module with dual axis tracking surpasses output of fixed-flat panels by 40% and 15-degree fixed panels by 35%.

So who needs PV tracking? Anyone who needs to eke out as much performance from the panels as they can. Trackers by nature are more appropriate for ground-mounted systems but there are exceptions.

It's suggested readers conduct their own online research on trackers for residential scale projects. For large-scale projects some other major tracker manufacturers besides Opel, include the RayTracker (photo at top), Wattsun Tracker, APS Tracking (developed by Arizona Public Service) and ET Trackers.

Solar Stocks Up Nearly 7% for Week

Dow, NASDAQ do okay, too

Solar stocks rebounded from about 2% down on average last week to nearly 7% up at the end of today's trading. This is the eighth week in a row the NASDAQ has gained. The Dow has gained seven of those eight weeks which began March 9, the supposed beginning of the current bull run.

Seventeen in the 20 Solar Stock Index were gainers with First Solar leading the pack gaining 33.43 points, an 18.48% gain for the week. First Solar reported Wednesday the Q1 revenues at $418.2 million with a net income of $164.6 million. This was down from $433.7 million in Q4 '08 but significantly better the first quarter '08 at $196.9 million. Evidently, First Solar's cadmium telluride cell technology continues to wow the PV market.

Since March 9, the DJIA has gained 19.3% overall; the NASDAQ, 24.74%. Although this solar stock index was up six of the eight weeks since March 9, the PV sector still gained over 63% since that date.

Is Wall Street simply overlooking this solar surge or is it choosing to overlook it. Rumors have compared solar's upswings to the dot.coms of the late 90s. But those were a lot of vaporware; solar power is real equipment producing real energy in a clean, renewable way. It would certainly seem to be what the nation and the world needs right now.

Week of April 27-May 1, 2009

	Monday Open	Friday Close	Up/Down	% Change	Close 1/5/09
Dow Jones DJIA	8076.29	8212.41	+136.12	+1.657%	8952.89
NASDAQ	1694.29	1719.2	+46.13	+1.657	1628.03
Akeena Solar AKNS	1.12	1.07	-.05	-4.464	2.28
Amtel Systems ASYS	3.67	4.60	+.93	+20.21	4.00
Applied Materials AMAT	11.70	12.18	+.48	+3.940	10.67
Canadian Solar CSIQ	6.46	6.86	+.40	+5.831	7.00
ECD (UniSolar) ENER	16.66	18.71	+2.05	+10.95	29.33
Entech Solar ENSL.OB	.2598	.22	-.0398	-15.35	.28
Evergreen Solar ESLR	2.16	2.11	-.05	-2.314	3.60
First Solar FSLR	147.46	180.89	+33.43	+18.48	157.80
GT Solar Int. SOLR	6.58	7.49	+.52	+6.95	4.00
JA Solar JASO	3.20	3.50	+.30	+8.571	5.09
Kyocera KYO	75.68	78.50	+2.82	+3.592	71.87
LDK Solar LDK	7.37	8.20	+.83	+10.12	14.84
MEMC Elect. WFR	15.44	16.54	+1.10	+6.650	15.76
Renesola SOL	3.08	3.45	+.37	+10.72	5.15
Satcon SATC	1.96	2.16	+.20	+9.259	1.60
SolarFun SOLF	4.07	4.1701	+.1001	+2.400	6.12
SunPower SPWRA	25.41	26.72	+.27	+1.010	45.13
SunTech STP	13.16	14.58	+1.42	+9.739	13.55
Trina Solar TSL	13.20	15.90	+2.70	+16.98	10.09
Yingli YGE	6.46	7.35	+.89	+12.10	7.25
Percent change all 20 stocks this week:				+6.72%