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Saturday, September 3, 2011
U.S. Solar Industry Was Net Global Exporter by $1.9B in 2010
New report shows positive U.S. solar trade balance in 2010, a complete account of imports and exports by key countries, domestic value created.
WASHINGTON, D.C. and BOSTON, Mass. - A new report shows that the U.S. is central to the global solar supply chain. In 2010, U.S. solar firms achieved a positive trade flow of $1.9 billion globally according to SEIA® and GTM Research’s U.S. Solar Energy Trade Assessment 2011. Photovoltaic (PV) components accounted for more than 99 percent of the year’s exports, with solar heating and cooling (SHC) claiming the remainder of the positive balance.
For the U.S. PV manufacturing industry, 2010 was a record year. Exports totaled more than $5.6 billion, with PV polysilicon feedstock and capital equipment leading all components at $2.5 billion and $1.4 billion respectively. The leading destinations for U.S.-sourced PV components were China and Germany. Meanwhile, U.S. imports of PV products totaled $3.7 billion, the majority of which ($2.4 billion) came from procurement of modules assembled overseas. China and Mexico were the top two sources of PV goods headed to the U.S. in 2010.
Furthermore, the U.S. was a net exporter of solar products to China last year by more than $240 million. The U.S. primarily sold capital equipment and PV polysilicon to China, while China primarily sold PV modules to the U.S.
“The U.S. solar energy market continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise bleak economy. As the global solar industry continues to grow and evolve, the U.S. is seen more and more as a leading market – both in installations and in exports. Solar is a showcase industry of U.S. ingenuity. In 2010, we grew by over 100 percent, we achieved a significant positive trade balance, and we exported more goods and services to China than we imported,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of SEIA. “Solar energy is an industry invented in the U.S. that is helping our country reclaim our manufacturing leadership and creating tens of thousands of jobs. But to maintain our competitive advantage, we need innovative, proactive solutions from policymakers to match the investments being provided overseas to grow robust solar supply chains. Doing so will result in new jobs and opportunities for communities that have seen their factories close up shop in recent years.”
“Until now, the finished module was the industry’s benchmark for judging the health of the PV manufacturing sector,” said Shayle Kann, Managing Director of Solar at GTM Research. “However, the PV market is more complex than meets the eye. To completely understand solar trade flows, this report looks both at earlier steps in the value chain and at the non-panel components of a solar PV system. As our research shows, the U.S. remains a focal point in global PV manufacturing, thanks largely to the domestic manufacturing of feedstock and manufacturing equipment.”
According to the U.S. Solar Energy Trade Assessment 2011, a significant portion of the domestic value generated by the PV industry resides beyond manufactured components; site preparation, labor, permitting, financing and other industry ‘soft costs’ comprised nearly 50 percent of total solar revenue in 2010. The report found $4.4 billion of domestic revenue accrued last year from U.S. solar installations. This domestic value originated from both local and foreign firms employing U.S. resources on the ground for solar goods and services. According to the report, for every dollar spent on a U.S. solar installation in 2010, $0.75 accrued to the U.S.
Bahrain Military Trials of Civilian Medical Staff
A rights group in Bahrain says more detainees are joining a hunger strike to protest ongoing trials from the crackdown on demonstrations for greater rights by the Gulf nation's Shia majority.
A statement on Saturday by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights said the strike now includes nearly 20 doctors who are jailed and face anti-state charges linked to the protests against Bahrain's ruling Sunni dynasty.
The rights group said at least two other prominent activists, Abdul Jalil al-Singace and Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, have also begun hunger strikes in solidarity. The activists were sentenced to life in prison in June.
Nabeel Rajab, a spokesman for the group, said the detainees are insisting that a trial, if any, should take place in a civil court not a military tribunal.
The trials are scheduled to resume on Wednesday.
Rajab said because little change has come into effect despite promises of reform from the government, there are now renewed protests in the prisons and in the streets.
Zainab al-Khawaja says her father, Abdulhadi, and al-Singace, opposition Haq movement member, stopped eating on Tuesday in solidarity with detainees held at Bahrain's Dry Dock prison.
She said the detainees, who were arrested as part of a March crackdown on pro-democracy protests, went on hunger strike against the government's failure to honour promises to release them.
"I am concerned about my father's health," al-Khawaja said. "He was beaten when detained and his jaw was broken.
"He has already lost too much weight in prison and yesterday he called me and said his blood sugar level has dropped," she added.
Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who also holds Danish citizenship, was jailed for life along with Singace and six other opposition activists in June.
Security forces backed by troops from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia crushed the protest movement.
The opposition says that scores of people were arrested, and many of them tortured. Hundreds more were dismissed from their jobs.
Four people have been sentenced to death and three to life imprisonment. Nine others were jailed for 20 years after being found guilty of abducting a policeman.
A statement on Saturday by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights said the strike now includes nearly 20 doctors who are jailed and face anti-state charges linked to the protests against Bahrain's ruling Sunni dynasty.
