Solar Power News
nuclear power or renewable resources
Written by Raina Xiao Friday, 25 March 2011 17:15
nuclear power or renewable resources
we have to leave behind the aberration of nuclear power and move step-by-step towards full energy supply from renewable resources.
SolarWorld shares rose more than 47% between 11 March and 15 March, as speculation swirled that the renewables sector will be a major beneficiary of the public-relations nightmare unfolding for the global nuclear-energy industry.
SolarWorld shares rose more than 47% between 11 March and 15 March, as speculation swirled that the renewables sector will be a major beneficiary of the public-relations nightmare unfolding for the global nuclear-energy industry.
“Japan is experiencing a disaster of biblical proportions,” says chief executive Frank Asbeck. “This shows we have to leave behind the aberration of nuclear power and move step-by-step towards full energy supply from renewable resources.”
The shares had lost more than 30% of their value in the 12-month run-up to the Fukushima crisis, and remain sharply down from their pre-recession levels.
However, even as many solar companies saw their share prices rise and recede rapidly as the Japanese story rolled forward, SolarWorld has managed to hold onto most of the gains it received.
SolarWorld shares eased down 0.8% to €10.20 ($14.41) on its 2010 results, but remain up 31% since the Fukushima catastrophe commenced.
Asbeck confirms most of the figures released in its preliminary report last month, while clarifying the company’s massive growth ambitions for 2011.
Bonn-based SolarWorld boosted shipments of its modules and wafers by 42% to 819MW last year, and anticipates module production will reach 1.4GW by the end of the year due to expansion at its German, US and South Korea factories.
Nearly 60% of SolarWorld’s revenues came from outside Germany in 2010, up from 45% in 2009.
Asbeck says he expects that figure to hit 75% within a few years, adding that he “considers it possible” to more than double sales in the US this year.
Aside from AUO, the earthquake and resultant tsunami appear to have done little damage to Japan's PV manufacturers
M. Setek boasts 700 employees in hard-hit Fukushima Prefecture, where more than 200,000 people are being evacuated due to fears of radiation poisoning and the potential for a hydrogen explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant.
Taiwan’s AUO, one of the world’s largest maker of liquid-crystal display screens, bought a 50% stake in M. Setek in 2009 for $125m.
It has since increased its share, following peers in the semiconductor and electronics industry, such as Taiwain Semiconductor Manufacturing, into the PV game.
“The [M.Setek] plant was not hit by the tsunami, but ... because of a lack of water and electricity, it is not operational at the moment,” AUO chairman Lee Kun-yao told local media.
AUO says it has established two crisis-response units at its headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan and in Tokyo.
An AUO spokesman adds: “At this moment we have no idea if there are any losses and when we will resume production, until we’re able to get there and assess the situation.”
Since buying into M. Setek, AUO has rapidly deepened its exposure to the PV sector. In December it commissioned a Malaysian cell factory it owns jointly with US-based SunPower, which it intends to ramp up to 1.3GW by 2013.
Last month it announced plans to build a 300MW wafer and ingot factory in Chungkang, Taiwan.
M. Setek counts many of Asia’s largest cell and module makers among its clients, including Sanyo, E-Ton and Suntech.
Aside from AUO, the earthquake and resultant tsunami appear to have done little damage to Japan's PV manufacturers, which are primarily based in the country's south-central regions surrounding Osaka and Kyoto, where damage was minimal.
Rather than direct damage to manufacturing facilities, much of the impact for the electronics sector will be on the supply chain for at least several weeks, according to market researcher IHS iSuppli.
"Suppliers are likely to encounter difficulties in getting raw materials supplied and distributed and shipping products out," iSuppli says.
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