Solar

SatCon Technology Corporation (SATC) nnounced that it has entered into a strategic supply agreement and has received a purchase order from New Vision Technologies, an affiliate of Sun Edison, LLC, to initially deliver up to 10 megawatts of PowerGate(TM) photovoltaic inverters through the end of the year. Sun Edison has multiple photovoltaic projects around the U.S. already under contract and the 500kW inverter, recently unveiled by SatCon, is a particularly good fit to meet their demands for high efficiency power conversion.

Solarworld AG (SWV.DE) will buy businesses from Shell to take over as the top maker of solar power equipment in the United States. The news prompted a leap in Solarworld shares, already buoyed by President Bush's pledge to promote new technology to make the United States less dependent on imported oil. The agreement covered Shell factories in Germany and the U.S. and sales operations in Germany, Singapore and South Africa. The price of the deal was not released and is still waiting for regulatory approval.

"America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world" Thanks to Mr. Bush's state of the union address last night, we should see some nice gains across the board in the Alternative Energy sector. Some of the big winners may be the Ethanol companies like Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (PEIX). The EnergyStockBlog.com has a nice write up on the potential for ADM. GreenCarCongress.com has a nice summary of the important parts of the speech. In his State of the Union 2006 address, President...

Aqua Dyne Inc. (AQDY.OB) and the Australian, Commonwealth Scientific and Industry Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Federal Government's Premier Research Organisation will be advancing the study and use of Solar Energy in thermal water desalination for the Coal Mining Industry. Aqua Dyne has received approval to deploy component modules of the JetWater Thermal Desalination system to a site adjacent to Lake Liddell in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The JetWater Thermal module will be tested and monitored over a three month trial program. The module will be connected to a solar energy system developed and...

Worldwater Corp (WWAT) announced that it has signed a $109,824 contract to build and install a solar electric power generation system for Quest Environmental & Engineering Services, headquartered in Clinton, New Jersey. The photovoltaic (PV) system will provide electricity for the company, and is expected to substantially reduce electrical usage costs for the facility.

SunPower Corp. (SPWR) announced that revenue for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2005, was $29.3 million, up 34% from the prior quarter's revenue of $21.9 million and up 523% from the year-ago fourth quarter combined(1) revenue of $4.7 million. The Company's fiscal 2005 revenue was $78.7 million. These 4th quarter earnings have narrowed the companies losses and they expect significant quarter-on-quarter top line revenue increases to between $38 - $40 million. The stock gapped up 8% this morning on the news and is starting to give back most of these gains. It is currently trading...

Penn State researchers are finding new ways to harness the power of the sun using highly-ordered arrays of titania nanotubes for hydrogen production and increased solar cell efficiency.

Tyler at Clean Break was able to listen in on the Elk Corp (ELK) earnings conference call this morning. Elk has had a multiple year partnership with ATS Automation (ATA.TO) solar division Spheral Solar. The two companies have been planning a commercial release of solar-integrated roofing and building material products. Elk Roofing chairman and CEO Tom Karol, responding to questions from MacMurray Whale from Sprott Securities, said the Spheral Solar roofing product is still in alpha testing but the company hopes to move into beta testing i.e. put it on real rooftops in the marketplace in...

Universal Communication Systems Inc (UCSY) announced that the company is set to make a major new investment and plans to open a new office in Los Angeles, California from which to market PV Solar Panels and PV Solar Energy Systems throughout the state. This follows the recent announcement by the State of California that it was to enact a Major Incentive Program which is the largest solar energy policy ever enacted in the United States: an 11-year, $3.2 billion incentive program aimed at spurring installation of PV Solar Panels / Systems.

SatCon Technology Corporation (SATC) announced that it has successfully launched its 500kW PowerGate(TM) inverter. The release of the PowerGate(TM) 500kW inverter was one of SatCon's major R&D milestones for 2006, and positions SatCon as the leading provider of high efficiency inverters for the rapidly growing solar markets. The 500kW AE-500-60-PV-A utility-grade PV inverter was successfully listed to the UL 1741 Standard and also received approval from the California Energy Commission (CEC). The acceptance of this inverter by the various agencies not only gives SatCon the largest commercial PV inverter in North America, it also gives SatCon the...

Worldwater Corp (WWAT) announced the completion and commissioning of a nearly 400 kilowatt photovoltaic system project by Quantum Energy Group, the construction and engineering subsidiary it acquired in 2005. The new photovoltaic (PV) system provides solar power to offset electric utility consumption at a complex of four tenant-occupied buildings in Menlo Park, California, south of San Francisco.

Shares of solar-energy technology companies rose sharply Thursday, with several chalking up 52-week highs, as California regulators approved a solar-energy package. The plan is the largest solar energy policy ever enacted in the United States: an 11-year, $3.2 billion incentive program aimed at spurring installation of solar panels.

XSUNX Inc. (XSNX) announced that it has begun the construction of a mass production system for the manufacture of the Company's proprietary thin film solar cell designs. As the manufacture of this first system and its thin films development evolves, the Company anticipates that it may begin marketing efforts of this system as early as this coming spring.

Evergreen Solar Inc (ESLR) introduced the new EC-120 is the latest in Evergreen Solar's Cedar Line(TM) of photovoltaic panels. With the same physical dimensions as the Company's current 110-watt and 115-watt panels, the new product delivers increased power from the same area. Through its patented String Ribbon technology, Evergreen Solar produces its panels using significantly less silicon than conventional production methods.

Rob Day over at Cleantech Investing has started a series of "Year End Thoughts" on various cleantech investing topics. His first one deals with Solar and is great read.

Wouldn't you know it, right after I posted about this company and complained that I couldn't buy it, I checked my brokerage account to see if there was any movement to my open market order. Well the IntraWeb gods must have been smiling on me, I got a partial fill in my personal account. So I now have a small stake in Carmanah Tech Corp (CMH.V) at a price of $3.0525. Maybe I should post my complaints more often :-) DISCLAIMER: I am not a registered investment advisor. The information and trades that I provide here...