The rights group said at least two other prominent activists, Abdul Jalil al-Singace and Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, have also begun hunger strikes in solidarity. The activists were sentenced to life in prison in June.
Nabeel Rajab, a spokesman for the group, said the detainees are insisting that a trial, if any, should take place in a civil court not a military tribunal.
The trials are scheduled to resume on Wednesday.
Rajab said because little change has come into effect despite promises of reform from the government, there are now renewed protests in the prisons and in the streets.
Zainab al-Khawaja says her father, Abdulhadi, and al-Singace, opposition Haq movement member, stopped eating on Tuesday in solidarity with detainees held at Bahrain's Dry Dock prison.
She said the detainees, who were arrested as part of a March crackdown on pro-democracy protests, went on hunger strike against the government's failure to honour promises to release them.
"I am concerned about my father's health," al-Khawaja said. "He was beaten when detained and his jaw was broken.
"He has already lost too much weight in prison and yesterday he called me and said his blood sugar level has dropped," she added.
Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who also holds Danish citizenship, was jailed for life along with Singace and six other opposition activists in June.
Security forces backed by troops from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia crushed the protest movement.
The opposition says that scores of people were arrested, and many of them tortured. Hundreds more were dismissed from their jobs.
Four people have been sentenced to death and three to life imprisonment. Nine others were jailed for 20 years after being found guilty of abducting a policeman.
Friday, September 2, 2011
And this week from Wiki Leaks.... a world of embarassment!!! Beginning with UAE
The Belgium government previously reported that it charged eight family members of the royal family of Abu Dhabi (UAE) with human trafficking in 2008 for subjecting 17 girls to forced servitude while staying at a Brussels hotel. The government reportedly has not yet scheduled trial proceedings for this case, though they were to have occurred in early 2010. The implicated sheikh and seven other family members have not returned to Belgium.
----
Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan has been acquitted of torture and rape charges. This acquittal occurred despite a video that clearly shows the sheikh and others torturing the victim with cattle prods, a board with nails, rubbing salt into wounds, and driving over the victim repeatedly at the end with a Mercedes SUV.
The video was created on the sheikh’s orders so that he would watch how he treated his victim, an Afghani grain dealer, who the sheikh believed had cheated him out of about $5,000 worth of merchandise. Despite extensive injuries, the victim survived.
At first, the government attempted to cover up the crime. With the skeikh’s one brother being the crown prince and another, the chief of police, this likely would have occurred, except for the international uproar over the 2004 video that had been broadcast last year by major news agencies. It should be noted that the sheikh’s torture of the victim, as shown on the video, included the assistance of uniformed police officers.
Although the Al Ain Criminal Court acknowledged the sheikh was the perpetrator, it acquitted him of the charges.
----------------------
(SBU) Summary: Local Arabic daily, Al Emarat Al Youm, was
ordered on July 2 to suspend publication for 20 days and its Chief
Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief each fined 20,000 Dirhams
(Approx. 5500 USD), following the 2006 publication of an article
accusing Abu Dhabi ruling family members of race horse doping. Court
proceedings began in January 2007 and only were completed in July,
¶2009. Post documented the case in the Freedom of Speech sections of
both the 2007 and 2008 Human Rights Reports. The ruling comes down
in the context of an already tense media atmosphere created by the
newly passed media law and the creation of a new court in Abu Dhabi
that will deal exclusively with media cases. End summary.
----
Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan has been acquitted of torture and rape charges. This acquittal occurred despite a video that clearly shows the sheikh and others torturing the victim with cattle prods, a board with nails, rubbing salt into wounds, and driving over the victim repeatedly at the end with a Mercedes SUV.
The video was created on the sheikh’s orders so that he would watch how he treated his victim, an Afghani grain dealer, who the sheikh believed had cheated him out of about $5,000 worth of merchandise. Despite extensive injuries, the victim survived.
At first, the government attempted to cover up the crime. With the skeikh’s one brother being the crown prince and another, the chief of police, this likely would have occurred, except for the international uproar over the 2004 video that had been broadcast last year by major news agencies. It should be noted that the sheikh’s torture of the victim, as shown on the video, included the assistance of uniformed police officers.
Although the Al Ain Criminal Court acknowledged the sheikh was the perpetrator, it acquitted him of the charges.
----------------------
(SBU) Summary: Local Arabic daily, Al Emarat Al Youm, was
ordered on July 2 to suspend publication for 20 days and its Chief
Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief each fined 20,000 Dirhams
(Approx. 5500 USD), following the 2006 publication of an article
accusing Abu Dhabi ruling family members of race horse doping. Court
proceedings began in January 2007 and only were completed in July,
¶2009. Post documented the case in the Freedom of Speech sections of
both the 2007 and 2008 Human Rights Reports. The ruling comes down
in the context of an already tense media atmosphere created by the
newly passed media law and the creation of a new court in Abu Dhabi
that will deal exclusively with media cases. End summary.
