West1's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/197645/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/93870-no-matter-who-s-elected-alternative-energy-wins?source=feed#comment-247376 247376
I guess only the United States is morally fit enough to own nuclear weapons?]]> Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:45:59 -0400
I guess only the United States is morally fit enough to own nuclear weapons?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/93715-three-reasons-solar-sell-off-may-be-in-early-innings?source=feed#comment-244816 244816
Value is about what a business is trading for relative to what it's really worth - even the greatest business can be overpriced and the worst underpriced. And at current and future PEs, solar profits need to keep growing at an insanely fast rate to sustain current valuations."

I'm sure both you and the author are aware that the P/E ratios of FSLR and SPWR are the exception and not the rule when it comes to solars, and that in terms of P/E, other solars "stand out from the pack" even further than LDK.]]> Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:37:00 -0400
Value is about what a business is trading for relative to what it's really worth - even the greatest business can be overpriced and the worst underpriced. And at current and future PEs, solar profits need to keep growing at an insanely fast rate to sustain current valuations."

I'm sure both you and the author are aware that the P/E ratios of FSLR and SPWR are the exception and not the rule when it comes to solars, and that in terms of P/E, other solars "stand out from the pack" even further than LDK.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/93440-solar-breaks-oil-price-dependence?source=feed#comment-243172 243172 Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:26:55 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/92786-what-s-up-with-the-china-solar-stocks?source=feed#comment-239664 239664 Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:46:12 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/91448-trina-solar-will-2009-be-a-breakout-year?source=feed#comment-234338 234338
"That is totally wrong, TSL will need additional money for it's 2009 expansion"

2008

2009

]]> Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:12:37 -0400
"That is totally wrong, TSL will need additional money for it's 2009 expansion"

2008

2009

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/73049-when-will-solar-achieve-grid-parity-we-re-already-there?source=feed#comment-231048 231048 milwaukee.bizjournals....]]> Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:34:54 -0400 milwaukee.bizjournals....]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80675-further-thoughts-on-trina-solar-and-the-solar-space?source=feed#comment-185283 185283
www.greenergycapital.c...

Which apparently translates to:

The Group GreenergyCapital, investment company specializes in making investments in the fields of renewable energy and energy conservation, has concluded with Trina Solar, international group active in the production of photovoltaic modules listed on the New York Stock Exchange, an important contract for the sale of panels to produce electricity.
The agreement signed by Ergyca Power, a company wholly owned by GreenergyCapital, lasts three years (2008-2010) and provides that Trina Solar provides the Group GreenergyCapital photovoltaic modules with technology mono and poly-crystalline for a value of 158 million dollars. The agreement is part of the development programme of Group companies GreenergyCapital in the field of photovoltaics, the purchase of the panels in fact follows the establishment of four special purpose vehicle, created with the objective to identify and develop initiatives in the field of energy generation photovoltaics.
In addition to investment operations, the Group has initiated activities realization of photovoltaic installations with the recent agreement with KME Group, which provides for the establishment of a plant on the establishment of Serravalle Scrivia, with an installed capacity of around 4.5 MWp plant, which will be installed photovoltaic modules produced by Trina Solar.
"After the contract signed in April with Pramac, we continue successfully in the development project of GreenergyCapital in photovoltaics," says Luca d'Agnes, CEO of GreenergyCapital SpA "The agreement with Trina Solar, in fact, represents a second important element in the realization of our project, because it contributes substantially to the availability for the Group of a strategic component for the realization of photovoltaic systems."

and

in.reuters.com/article...]]> Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:03:27 -0400
www.greenergycapital.c...

