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Tech stocks - Saturday, November 14, 2009

Making The Green Scene: Suntech Continues Shining, Clean Energy Patents Remain Strong, and Phoenix Solar Is Not Rising From The Ashes

Suntech(STP:NYSE) believes they are going to be developing 18MW of solar rooftop projects by mid-2010 according to a press release issued today. Unfortunately for Suntech, the press release lacked any official endorsement from the Ministry of Finance, the overseer of China’s Solar Rooftop program. So far 111 solar projects totaling 91MW have been approved to receive funds from the Ministry of Finance. To Suntech’s credit, they have already completed 4MW worth of projects and state the rest will be completed by the middle of 2010. And considering that Suntech is acting as a partial investor or system owner on some of the projects, finishing the other 14MW worth of projects is pretty much a lock. While these projects should boost Suntech’s bottom line, the system owners will also get a lift by receiving a $1.90-2.49 per watt rebate for all project approved through the program.

Despite the waning economy in the U.S., innovation in clean energy is still very strong according the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index (CEPGI) released by the law firm of Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. During the third quarter of 2009, 271 patents for clean energy innovations were granted, three short of the record-setting previous quarter. Leading the categories was 158 patents issued for fuel cell innovations. Wind and solar patents were up 35 and 33 respectively while biofuel had a strong quarter with 11. Surprisingly (at least in this writer’s opinion), tidal/wave energy had 9 patents.

Thanks to SunEdison, Proctor & Gamble (PG:NYSE) announced earlier this week that they flipped the switch on a new 1.1MW photovoltaic solar system at their plant in Oxnard, CA. Proctor & Gamble didn’t have to put a dime upfront for panel costs or installation. Instead, SunEdison financed the entire project and will maintain the panels the system. So what’s in it for SunEdison? They have a 20-year deal to sell the power generated by the rooftop panels to the food giant at favorable, and predictable, rate. A great deal for SunEdison, P&G, and the environment.

Germany’s Phoenix Solar reported earnings yesterday and their numbers reinforced the statements of the solar industry’s pessimists. According to the translated release (the company’s site is in German along with their news releases), Q3 revenues for the company were down 40 percent to $133.7 million. Phoenix Solar attributed the decline to a steep drop in module prices and a difficult business environment for the power plant business. Making matters worse for solar optimists, Phoenix Solar lowered their full-year revenue guidance from $774.9 million to a range of $640.8 million to $715.3 million. If Phoenix Solar were traded on a U.S.-based exchange, their stock would have been dumped the next day. Hopefully German traders were more merciful today.