Financial Information
Being Conservative in a Liberal Industry
22 April 2013POSTED IN Guest Blogs
The solar industry should be grateful to every government that has given it subsidies. However, almost every industry should be grateful to the governments that helped them get going with subsidies, and the industries that have been well established that still get incentives should be grateful as well. In most cases however, incentives do not last forever, and they will decline in the near future. With an imminent decline and end of incentives provided by the California Solar Initiative (CSI), many businesses and consumers who are currently installing or interested in solar installations may be wondering what the end of CSI will mean for them. The key to an incentive is to get your foot into the door, set up your business, and become viable post-incentive.
LDK Solar's Cash Flow Problems Continue
16 April 2013POSTED IN Business News
LDK Solar Co., Ltd., a vertically integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products, today announced that, due to a temporary cash-flow shortage, LDK Solar was not able to make full payments to the holders of its 4.75% convertible senior notes due 2013 in an aggregate principal amount of US$23,793,000, plus interest, otherwise due and payable on their maturity date of 15 April, 2013.
Assurant's Solar Group Names David Smith, Senior Product Manager
09 April 2013POSTED IN Business News
Assurant, Inc.’s solar group named industry veteran David Smith to the new role of senior product manager. In this position, Smith will develop innovative insurance products and services to reduce project risks for solar developers, owners and lending institutions.
Mercom Capital Reports Solar Investment Shift Toward Leasing Firms
09 April 2013POSTED IN Business News
Mercom Capital Group, LLC, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, released its report on funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity for the solar sector during the first quarter of 2013. The slump in global venture capital (VC) investments, which started in Q3 2012, continued, dipping to $126 million in 26 deals in Q1 2013 compared to $220 million in 27 deals in the previous quarter. This is the second lowest quarter for VC funding since 2008. In total, downstream companies, mostly solar lease companies, raised $75 million in eight deals, followed by thin film with $25 million in six deals.
Suntech Share Prices Draws Notice from New York Stock Exchange
09 April 2013POSTED IN Business News
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of solar panels, today announced that it has been notified by the New York Stock Exchange that the Company did not meet the NYSE's price criteria for continued listing standard because, as of 4 April, 2013, the average closing price of the Company's American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, was less than $1.00 per ADS over a consecutive 30-trading-day period.
IHS Comments on the Rise and Fall of Suntech
24 March 2013POSTED IN Business News
Suntech Power’s epic plunge from solar module dominance to bankruptcy comes as the result of misplaced investments, a misguided pricing strategy, antidumping action in the United States and a potential new willingness by the Chinese government and banking system to cast off detrimental manufacturers, according to the IHS Solar service at information and analytics provider IHS.
Court Accepts Suntech Restructuring
21 March 2013POSTED IN Business News
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., today announced that the Wuxi Municipal Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu Province, China has formally accepted the petition for the insolvency and restructuring of the Company's Chinese subsidiary Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd.
Suntech Announces Insolvency and Restructuring
20 March 2013POSTED IN Business News
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. announced that a group of eight Chinese banks filed a petition for insolvency and restructuring of its Chinese subsidiary Wuxi Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. This comes on the heels of the announcement that the company is closing its plant in Arizona (US) and that it defaulted on bond payments.
NREL Works to Standardize Solar Finance and Reduce Risk
20 March 2013POSTED IN Politics and Policy News
The US Department of Energy's (DOE)'s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently convened the Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC) working group with a mission to enable securitization of solar PV assets and associated cash flows in the marketplace.
Suntech Defaults on $541M Bond Payment
18 March 2013POSTED IN Business News
The sun is setting on Suntech, as the company announced that it has received from the trustee of its 3% Convertible Notes a notice of default and acceleration relating to Suntech's non-payment of the principal amount of $541 million (US) that was due to holders of the Notes on 15 March, 2013. Such event of default has also triggered cross-defaults under Suntech's other outstanding debt, including its loans from International Finance Corporation and Chinese domestic lenders.
Solon Completes Arizona Multi-Campus Solar System
28 February 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Solon Corporation has completed construction of 1.15MW of solar systems for the Tanque Verde Unified School District (TVUSD) in Tucson, Arizona (US).
Spread over four campuses (Tanque Verde Elementary School, Aqua Caliente Elementary School, Emily Gray Junior High School and Tanque Verde High School), the solar systems are a combination of shade structures and rooftop systems. With more than 4,000 solar modules, the systems will offset a large portion of the daytime electricity requirements of each campus.
Chaori Solar May Default on Bond Payments
22 February 2013POSTED IN Business News
Chinese solar cell company Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology has told bond investors it may not be able to pay interest due March 7 because of liquidity difficulties, Bloomberg reports.
The news agency says the company may post losses of as much as 1.1 billion yuan (US $176 million) for last year, according to a 21 February statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
DayStar Technologies Acquires Hawaiian Solar Park
18 February 2013POSTED IN Business News
PV product developer DayStar Technologies has completed its first acquisition from Avatar Solar of a Hawaiian solar park.
SolarWorld Introduces All-American Solar Financing
13 February 2013POSTED IN Business News
SolarWorld has launched the SolarWorld Freedom Plan, which is says is the solar industry’s first financing program dedicated exclusively to American-made solar products.
Operational Energy Data on Solar Financing
21 January 2013POSTED IN Business Features
With utility scale solar installations growing at a record pace, the number of acquisitions of operational solar plants is also increasing. In fact, more project acquisitions of solar projects took place in the first three quarters of 2012 than the total number of project acquisitions in any previous year. Financing of operational projects versus preconstruction projects has some discernible benefits for the investor and risk is mitigated as the track record of the plant becomes established and can be used to predict future performance. For the investor or lender to quantitatively assess the potential reduction in risk, the expected annual energy production of the plant should be reevaluated.
Enphase Energy Hosts Online Solar Summit
08 February 2013POSTED IN Business News
Enphase Energy invites the solar industry to attend its online Enphase Commercial Solar Summit on Thursday, 28 February, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PST.
The event will feature installers and financiers alongside Enphase’s expert microinverter team to share examples of current, profitable business opportunities associated with commercial systems in four 45-minute sessions.
Isofoton Restructuring to Affect 380 Workers
05 February 2013POSTED IN Business News
Isofoton today announced a restructuring plan that it says will affect 380 workers in its Malaga, Spain factory.
Canadian Solar to Receive US$40 Million Loan
31 January 2013POSTED IN Business News
Canadian Solar today announced that Credit Suisse will provide the company with an up to US $40 million, one-year tenor loan.
The loan will be used to finance Canadian Solar’s previously announced acquisition of four solar projects in Ontario, Canada.
Centrotherm Creditors, Shareholders Approve Insolvency Plan
31 January 2013POSTED IN Business News
Centrotherm Photovoltaics says it is moving forward with its reorganization following its creditors and shareholders approval of the company’s insolvency plan.
Mage Solar, Paradise Energy Provide 1.12MW PV Plant
29 January 2013POSTED IN Applications News
Mage Solar today announced the completion of a 1.12MW system for Martin Limestone Inc., a construction materials supplier providing aggregates, hot-mix asphalt, paving, and concrete products from plants in several locations throughout Pennsylvania (US).