Which apparently translates to:

The Group GreenergyCapital, investment company specializes in making investments in the fields of renewable energy and energy conservation, has concluded with Trina Solar, international group active in the production of photovoltaic modules listed on the New York Stock Exchange, an important contract for the sale of panels to produce electricity.
The agreement signed by Ergyca Power, a company wholly owned by GreenergyCapital, lasts three years (2008-2010) and provides that Trina Solar provides the Group GreenergyCapital photovoltaic modules with technology mono and poly-crystalline for a value of 158 million dollars. The agreement is part of the development programme of Group companies GreenergyCapital in the field of photovoltaics, the purchase of the panels in fact follows the establishment of four special purpose vehicle, created with the objective to identify and develop initiatives in the field of energy generation photovoltaics.
In addition to investment operations, the Group has initiated activities realization of photovoltaic installations with the recent agreement with KME Group, which provides for the establishment of a plant on the establishment of Serravalle Scrivia, with an installed capacity of around 4.5 MWp plant, which will be installed photovoltaic modules produced by Trina Solar.
"After the contract signed in April with Pramac, we continue successfully in the development project of GreenergyCapital in photovoltaics," says Luca d'Agnes, CEO of GreenergyCapital SpA "The agreement with Trina Solar, in fact, represents a second important element in the realization of our project, because it contributes substantially to the availability for the Group of a strategic component for the realization of photovoltaic systems."

and

in.reuters.com/article...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80675-further-thoughts-on-trina-solar-and-the-solar-space?source=feed#comment-184046 184046
I was wondering if you could point to any links or sources regarding the FSLR comparison of installation costs vs. TSL (the two 150 watt panels vs one 300 watt panel thing).]]> Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:16:37 -0400
I was wondering if you could point to any links or sources regarding the FSLR comparison of installation costs vs. TSL (the two 150 watt panels vs one 300 watt panel thing).]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80423-which-solar-stocks-will-continue-to-shine?source=feed#comment-181155 181155 in.reuters.com/article...

"The energy ministers agreed on the need for more large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects that bury emissions from power plants, a cornerstone of the International Energy Agency's call for a $45 trillion energy "revolution".

"The time for talking is over. We have to implement this," British Business Minister John Hutton told Reuters in an interview, referring to the IEA goals.

The IEA report released on Friday, commissioned by G8 leaders three years ago, said the world would need to effectively "decarbonise" the power sector by building dozens of billion-dollar CCS plants over the next 40 years, although world governments remain at odds over who should foot the bill."]]> Sun, 08 Jun 2008 08:21:26 -0400 in.reuters.com/article...

"The energy ministers agreed on the need for more large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects that bury emissions from power plants, a cornerstone of the International Energy Agency's call for a $45 trillion energy "revolution".

"The time for talking is over. We have to implement this," British Business Minister John Hutton told Reuters in an interview, referring to the IEA goals.

The IEA report released on Friday, commissioned by G8 leaders three years ago, said the world would need to effectively "decarbonise" the power sector by building dozens of billion-dollar CCS plants over the next 40 years, although world governments remain at odds over who should foot the bill."]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80423-which-solar-stocks-will-continue-to-shine?source=feed#comment-181095 181095
Perhaps Trina is being paid by a greater % of it's European customers in dollars than, for example, YGE and CSIQ. I notice that CSIQ cited the "strong Euro vs USD" as a significant factor in their blowout quarter, though they also said "the large foreign exchange gain is likely a one-time event". I don't see where they state how much this was, but their statment of operations shows an $8 million figure under "Others - Net" under other income that I'm guessing is it.

What's weird to me is how YGE and CSIQ expressed their currency gains as a simple function of currency movements, but Trina's statement makes it sounds as if the loss is accounting mumbo jumbo:

[The $4.0 million exchange loss was] "... primarily associated with Trina China's non-US-denominated obligations that are now required to be remeasured in the US dollar functional currency. Such remeasurements are and will continue to be, to the extent we continue to have such non-US denominated obligations, recorded as transaction gains or losses in the consolidated statement of operations".

If you don't get it, I sure as hell don't.

]]> Sun, 08 Jun 2008 01:14:22 -0400
Perhaps Trina is being paid by a greater % of it's European customers in dollars than, for example, YGE and CSIQ. I notice that CSIQ cited the "strong Euro vs USD" as a significant factor in their blowout quarter, though they also said "the large foreign exchange gain is likely a one-time event". I don't see where they state how much this was, but their statment of operations shows an $8 million figure under "Others - Net" under other income that I'm guessing is it.

