Solar Power

According to scientists, one day of sun energy is enough for all humans to use for 27 years. Harnessing this source is expensive however. For example, CSP (concentrating solar power) trough system, using mirrors to heat liquids, cost US$0.12 per kWH to produce electricity. Solar Photovoltaic Power cost US$0.25 per kWH to produce electricity. The good news is that these costs are decreasing about 5% per year due to economies of scale.

Companies involved:

1. SunPower Corp (Nasdaq: SPWR)

Sunpower, based in San Jose, California, operates in two segments. Through its Components segment the company manufactures solar cells, solar panels, and inverters that it sells directly to installers and resellers. The solar cells are manufactured in seven production lines in the Philippines with a total capacity of 214 MW/yr. By the end of 2008 the company expects to increase this to 12 lines with a total capacity of 414 MW/yr. The solar panels are manufactured in the Philippines and by a subcontractor in China. In 2007 the Components division provided 40% of SunPower's total revenue.

SunPower acquired the PowerLight Corp in Jan 2007 and it now operates as the company's Systems segment. This segment sells solar power systems and system technology directly to system owners The primary products are roof-mounted and ground-mounted solar power systems. In 2007 the Systems segment provided 60% of the company's total revenue.

SunPower is vertically integrated from the solar cell manufacturing through installation, which is a strategic advantage from the standpoint of capturing additional profits as well as being able to better control and reduce the final installed cost of solar power to end customers.

Cypress Semiconductor Corp (NYSE: CY), which spun-off SunPower in a $143 million IPO in November 2005, still owns about 56% of SunPower's common shares and controls about 90% of the voting power.

SunPower produced 150 MW of solar cells/modules in 2007, making it the 8th largest world solar module producer, according to PV News.


2. First Solar Inc (Nasdaq: FSLR)

First Solar manufactures and sells solar modules using a Cadmium Telluride (CadTel) thin film technology. It is the first company to apply the CaDTel technology on a large-scale commercial basis. The technology allows the company to have average manufacturing costs of about $1.23/watt which it believes is much less than those of traditional crystalline silicon solar modular manufacturers. The company's goal is that by 2010 it will be the first company to offer a solar electricity solution that can generate electricity on a non-subsidized basis at a cost equal to the price of retail electricity in key markets in North America, Europe, and Asia.

First Solar has long-term contracts with twelve European project developers and system integrators for total sales of about US$5.9 billion from 2008 to 2012 for the about 3.2 GW of solar modules.

To meet this demand the company began construction in April 2007 of the first of four manufacturing plants in Malaysia. In late 2007 construction was started on plants two and three, and in April 2008 plant four was started. Plant number one will come on line in mid-2008, numbers two and three in mid 2009, and number four in 2010. After all four are on line the company's manufacturing capacity will be about 1,012 MW per year.

In November 2007 First Solar completed the acquisition of the private company Turner Renewable Energy LLC which designs and sells commercial solar projects in the U.S.

In 2007 First Solar produced 207 MW of solar cells/modules, tying it with Kyocera as the 4th largest world solar module producer, according to PV News.

3. Suntech Power Holdings - ADR (NYSE: STP)

Suntech, began business operations in 2002 and since then has become one of the largest producers of solar cells and modules in the world.

The company designs, develops, and manufactures a variety of PV cells and modules, including a broad range of value-added building-integrated, or BIPV, products. The company sells to customers in Germany, Spain, China, Japan, Italy, Korea, and the U.S.

Suntech currently manufactures monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon PV cells that have an efficiency of 16.4% and 14.9% respectively. During 2007 the company developed its Pluto technology which is the next- generation PV technology that produces cells with an efficiency of 18.0% and 19.0% respectively. The Pluto technology will be employed in a new plant to be built in 2008.

At the end of 2007 Suntech had an annual production capacity of 540MW and plans to increase that capacity to 1,000MW (one gigawatt or GW) per year by the end of 2008.

The company is also developing the next-generation of thin film technology and expects to begin production of a range of products by the end of 2008.

To ensure a continuing supply of silicon, Suntech has entered into long-term supply contracts with a number of large silicon suppliers.

Suntech produced 327 MW of solar cells/modules in 2007, making it the 3rd largest world solar module producer, according to PV News.

4. LDK Solar Co LTD - ADR (NYSE: LDK)

LDK Solar Co. was incorporated in 2006 and is a pure-play manufacturer that designs, develops, and manufactures multicrystalline solar wafers. The company's manufacturing facilities are located in the People's Republic of China and the company's office in the U.S. is located in Sunnyvale California.

