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Will LDK's New Company Create Competition for First Solar?

Mark,

Why do you think "competition is going to be brutal" ? In "commodity" industries, tiny advantages are the only differences and competition is fierce. However, in the solar power business, technological differences create major differences in product characteristics, and will allow many different players to prosper for the forseeable future.

OatLeaksBeans, I think your guess is correct. China is a sufficient customer to keep *any* business busy, never mind a clean energy business! And China has huge expanses of undeveloped high-insolation land: perfect for giant solar photovoltaic arrays.

Contradictions in the Solar Market

Mr. Castellano,

Look at the end uses of amorphous silicon thin film technology. It's building-integrated. Over half of the cost of PV power generation is in installation. Building-integrated PV replaces an existing (roof installation) cost with a slightly higher one, rather than a large incremental cost to install PV panels above an existing roof.

Your numbers may be accurate but you're not applying them correctly; ie. you're comparing apples to applesauce ;-).

US Energy Bill: Solar Stocks Will Feel All the Heat

Buffettz has the only statement on this page (the author's article included) that has a solid basis in fact. Because of the on-again off-again history of the U.S.'s pathetic subsidies for oil alternatives, no one has invested serious money based on them for decades. The two main U.S. solars, SPWR and FSLR, have not relied significantly on anything provided by the U.S. government. (California, yes, a bit - but no one is talking about CA cutting back). The other important solar - STP - also does not rely on the U.S. market.

Short away, if you want: it will be fun watching you try to cover as the U.S. economy goes into recession, and the only U.S. companies continuing to grow are those - like FSLR and SPWR - that are in a growing sector and selling primarily overseas.