The 2nd China Renewable Energy & Energy-saving Products Exposition will be held at National Agricultural Exhibition Center in Beijing June 1st through June 3rd, 2007.
You may see the renewable energy and energy-saving development and utilization here.
Please come to http://www.creesp.org.cn to know more about this exhibition.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
2007: The Year of the Thin Film PV Stock
by J. Peter Lynch, Independent Wall Street Analyst
Wall Street is always looking for the next big thing. The market constantly seems to recognize a trend ahead of the general media and once the newspapers start to talk about a subject, many of the stronger public players in that field have already made significant moves. Nowhere in the renewable energy sectors has this been more apparent than with solar related stocks.
In 2005, solar stocks outperformed the average NASDAQ stock by an amazingly wide margin -- almost 100 fold greater. Certainly the solar sector of the market was the place to be in 2005.
* Average Gain for US solar stocks in 2005 = +134%
* NASDAQ Gain in 2005 = +1.37%
Last year, 2006, was the beginning of a significant ramp up in solar financings and solar IPO's and more importantly, it marked the beginning of serious financial resources coming into the solar industry, which will allow the industry to continue and even expand its current robust growth.
In fact, 2006 could be called, "The Year of the Solar IPO," with IPO companies coming from all points on the globe -- U.S., Europe and China. I see this surge in IPO's continuing in 2007 and beyond. This industry has incredible growth ahead of it and will need adequate funding to fuel its growth.
With all of this booming growth and activity in 2005 and 2006, what is left for the current year?
I think that 2007 may mark a very significant chapter in the history of the renewable energy industry -- the beginning of the transition from the current dominant technology, crystalline silicon, to the "next generation" photovoltaic (PV) technology -- thin film technologies. This year may well be the "Year of Thin Film Photovoltaics."
Thin film technologies are various technologies that have been underdevelopment for the past 15 to 20 years and utilize very small amounts of specialized materials to create solar panels. These thin film panels have the potential to produce power significantly cheaper than today's standard silicon technology.
The panels are usually made in the form of a monolithic piece of glass, upon which various thin films are deposited. A number of firms are also working on depositing various thin film materials on flexible substrates, such as stainless steel or plastic.
Types of Thin Film Technology
There are primarily three types of thin film technologies that have each been researched for over 15 years and are the current focus of the solar industry: Amorphous Silicon (a-Si); Cadmium Telluride (CdTe); Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS).
Amorphous Silicon had the largest share of the thin film market (64%) as of the end of 2005. It has been researched for the longest period of time, may be the best understood material of the three and has been commercial for the longest. Cadmium Telluride had 26% share of the market and is ramping up very rapidly, with Copper Indium Gallium Selenide having a 10% share of the thin film market, with great potential, but is the least understood and least developed of the three materials.
Advantages of thin film technologies over conventional crystalline silicon include:
* Lower cost of production than conventional silicon processes.
* Lower manufacturing facility cost per watt -- CapEx.
* Uses far less material, than the amount used in standard silicon cells.
* Lower energy payback -- amount of time until the product produces more energy than was utilized in its manufacture.
* Produces more useable power per rated watt.
* Superior performance in hot and overcast climates.
* Ability to be attractively integrated into buildings -- Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV).
* Produces the lowest cost power.
Thin Film Publicly Traded Stocks
There are a number of public companies that are working in the area of photovoltaic thin films. But the majority of these companies do not have thin film as their primary business. As a result, I will divide them into two groups:
Thin Film Pure Plays. These are companies whose primary business is thin film photovoltaics
Thin Film Related Companies. These are companies that have a division in thin film, an investment in a thin film development company or internal R&D focused on thin film.