LDK's manufacturing process is based on proprietary production processes utilizing both virgin and recyclable polysilicon for ingot production. The company then slices the ingots into wafers that are sold to manufactures of photovoltaic products including solar cells and modules. The company also buys ingots from third parties that it uses to produce the wafers.

The year 2007 closed very strong marked by record revenue and continued rapid growth. The company exceeded its annual growth projection by 5% and at the end of 2007 had a annual production capacity of 420 MW. The company also broadened its customer base by securing sixteen long-term wafer supply contacts during the year.

In August of 2007 a former employee charged that LDK had violated SEC rules by incorrectly reporting its inventory of silicon feedstock. As result the company's stock price lost over half its value. In November a lawsuit against the company was filed by a group of recent investors. In December 2007 the company reported that an independent audit of its inventories had found that the employee's allegations were incorrect because the employee had failed to take into account all the locations in which the company stored its silicon feedstock. By mid-December the stock price had recovered to almost its former level.

5. Yingli Green Energy Holding Co Ltd - ADR (NYSE: YGE)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company was incorporated in August of 2006 and is today one of the leading vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturers in China. Through the company's principle operating subsidiary, it designs and manufactures PV modules. It also designs, assembles, and installs PV systems that are connected to an electricity grid as well as those that operate on a stand-alone basis.

With 200 megawatts of total production capacity in each of polysilicon ingots and wafers, PV cells, and PV modules it is currently one of the largest manufacturers of PV products in China as measured by annual production capacity. As of Dec 2007 the company said it was on target to expand its production capacity to 400 megawatts by the end of 2008 and to 600 megawatts by the end of 2009.

Yingli believes that it is one of the few large-scale PV companies to have adopted a vertically integrated business model. A vertically integrated structure is one in which a company provides all the PV products from ingots to wafers to cells to modules to the final PV operating systems. The company believes that this vertically integrated model yield economies of scale and cost savings.

The company expects PV module shipments in 2008 to be in the range of 255 to 265MW which represents a 79%to 86% increase over 2007.
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Yingli produced 142.5 MW of solar cells/modules in 2007, making it the 9th largest world solar module producer, according to PV News

6. JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd - ADR (Nasdaq: JASO)

JA Solar Holdings is based in Hebei, China and manufactures high-efficiency monocrystalline solar cells. The company sells its products to solar module manufacturers who assemble and integrate its solar cells into modules and systems that convert sunlight into electricity.

In 2007 the company's only manufacturing facility was in Hebei but the company was able to increase its production capacity to 175MW from 75MW. During 2008 the company plans to add 10 more cell lines to the Hebei plant for even greater capacity.

The company says that it shipped 132.4MW of solar cells in 2007, an increase of over 400% from 2006.

In the second half of 2008 the company expects to break ground for a new 10-line solar cell manufacturing facility in Yanghou, China which will raise the company's total production capacity to 500MW from 425MW by the end of 2008. The company expects production output of 340MW in 2008

In 2008 the company plans to open a research laboratory in Silicon Valley, California.

In January 2008 the company announced a new agreement with M.SETEK Co of Japan to supply 458MT of polysilicon to JA Solar during 2008.

According to PV News, JA Solar produced 113.2 MW of solar cells/modules in 2007, making it the 13th largest world solar module producer.

7. Trina Solar Ltd - ADR (NYSE: TSL)

Trina Solar Limited, based in Jiangsu, China, is an vertically integrated manufacturer of solar PV products (wafers, cells and modules). Trina Solar one of the few PV manufacturers that has developed a vertically integrated business model from the production of monocrystalline ingots, wafers, and cells to the assembly of high-efficiency modules.

The company believes that the vertically integrated model will allow it to capture more of the value added in the solar PV production chain, while at the same time improving the company's ability to monitor the quality of its products over the entire manufacturing process. During 2007 the company was able to reduce its cell production cost (excluding polysilicon) to $1.28 per watt and by 4th Quarter of 2008 it expects to further reduce that to $1.05/watt.

Trina Solar says it is on target to increase it annual production capacity to 350MW by the end of 2008. The company also says that second generation cell technologies will improve its monocrystalline and multicrystalline conversion efficiencies to 17.5% and 16.0% respectively.

As of March 2008 the company has contracted sales of 100% and 85% of its first and second half targeted module production, respectively. The company also plans to initiate sales in the U.S in 2008.

