March 15, 2010 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Cowenrsquo;s Rob Stone said this morning that he continues to think the solar group is undervalued, commenting on ground mount FIT delays in Germany and farmland which is still in dispute. Key Points: middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; According to new draft amendment to EEG, thenbsp; FIT cuts for ground mount systems would be postponed three months (to October 1st), ground mount projects on farmland which had permits by March 3, 2010 may be completed under the existing FIT until the end of 2010, and the corridor for ground mount systems along railroads and freeways is doubled to 200 meters (from 100). The time period for measuring the market size (which determines the 2011 degression) is also pushed out by one month, to start in July. middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Stone reiterated OUTPERFORM ratings on First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), SunPower (Nasdaq:SPWRA), Suntech (NYSE:STP) STR Holdings (Nasdaq:STRI) and Trina Solar (Nasdaq:TSL).

March 4, 2010 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Rob Stone said this morning that concerns about the impact of Germanyrsquo;s Feed-in-Tariff cuts may be overblown, now that uncertainty has been reducednbsp; with the cabinet-level agreement made public. He also pointed to other factors: middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Ground mount projects permitted by 12/31/09 are grandfathered middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; A self-consumption bonus reduces the effective rooftop FIT cuts middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The 3.5GW trigger for incremental 2011 will be based on the June-Sep run rate (more favorable than the 12-months to 9/30) Stone also reiterated his OUTPERFORM rating on First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), SunPower (Nasdaq:SPWRA) , STR Holdings (Nasdaq:STRI) and Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL).

SunPower just announced that it has signed a supply agreement with Toshiba Corporation for 32 MW wort of high-efficiency solar panels. Under the agreement, SunPower will supply the solar panels to Toshiba this year, and Toshiba will use them to offer residential solar power in Japan.

In a press release, SunPower CEO Tom Werner commented on the agreement:

“We welcome the opportunity to partner with Toshiba, a preeminent business leader in Japan and throughout the world. SunPower panels are particularly well suited to Japan’s residential market, where the new Japanese feed-in-tariff rewards production of solar energy in excess of domestic consumption, but available roof area is typically quite small. SunPower high efficiency systems will allow more customers to take advantage of this incentive.”

:::: >>> Click Here For Your FREE SunPower Analysis

...

February 18, 2010 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Cowenrsquo;s Rob Stone weighed in this morning on Germanyrsquo;s Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) policy plans. He said policy changes remain in flux, noting that this week the FDP once again called for postponements in FiT cuts.nbsp; Key Takeaways: middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Uncertainty is a near-term drag for solar stocks but the ultimate impact of Germany will be less than many have feared middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Reiterates OUTPERFORM rating on First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), SunPower (Nasdaq:SPWRA), STR Holdings (Nasdaq:STRI) and Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL). middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Land use concerns about solar farms appears to be overstated. middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Self-generation bonus (10c/kWh) would reduce the FiT cut impact.

February 8, 2010 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Cowenrsquo;s Rob Stone weighed in this morning on the U.S. Utility-Scale Solar PV segment, reflecting on highlights from PHOTONrsquo;s Third Solar Electric Utility Conference: Key Takeawaysmiddot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; There is a growing role for solar in utilitiesrsquo; RPS mix, driven by falling cost ndash; thinks investors may underestimate the near-term size and growth of the U.S. utility PV market middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Growth expected for utility distributed PV, raising confidence in projections in 2010 for morenbsp; than 1GW in the U.S. market middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The CPUC projects solar will become the largest source of CA RPS generation and in Florida, FPL is positioned to build 700MW of solar over the nextnbsp; three years ndash; pending approval of legislationmiddot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Smaller, 2-20MW PV projects are faster, easier to interconnect and permit and can be financed at a single bankmiddot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Maintains OUTPERFORM on First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), SunPower (Nasdaq:SPWRA), STR Holdings (Nasdaq:STRI) ...

January 15, 2010 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Cowenrsquo;s Rob Stone weighed in this morning on the solar sector, commenting that he thinks solar stocks are oversold on concerns about the impact of reductions to the German feed-in-tariff regime. He reiterated his OUTPERFORM rating on First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), SunPower (Nasdaq:SPWRA) and Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL). Stonersquo;s Key Takeaways: middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; An adjustment of 15% (on top of the 9-11% degression already in the EEG for 2010) is most likely, and would still result in adequate IRRs and continued German market growth. middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The potential that cuts would be implemented by April 1, 2010 is sooner than expected (July 1 was seen as most likely before), but it is not clear that this can be accomplished, since the EEG must be formally amended (requiring votes in both houses of the German parliament), followed by an adequate notice period to the market. Importantly, there is ...

October 5, 2009 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Pacific Crestrsquo;s Mark Bachman commented this morning on the California Solar Initiative, noting that analysis of the CDI Program Data through 3Q2009 indicates continued application growth in California. Key Takeaways middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; In C2009, as of September 30, the CSI has submitted 169MW worth of applications (compared with 185.6MW for all of C2008) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; YTD, the overall market has grown 23% Y/Y middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Residential sector has already reached 103% of its 2008 total middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Government sector has reached 139% of its 2008 total middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Commercial sector is down 25% middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 42% of Q3nbsp; applications came from SunPower (Nasdaq:SWPRA), Suntech (NYSE:STP) or Sharp (7503.T) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Believes Suntech and Sharp offer the best solutions, while SunPowerrsquo;s market share has flattened to the mid-teens middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; New entrants in the market include First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), Yingli (NYSE:YGE) and BP Solar

SunPower Corp. (SPWRA) recently teamed up with SunRay Renewable Energy to construct a 24MW solar electric power plant in Montalto di Castro, Italy. This project is the first phase of a planned 100MW development that is expected to be fully operational in 2010.

This would be Italy’s largest operating solar power plant after completion. Spread over 80 hectares, the Montalto di Castro project is owned by SunRay Renewable Energy. The company has engaged SunPower to design and construct the power plant apart from providing ongoing operations and maintenance services for the project. The project is being financed by a consortium of primary international and Italian. Electricity produced at the plant will find a ready market locally and any surplus will be added to Italy’s national electric grid.

SunPower is focused on tapping the rapidly expanding Italian solar market. Its 2008 acquisition of Solar Solutions, a solar systems integration

...

POINT ROBERTS, WA and DELTA, BC - July 24 , 2009 - www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com, a leading global investor and industry portal for the renewable energy sector within Investorideas.com presents a sector close-up pf publicly traded solar stocks for July 24, 2009. Chinese solar stocks China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: CSUN) and SunPower Corporation (NasdaqGS: SPWRA), SunPower Corporation (NasdaqGS: SPWRB) had gains of over 14%-27% for investors.

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 16, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Marriott (MAR), Starwood (HOT), National Semiconductor (NSM), Kyocera (KYO) and SunPower (STP).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Extended Stay Hotels Bankrupt

The current owners of Extended Stay Hotels (private) acquired the chain in June of 2007, near the peak of the market for hotel assets, for $8 billion. The deal was highly leveraged, reportedly consisting of $7 billion in debt and only $1 billion in cash. With

...