What's weird to me is how YGE and CSIQ expressed their currency gains as a simple function of currency movements, but Trina's statement makes it sounds as if the loss is accounting mumbo jumbo:

[The $4.0 million exchange loss was] "... primarily associated with Trina China's non-US-denominated obligations that are now required to be remeasured in the US dollar functional currency. Such remeasurements are and will continue to be, to the extent we continue to have such non-US denominated obligations, recorded as transaction gains or losses in the consolidated statement of operations".

If you don't get it, I sure as hell don't.

]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80423-which-solar-stocks-will-continue-to-shine?source=feed#comment-181073 181073
www.nytimes.com/2008/0...]]> Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:22:56 -0400
www.nytimes.com/2008/0...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80423-which-solar-stocks-will-continue-to-shine?source=feed#comment-181066 181066
Did some further reading and found out about YGE's currency gain of 9.5 million in Q1 2008, and $4 million loss in Q4 2007.

biz.yahoo.com/bw/08051...

"Foreign currency exchange gain was RMB 66.3 million (US$9.5 million) in the first quarter of 2008, compared to a foreign currency exchange loss of RMB 29.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 and a foreign currency exchange loss of RMB 0.1 million in the first quarter of 2007. The foreign currency exchange gain in the first quarter of 2008 was primarily due to the appreciation of the Euro against the Renminbi coupled with an increase in Euro-denominated sales, which was partially offset by the depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi."

So this seems to indicate that a depreciating dollar against the RMB is also a negative for YGE. ]]> Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:08:16 -0400
Did some further reading and found out about YGE's currency gain of 9.5 million in Q1 2008, and $4 million loss in Q4 2007.

biz.yahoo.com/bw/08051...

"Foreign currency exchange gain was RMB 66.3 million (US$9.5 million) in the first quarter of 2008, compared to a foreign currency exchange loss of RMB 29.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 and a foreign currency exchange loss of RMB 0.1 million in the first quarter of 2007. The foreign currency exchange gain in the first quarter of 2008 was primarily due to the appreciation of the Euro against the Renminbi coupled with an increase in Euro-denominated sales, which was partially offset by the depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi."

So this seems to indicate that a depreciating dollar against the RMB is also a negative for YGE. ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80423-which-solar-stocks-will-continue-to-shine?source=feed#comment-180655 180655
Thanks for your insight.]]> Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:34:17 -0400
Thanks for your insight.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80423-which-solar-stocks-will-continue-to-shine?source=feed#comment-180604 180604
Shouldn't the Yuan being pegged to the dollar be favorable? My thinking is that if sales are in Euros and costs in Yuan, then the weaker dollar would be good...but if so, why the $4 million loss? ]]> Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:16:30 -0400
Shouldn't the Yuan being pegged to the dollar be favorable? My thinking is that if sales are in Euros and costs in Yuan, then the weaker dollar would be good...but if so, why the $4 million loss? ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/80423-which-solar-stocks-will-continue-to-shine?source=feed#comment-180551 180551
Any idea why the change in "functional currency" to the $, given that most of their business is in Europe? I was under the impression that other foreign solars had been coming out ahead with regards to foreign currency in Q1, so the $4 million loss is an unexpected contrast. Since it is a Chinese company, I did not think being long TSL was inconsistent with a bearish view of the dollar, but now I'm wondering if it is.]]> Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:44:08 -0400
Any idea why the change in "functional currency" to the $, given that most of their business is in Europe? I was under the impression that other foreign solars had been coming out ahead with regards to foreign currency in Q1, so the $4 million loss is an unexpected contrast. Since it is a Chinese company, I did not think being long TSL was inconsistent with a bearish view of the dollar, but now I'm wondering if it is.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/79486-solars-should-bounce-today?source=feed#comment-177579 177579
One more link for you:

www.logicalscience.com/]]> Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:08:33 -0400
One more link for you:

www.logicalscience.com/]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/79486-solars-should-bounce-today?source=feed#comment-177540 177540
Just a few comments and then I am content to let our respective words stand for themselves.

"You citing ridiculous points of reference such as salon.com and wikipedia, it laughable. And it points out your liberal point of view."

