firboy4

Solar Breaks Oil Price Dependence

Due to trading in a few solar stocks over the past year, I'll say that I noticed that oil prices affected solar stocks. So, I'd have to agree with Dru. I also agree that it seems that solar stock prices are being a little bit less affected by oil prices as time goes on. So, I think that he's on the right track here.

I'm not so sure about the correctness of the chart since it compares stock prices to "peak oil". That seems a little to vague, but still it's a nice chart to compare how each one has moved. I have owned WFR, along with FSLR, SOL, ESLR, and YGE. Made some money on each of them except for WFR. I now think that WFR has a great potential to perhaps move up the most.

I sometimes try to figure out what the mindset of the average U.S. person is like. As this is an election year, it seems that people who are for "change", regardless of whether they are for Obama or McCain, might at this time be more excited about purchasing the various solar or battery powered things than they would be when there is less talk of other sources of energy depletion. Are more people building with solar panels this year? It is obvious that more people are buying cars that in part use batteries.

I think that we'll get going with solar sooner than most people realize. It seems to me that our addiction to being able to drive around a lot will create a good market for solar power. So many people in the future will be willing to have a little less power in their cars to get the battery powered car market really strong. Later on, with the money from the first battery cars, they'll work on making these more efficient and faster. This is the way of any new type of technology. I'm not worried and I plan to get back into solar stocks as soon as I make some more money on FCX, which is still gradually going up, though it went down in the last session.

Solar's Warm, But Not Hot - Barron's

I happened to go to my congressman's website yesterday. He wrote in his Issues/energy section that congress is taking away the subsidies given to oil, and putting that money into alternative energy. And then he went on to first talk about solar energy and how much he is in favor of working hard to get us going on that source. Now this is a conservative Democrat in the western NC area, not some tree hugging, bleeding heart, way to the left liberal, sort of like myself. Though he does love our mountains. What I'm saying is that it seems to me that if a conservative Democrat is so much in favor of helping subsidize solar, then I would think that there will be much support in Congress elsewhere.

I am hoping that this will help offset Germany and Spain's diminished enthusiasm for helping this vital industry.

And that idea that any industry that has to be subsidized will not make it, is just ludicrous and certainly without any historical proof.

Eli, you are my favorite writer, but I hope you are wrong about solar! If you are, I won't hold it against you, but I'll just be happy for the environment and for our energy independence.