ZONNEËNERGIE : EEN TIP…

14 april, 2009 | door MHAAGEN |

Aandelen die mee aan het terugkomen zijn : diegene gerelateerd aan zonneënergie.  President Obama gaat hier zeer veel geld insteken en terecht.   

Solar Power: The Fastest Growing Energy Source In The World

by David Fessler, Advisory Panelist

Get ready: The solar power “big bang” is getting underway as we speak. By all accounts, solar power is quickly becoming the fastest growing energy source in the United States, and indeed, the world.

But here’s the most amazing part…

Even with a meteoric 48% annual growth – and that of a select group of solar companies – its just getting started. The market is expected to double over the next five years, and triple in just seven.

What’s behind solar’s shine? Is this torrid growth sustainable? What opportunities are there for investment in the solar space? Let’s take a look.

Solar Power: Several Types of Solar Panels

Solar panels can be divided into several types: thermal, photovoltaic, hybrid and building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).

• In a thermal collector, water or another fluid is heated by the sun’s rays, piped into a storage tank, and then used to heat either domestic hot water or as a heat source for a building.
• A photovoltaic solar panel is made up of a number of individual semiconductor solar cells. Electricity is produced when protons from the sun’s rays slam into electrons in the cells, raising their energy level. A small electrical signal is the result. This signal is combined with that of other cells and panels, and the resulting power can then be stored, used directly at the generation site (someone’s home, for instance), or pumped back into the local electrical grid for use elsewhere.
• A hybrid panel combines both thermal fluid heating and electrical power generation into one unit. These are relatively new, and while showing great promise, are not yet widely available. Typical installations combine many panels together into arrays. These may be located on the ground, but typically are on residential and commercial rooftops, otherwise wasted space. A control system handles the interface and control of the panels to the existing electrical supply or hot water system.

Solar Power Investment Opportunities: Photovoltaic Solar Panels

Let’s take a closer look at photovoltaic panels, since that’s where the growth and investment opportunities lie in solar power.

Not unlike other semiconductors, continued research and developments in the materials themselves have resulted in huge boosts in panel energy conversion efficiencies. As little as 10 years ago, 2% conversion efficiencies were the norm for polysilicon panels.

Commercial solar panels are now approaching 9% to 10%, and researchers have achieved nearly 20% in the laboratory.

However, new cadmium telluride thin-film technology is the industry’s current price/performance leader, and it and other derivations of thin-film will completely replace polysilicon panels in a few years.

Current panel costs are in the range of $1 to $2 per watt, however some companies have already broken the $1 per watt barrier. This trend will continue, with prices reaching $0.50 per watt and even lower in just a few short years.

At the same time, panel efficiencies continue to increase, making solar installations even more financially attractive as time goes on. Have they finally become cost effective? The answer is yes and no…

The 2 Biggest Markets For Solar Power

Germany and China are still the two biggest markets for solar power. The German market will grow by nearly one-third this year, and that’s in the face of less than ideal economic conditions.

All indications are that global credit is beginning to loosen, particularly for solar installations in countries where governmental subsidies exist: Germany, China and now the United States.

The United States is the dark horse of solar, with some states offering as much as 35% credits on top of the 30% federal refund. It’s no wonder that the forecasts for solar installations for this year and next are double that of last year.

The Top 5 Solar Power Companies to Invest In

Here are the top five solar companies to invest in now…

• First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) is the biggest player in thin-film solar panels, and is also the lowest cost producer. The company is a likely candidate for the S&P 500 and should experience a great second half of 2009.
• Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq: ESLR) is another thin-film panel maker. This company is just beginning to ramp up its manufacturing, and that’s a good thing, since it has a backlog of over $3 billion.
• Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) makes panels in the current polysilicon technology, but represents a great short-term (less than one-year) play in the space.
• Ascent Solar (Nasdaq: ASTI) is focused on the developing BIPV market, and as such represents a great long-term play.
• Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENER) makes, sells and installs photovoltaic panels and batteries for energy storage.

As I indicated earlier this week in an article about First Solar, growth will likely continue to ramp up in a big way here in the United States and by 2016 our total installed base could equal that of the rest of the world. China and India are also heavily subsidizing solar installations and will drive growth even more.

Even with all this heady growth, total worldwide energy gleaned from solar will still be less than 3%. Clearly, investing in solar power for the long term represents one of the greatest growth opportunities in our lifetime.

Just remember you heard it here first….

Good investing,

David Fessler

Ik heb voor u twee fondsen, eigenlijk trackers gevonden die deze hele industrie volgen.  Ze zijn al mooi aan het terugkomen maar nog zeer ver verwijderd van hun laatste hoogtepunten, wat betekent dat er nog enorm veel potentie zit in deze uitgelezen sector van de toekomst.  Het betreft hier TAN op de NYSE (Claymore/MAC Global Solar Index) en KWT ook op de NYSE (Markets Vectors Solar Energy).  Check them out ! Disclaimer : persoonlijk bezit ik ze (nog) niet…