Bahrain Medics on hunger strike
Bahraini medical professionals, who were arrested at the start of a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests earlier this year, have gone on hunger strike, their relatives say.
They have been held in jail for almost six months, while their trial continues in a military court.
Bahraini and international human rights organisations have called the trials a farce.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Khalil Al-Mazrooq, a former chairman of the Shia bloc Al Wefaq, said: "The trial of Bahraini medics in a military tribunal is against the country’s constitution. Article 105 of the constitution says civilians should be tried in civilian courts only."
They have been held in jail for almost six months, while their trial continues in a military court.
Bahraini and international human rights organisations have called the trials a farce.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Khalil Al-Mazrooq, a former chairman of the Shia bloc Al Wefaq, said: "The trial of Bahraini medics in a military tribunal is against the country’s constitution. Article 105 of the constitution says civilians should be tried in civilian courts only."
Thursday, September 1, 2011
UAE: FCPA violation Dolphin Energy
In the case of Control Components executives Mario Covino and Richard Morlok, both pled guilty in connection with making corrupt payments to officials at various state-owned enterprises, including the Dolphin Energy company in the United Arab Emirates and Safco in Saudi Arabia.
As with other cases, Covino and Morlok made payments to government officials, disguised as “commissions.” The payments were primarily made to individuals at the state-owned companies who had the power to direct business.
Of note, both individuals were alleged to have made specific false or misleading statements or undertook other actions to impede investigation into the alleged improper activity.
For instance, Morlok admitted to providing “false and misleading information to [the company’s] external auditors regarding his knowledge of and participation in improper payments” made to foreign officials.
Covino also admitted to having deleted emails and instructing others to delete emails that referred to the corrupt payments, for the purpose of obstructing the internal audit into the commission payments.
Underscoring the seriousness of FCPA penalties for individuals, both Covino and Morlok face up to five years in prison for these violations.
As with other cases, Covino and Morlok made payments to government officials, disguised as “commissions.” The payments were primarily made to individuals at the state-owned companies who had the power to direct business.
Of note, both individuals were alleged to have made specific false or misleading statements or undertook other actions to impede investigation into the alleged improper activity.
For instance, Morlok admitted to providing “false and misleading information to [the company’s] external auditors regarding his knowledge of and participation in improper payments” made to foreign officials.
Covino also admitted to having deleted emails and instructing others to delete emails that referred to the corrupt payments, for the purpose of obstructing the internal audit into the commission payments.
Underscoring the seriousness of FCPA penalties for individuals, both Covino and Morlok face up to five years in prison for these violations.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
UAE: Kenyan workers murdered, raped and abused
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has strongly condemned gross violation of human rights of immigrant workers by their employers especially in the UAE.
KNCHR commissioner Omar Hassan said that gross violations such as murder and racism will not be condoned.
Hassan said that reports on violations have been on the increase as over 400 Kenyans from United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been repatriated to Kenya over the last four months which is alarming.
The commissioner said that the report of the lady found murdered and stored in a freezer for two months is shocking and the matter should be addressed urgently.
Speaking at an immigrant workers forum in Mombasa, Hassan said that KNCHR was able to document around 70 statements during a fact finding mission recently.
Around 30,000 registered Kenyans work in the UAE, but the number may be more, said Commissioner Hassan, adding that the government should ensure rights of the citizens working in foreign lands is upheld.
The KNCHR commissioner noted that MUHURI (Muslims for Human Rights) has so far documented 25 cases and the organization will be used as the vocal point to collect information on such matters.
Hassan also recommended that the government vet all recruitment agencies and hold them accountable, and the suspects be charged in court and ordered to compensate victims.
KNCHR commissioner Omar Hassan said that gross violations such as murder and racism will not be condoned.
Hassan said that reports on violations have been on the increase as over 400 Kenyans from United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been repatriated to Kenya over the last four months which is alarming.
The commissioner said that the report of the lady found murdered and stored in a freezer for two months is shocking and the matter should be addressed urgently.
Speaking at an immigrant workers forum in Mombasa, Hassan said that KNCHR was able to document around 70 statements during a fact finding mission recently.
Around 30,000 registered Kenyans work in the UAE, but the number may be more, said Commissioner Hassan, adding that the government should ensure rights of the citizens working in foreign lands is upheld.
The KNCHR commissioner noted that MUHURI (Muslims for Human Rights) has so far documented 25 cases and the organization will be used as the vocal point to collect information on such matters.
Hassan also recommended that the government vet all recruitment agencies and hold them accountable, and the suspects be charged in court and ordered to compensate victims.
Bahrain: More dead from peaceful protests
A 14-year-old Bahraini boy has died after being hit by a tear gas canister during clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces, the Gulf kingdom's main Shia opposition group al-Wefaq has said.
Activists blamed the police for the death of Ali Jawad Ahmad, who was among the protesters in the oil hub area of Sitra on Wednesday.
A police official told the state news agency BNA that the incident was being investigated, without saying how the boy was injured.