If by liberal, you mean not motivated by greed, fear and hatred, and interested in exposing the endless stream of fabrications and distortions from the current administration and it's tentacles in the media, then yes, feel free to call me "liberal". Speaking of fabrications and distortions, perhaps you can show me where I cited wikipedia. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that.

"West1, It IS NOT my responsibility to prove something is NOT the cause of something else = ie human activity is the cause of global warming.

It IS the responsibilty of those proponents of a sepcific theory to PROVE their specific theory = especially as regards causality.

The Scientific Method does not accept anecdotes as evidence."

I just spent a few minutes doing some more digging, started watching (haven't finished) this video:

www.youtube.com/watch?...

by Naomi Oreskes:

www.washingtonpost.com...

and then read about the Keeling Curve

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... (now you can claim that I have referenced wikipedia)

and Benny Peiser

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

for whom Wikipedia is a useful place to start - where you go from there is up to you.

In any case, whether or not you believe that anthropogenic (caused by human activities) global warming is proven or not, clearly it is not a position supported by just "anecdotes".
]]> Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:27:37 -0400
Just a few comments and then I am content to let our respective words stand for themselves.

"You citing ridiculous points of reference such as salon.com and wikipedia, it laughable. And it points out your liberal point of view."

If by liberal, you mean not motivated by greed, fear and hatred, and interested in exposing the endless stream of fabrications and distortions from the current administration and it's tentacles in the media, then yes, feel free to call me "liberal". Speaking of fabrications and distortions, perhaps you can show me where I cited wikipedia. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that.

"West1, It IS NOT my responsibility to prove something is NOT the cause of something else = ie human activity is the cause of global warming.

It IS the responsibilty of those proponents of a sepcific theory to PROVE their specific theory = especially as regards causality.

The Scientific Method does not accept anecdotes as evidence."

I just spent a few minutes doing some more digging, started watching (haven't finished) this video:

www.youtube.com/watch?...

by Naomi Oreskes:

www.washingtonpost.com...

and then read about the Keeling Curve

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... (now you can claim that I have referenced wikipedia)

and Benny Peiser

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

for whom Wikipedia is a useful place to start - where you go from there is up to you.

In any case, whether or not you believe that anthropogenic (caused by human activities) global warming is proven or not, clearly it is not a position supported by just "anecdotes".
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/79486-solars-should-bounce-today?source=feed#comment-177302 177302
Although you have made a lot of statements, I continue to notice that you have not "documented" any of them. On the other hand, I provided links containing information obviously at odds with your theories on global warming. Conspicuously, you ignored these.

Even if I were to accept your theory at face value that the U.N. is in favor of wealth transfer into the 3rd and 4th world, the first question that comes to my mind is: so? Is 'wealth transfer' of any kind an inherently bad thing?

The second question that comes to my mind is, how do you make the leap from this assumption to the conclusion that human activity is not a significant factor in global warming? I suspect it has more to do with the likes of Fox News or Rush Limbaugh than with scientific fact.

Big Daddy,

Regarding the fallacy of the "liberal media", here is a good place to start repairing your misinformation:

www.salon.com/opinion/.../




]]> Sat, 31 May 2008 13:22:58 -0400
Although you have made a lot of statements, I continue to notice that you have not "documented" any of them. On the other hand, I provided links containing information obviously at odds with your theories on global warming. Conspicuously, you ignored these.

Even if I were to accept your theory at face value that the U.N. is in favor of wealth transfer into the 3rd and 4th world, the first question that comes to my mind is: so? Is 'wealth transfer' of any kind an inherently bad thing?

The second question that comes to my mind is, how do you make the leap from this assumption to the conclusion that human activity is not a significant factor in global warming? I suspect it has more to do with the likes of Fox News or Rush Limbaugh than with scientific fact.

Big Daddy,

Regarding the fallacy of the "liberal media", here is a good place to start repairing your misinformation:

www.salon.com/opinion/.../




]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/79486-solars-should-bounce-today?source=feed#comment-177140 177140
I asked about your real name only because if you're going to make statements such as,

"As A Scientist, I DO NOT BELIEVE there is ANY sufficient data supporting the notion of human activity as a cause of global warming."

