Thursday, January 17, 2008

ANALYSIS-Solar industry faces more supply, falling prices (FSLR; JASO; SPWR; STP; YGE

This makes four posts on capacity in the solar industry
(go to main & scroll).
I think we got us a meme.
From Reuters:

The booming solar power sector is about to get squeezed by the age-old laws of supply and demand.

Solar energy companies are scrambling to ramp up production amid skyrocketing interest in renewable energy, but the pendulum is swinging quickly toward oversupply.

That places a few players in the sector, including Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd (YGE), First Solar Inc (FSLR), as well as Q-Cells (QCEG.DE) and SolarWorld AG (SWVG.DE), in the best position to benefit from the changing dynamics, analysts said.

Torrid investment in 2007 fueled growth at solar companies JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd (JASO), Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd (STP), SunPower Corp (SPWR) and others thanks to global warming concerns, soaring fossil fuel prices and government subsidies in Germany, Spain and the United States.

The shares of those companies soared last year, but have been pummeled in the opening weeks of 2008 as concerns about a possible U.S. recession weigh down the broader market.

Still, strong demand for solar panels is expected to continue through this year, although more of the industry's key raw ingredient, polysilicon, is coming to the market, which will lead to more photovoltaic (PV) cells that convert sunlight into electricity. Cells are then packaged together to form the modules that make up solar panels....MORE