Bahrain has been in turmoil for the past few months since protests by the dominant Shia community broke out, demanding great freedom and political rights.
More than 30 people have been killed since the protests began in February inspired by other uprisings across the Arab world.
More than 70 per cent of Bahrain's population is Shia but claim widespread discrimination by the ruling al-Khalifa Sunni dynasty.
Clashes between police and mostly Shia demonstrators have become a near nightly event in the tense Gulf nation since authorities lifted emergency rule in June.
King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa said protest-related trials will continue.
Activists blamed the police for the death of Ali Jawad Ahmad, who was among the protesters in the oil hub area of Sitra on Wednesday.
A police official told the state news agency BNA that the incident was being investigated, without saying how the boy was injured.
Bahrain has been in turmoil for the past few months since protests by the dominant Shia community broke out, demanding great freedom and political rights.
More than 30 people have been killed since the protests began in February inspired by other uprisings across the Arab world.
More than 70 per cent of Bahrain's population is Shia but claim widespread discrimination by the ruling al-Khalifa Sunni dynasty.
Clashes between police and mostly Shia demonstrators have become a near nightly event in the tense Gulf nation since authorities lifted emergency rule in June.
King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa said protest-related trials will continue.
Iran Now the Dumbest Thing to Happen on the Planet = Squirt Gun Crimes!!! ooo scary
Authorities in authoritarian Iran have determined the latest threat to the Islamic Republic: squirt guns.
Agents of the regime fanned out across Tehran late last month to question toy store owners about whether the fake guns had been imported from America. Nope: made right in Iran or imported from China.
Why all this fuss? A water fight among playful youth at a water park.
After heeding a call on Facebook, a group of nearly 800 young men and women were among those who showed up at the park. They were surprised to find others there eager to drench anyone in sight.
They chased strangers around a giant water fountain, screaming and laughing as they splashed each other with water from toy guns, bottles and plastic bags.
"We had a blast. It was a rare chance for boys and girls to hang out in a public place and have fun," said Shaghayegh, a participant who did not want her last name to be used.
Among Iranian authorities, the fun and games triggered a different reaction. Police raided the park, engaging in a four-hour cat-and-mouse game with the youth, who turned their squirt guns on the cops and threw plastic bags full of water on the policemen's heads, according to participants and media reports.
Young Iranian men and women gathered for a day of water war fun at Tehran's new Water and Fire park.
Finally, park authorities cut off the water, rounded up dozens of young men and women, and dragged them to jail. Tehran's police chief vowed to crack down and warned that similar water-war events were planned in other cities.
"These events are a disgrace to our revolution. Our security forces and judiciary must stop the spreading of these morally corrupt actions," said conservative lawmaker Hossein Ibrahimi, according to official media.
Fars News Agency, affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, blamed Zionists and Americans for corrupting the minds of the youth and coaxing them into water parks.
Pictures of the young women, their tight coats and colorful scarves drenched, squirting water at young men in wet, tight T-shirts surfaced on websites and newspapers, creating an uproar that reached the parliament.
Farzan, a 22-year-old university student who was one of the organizers of the Tehran water war, says police tracked him down through Facebook and raided his house in the middle of the night. He was arrested, held for three days and beaten up, he says. He has a court case pending.
Agents of the regime fanned out across Tehran late last month to question toy store owners about whether the fake guns had been imported from America. Nope: made right in Iran or imported from China.
Why all this fuss? A water fight among playful youth at a water park.
After heeding a call on Facebook, a group of nearly 800 young men and women were among those who showed up at the park. They were surprised to find others there eager to drench anyone in sight.
They chased strangers around a giant water fountain, screaming and laughing as they splashed each other with water from toy guns, bottles and plastic bags.
"We had a blast. It was a rare chance for boys and girls to hang out in a public place and have fun," said Shaghayegh, a participant who did not want her last name to be used.
Among Iranian authorities, the fun and games triggered a different reaction. Police raided the park, engaging in a four-hour cat-and-mouse game with the youth, who turned their squirt guns on the cops and threw plastic bags full of water on the policemen's heads, according to participants and media reports.
Young Iranian men and women gathered for a day of water war fun at Tehran's new Water and Fire park.
Finally, park authorities cut off the water, rounded up dozens of young men and women, and dragged them to jail. Tehran's police chief vowed to crack down and warned that similar water-war events were planned in other cities.
"These events are a disgrace to our revolution. Our security forces and judiciary must stop the spreading of these morally corrupt actions," said conservative lawmaker Hossein Ibrahimi, according to official media.
Fars News Agency, affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, blamed Zionists and Americans for corrupting the minds of the youth and coaxing them into water parks.
Pictures of the young women, their tight coats and colorful scarves drenched, squirting water at young men in wet, tight T-shirts surfaced on websites and newspapers, creating an uproar that reached the parliament.
Farzan, a 22-year-old university student who was one of the organizers of the Tehran water war, says police tracked him down through Facebook and raided his house in the middle of the night. He was arrested, held for three days and beaten up, he says. He has a court case pending.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
UAE Peaceful Protesters for Indian Hunger Striker Arrested!