Pure Plays:
* Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. -- NASDAQ -- symbol ASTIMaterial used: Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIG)
* First Solar, Inc. - NASDAQ -- symbol FSLRMaterial used: Cadmium Telluride (CdTe)
* Daystar Technologies, Inc. -- NASDAQ -- symbol DSTIMaterial used: Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS)
* Power Film, Inc. -- London AIM Exchange -- symbol PFLM-LMaterial used: Amorphous Silicon (a-Si)
Thin Film Related Companies:
* Applied Materials, NASDAQ -- AMAT
* Energy Conversion Devices, NASDAQ -- ENER
* Ersol Solar Energy AG, Frankfurt Exchange -- ES6-F
* Q-Cells, Frankfurt Exchange -- QCE-F
* Solon AG Fuer Solartechnik, Frankfurt Exchange -- SOO1-F
* Suntech, NYSE -- STP
These are not all the companies in the world working on thin film technologies. However, they are some of the public companies that have made significant comments in their annual reports concerning their work in thin film and consider it to be a key part of their future expansion strategy.
As a number of thin film technologies mature, I believe we will see many additional thin film pure plays, like First Solar (FSLR) going public to raise the necessary funding to expand their technology to address the booming worldwide PV marketplace. The future of distributed solar electric is rapidly approaching and it is called Thin Film Photovoltaics.
Wall Street is always looking for the next big thing. The market constantly seems to recognize a trend ahead of the general media and once the newspapers start to talk about a subject, many of the stronger public players in that field have already made significant moves. Nowhere in the renewable energy sectors has this been more apparent than with solar related stocks.
In 2005, solar stocks outperformed the average NASDAQ stock by an amazingly wide margin -- almost 100 fold greater. Certainly the solar sector of the market was the place to be in 2005.
* Average Gain for US solar stocks in 2005 = +134%
* NASDAQ Gain in 2005 = +1.37%
Last year, 2006, was the beginning of a significant ramp up in solar financings and solar IPO's and more importantly, it marked the beginning of serious financial resources coming into the solar industry, which will allow the industry to continue and even expand its current robust growth.
In fact, 2006 could be called, "The Year of the Solar IPO," with IPO companies coming from all points on the globe -- U.S., Europe and China. I see this surge in IPO's continuing in 2007 and beyond. This industry has incredible growth ahead of it and will need adequate funding to fuel its growth.
With all of this booming growth and activity in 2005 and 2006, what is left for the current year?
I think that 2007 may mark a very significant chapter in the history of the renewable energy industry -- the beginning of the transition from the current dominant technology, crystalline silicon, to the "next generation" photovoltaic (PV) technology -- thin film technologies. This year may well be the "Year of Thin Film Photovoltaics."
Thin film technologies are various technologies that have been underdevelopment for the past 15 to 20 years and utilize very small amounts of specialized materials to create solar panels. These thin film panels have the potential to produce power significantly cheaper than today's standard silicon technology.
The panels are usually made in the form of a monolithic piece of glass, upon which various thin films are deposited. A number of firms are also working on depositing various thin film materials on flexible substrates, such as stainless steel or plastic.
Types of Thin Film Technology
There are primarily three types of thin film technologies that have each been researched for over 15 years and are the current focus of the solar industry: Amorphous Silicon (a-Si); Cadmium Telluride (CdTe); Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS).
Amorphous Silicon had the largest share of the thin film market (64%) as of the end of 2005. It has been researched for the longest period of time, may be the best understood material of the three and has been commercial for the longest. Cadmium Telluride had 26% share of the market and is ramping up very rapidly, with Copper Indium Gallium Selenide having a 10% share of the thin film market, with great potential, but is the least understood and least developed of the three materials.
Advantages of thin film technologies over conventional crystalline silicon include:
* Lower cost of production than conventional silicon processes.
* Lower manufacturing facility cost per watt -- CapEx.
* Uses far less material, than the amount used in standard silicon cells.
* Lower energy payback -- amount of time until the product produces more energy than was utilized in its manufacture.
* Produces more useable power per rated watt.
* Superior performance in hot and overcast climates.
* Ability to be attractively integrated into buildings -- Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV).
* Produces the lowest cost power.
Thin Film Publicly Traded Stocks
There are a number of public companies that are working in the area of photovoltaic thin films. But the majority of these companies do not have thin film as their primary business. As a result, I will divide them into two groups:
Thin Film Pure Plays. These are companies whose primary business is thin film photovoltaics
Thin Film Related Companies. These are companies that have a division in thin film, an investment in a thin film development company or internal R&D focused on thin film.
