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How U.S. solar makers can break into China: JVs, pilots

Katie Fehrenbacher — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:22:44 +0000

China isn’t just the home of low cost solar panel manufacturing, it also has a potentially huge solar project market, thanks to strong Chinese government support and a rapidly growing need for more energy in general. But if you’re an American solar panel maker, how do you break in to the market that’s already flooded with cheap Chinese solar panels and seems to hand deals to domestic suppliers more readily? According to a few deals announced on Monday morning, it’s going to take baby steps like joint ventures and pilot projects.

On Monday, San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower, which makes efficient premium solar panels and trackers, announced a joint venture with silicon materials company Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor, power company Inner Mongolia Power Group and development group the Hohhot Jinqiao City Development Company, to sell solar tech into the Chinese market. The $60 million JV focuses on SunPower’s new C7 Tracker and concentrator technology — a single axis tracker combined with rows of parabolic mirrors and 22.8 percent efficient solar cells — and SunPower is putting in $15 million for a 25 percent stake.

It’s a small move compared to the vast size of the Chinese solar project market. Solar watchers expected China to add 3-4 GW of solar projects this year, 10 GW of solar by 2015, and 50 GW MW by 2020.

And an even smaller deal was announced by an American solar maker in China on Monday, too. Arizona-based First Solar, which makes thin film solar panels, said it has come to an agreement with developer Zhenfa New Energy Science & Technology Company to sell its solar panels to a project in Xinjiang province in early 2013. This would be First Solar’s first commercial project in China.

First Solar actually signed a memorandum of understanding with the local government in Inner Mongolia for 2 GW of solar panels back in 2009 and was hoping to move that project forward last year. But regulatory approval has taken longer than expected. In the most recent quarter First Solar said it has hired Bruce Yung as its new China manager, hoping to kickstart that market.

Looks like large solar deals — like First Solar’s from back in 2009 — tend to get caught up in approval processes and market fluctuations. There was also a 2 GW solar thermal announcement from eSolar back in 2010 with Chinese power equipment maker Penglai Electric, but I haven’t heard about that deal moving forward, either. Smaller steps, working with local partners, seems to be the way to go in the uncertain Chinese solar domestic market.

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Greentech stocks rebound, but only partially

Katie Fehrenbacher — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:48:35 +0000

Greentech stocks, across clean power, biofuels, smart grid, batteries and electric vehicles, took it on the chin in the market sell-off yesterday — the first day of trading after the Standard & Poor downgraded the credit ratings of credit agencies. Well, the entire market did. But the market is rebounding slightly on Tuesday, and greentech stocks got bumped up a bit along with the rest of ‘em.

A few of the stocks I covered yesterday are still down — like EnerNOC, but that’s due to company-specific issues. Most are slightly up, though many didn’t return to the trading levels pre-market sell-off. Here’s a run down on where the stocks I covered yesterday are at this morning:

Solar

Solar panel maker SunPower up 3.06 percent.
Chinese solar panel maker Suntech rises 4.13 percent.
Thin-film solar maker First Solar is still down .40 percent.

Biofuels

Biofuel maker Gevo is back up 10.87 percent.
Algae oil company Solazyme is up 3.07 percent.
Biofuel maker KiOR is down even more: 3.50 percent.
Biofuel maker Amyris is up 0.75 percent.

Electric car and batteries

Lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems is up 11.70 percent.
Electric car maker Tesla Motors is up 5.67 percent.
Battery maker Ener1 is up 6.75 percent.

Smart grid

Smart meter and network maker Itron is up 5.14 percent.
Demand response company Comverge is down even more, by 1.38 percent.
Demand response leader EnerNOC crashed even more, by 36.98 percent . (Yesterday’s market crash is combined with EnerNOC’s own weak earnings statement and a downgraded position to hold by a prominent analyst).
Smart meter and network maker Echelon is back up by 5.51 percent.

Random:

Car sharing company Zipcar is up 2.75 percent. It hasn’t fully recovered from yesterday.
Clean Energy Fuels, which makes natural gas infrastructure for gas-powered cars, is still down by 5.80 percent.

Image courtesy of dizznbonn.

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SunPower Reports Blockbuster 2010 Year & Q4 Earnings

Katie Fehrenbacher — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:07:46 +0000

Solar bellwether SunPower reported a blockbuster fourth quarter and fiscal year 2010 earnings on Thursday. SunPower, which develops high-efficiency solar panels and solar projects, announced it generated revenue of $2.22 billion for the fiscal year 2010, up sharply from revenues of $1.52 billion for the fiscal year 2009. At the same time, SunPower generated net income of $178.72 million for the fiscal year 2010, up from the net income for 2009 at $32.52 million.

Fourth quarter earnings were even more impressive. For the fourth quarter of 2010, SunPower earned $152.25 million, up dramatically from the $8.54 million of net income generated in the fourth quarter of 2009. Revenues for the fourth quarter 2011 were $937.07 million, up from $547.94 million for fourth quarter 2009. SunPower’s guidance for fiscal year 2011 was up to $2.8 billion – $2.95 billion.

SunPower’s shares were up 1.69 percent to close at $17.43, and were up to $18.51 in after hours trading.

SunPower generates revenue from both developing utility-scale and commercial solar projects and also manufacturing solar panels. SunPower said for 2010, it expanded its global utility and power plant pipeline to more than 5 GW. Costs for its solar panels will equal $1.08 per watt by the fourth quarter of 2011, says SunPower.

SunPower’s 2010 blockbuster earnings represents an upswing in both the solar industry and the economy. A year ago, SunPower reported fourth quarter and 2009 year results that were a triple-whammy of bad news: a drop in 2009 fourth quarter profits, a lower-than-expected earnings guidance for 2010 and a restating of its earnings for 2008 and the first three quarters of 2009. Ouch. It’s good to be back in the sun.

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