inevitable collapse or cyclical victims? Solar fundamentals continue to deteriorate, despite increasing project economics. Module prices are about 20% lower than a year ago, and ahead of forecasts that they slip below $1/watt (module) by early 2012. However, for the first time in memory, price elasticity is not helping the sector. As expected, first …
“Can’t Anyone Here Play this Game?” Although most of the stocks are well below their IPO price, bankers claim that the industrial biotech boom (over fifty venture-funded private companies) continues, with several more filings in process. As a whole, the technology offers the prospect of energy and specialty chemicals from renewable resources, but the route …
Fundamentals getting better all the time A well known LNG glut to 2015 has evaporated as Japan struggles to offset lost nuclear power with both oil and gas imports. Secular demand beyond 2015 is also rising and at extremely attractive prices. India’s Petronet, the country’s leading operator of LNG regas assets in country, projects that, …
While the US struggles to pass an “Act,” the Free Market moves ahead With all the talk about shovel ready/other job creating infrastructure investment, the noise around the proposed Natural Gas Act continues at a high pitch. Infighting among/between energy producers and consumers threatens any “act”-ion at all. Opponents include Koch Industries (refiner), the …
Masdar’s Green Theme (and Thumb) Continues to Fade to (Carbon) Black The Government of Abu Dhabi, along with it’s most visible sovereign wealth fund, has promoted an environmental agenda for the last five years, promising a Zero Emissions City, a solar PV industry, numerous carbon capture projects, and a 7% renewable energy target for …
Well, at the end of the day, slowing economic activity inevitably reflects – badly – on energy and commodity prices (duhh), especially when the macro correlations (strong dollar-weak commodities, etc) are so fierce. During periods of economic growth, a key component in commodity valuation is the recognition of supply bottlenecks, and a price attached …
State of the State – Half a Year after Fukushima It’s been less than six months since the human, environmental, and economic tragedies of the Japanese earthquake/tsunami and Fukushima accident. The effect on global nuclear power has not been uniform — US plans continue to move toward late decade construction. Several Westinghouse/Toshiba designs are …
Will the last guy out of Tempe (First Solar HQ) turn out the lights? For followers of First Solar, once a 15 bagger from the IPO, last night’s press release marked a sad, but inevitable, transition from startup to ‘corporate’ — former CFO and Project President Jens Meyerhoff will leave the company next month. …
It’s B-a-a-a-a-ck! Quietly, since the 2009 meltdown (orders down 25%, including 50%+ in the US), interest in wind power has recovered quite nicely — no 50% higher than the mid ’09 trough, and 15% over pre-recession highs. Leadership mix has shifted, with two Chinese ‘home grown’ vendors in the Global Top Five (end of …
Oil and the Markets The oil price seems secondary to the gyrations of global markets, accounting, in part, for the delay in this note, although US consumption continues to support weakening economic activity (consumption down 3% YoY for most of the summer). While it’s not easy to allocate reduced US consumption between energy …