Pure Plays:
* Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. -- NASDAQ -- symbol ASTIMaterial used: Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIG)
* First Solar, Inc. - NASDAQ -- symbol FSLRMaterial used: Cadmium Telluride (CdTe)
* Daystar Technologies, Inc. -- NASDAQ -- symbol DSTIMaterial used: Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS)
* Power Film, Inc. -- London AIM Exchange -- symbol PFLM-LMaterial used: Amorphous Silicon (a-Si)
Thin Film Related Companies:
* Applied Materials, NASDAQ -- AMAT
* Energy Conversion Devices, NASDAQ -- ENER
* Ersol Solar Energy AG, Frankfurt Exchange -- ES6-F
* Q-Cells, Frankfurt Exchange -- QCE-F
* Solon AG Fuer Solartechnik, Frankfurt Exchange -- SOO1-F
* Suntech, NYSE -- STP
These are not all the companies in the world working on thin film technologies. However, they are some of the public companies that have made significant comments in their annual reports concerning their work in thin film and consider it to be a key part of their future expansion strategy.
As a number of thin film technologies mature, I believe we will see many additional thin film pure plays, like First Solar (FSLR) going public to raise the necessary funding to expand their technology to address the booming worldwide PV marketplace. The future of distributed solar electric is rapidly approaching and it is called Thin Film Photovoltaics.
China's Solar-Powered City
by Xuemei Bai
Buildings in Rizhao, a coastal city of nearly three million on the Shandong Peninsula in northern China, have a common yet unique appearance: most rooftops and walls are covered with small panels. They are solar heat collectors.
In Rizhao City, which means City of Sunshine in Chinese, 99 percent of households in the central districts use solar water heaters, and most traffic signals, street and park lights are powered by photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. In the suburbs and villages, more than 30 percent of households use solar water heaters, and over 6,000 households have solar cooking facilities. More than 60,000 greenhouses are heated by solar panels, reducing overhead costs for farmers in nearby areas.
In total, the city has over a half-million square meters of solar water heating panels, the equivalent of about 0.5 megawatts of electric water heaters.
The fact that Rizhao is a small, ordinary Chinese city with per capita incomes even lower than in most other cities in the region makes the story even more remarkable. The achievement was the result of an unusual convergence of three key factors: a government policy that encourages solar energy use and financially supports research and development, local solar panel industries that seized the opportunity and improved their products, and the strong political will of the city's leadership to adopt it.
As is the case in industrial countries that promote solar power, the Shandong provincial government provided subsidies. Instead of funding the end users, however, the government funded the research and development activities of the solar water heater industry.
Mayor Li Zhaoqian explained: "It is not realistic to subsidize end users as we don't have sufficient financial capacity." Instead, the provincial government invested in the industry to achieve technological breakthroughs, which increased efficiency and lowered the unit cost.
The cost of a solar water heater was brought down to the same level as an electric one: about $190, which is about 4-5 percent of the annual income of an average household in town and about 8-10 percent of a rural household's income. Also, the panels could be simply attached to the exterior of a building. Using a solar water heater for 15 years costs about 15,000 Yuan less than running a conventional electric heater, which equates to saving $120 per year.
A combination of regulations and public education spurred the broad adoption of solar heaters. The city mandates all new buildings to incorporate solar panels, and it oversees the construction process to ensure proper installation. To raise awareness, the city held open seminars and ran public advertising on television. Government buildings and the homes of city leaders were the first to have the panels installed. Some government bodies and businesses provided free installation for employees, although the users pay for repairs and replacement.
After 15 years of effort, it seems the merit of using a solar heater has become common sense in Rizhao, and "you don't need to persuade people anymore to make the choice," according to Wang Shuguang, a government official.
Widespread use of solar energy reduced the use of coal and help improve the environmental quality of Rizhao, which has consistently been listed in the top 10 cities for air quality in China. In 2006, the State Environmental Protection Agency designated Rizhao as the Environmental Protection Model City.
Rizhao's leaders believe that an enhanced environment will in turn help the city's social, economic, and cultural development in the long run, and they see solar energy as a starting point to trigger this positive cycle. Some recent statistics show Rizhao is on track. The city is attracting a rapidly increasing amount of foreign direct investment, and according to city officials, environment is one of the key factors bringing these investors to Rizhao.
