News

After the U.S. government issued guidelines for the application of cash grants in July, it approved already over USD 1 billion in grants for wind and solar power projects in September. Main beneficiaries of the program are European companies Iberdrola Renovables, EDP Renovaveis and E.On.

During the PV conference in Hamburg, Suntech announced a 16.5% module efficiency, beating all previous world records. It serves to highlight that some of the Chinese players are on the cutting edge of technology, which is the most important determinant in production costs.

The German election resulted in a center-right majority, which will lead to significant energy policy changes. The new government will prolong operating lives of Germany’s nuclear power plants beyond the 32 years, which were codified in 2002 in the Nuclear Power Regulations Act. The details of the p...

Q2 EBIT margins of integrated players such as SolarWorld, Trina, REC and Canadian Solar were far stronger than the operating losses recorded at specialist cell makers Q-Cells & JA Solar and wafer producers LDK & ReneSola. Chinese solar companies reported Q2 numbers during August: All companies impro...

US Treasury and US Departement of Energy departments announced the initiation of the USD 2.3 billion tax credit program for manufacturers of clean energy equipment from the stimulus package. The program will provide developers of manufacturing plants with an investment tax credit of 30%. To qualify,...

RWE reported EBIT of EUR 4.1 billion (+4% yoy) and net income of EUR 2.2 billion (+5%). The company reitarated its medium-term target of growing net income by 10% to 2012. E.On’s adjusted EBIT was EUR 5.7 billion (-1%), while its adjusted net income grew by 7% to EUR 3.6 billion. The company also an...

In addition to the roof-top solar program announced in June, the Chinese government introduced the “Golden Sun” solar program in July. Under the program, photovoltaic projects will receive a 50%-70% capital cost subsidy. The total program is limited to 680 MW on a national level. Further announcemen...

Gamesa sold 824 MW of turbines in Q2 and reported a healthy 8% EBIT margin on solid cost management. The company confirmed its profit outlook for the year and expects the EBIT margin to expand to 11% by 2011. Gamesa received a 300 MW order from China, indicating that the company is establishing a fo...

Regulated U.S. utilities in the portfolio topped the market’s expectations for Q2. Wisconsin Energy grew earnings by 12% as new power plants entered into service. Northeast Utilities recorded 27% higher earnings as its electric transmission investments are starting to bear fruit. The company continu...

Profitability in the Japanese utility sector is about to recover. The cumulative operating profit of the 10 large electric utilities is expected to double next year on higher nuclear power generation volumes and markedly lower fuel costs.