Oct 26-30: Dow, NASDAQ, Solar Slip More

Poor week all around for Wall Street

Despite yesterday's good report of the GDP, U.S. stocks tumbled today. MarketWatch reports BofA, JPMorgan Chase and Alcoa led Dow's majors to Friday's 259-point loss to finish at 9972.18. a 2.7% slide for the week. The NASDAQ dropped 109 points since last Friday, a 5.3% slide to 2045.11. Solar Stocks in the 20SSI dropped over 50 points, off 13.6% for the week.

All but one solar stock fell; JA Solar finished up .06. First Solar took the biggest hit dropping a whopping 30 points for a 25% loss for the week. Evidently, few investors caught any of the excitement at this year's Solar Power International 2009 trade show in Anaheim this week as solar stocks dropped an average near 10%.

Investors are still uncertain about the state of the economy and whether stocks are the place to put money. But then historically, October has been a scary month in more ways than one. Will the looming Holiday season be the make or break for the year?

20 Solar Stocks Index Week of Oct 26-30, 2009

	Monday Open	Friday Close	Up/Down	% Change	Close 1/5/09*	Close 3/6/09**
Dow Jones DJIA	9972.18	9712.73	-259.45	-2.671%	8952.89	6626.95
NASDAQ	2154.47	2045.11	-109.36	-5.347	1628.03	1293.85
Akeena Solar AKNS	1.09	.94	-.15	-15.95	2.28	.61
Amtel Systems ASYS	5.85	5.40	-.45	-8.333	4.00	2.73
Applied Materials AMAT	12.95	12.20	-.75	-6.147	10.67	8.70
Canadian Solar CSIQ	16.00	14.58	-1.42	-9.739	7.00	3.0601
ECD (UniSolar) ENER	12.53	10.77	-1.76	-16.34	29.33	17.45
Entech Solar ENSL.OB	.1500	.1450	-.0050	-3.448	.28	.23
Evergreen Solar ESLR	1.64	1.45	-.19	-13.10	3.60	1.03
First Solar FSLR	152.39	121.93	-30.46	-24.98	157.80	108.49
GT Solar Int. SOLR	5.57	5.25	-.32	-6.095	4.00	4.02
JA Solar JASO	3.77	3.83	+.06	+1.591	5.09	1.91
Kyocera KYO	87.07	83.47	-3.60	-4.312	71.87	54.21
LDK Solar LDK	7.58	6.78	-.80	-11.79	14.84	4.40
MEMC Elect. WFR	13.57	12.41	-1.16	-9.347	15.76	13.68
Renesola SOL	4.05	3.68	-.37	-10.05	5.15	2.1201
Satcon SATC	2.12	2.04	-.08	-3.921	1.60	1.23
SolarFun SOLF	5.25	4.75	-.50	-10.53	6.12	2.30
SunPower SPWRA	28.35	24.81	-3.54	-14.27	45.13	23.39
SunTech STP	13.64	12.67	-.97	-7.655	13.55	5.34
Trina Solar TSL	35.55	32.52	-3.03	-9.317	10.09	7.23
Yingli YGE	12.63	11.58	-1.05	-9.067	7.25	3.888
20SSI Weekly Cumulative:	Previous 421.75	Current 371.21	Change -50.54/-13.6%	Avg Stock -9.64%	1/05/09* 415.41	3/06/09** 266.01

* The starting date of the 20 Solar Stock Index (20SSI).
** The Concensus "new" bull market began on Monday, March 9, 2009.
NOTE: All above stocks have market capitization of $100M+ except Akeena Solar, Amtel Systems
and Entech Solar. This listing is strictly informational and implies neither endorsement or disapproval
of any stock listed. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Solar Power International 2009: A Quick Review

Lots of exhibitors--not much new

Solar Power International 2009 in Anaheim, California this week had much of the same energy--pun intended--of last year's trade show in San Diego. There seemed to be more exhibitors as the solar industry is one of the very few growth sectors in the world's economy.

Still, like last year's trade show, there seemed very little that was new.

Ascent Solar (ASTI), of Littleton, Colorado has brought its copper, indium, gallium, selenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells to market recently and they look much like UniSolar's thin-film laminates. Both are lightweight and flexible (pictured) but the main differences are that Ascent's PV uses a plastic substrate whereas UniSolar uses a thin layer of stainless steel on which its amorphous silicon (a-Si) is deposited. Also, Ascent is claiming 10-12% efficiency of its cells as opposed to UniSolar's 7-8%. On Monday, Ascent announced NREL measured 14.01% cell efficiency for Ascent Solar CIGS material. As a result Ascent is planning to add 1% per year to its manufactured PV for worldwide sales. Obviously, this puts thin-film efficiency in parity with most standard crystalline but at significantly less cost per watt. Ascent's PV will be ideal for single-membrane (TPO) roofing solutions.

Ground array foundation posts are a lot simpler to install with Saber Solar Foundations. Saber's posts (available for various weight loads) simply screw into the ground like an auger and don't require cement for holding. The rep at at Saber's booth said this type of foundation meets most municipal building codes. Saber is located in Corona Del Mar, California and offers its drill-posts nationwide: www.saberfoundations.com.

One company offered an automatic panel cleaning solution for areas with limited rainfall (which normally "self-clean" panels). A thin spray of water and mild detergent is applied for three minutes daily to clear panels of natural soiling. Water can be recycled by placing rain gutters on the lower edge of an array. Unfortunately, in the Southwest where such an application is most needed is also experiencing a long-term drought and water is getting precious. So, for large arrays this solution could be cost prohibitive.

More solar tracking manufacturers were exhibiting than last year as production-based incentives are becoming more prevalent worldwide.

Always held in California, Solar Power International 2010 will be at the Los Angeles Convention Center, October 12-14.