SolarWorld goes Insolvent.The German parent company of SolarWorld US has filed for insolvency. A few things to consider and trust me, I don’t have any of the answers. As a publicly traded company in Germany, the standard for directors to have to file is a much lower bar than in the US. The company has been in financial turbulence in the past and must now try to restructure itself again. No statements or reporting has thus far made clear if the US entity will have to take any action or what this means for the operations here. What is likely to happen is that buyers of product will become more cautious going forward due to the financial uncertainty. One thing to note, the European markets have had a minimum price for several years and yet, this result happened. It should be clear to Commerce staffers in the US that a minimum price has not worked in the past and will only harm consumers across all markets.
Trade Questions. I don’t understand the trade cases well. I am not sure what the minimum price means, how it could or would get negotiated down from the 78 cents per watt and when it would start. Here are questions that I would want answered if I was currently running a solar company. If a minimum price is put in place, could any of my orders for modules be retroactively taxed? Who would have to pay that tariff? Would the minimum price increase the margin for imported modules? Wouldn’t this be worse than a tariff which creates a pool for local manufacturers to reinvest into new production? What has happened thus far to the tariffs collected from the first trade case? Who did it go to and how did it help?
The Energy Storage Road Show is happened starting May 22nd in San Diego!
Interesting NRG Reports. In one move, NRG could create a massive renewable energy company. Reports say that activist investors in the company are asking for the renewable energy assets to be sold off. NRG Yield is 5GW on its own plus any of the ongoing projects being added to a potential sale. So the question is, does an existing investor come in and acquire the projects or is this a perfect entry point for a private equity player to finish what NRG started?
- PV-Magazine: BREAKING – SolarWorld files for insolvency
- Utility Dive: Report – NRG considering sale of all renewable energy assets
- Washington Post: Tesla starts selling solar roof; says savings to cover costs
- NRDC: NYC’s New Solar Milestone – 100 Megawatts and Counting
- Renewable Energy World: Now is the Time to Establish Partnerships that Advance Storage Battery Technology
- GreenBiz: REBA – More businesses than ever want to buy clean power
- Solar Industry: How Military Solar-Powered Microgrids Could Boost National Security
- The Guardian: Indian solar power prices hit record low, undercutting fossil fuels
Opinion
Have a great day!
Yann