Monday, November 16, 2009

Cheap Solar: Plunging Silicon Gives Asian Solar Companies an Edge, HSBC Says (TSL; STP; YGE)

From Environmental Capital:

Solar prices have already collapsed, but they still have plenty of room to keep falling. That’s actually good news for the industry—and for Asian solar-power companies in particular, HSBC says in a new report.

Thanks to the glut of polysilicon, prices for solar-power modules have collapsed, falling 50% over the last year, the bank says. Since there’s still a supply glut, prices will keep falling—another 20% by the end of 2010.

The bad news, such as it is, is that falling prices squeeze margins at lots of solar companies, slamming share prices and forcing layoffs....

...For the investment bank, that means that companies such as Trina Solar and Suntech Power are becoming more attractive. The bank initiated coverage on Trina at “overweight” and upgraded Suntech to “neutral” from “underweight.” Less attractive? Yingli Green Energy and LDK Solar, both burdened by in-house silicon production....MORE
TickerSpy's Chinese Solar Index is up 4.7% on the day.
Their Solar Index is up 3.8% today