Social activist and civil society leader Anna Hazare, who is on fast demanding the passing of Jan Lok Pal bill to fight against corruption, has received overwhelming support not only from fellow citizens of the nation, but non-resident Indians who spread across the world as well.
In UAE, where laws pertaining to carrying protest marches without prior permission are strict, at least five Indians were arrested for protesting in support of Anna Hazare, on Saturday August 20 evening.
It has been reported that on Monday August 22 three more Indians were arrested for the Saturday protest.
A group of around 150 people gathered at Al Mamzar beach, brought together through a campaign on Facebook. While the group was marching with slogans, banners and Indian flags in support of Anna Hazare, Dubai police reached the spot and asked only the leaders who initiated the march to stay and the rest of the people to leave the place.
It is learnt from reliable source that a case has been booked against the leaders for illegally organising the march through Facebook without obtaining permission.
In UAE, where laws pertaining to carrying protest marches without prior permission are strict, at least five Indians were arrested for protesting in support of Anna Hazare, on Saturday August 20 evening.
It has been reported that on Monday August 22 three more Indians were arrested for the Saturday protest.
A group of around 150 people gathered at Al Mamzar beach, brought together through a campaign on Facebook. While the group was marching with slogans, banners and Indian flags in support of Anna Hazare, Dubai police reached the spot and asked only the leaders who initiated the march to stay and the rest of the people to leave the place.
It is learnt from reliable source that a case has been booked against the leaders for illegally organising the march through Facebook without obtaining permission.
Sun setting on solar equipment industry; only to rise on stronger consolidated players
The solar-equipment industry is beginning a consolidation that’s already the biggest in at least two years as plunging prices for photovoltaic systems force weaker companies to team with competitors or close shop.
Mergers and acquisitions announced so far this year total $3.3 billion, up 33 percent from the $2.47 billion in all of last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR) of the U.S. today set a Sept. 20 meeting for its creditors after seeking bankruptcy protection this month. German solar-panel maker Q-Cells SE (QCE) in July said it’s open to takeover bids.
Tumbling solar-cell prices are provoking deals. Their 42 percent drop in 2011, stemming from tougher Chinese competition and declining solar-energy incentives in Europe, contributed to California’s Sunpower Corp. (SPWRA) and Roth & Rau AG (R8R) of Germany agreeing to takeovers. Ascent Solar Inc. took a Chinese partner.
A sell-off in solar stocks has made acquisitions cheaper. The Bloomberg Industries Global Large Solar Index dropped 36 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 3.8 percent decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in that period.
“The industry is ripe for consolidation,” Michael Schostak, director of business development and communications at Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ENER), a maker of thin-film solar laminates, said in an interview.
Adam Krop, an analyst at Ardour Capital Partners in New York, put Energy Conversion on his list of vulnerable companies. Aaron Chew, an analyst at New York-based Maxim Group LLC, named Daystar Technologies Inc. (DSTI) and Q-Cells.
Evergreen said it plans to sell itself at an auction. Hopewell Junction, New York-based cell maker SpectraWatt Inc. this month also filed for protection from creditors.
Q-Cells, once the world’s largest maker of solar cells, hired investment bank and bankruptcy adviser Houlihan Lokey to look at financing options, it said last week.
“It’s totally feasible that Q-Cells goes under,” Chew of the Maxim Group said in an interview. The company’s shares reached a record low Aug. 10 after forecasting a “three-digit million-euro” loss for the year.
Other German solar companies are struggling. Solon SE (SOO1) said on Aug. 16 that it will cut 15 percent of its jobs after inventory rose 45 percent in the first quarter to 160 million euros ($230 million) from a year earlier.
Roth & Rau, the German maker of solar-cell manufacturing equipment, agreed in April to a takeover by Swiss competitor Meyer Burger Technology AG, after first-quarter inventory more than tripled to 97 million euros.
Schostak of Energy Conversion said the most likely takeover targets offer commodity crystalline silicon products and that his company is talking to potential partners about integrating its flexible cells into products from roofing tiles to backpacks. He didn’t name the companies.
Daystar Technologies, a Milpitas, California-based maker of thin-film solar cells, is “in discussions” with potential investors to “provide financing, manufacturing capabilities or other opportunities,” Chief Financial Officer Chris Lail said in an interview.
Mergers and acquisitions announced so far this year total $3.3 billion, up 33 percent from the $2.47 billion in all of last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR) of the U.S. today set a Sept. 20 meeting for its creditors after seeking bankruptcy protection this month. German solar-panel maker Q-Cells SE (QCE) in July said it’s open to takeover bids.
Tumbling solar-cell prices are provoking deals. Their 42 percent drop in 2011, stemming from tougher Chinese competition and declining solar-energy incentives in Europe, contributed to California’s Sunpower Corp. (SPWRA) and Roth & Rau AG (R8R) of Germany agreeing to takeovers. Ascent Solar Inc. took a Chinese partner.
