125 replies to this topic

[acshen]

I agree Robert, it's xenophobia. Russian/Chinese companies are not seen in a similar manner to Japanese/German/etc.

[BIPV Investor]

The amazing thing is that this is happening while the US is going after China for dumping & subsidies! Oh wait, that is right, the US is "investing" and creating "incentives" while China is subsidizing which is illegal!

 

I don't know much about Solar Frontier other than the occasional press releases about record setting CIS panels, but $678M is a lot of money for a plant now days. 

[odyd]

I think it is more than that. USA has a legislature preventing collaboration with financial incentives with entity associated with the communist state.  Not sure 100%, but I think so. This, along the phobias of various levels.

[JMK]

I am not sure Spirit. is there something about the state of China, preventing to receive incentives? It would be beaten to a pulp by conservatives, borderline with homeland security aspect.  Couple years back Chinese wanted to buy into GOM and the merger was rejected on a federal level. They went to Canada and bought high % of oilsands, instead. The political climate in the US is less than friendly I would say for them to get $225M on account of green any site, in my view.

when GM was going to BK China made a proposal to buy GM for x8 of MC. US rejected a deal. Russia made an offer for Opel that was in a verge of BK - a deal was blocked.  When Blackberry was (and still is) in a big trouble China/Taiwan (Lenovo) made an a triple price offe - Canada  put a plug on selling (government, banks and secret serveces use blackberry as the most secure system). It is more or less obvious - the stock market valuation has nothing common to a REAL value. Sometimes  the market valuates companies like crazy  - FB, LNKD, AMZN, NFLX and nobody is going to buy them even for a quarter of their MC, sometimes  and more often the market undervalues strategically important companies.

A current market cap of leading Ch solars is a joke. Try to make a double MC offer and nobody will sell you.     

[spiritcraft]

I am not sure Spirit. is there something about the state of China, preventing to receive incentives? It would be beaten to a pulp by conservatives, borderline with homeland security aspect.  Couple years back Chinese wanted to buy into GOM and the merger was rejected on a federal level. They went to Canada and bought high % of oilsands, instead. The political climate in the US is less than friendly I would say for them to get $225M on account of green any site, in my view.

Remember A Power?  There was a big stink about their so called Texas wind project being supplied by Chinese turbines until they announced a plant to be built in Nevada and all of the Pols lined up to support it.  Of course that was all make believe but still.

 

I am not talking about a CN company buying a US company but rather locating a manufacturing plant here.  Announce a thousand jobs and heads will turn.

[explo]

I am not talking about a CN company buying a US company but rather locating a manufacturing plant here. Announce a thousand jobs and heads will turn.

 

Suntech did that, but had to shut it down after the tariffs.

[sunnysky]

I assume that was not the only reason why they did that since tariffs could have been avoided if Suntech makes cells in US or outsources from Taiwan and makes wafers and/or modules in the US factory?

[Jetmoney]

Explo, I don't understand why tariffs cause company operating in the US (like Suntech) shut down their operations.  Don't tariffs increase cost for companies outside of US and thus benefit companies that have manufacturing plant in the US?  Well, unless Suntech import cells from China and US put tariffs on cell.  Is this what happens?  If that is the case, doesn't a company who also have a cell manufacturing plan in the US benefit from the tariffs (like JASO is planning to do)?

[thejaq]

I agree Robert, it's xenophobia. Russian/Chinese companies are not seen in a similar manner to Japanese/German/etc.

This will pass just like it did with German, Japanese, and most recently, Korean companies. 

[explo]

I assume that was not the only reason why they did that since tariffs could have been avoided if Suntech makes cells in US or outsources from Taiwan and makes wafers and/or modules in the US factory?

 

That's what they claimed at least. It was a module factory making Suntech modules based on Suntech cell technology. It became too expensive to import Suntech cells with the cell import tariffs.

[explo]

Explo, I don't understand why tariffs cause company operating in the US (like Suntech) shut down their operations.  Don't tariffs increase cost for companies outside of US and thus benefit companies that have manufacturing plant in the US?  Well, unless Suntech import cells from China and US put tariffs on cell.  Is this what happens?  If that is the case, doesn't a company who also have a cell manufacturing plan in the US benefit from the tariffs (like JASO is planning to do)?

 

Yes if there was a CN company with cell factory in US they would benefit from the import tariffs, but it seems module factories have been (before tariffs) the main interest for CN companies for US location. I guess some of the reasons for this might be that module factories are cheap to build and modules are expensive to ship from China to US and cells factories are expensive to build and have cheap supply access in China.

[spiritcraft]

I assume that was not the only reason why they did that since tariffs could have been avoided if Suntech makes cells in US or outsources from Taiwan and makes wafers and/or modules in the US factory?

There was basically no market here in the US then.  What, perhaps a GW a year or something?    This is a whole new world.

[explo]

Here's the Suntech PR on the shut down in Goodyear, AZ: http://ir.suntech-po...4801&highlight=

[sunnysky]

100 MW Solar Power Plant Tender Opened In Dubai, UAE

http://cleantechnica...ned-dubai-uae/?

 

 

The state utility company of Dubai, the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), has officially opened a tender for a solar power plant 100 MW in size. The tender is for the second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

 

The first phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park was opened in October 2013 and was only 13 MW in size, so this second phase is a big jump forward. However, it doesn’t amount to even one-fifth of the project’s planned size, which is 1,000 MW (1 GW).

 

[SolarRoof]

These guys have huge plans.  Any news on who is providing the modules for these plants?

[sunnysky]

Too early for that - the projects are to be tendered but I'm sure China tier-1s will get a good piece of the pie.

[sunnysky]

The Smart Way to Power China

 

Smart grids mean that 50% of energy consumption can come from non-fossil fuel sources.

 

http://online.wsj.co...841768734.html?

[sunnysky]

Authorities to select four companies to build solar-run power plants

http://www.energycen...n-power-plants?

 

 

The four 50-MW solar-run power stations will be located in the Mafraq Development Zone and the northeastern region of the Kingdom, he added.

 

Jordan, which consumed around 16.7 gigawatts of electricity in 2013 -- a 7 per cent rise compared with 2012 -- is keen to diversify its energy resources and boost reliance on local resources, Hamed said.

[Xeloris]

TSL was granted a 2 MW project not long ago in Jordan,   I bet they would be a top runner for one of these projects

[sunnysky]

Distributed solar power generation to gain luster

http://www.chinadail...t_17465014.htm?

 

 

The distributed solar power industry is expected to see brighter days this year and years to come, as China is now stepping up efforts to boost the ailing sector amid economic restructuring and urbanization, officials and experts said.

 

"Companies and Investors in the solar power sector need to be really acute to the national policy and the market, grabbing opportunities to ride the wave of the fledgling sector," said Wang Jin, director of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, during a photovoltaic power investment and financial summit held by pvp365.com, a leading financing and transaction platform providing industry information.

 

"Distributed PV power generation is a national strategy and a trend," said Wang. "To meet the target, we have to overcome many difficulties in fields such as financing, technologies and risk control."