Trina Solar produced 37 MW of solar cells/modules in 2007, and therefore it does not rank among the 15 largest world solar module producers, according to PV News

8. Evergreen Solar Inc (Nasdaq: ESLR)

Evergreen Solar manufactures silicon wafers, cells and modules. Evergreen manufactures crystalline silicon wafers with its proprietary String Ribbon technology, which creates solar cells directly from molten silicon and skips the step of creating and sawing an ingot, thus leading to lower cost wafers and the more efficient use of silicon. The company says that it uses 50% of the silicon used by conventional sawing wafer production processes.

The company's sole source of revenue in 2007 was from
its one-third ownership of "EverQ" which is a stand-alone module producer based in Germany. The other two-thirds of EverQ are owned one-third by Q-Cells AG (QCE GR) and one third by Renewable Energy Company (REC NO). EverQ has full rights to Evergreen's String Ribbon technology. As of December 2007 the EverQ plant had increased its annual production capacity to 100MW and plans to further increase its annual production capacity to 600MW by 2012.

Evergreen began construction of its own manufacturing facility in Devens Massachusetts in September 2007 and expects to begin production of solar panels there in mid- 2008. Upon reaching full production in Devens I in early 2009, the company's total U.S. based annual production capacity will be 90MW. The Devens II manufacturing facility is expected to be operational in late 2009 and will increase the total Devens capacity to 160MW.

In 2007 Evergreen Solar (at the EverQ facility in Germany) produced 16.4 MW of solar cells/modules, and is thus the 4th largest producer in the U.S. according to PV News.


9. Energy Conversion Devices Inc (Nasdaq: ENER)

Energy Conversion Devices, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan, was reorganized in April of 2007 into two operating segments.

The United Solar Ovonic segment is expected to produce over 90% of the company's total fiscal 2007 (ending 6/30/08) revenues. The segment manufactures thin-film photovoltaic modules and photovoltaic machines. The PV thin film is unique in that it can be applied to flexible backings and can be installed on roof-tops and elsewhere. The company sells most of its modules to commercial roofing materials manufacturers, building contractors, and solar power installers/integrators.

The Ovonic segment will become an even larger portion of the company's future total revenue. Solar module production capacity will be expanded from the current 118MW per year, to 148MW per year by June 2009, and to beyond 300MW per year by 2010.

The Ovonic Materials Business segment manufactures positive electrode nickel hydroxide batteries, licenses their NiMH battery technology, and also manages the hydrogen storage, fuel cell, photonic devices and cognitive computer activities. This segment is being reduced in scope and most of the commercialization of the NiMH battery and OUM technologies will be done through unconsolidated joint ventures.

In 2007, the United Solar Ovonic segment of Energy Conversion Devices produced 48MW of solar cells/modules making it the 2nd largest producer in the U.S. according to PV News

10. Canadian Solar Inc (Nasdaq: CSIQ)

Canadian Solar, founded in 2001, is incorporated in Canada but conducts all of its manufacturing operations in China. The company is a vertically integrated manufacturer of solar cells, solar modules, and custom-designed solar application products serving customers worldwide.

The company installed its first solar cell production line in the first quarter of 2007. By the end of 2007 the company had installed three more production lines for a total annual production capacity of 100 MW. In 2007 the company produced shipments of 83.5MW of solar cells and modules.

In February 2008 the company opened a new Changshu (China) solar modular plant bringing total solar module annual capacity to 400MW. Expansion of its solar cell manufacturing capacity is on track to reach 250MW per year by the third quarter of 2008. Based on current customer orders, the company expects to ship 200-220MW of regular solar modules in 2008

The company is expanding into the production of solar ingots and wafers and phase one of the Luoyang (China) plant will be completed in the summer of 2008 with a annual capacity of 40-60MW of wafers. The company believes that it is the first company to systematically process reclaimable silicon to produce solar wafers.

11. China Sunergy Company Ltd - ADR (Nasdaq: CSUN)

China Sunergy is based in China and is a producer of crystalline solar cells. It sells to Chinese and overseas module manufacturers and system integrators who assemble solar cells into solar modules and systems. The company focuses on producing relatively high efficiency cells, including a propriety high-efficiency selective emitter cell.

Selective emitter (SE) cells are cells that are manufactured to absorb the sun's rays in a more efficient manner thus producing more electricity. Average cell efficiency for cells produced in November 2007 was 17.3%. The company has reached 18.2% efficiency in a pilot run on another production line.