A sell-off in solar stocks has made acquisitions cheaper. The Bloomberg Industries Global Large Solar Index dropped 36 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 3.8 percent decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in that period.
“The industry is ripe for consolidation,” Michael Schostak, director of business development and communications at Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ENER), a maker of thin-film solar laminates, said in an interview.
Adam Krop, an analyst at Ardour Capital Partners in New York, put Energy Conversion on his list of vulnerable companies. Aaron Chew, an analyst at New York-based Maxim Group LLC, named Daystar Technologies Inc. (DSTI) and Q-Cells.
Evergreen said it plans to sell itself at an auction. Hopewell Junction, New York-based cell maker SpectraWatt Inc. this month also filed for protection from creditors.
Q-Cells, once the world’s largest maker of solar cells, hired investment bank and bankruptcy adviser Houlihan Lokey to look at financing options, it said last week.
“It’s totally feasible that Q-Cells goes under,” Chew of the Maxim Group said in an interview. The company’s shares reached a record low Aug. 10 after forecasting a “three-digit million-euro” loss for the year.
Other German solar companies are struggling. Solon SE (SOO1) said on Aug. 16 that it will cut 15 percent of its jobs after inventory rose 45 percent in the first quarter to 160 million euros ($230 million) from a year earlier.
Roth & Rau, the German maker of solar-cell manufacturing equipment, agreed in April to a takeover by Swiss competitor Meyer Burger Technology AG, after first-quarter inventory more than tripled to 97 million euros.
Schostak of Energy Conversion said the most likely takeover targets offer commodity crystalline silicon products and that his company is talking to potential partners about integrating its flexible cells into products from roofing tiles to backpacks. He didn’t name the companies.
Daystar Technologies, a Milpitas, California-based maker of thin-film solar cells, is “in discussions” with potential investors to “provide financing, manufacturing capabilities or other opportunities,” Chief Financial Officer Chris Lail said in an interview.
UAE, dream holiday ends in a body bag!!!
A British tourist was beaten to death by officers in a UAE police station after being arrested for swearing.
Lee Bradley Brown, 39, was on holiday at a £1,000-a-night hotel in the Arab state when he was thrown into a filthy cell.
Police sources say he was ‘badly beaten up’ by a group of police officers, leaving him unconscious on the floor.
Inmates told how they watched officers bundle him into a body-bag and drag him out of the building.
During Mr Brown’s six days in UAE police station, guards refused to give him enough food and water and did not let him see a lawyer, it is alleged.
His sister learned about the attack when she received a phone call from an inmate on Sunday, claiming her brother had been beaten.
The prisoner found her phone number on a photocopy of her brother’s passport which had been left behind in the cell.
She contacted the British Embassy in UAE, and on Monday an official was sent to visit Mr Brown at the police station.
But the official was turned away by an officer who claimed Mr Brown did not want to see him and had ‘declined consular assistance’.
His sister, who did not want to be named, received another phone call from the inmate saying he had seen her brother’s body being taken out in a body-bag.
A source told the Daily Mail last night: ‘He suffered a really bad beating which must have caused some terrible internal injuries.
‘The poor bloke stood no chance at all. At one stage he was thrown against the concrete wall of a cell and landed badly.
‘Then the guards tried to hush it up and pretend nothing had happened.’
The British Embassy officially told his family about his death yesterday.
UAE police station is a notoriously violent place where beatings, starvation, rape and the force-feeding of drugs is common-place.
Foreign prisoners are often kept in cramped cells with up to 20 inmates for weeks for trivial offences.
Human rights charities say police officers regularly refuse to allow inmates to make a phone call or access to a lawyer.
They say prisoners are sometimes beaten and coerced into signing confessions written in Arabic.
‘We were told unofficially on Tuesday it was true, and the worst was confirmed today. We are unable to be out there. All we have had is one call from officials telling us that he’s dead.
Lee Bradley Brown, 39, was on holiday at a £1,000-a-night hotel in the Arab state when he was thrown into a filthy cell.
Police sources say he was ‘badly beaten up’ by a group of police officers, leaving him unconscious on the floor.
Inmates told how they watched officers bundle him into a body-bag and drag him out of the building.
During Mr Brown’s six days in UAE police station, guards refused to give him enough food and water and did not let him see a lawyer, it is alleged.
His sister learned about the attack when she received a phone call from an inmate on Sunday, claiming her brother had been beaten.
The prisoner found her phone number on a photocopy of her brother’s passport which had been left behind in the cell.
She contacted the British Embassy in UAE, and on Monday an official was sent to visit Mr Brown at the police station.
But the official was turned away by an officer who claimed Mr Brown did not want to see him and had ‘declined consular assistance’.
His sister, who did not want to be named, received another phone call from the inmate saying he had seen her brother’s body being taken out in a body-bag.
A source told the Daily Mail last night: ‘He suffered a really bad beating which must have caused some terrible internal injuries.
