Solar Competition Heats Up

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Comments

[buckbonzai8:]

Or in fact LDK has not produced a contract or a letter of intent. The use of the word "agreement" is a dead giveaway to wordsmithing.

The probablilities is that the government in their initial phase of looking at Solar will give multiple small scale projects to multiple vendors.

The gov would then preclude any future business based on the success or failures of the projects by the various companies.

That is where the comments of apporvals and studies come into play.

Aug 26 08:46 AM

[bigswing:]

SOL is signing LOI (letter of intent) with Wuzhong City for the 500MW back in July, not Yancheng City, please don't spread lies.

Aug 26 09:30 AM

[jerrydd:]

I don't see how First Solar is going to lose as it has the lowest cost product.

I do agree competition will be hard and those who can't produce cheaply will die. I think thin film will win as the market goes to home, small business models instead of the solar farm model which has land, transmission line costs plus lower income/wt.

Those that rely on solar farms will be in trouble.

Aug 26 09:54 AM

[Fred W:]

FSLR can't win in the long term...CdTe will just cost too much by 2011...Copper mining is changing and less CdTe will be available as a result--at the same time FSLR continues to grow capacity and required supply of these rare elements...FSLR relies on "solar farms" for the majority of its business so you first and last sentences are in opposition.


On Aug 26 09:54 AM jerrydd wrote:

>
> I don't see how First Solar is going to lose as it has the lowest
> cost product.
>
> I do agree competition will be hard and those who can't produce cheaply
> will die. I think thin film will win as the market goes to home,
> small business models instead of the solar farm model which has land,
> transmission line costs plus lower income/wt.
>
> Those that rely on solar farms will be in trouble.

Aug 26 10:19 AM

[robdoc:]

I am more than a little bit surprised that regurgitated facts from recent headlines can so easily be rearranged into an article that has very little new to say.

Jerrydd you wrote:

"I don't see how First Solar is going to lose as it has the lowest cost product.

I do agree competition will be hard and those who can't produce cheaply will die. I think thin film will win as the market goes to home, small business models instead of the solar farm model which has land, transmission line costs plus lower income/wt.

Those that rely on solar farms will be in trouble. "

I don't really understand why you think that thin film will win out when the market goes to home and small business models. Most of the cost of a system is in the matrix and installation. A less efficient PV module (which thin films are) means proportionally more cost in installation. A smaller surface area for photon collection is aesthetically more pleasing to most homeowners as well.

It would be wise for everyone to remember the Macros with regard to costs. Trade relations between China and the US will be very interesting. The tight rope that the US will walk with regard to competing with Chinese companies in an era of inflation and significant debt to China will definitely play into the whole process.

Aug 26 12:23 PM

[Chad Brown:]

copper mining is changing? how so?


On Aug 26 10:19 AM Fred W wrote:

> FSLR can't win in the long term...CdTe will just cost too much by
> 2011...Copper mining is changing and less CdTe will be available
> as a result--at the same time FSLR continues to grow capacity and
> required supply of these rare elements...FSLR relies on "solar farms"
> for the majority of its business so you first and last sentences
> are in opposition.

Aug 26 01:40 PM

[ldker:]

I am surprised that there is no mention of a recently implemented ban on scrap poly silicon in China. This, in the face of a glut, is very helpful for the poly makers ie LDK. It has already bumped the price of the spot price up $5.00 and has further solidified a bottom in this commodity, at least in China. While the analysts predict doomsday, wall of worry scenarios on the poly players in China (much like they did for LVS -going out of biz, FCX - no copper demand, etc. back in march) We are presently approaching an area where accumulating these stocks will hold long term gains that will be substantial.

www.reuters.com/articl...

Aug 27 07:11 AM

[softwaresod...:]

The competition will result some strong solor companies.

Sep 09 03:54 AM