I think you ought to be willing to put your name to it, especially since a quick google search is all it takes to make any unbiased thinking person have serious doubts about the likelihood of anything coming out of your mouth being anything other than prejudiced nonsense.

"I state a righteous assertion founded in documented fact."

Uh huh. Zero for two buddy.

How about you just explain this sentence:

"IMO global warming is a purely political and financial scam. A power grab by the U.N. to steal America's wealth and transfer it to the "poor countries" thru an international tax."

I think you may be on to something. The powerful third world lobby cooked up this global warming thing to try and grab money from rich countries like the United States. Then the scientists all just fell in line:

www.sciencemag.org/cgi...

www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/.../

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6.../

www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPO.../






]]> Sat, 31 May 2008 00:31:15 -0400
I asked about your real name only because if you're going to make statements such as,

"As A Scientist, I DO NOT BELIEVE there is ANY sufficient data supporting the notion of human activity as a cause of global warming."

I think you ought to be willing to put your name to it, especially since a quick google search is all it takes to make any unbiased thinking person have serious doubts about the likelihood of anything coming out of your mouth being anything other than prejudiced nonsense.

"I state a righteous assertion founded in documented fact."

Uh huh. Zero for two buddy.

How about you just explain this sentence:

"IMO global warming is a purely political and financial scam. A power grab by the U.N. to steal America's wealth and transfer it to the "poor countries" thru an international tax."

I think you may be on to something. The powerful third world lobby cooked up this global warming thing to try and grab money from rich countries like the United States. Then the scientists all just fell in line:

www.sciencemag.org/cgi...

www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/.../

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6.../

www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPO.../






]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/79486-solars-should-bounce-today?source=feed#comment-176825 176825
petyaczar,

If you're a scientist, maybe you'd care to state your actual name?

You sound like just another mentally unbalanced right wing idiot to me.]]> Fri, 30 May 2008 12:53:05 -0400
petyaczar,

If you're a scientist, maybe you'd care to state your actual name?

You sound like just another mentally unbalanced right wing idiot to me.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/79486-solars-should-bounce-today?source=feed#comment-176720 176720
Regarding both presidential candidates being "in favor of this course", I am skeptical of McCain, who actually seems to be a doubletalker (shocker) more interested in nuclear power.]]> Fri, 30 May 2008 11:05:55 -0400
Regarding both presidential candidates being "in favor of this course", I am skeptical of McCain, who actually seems to be a doubletalker (shocker) more interested in nuclear power.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/79486-solars-should-bounce-today?source=feed#comment-176710 176710
Have a link on the Bush aministration scientific report?]]> Fri, 30 May 2008 10:56:36 -0400
Have a link on the Bush aministration scientific report?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/79378-german-subsidy-fears-trigger-solar-downgrades?source=feed#comment-176601 176601
www.bloomberg.com/apps...

Solars appear to be rebounding in pre-market trading.]]> Fri, 30 May 2008 09:14:50 -0400
www.bloomberg.com/apps...

Solars appear to be rebounding in pre-market trading.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/78446-canadian-solar-shining-bright?source=feed#comment-172427 172427 Fri, 23 May 2008 07:12:32 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/78408-penn-west-energy-trust-my-50-price-target?source=feed#comment-171628 171628
I have enjoyed reading your articles, which my brother recently tuned me on to.

If you don't mind a basic question, I was wondering if you could explain the relationship between the funds flow and the reported earnings per share number of $0.22, which appears to have been $.32 below the single analyst estimate for the first quarter. I'm sure a basic question some would have would simply be, how could the first quarter news be very good, and yet be significantly below the estimated EPS.

]]> Thu, 22 May 2008 08:48:34 -0400
I have enjoyed reading your articles, which my brother recently tuned me on to.

If you don't mind a basic question, I was wondering if you could explain the relationship between the funds flow and the reported earnings per share number of $0.22, which appears to have been $.32 below the single analyst estimate for the first quarter. I'm sure a basic question some would have would simply be, how could the first quarter news be very good, and yet be significantly below the estimated EPS.

]]>