German Solar Cuts Delayed? (FSLR; TSL; SPWRA; STP)

From TheStreet.com:

Piper Jaffray produced a research note on Monday morning quoting German press reports that the feed-in tariff (FIT) cuts for ground-based solar, including farmland solar projects, might be delayed until Oct. 1.

The Piper Jaffray note did not specify the German media sources. However, indications that there could be a delay in the implementation of FIT cuts for ground-based solar specifically do dovetail with a report from FBR Capital Markets released last week.

Any delay in the ground-based solar cuts would be a positive for First Solar(FSLR), which has a larges exposure to this market niche.

The German media sources that Piper Jaffray is quoting went further than FBRCapital Markets in suggesting a delay in the FIT cuts for ground-based solar projects. FBR's report said sources in Germany expected continued debate over the start date for the elimination of any support for farmland-based solar projects, but that the tariff elimination itself was not negotiable.

Piper Jaffray, on the other hand, said in its flash note on Monday morning that the German press is reporting that it is not just the farmland-based solar, but all ground-based solar, that might get an extension until Oct. 1. Commercial land-based solar is expected to see tariffs reduced by 15%, while solar projects on contaminated land expect cuts of 11%....MORE