Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Solar Stocks Extend Sell Off On Concerns Over Spain

Eric Savitz has been all over this story.
From Barron's Tech Trader Daily:

The sell-off in the solar sector continues today, due largely to ongoing concerns about a proposal for a sharp reduction in solar subsidies in Spain.

As I noted yesterday
, the Spanish government is considering a proposal which would put a 300 MW cap on subsidized solar installations, with a reduction in the subsidy to 33 Euro cents per kilowatt-hour for roof-top installations, and 29 cents for ground-based systems. That would be down from about 45 cents now.

Several analysts weighed in on the issue this morning.

Deutsche Bank’s Stephen O’Rourke notes that a 300 MW cap would be in sharp contrast to installations of more than 1GW in 2008. Were a cap of that size enacted, “it would be a clear negative for overall industry growth,” he writes. O’Rourke advises sticking to companies with lower exposure to Spain, including First Solar (FSLR) and MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR)....MORE