The travel industry in the city is also booming. In the last two years, the number of visitors increased by 48 and 30 percent respectively. Since 2002, the city has successfully hosted a series of domestic and international water sports events, including the International Sailing Federation's Grade W 470 World Sailing Championship.
The favorable environmental profile of Rizhao is changing its cultural profile as well, by attracting high-profile universities and professors to the city. Peking University, the most prestigious one in China, is building a residential complex in Rizhao, for example. More than 300 professors have bought their second or retirement homes in the city, working and living in this new complex at least part of the year. Qufu Normal University and Shandong Institute of Athletics have also chosen Rizhao for new campuses.
Buildings in Rizhao, a coastal city of nearly three million on the Shandong Peninsula in northern China, have a common yet unique appearance: most rooftops and walls are covered with small panels. They are solar heat collectors.
In Rizhao City, which means City of Sunshine in Chinese, 99 percent of households in the central districts use solar water heaters, and most traffic signals, street and park lights are powered by photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. In the suburbs and villages, more than 30 percent of households use solar water heaters, and over 6,000 households have solar cooking facilities. More than 60,000 greenhouses are heated by solar panels, reducing overhead costs for farmers in nearby areas.
In total, the city has over a half-million square meters of solar water heating panels, the equivalent of about 0.5 megawatts of electric water heaters.
The fact that Rizhao is a small, ordinary Chinese city with per capita incomes even lower than in most other cities in the region makes the story even more remarkable. The achievement was the result of an unusual convergence of three key factors: a government policy that encourages solar energy use and financially supports research and development, local solar panel industries that seized the opportunity and improved their products, and the strong political will of the city's leadership to adopt it.
As is the case in industrial countries that promote solar power, the Shandong provincial government provided subsidies. Instead of funding the end users, however, the government funded the research and development activities of the solar water heater industry.
Mayor Li Zhaoqian explained: "It is not realistic to subsidize end users as we don't have sufficient financial capacity." Instead, the provincial government invested in the industry to achieve technological breakthroughs, which increased efficiency and lowered the unit cost.
The cost of a solar water heater was brought down to the same level as an electric one: about $190, which is about 4-5 percent of the annual income of an average household in town and about 8-10 percent of a rural household's income. Also, the panels could be simply attached to the exterior of a building. Using a solar water heater for 15 years costs about 15,000 Yuan less than running a conventional electric heater, which equates to saving $120 per year.
A combination of regulations and public education spurred the broad adoption of solar heaters. The city mandates all new buildings to incorporate solar panels, and it oversees the construction process to ensure proper installation. To raise awareness, the city held open seminars and ran public advertising on television. Government buildings and the homes of city leaders were the first to have the panels installed. Some government bodies and businesses provided free installation for employees, although the users pay for repairs and replacement.
After 15 years of effort, it seems the merit of using a solar heater has become common sense in Rizhao, and "you don't need to persuade people anymore to make the choice," according to Wang Shuguang, a government official.
Widespread use of solar energy reduced the use of coal and help improve the environmental quality of Rizhao, which has consistently been listed in the top 10 cities for air quality in China. In 2006, the State Environmental Protection Agency designated Rizhao as the Environmental Protection Model City.
Rizhao's leaders believe that an enhanced environment will in turn help the city's social, economic, and cultural development in the long run, and they see solar energy as a starting point to trigger this positive cycle. Some recent statistics show Rizhao is on track. The city is attracting a rapidly increasing amount of foreign direct investment, and according to city officials, environment is one of the key factors bringing these investors to Rizhao.
The travel industry in the city is also booming. In the last two years, the number of visitors increased by 48 and 30 percent respectively. Since 2002, the city has successfully hosted a series of domestic and international water sports events, including the International Sailing Federation's Grade W 470 World Sailing Championship.
The favorable environmental profile of Rizhao is changing its cultural profile as well, by attracting high-profile universities and professors to the city. Peking University, the most prestigious one in China, is building a residential complex in Rizhao, for example. More than 300 professors have bought their second or retirement homes in the city, working and living in this new complex at least part of the year. Qufu Normal University and Shandong Institute of Athletics have also chosen Rizhao for new campuses.
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