‘The poor bloke stood no chance at all. At one stage he was thrown against the concrete wall of a cell and landed badly.
‘Then the guards tried to hush it up and pretend nothing had happened.’
The British Embassy officially told his family about his death yesterday.
UAE police station is a notoriously violent place where beatings, starvation, rape and the force-feeding of drugs is common-place.
Foreign prisoners are often kept in cramped cells with up to 20 inmates for weeks for trivial offences.
Human rights charities say police officers regularly refuse to allow inmates to make a phone call or access to a lawyer.
They say prisoners are sometimes beaten and coerced into signing confessions written in Arabic.
‘We were told unofficially on Tuesday it was true, and the worst was confirmed today. We are unable to be out there. All we have had is one call from officials telling us that he’s dead.
Electric Highways, not to far off!
Researchers at the Energy Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University are working on just such a solution, called electrified roads.
Electric vehicles, or EVs, could pick up small amounts of electricity as they drive over charging pads buried under the asphalt and connected to the electrical grid. Researchers say that a continuously available power supply would allow EVs to cut battery size as much as 80 percent, drastically reducing vehicle cost.
Nicola Tesla first proposed wireless energy transfer more than a century ago.
“Basically you get power directly from the grid to the motors as the car moves,” said Hunter Wu, a Utah State researcher who was recruited from The University of Auckland in New Zealand, where the technology was pioneered, to further develop the concept. “You can travel from the West Coast to the East Coast continuously without charging.”
Nicola Tesla first discovered the principles of wireless charging, or inductive power transfer, in the late 19th Century. It works by creating an electromagnetic charging field that transfers energy to a receiving pad set to the same frequency.
Manufacturers are already marketing wireless charging pads for electric vehicles – retrofitted to accept the charges – that can deliver a 5-kilowatt charge with 90 percent efficiency from a distance of about 10 inches.
There is also a trial application of electric roads – albeit at slow speeds and using very long charging pads – for buses at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, south of Seoul.
But Wu is thinking of something much more radical: charging at interstate speeds. This will require several technical breakthroughs, he said.
“At 75 mph, you’re only going to stay on a pad for about 30 milliseconds,” he said. “We need to turn the pad embedded in the road on and off really quickly.”
The pads would need to be able to signal to each other that a car is coming and the car would also need to communicate its need for a charge, he said.
Wu said the pad must also deliver power even when the car isn’t directly over top of it – a capability called horizontal misalignment that the current generation of stationary inductive power transfer chargers don’t have.
John Boys, a University of Auckland professor who is credited with refining the technology, said it would be possible to transfer up to 30 kW of power at an average efficiency of 80 percent on the highway. Assuming that chargers would be available at home and work, Boys said, a car would only need “a battery big enough to make it to the nearest interstate or major road.”
Wu said the cost of electrified roads, pegged at $1.5 million to 2.5 million per lane mile, could be made up through charging a toll along the roadway.
Not only would the cost of EVs, but range anxiety would be totally eliminated, he said.
“This technology,” Wu said, “would propel EVs forward.”
Electric vehicles, or EVs, could pick up small amounts of electricity as they drive over charging pads buried under the asphalt and connected to the electrical grid. Researchers say that a continuously available power supply would allow EVs to cut battery size as much as 80 percent, drastically reducing vehicle cost.
Nicola Tesla first proposed wireless energy transfer more than a century ago.
“Basically you get power directly from the grid to the motors as the car moves,” said Hunter Wu, a Utah State researcher who was recruited from The University of Auckland in New Zealand, where the technology was pioneered, to further develop the concept. “You can travel from the West Coast to the East Coast continuously without charging.”
Nicola Tesla first discovered the principles of wireless charging, or inductive power transfer, in the late 19th Century. It works by creating an electromagnetic charging field that transfers energy to a receiving pad set to the same frequency.
Manufacturers are already marketing wireless charging pads for electric vehicles – retrofitted to accept the charges – that can deliver a 5-kilowatt charge with 90 percent efficiency from a distance of about 10 inches.
There is also a trial application of electric roads – albeit at slow speeds and using very long charging pads – for buses at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, south of Seoul.
But Wu is thinking of something much more radical: charging at interstate speeds. This will require several technical breakthroughs, he said.
“At 75 mph, you’re only going to stay on a pad for about 30 milliseconds,” he said. “We need to turn the pad embedded in the road on and off really quickly.”
The pads would need to be able to signal to each other that a car is coming and the car would also need to communicate its need for a charge, he said.
Wu said the pad must also deliver power even when the car isn’t directly over top of it – a capability called horizontal misalignment that the current generation of stationary inductive power transfer chargers don’t have.
John Boys, a University of Auckland professor who is credited with refining the technology, said it would be possible to transfer up to 30 kW of power at an average efficiency of 80 percent on the highway. Assuming that chargers would be available at home and work, Boys said, a car would only need “a battery big enough to make it to the nearest interstate or major road.”
Wu said the cost of electrified roads, pegged at $1.5 million to 2.5 million per lane mile, could be made up through charging a toll along the roadway.