The current cost of production (without silicon costs) was US$0.28 per watt in 2007.

The company has had success with the development of it new HP cells which is an enhanced version of its standard P-type cells. As a result the company is converting all four of its existing production lines to the HP version.

The company is also developing its patented N-type solar cell and is investing US$8 in an R&D center in Shanghai for further development of N-type and other types of high efficiency cells. The center will be completed in early 2009.

During 2007 the company produced 80.3 MW of solar cells representing a 68% increase over 2006.

12. EMCORE Corp (Nasdaq: EMKR)

Emcore carries on its activities in two major sectors: Fiber Optics and Photovoltaics. The Fiber Optics sector includes optical components for CATV, FTTP, high-speed telecommunication systems, satellite communication networks, and defense and homeland security products. The Photovoltaic sector provides solar products for satellite and terrestrial applications. For terrestrial applications the company provides high-efficiency solar cells and integrated PV components for use in solar power concentrator systems. The Photovoltaic sector provided 35% of the company's revenue in fiscal 2007 (ending 9/30/07) and 28% in the 4th quarter of 2007.

In the photovoltaic area, although EMCORE has been providing Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) solar cells to the satellite industry since 1999, the company has recently moved into the land based solar cell market by developing a high-efficiency GaAs solar cell for use in land based solar powered electricity generating plants. In August 2007 the company announced that it had achieved 39% efficiency for its terrestrial solar cell products which compares favorably to typical 15-21% efficiency for silicon-based solar cell products. Another advantage of this technology is that it is not subject to the silicon shortages that are currently plaguing the solar cell industry.

In the past two months (12/07-1/08) the company has received orders or letters of intent for it to supply over 900MW of terrestrial based solar products in the 2008-09 period.

In August 2007 Emcore announced the consolidation of its North American optics and design centers into its main two operating sites in New Mexico and Southern California. The company expects that these recent moves will be cost effective in the long run, but there will be significant short-term negative financial effects.

13. DayStar Technologies Inc (Nasdaq: DSTI)

Daystar Technologies began operations in 1997 and has developed a proprietary thin film technology for manufacturing thin-film copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar cells that it believes will allow the manufacture of solar cells for less the $1.00 per watt (less the cost of silicon).

The company has incurred net losses since its inception and is just now beginning to transition from the development stage to the commercialization stage. The company expects to continue having net losses during the commercialization phase.

Daystar plans to begin construction of a manufacturing plant in California including a 25KW solar cell production line during 2008. The company intends to manufacture monolithically integrated CIGS-on-glass modules for the grid-tied centralized utility market as well as for the grid-tied decentralized commercial and residential markets. First commercial shipments of PV produces are expected to be made in the 3rd quarter of 2009. Daystar has a contract with Blitzstrom GmnH to buy at least 50% of its production through 2011, subject to meeting defined performance criteria.

To fund operations, the company conducted an IPO in 2004 and used proceeds to fund research, buy capital equipment, and pay general expenses. The company is currently relying on additional equity financing to fund its losses and developmental effort. The company has had a number of private and public offerings since its IPO. The latest public offering was in October 2007.

14. Spire Corp (Nasdaq: SPIR)

Spire Corp, based in Bedford, Massachusetts, manufactures highly engineered products and services in three principle business areas: (1) solar equipment (60% of sales in the 2007, (2) biomedical (29%), and (3) optoelectonics (11%). Sales in 2007 showed a 91% increase over 2006.

The company has been in the solar business for over 30 years. In the solar sector the company produces specialized equipment for the production of terrestrial photovoltaic modules from solar cells. The company has already installed its solar equipment in about 190 factories in 50 countries.

In the biomedical area the company provides value-added surface treatments to manufacturers of orthopedic and other medical devices.

In the optoelectonics area the company provides compound semiconductor foundry and fabrications services to customers for biomedical/biophotonic instruments, telecommunications, and defense applications.

In July 2007 Spire entered a joint venture with Gloria Solar Co., Ltd, a leading cell and module manufacturer in Taiwan to produce solar photovoltaic systems in the U.S.


15. Ascent Solar Technologies Inc (Nasdaq: ASTI)

Ascent Solar Technologies is a development stage company that was formed in October 2005 to commercialize certain photovoltaic PV technology developed by ITN Energy Systems for extraterrestrial, terrestrial, and near-space applications. ITN Energy Systems is a private company that was incorporated in 1994 to develop thin-film, PV, battery and fuel cell technologies and it formed Ascent Solar to commercialize those products.

