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May 1st, 2012 Archives
SolarCity plans IPO
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Two weeks ago, solar power plant company BrightSource Energy abruptly canceled plans for an initial public stock offering, convinced that investors currently have little appetite for new solar shares.
Now SolarCity Corp. will test that theory.
SolarCity on Monday reported plans for its own IPO. The San Mateo company, best known for leasing rooftop solar systems to homeowners and businesses, filed a confidential draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week.
SolarCity's brief statement announcing its IPO did not specify a price range for the stock or say when trading might commence.
The company was founded in 2006 by brothers Lyndon and Peter Rive. Their cousin - Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk - chairs the company's board.
To read the entire article go to: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/01/BU4O1OB9I8.DTL&type=business
Share This PostPanel Installer SolarCity Plans to Go Public
By CASSANDRA SWEET April 30, 2012, 2:24 p.m. ET
California solar-panel installer SolarCity Corp. said Monday that it plans to file for an initial public offering.
The San Mateo, Calif., company said it filed confidential draft registration documents last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was unclear when the company planned to file public registration documents and when it plans to go public.
A SolarCity spokesman declined to provide details beyond a brief prepared statement.
The filing comes at a time of great strain for solar-panel manufacturers, as prices and profits have plunged amid a global oversupply of panels and relatively weak demand. Investors and solar-panel installers such as SolarCity have fared much better as they have been able to take advantage of federal and state government subsidies, like tax credits, while prices for solar panels and other equipment have cut development costs.
To read the entire article go to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303916904577376113709436728.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines
Share This PostLaid-off SolarWorld workers get federal aid
More fallout from the trade case
Bill Opalka | Apr 30, 2012
Workers at an Oregon solar manufacturing plant are eligible for federal assistance for displaced workers due to illegal trade from China that caused the plant’s shutdown.
To read the entire article go to: http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/12/04/laid-solarworld-workers-get-federal-aid&utm_medium=eNL&utm_campaign=RB_DAILY2&utm_term=Original-Member
Share This PostSlide Show: Is Thin-Film Solar Dead?
Well, not dead, but in dire need of a transfusion, as per the GTM Research thin film report. Plus, a few words on First Solar.
Eric Wesoff, MJ Shiao: April 27, 2012
GTM Research just published its most current and detailed report on thin-film solar technologies and markets. The author, MJ Shiao, conducted a webinar this week (archived here), which gave an introduction to the topic and the report.
Those following the news are well aware that recent events in the thin-film solar market are less than positive.
First Solar is closing its German factory and idling four of its industry cost-leading production lines in Malaysia. The company's stock price is currently trading at $18.31 per share -- that's below it's $20.00 2006 IPO strike price. (On a somewhat unrelated note, Mike Ahern, the current interim CEO of First Solar, is crowned King of the Inside Sellers here.)
As Shiao said, if First Solar is struggling, other thin film firms are in deep trouble, as well.
To read the entire article go to: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Slide-Show-Is-Thin-Film-Solar-Dead/
Share This PostHeliatek’s Organic Solar Cells Join PV Firms Setting Records in Efficiency
Despite dark times, we’re seeing record-setting PV performance across all materials systems, from Organic Solar Cells to CdTe to c-Si to CPV to CIGS to CIS to GaAs.
Eric Wesoff: April 27, 2012
We've been keeping a tally of recent record-setting solar cell and module achievements and are now adding Heliatek's record for organic solar cells. It's a champion cell on a small area, but it has achieved 10.7 percent efficiency.
The question remains: can organic solar cell technology be successfully commercialized in an unforgiving solar market dominated by crystalline silicon and First Solar? Heliatek of Dresden, Germany thinks so.
To read the entire article go to: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Heliateks-Organic-Solar-Cells-Join-PV-Firms-Setting-Records-in-Efficiency/
Share This PostOhio solar project passes federal environmental review
One of the largest projects in the East
Bill Opalka | Apr 29, 2012
A nearly 50-MW solar project in Ohio on a reclaimed strip mine has no significant environmental impact, according to a ruling issued in the Federal Register.
To read the entire article go to: http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/12/04/ohio-solar-project-passes-federal-environmental-review&utm_medium=eNL&utm_campaign=RB_DAILY2&utm_term=Original-Member
Share This PostFallout from Japan’s Nuclear Energy Crisis is Snowballing
Ken Silverstein | Apr 30, 2012
The fallout from Fukushima is starting to snowball. Japan now has to make some decisions, namely whether to restart some of its nuclear plants or to rely more heavily on fossil fuels to cool homes this summer.
To read the entire article go to: http://www.energybiz.com/article/12/04/fallout-japans-nuclear-energy-crisis-snowballing&utm_medium=eNL&utm_campaign=EB_DAILY2&utm_term=Original-Member
Share This PostWoodside Sells $2 Billion LNG Stake
By ROSS KELLY Updated May 1, 2012, 10:26 a.m. ET
SYDNEY—Woodside Petroleum Ltd. has sold a minority stake in its proposed Browse gas-export project in Australia to a Japanese consortium for US$2 billion, giving a boost to a development that faces technical and environmental risks.
Australia's largest pure-play oil company said Tuesday that it has agreed to sell a 14.7% equity interest in the project to Japan Australia LNG, a joint venture between Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp.
The deal underscores how fuel-strapped Asian economies such as Japan and South Korea remain hungry for liquefied natural gas, despite already signing a string of large deals with rival Australian LNG producers.
To read the entire article go to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303916904577376821558965302.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines
Share This PostChina Grid Slowdown Hurts Siemens, ABB
Is the world’s biggest future smart grid market faltering?
Jeff St. John: April 27, 2012
The smart grid industry’s malaise so far this year has a decidedly international flavor to it. Along with the post-stimulus slowdown in the United States and Europe’s ongoing economic crisis, we’ve apparently got slowdowns in orders from would-be next-generation growth markets like China and India to deal with.
Those are some conclusions to draw from a flurry of bad first-quarter financial news for the smart grid this week. One of the biggest came from Siemens, which lowered its 2012 profit guidance on Wednesday from 6 billion euros ($7.95 billion) to between 5.2 billion and 5.4 billion euros ($6.9 billion to $7.1 billion), based on slowdowns both in European offshore wind power and in Chinese grid equipment.
To read the entire article go to: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/china-grid-slowdown-hurts-siemens-abb/
Share This PostConoco, CNOOC Settle Claim Over China Oil Spill
By ISABEL ORDÓÑEZ Updated April 30, 2012, 11:58 a.m. ET
ConocoPhillips reached an agreement with Chinese regulators to resolve all pending government claims related to June oil spills in Bohai Bay, off northeastern China.
Under the agreement, Conoco will pay $173 million to the Chinese State Oceanic Administration over the next two years and will contribute $18 million by December 2014 toward social projects benefiting Bohai Bay, the Houston-based company said Monday.
The agreement also provides that China National Offshore Oil Corp. will contribute $76 million toward such projects.
The initial programs will focus on improving protection of the marine environment and reducing pollutants in the bay.
To read the entire article go to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304050304577375924040053362.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines
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