Not only would the cost of EVs, but range anxiety would be totally eliminated, he said.
“This technology,” Wu said, “would propel EVs forward.”
Monday, August 29, 2011
China: Who will make all the stuff I don't need?
China’s three-decade-old, one-child policy will accelerate declines in the workforce, forcing companies to upgrade to higher-value products in the way Japan did in the 1960s and 70s. China may have as little as five years to make the transition to avoid a slump in economic growth, according to Sun Mingchun, an analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets in Hong Kong and former economist at China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, part of the central bank. He said growth may decline in 2016-20 as low-cost producers fail and investment falls away.
The pool of 15 to 24-year-olds, a mainstay for factories making cheap clothes, toys and electronic products, will fall by almost 62 million people to a total of 164 million in the 15 years through 2025, United Nations projections show. The demographic shift is a result of the one-child policy implemented in 1979.
China’s income growth and stage of economic development is similar to Japan in 1969 and South Korea in 1988, before their rates of expansion fell, according to Morgan Stanley. Japan’s growth slid to an average 5.2 percent in 1970-79 from 10.4 percent in the previous decade, the bank said. South Korea’s expansion cooled to 6.3 percent in 1989-98, from as much as 12.3 percent during the previous decade, government data shows.
Only five economies -- Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore -- have moved from middle-income nations to developed country status while maintaining relatively high growth rates, according to Nobel laureate Michael Spence, a professor of economics and business at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
The pool of 15 to 24-year-olds, a mainstay for factories making cheap clothes, toys and electronic products, will fall by almost 62 million people to a total of 164 million in the 15 years through 2025, United Nations projections show. The demographic shift is a result of the one-child policy implemented in 1979.
China’s income growth and stage of economic development is similar to Japan in 1969 and South Korea in 1988, before their rates of expansion fell, according to Morgan Stanley. Japan’s growth slid to an average 5.2 percent in 1970-79 from 10.4 percent in the previous decade, the bank said. South Korea’s expansion cooled to 6.3 percent in 1989-98, from as much as 12.3 percent during the previous decade, government data shows.
Only five economies -- Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore -- have moved from middle-income nations to developed country status while maintaining relatively high growth rates, according to Nobel laureate Michael Spence, a professor of economics and business at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us. (Kafka)
Nobelprize.org
All countries in the world claim they are democracies with the exception of four countries!
-They are Vatican City, Saudi Arabia, Burma and Brunei
While the above 4 are not democracies; there are more than 100 countries that are not democratic.
Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his 2 decade struggle for human rights in China. He was a leading author behind Charter 08, the manifesto of such rights in China which was published on the 60th anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 10th of December 2008.
In 2009, Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison! His crime….wielding a pen tied to thoughts.
All countries in the world claim they are democracies with the exception of four countries!
-They are Vatican City, Saudi Arabia, Burma and Brunei
While the above 4 are not democracies; there are more than 100 countries that are not democratic.
Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for his 2 decade struggle for human rights in China. He was a leading author behind Charter 08, the manifesto of such rights in China which was published on the 60th anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 10th of December 2008.
In 2009, Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison! His crime….wielding a pen tied to thoughts.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Go Southwest
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP said September shipment requests for its Trans Mountain pipeline, which moves crude and refined products to the western coasts of the U.S. and Canada, exceeded capacity by 62 per cent.
Subscriptions on the portion of the system delivering to refineries in British Columbia and Washington were 68 per cent over capacity, the Houston-based company said in a bulletin to shippers.
The Trans Mountain mainline system is expected to carry 270,045 barrels a day in September, up 2.2 per cent from estimated July shipments of 264,306, according to the notices received today and July 21.
The Puget Sound pipeline system will ship 134,773 barrels a day next month, according to the bulletin.
The 715-mile (1,150-kilometer) system runs from Edmonton to marketing terminals and refineries in central B.C., the Vancouver area and the Puget Sound region in Washington, according to the company's website.
Products also are moved to California, the U.S. Gulf Coast and overseas through the Westridge marine terminal in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Nominations for "advanced timing" shipments to the Westridge dock were oversubscribed by 8 percent, according to the bulletin.
Subscriptions on the portion of the system delivering to refineries in British Columbia and Washington were 68 per cent over capacity, the Houston-based company said in a bulletin to shippers.
The Trans Mountain mainline system is expected to carry 270,045 barrels a day in September, up 2.2 per cent from estimated July shipments of 264,306, according to the notices received today and July 21.
The Puget Sound pipeline system will ship 134,773 barrels a day next month, according to the bulletin.
The 715-mile (1,150-kilometer) system runs from Edmonton to marketing terminals and refineries in central B.C., the Vancouver area and the Puget Sound region in Washington, according to the company's website.
Products also are moved to California, the U.S. Gulf Coast and overseas through the Westridge marine terminal in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Nominations for "advanced timing" shipments to the Westridge dock were oversubscribed by 8 percent, according to the bulletin.
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