Ascent Solar intends to be the first company to manufacture large, roll-format PV modules in commercial quantities that use a highly efficient thin-film Copper-Indium-Gallium-diSelenide (CIGS) light-absorbing layer built on a flexible plastic substrate. When used on space satellites and near-space aircraft, PV devices convert sunlight into electricity needed to power various instruments, communication systems, and the like. Currently, most PV devices used for space and near-space applications are rigid, bulky and relatively heavy, creating significant problems for designers who want to minimize volume and weight. Ascent's new products will that need.
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The company completed construction of a 1.5 MW production line in December 2007 having achieved PV cell conversion efficiencies of about 10% to 12%. The company expects to begin limited commercial production during the 2nd quarter of 2008.

The company plans to expand production by adding another 30 MW production line by the end of 2009, another 30 MW line in 2009, and a third line of 50 MW capacity by the end of 2011 for a total capacity of about 110 MW.


16. Akeena Solar Inc (Nasdaq: AKNS)

Akeena Solar is mainly a designer, integrator and installer of solar power systems. The company designs and installs systems for residential and commercial customers using components (such as solar panels and inverters) from outside suppliers. The company operates mainly in California and in the New Jersey/New York area. The company says that over the last four years it has become one of the largest integrators of residential and commercial solar electric power systems in the U.S. It has installed over 1,300 systems since 2001.

The company has developed a new solar installation technology called Andalay which the company says is the only solar panel system with integrated racking, wiring, and grounding. It requires about 50% less rooftop labor and 70% fewer parts to install. The company also believes that their installations are more aesthetically pleasing. Installation sizes range from 1.5 kilowatts up to 125 kilowatts.

Akeena is one of the few pure-plays in the US solar integrator/installer space. According to a company information, Akeena Solar is one of the largest suppliers of residential (70% of sales) and small commercial (30% of sales) solar power systems in the U.S. with sales of $32.2 million in 2007, an increase of about 141% over 2006. In the 4th quarter of 2007 the company installed 1.316 MW of panels and in the 3rd quarter of 2007 it installed 1.005 MW.


16. MEMC Electronic Materials (NYSE: WFR)

MEMC Electronic Materials is a leading worldwide producer of wafers for the semiconductor industry and is one of only four wafer suppliers that have more than a 10% share of the total world market. The company operates nine manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan and their customers include virtually all the major semiconductor device manufacturers in the world.

The wafers are used as the starting material for the manufacture of various types of semiconductor devices including microprocessor, memory, logic, and power devices. In turn these semiconductor devices are used in computers, cell phones and other mobile electronic devices, automobiles, and other consumer and industrial devices. The company provides wafers in sizes ranging from 100 millimeters (about 4 inches) to 300 millimeters (about 12 inches) in diameter and in three general categories: prime polished, epitaxial, and test/monitor.

During 2007 the company shipped its first wafers to be used for solar application and doubled its solar contracts to approximately $15-$18 billion over the next 10 years. The company also increased its annual polysilicon capacity to over 6,000 metric tons and expects to increase that to 8,000 in 2008. It also increased its 300mm wafer capacity to over 350,000 wafers per month in 2007.

17. Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT)

Applied Materials is manufacturer of equipment and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass. Product development and manufacturing is done in North America, Europe and Israel. The company is organized into four segments: silicon (semiconductor wafer and chip production), fab solutions (to improve production lines), display (flat panel display production lines), and adjacent technologies. The silicon segment produces a wide range of manufacturing equipment used to fabricate semiconductor chips. AMAT produces low-E glass, which is glass that cuts down on heat from sunshine coming into a building, which is likely to be a strong growth area as green building catches on and as efficiency becomes more important.

In the silicon segment, AMAT has solutions for the two main solar cell technologies of thin film and crystalline silicon wafers. AMAT is one of only two companies globally (the other being Oerlikon) that sells a turn-key amorphous silicon thin film solar panel production line. I

AMAT is also active in making acquisitions to create a division that specializes in selling production line equipment for manufacturing crystalline silicon wafers and solar cells in a more efficient and lower-cost way. AMAT in June 2007 purchased HCT Shaping Systems SA (HCT), a privately held company based in Switzerland, that supplies precision wafering systems used principally in manufacturing crystalline silicon wafers for the solar industry. AMAT in November 2007 purchases Baccini, a privately-held company based in Italy, that specializes in equipment for producing and handling the industry's thinnest silicon wafers.