solar trackers

solar trackers

« Previous12345Next »

Solar Energy Firm Loses Stock Rating

 In a move that may surprise both solar investors and solar energy users, Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar shares have come under fire by FBR Capital Markets Analyst Mehdi Hosseini.

First Solar, one of the nation's premier manufacturers of thin-film solar for use in large-scale, grid-connected solar plants, had up to now appeared to be ahead of the game, with thin film applications proven superior in performance and cost savings in such venues as the South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID) water treatment plant in California.

There, Conergy's 1.6 megawatt crystalline photovoltaic installation has so far competed unsuccessfully with First Solar's 419 kilowatt thin-film installation, both operating on single-axis solar trackers.

This comparison, also known as the Robert O. Schultz Solar Farm, is being tracked by San Jose-based Fat Spaniel Technologies, an independent provider of monitoring and reporting services for the renewable energy industry, and Conergy's Western U.S. Project Director David Vincent admits that early Fat Spaniel data indicates that the output of the thin-film modules is about 10 percent greater than that of the crystalline modules, even given the fact that thin-film technology is about 10-percent cheaper than crystalline PV technology.

On Tuesday, Hosseini cut his rating of First Solar from Market Perform to Underperform, setting a target price of $110 per share, well below the May 22 close of $191.72. Hosseini bases the downgrade on the fact that one of First Solar's top customers recently switched to a silicon-based module for a project currently under construction. Hosseini also noted that KfW, a German development bank vested in financing solar projects, says that only 55 percent of its current projects are thin film, as compared to 80 percent in 2008.

It's a surprising move given thin-film's recent advances in cutting degradation from sunlight (the Staebler-Wronski Effect) by developing multiple layers of thin-film strata and the use of such elements as germanium in base layers to reduce band gap and improve light absorption. And data from the Shultz Solar Farm indicate improvements in solar-capture efficiencies that far surpass previous maximum levels of 18 percent efficiency in solar capture.

Such moves on the part of stock analysts, who are not intimately involved in solar technology, threaten the progress of thin film as a commercially viable solar energy solution, and force thin film back to its niche market in low power designs, consumer electronics and building-integrated applications. Hosseini's rating will further dry up the venture capital market even for those thin-film start-ups which have discovered unique and environmentally valuable ways to make thin film perform on a par with silicone solar technology.

About the Author

Cooler Planet is a leading solar resource for connecting consumers and commercial entities with local solar Installers. Cooler Planet's solar energy resource page contains articles and tools about solar panels to help with your solar project.

Solar Tracker