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Pastimes : Solar Power -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam who wrote (1234)	1/9/2012 12:10:47 PM
From: Eric	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10020

Germany Installed More Than 2 GW of Solar in December The annual year-end rush to install solar in Germany—at $2.80 per watt The U.S. installed about 1.7 gigawatts of photovoltaic panels in 2011, according to Greentech Media Research. Germany installed more than 2 gigawatts of solar in the month of December alone. That's good news and bad news. Good news because there is still demand for solar and Germany is amazingly efficient at deploying solar panels; bad news because it reveals the market distortions provoked by subsidies and fading subsidies. December traditions in Germany involve Christmas, stollen, and a rush to install solar panels before the feed-in tariff subsidy drops. Installations for the full year will be nearly 7 gigawatts according to a =2012&tx_ttnews[month]=01&tx_ttnews[day]=04&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=14412&cHash=61f51bad3e486607cd4bdb1666a158d1]press release from the BSW (Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft, the German Solar Industry Association). Germany installed 7.4 gigawatts of solar panels in 2010. The feed-in tariff was subjected to a 15 percent reduction on January 1, 2012 and will likely be cut another 15 percent on July 1. According to the BSW, solar power contributes approximately three percent of the German electricity supply, with a goal of 10 percent by 2020. Note the drop in pricing for solar installations in Germany: Q3 2011 pricing was $2.80 per watt. These are "average end-customer prices" for PV systems under 100 kilowatts. Compare that to the $5.20 per watt average price in the U.S. http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Germany-Installed-More-Than-2-GW-of-Solar-in-December/

To: Sam who wrote (1234)	1/11/2012 12:48:54 PM
From: sylvester80	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10020

Reasons for the solar rocket today.... 1) Prices stabilized and up 3 weeks in a row 2) Deutsche Bank analyst Vishal said in note to investors on Wednesday that surprisingly strong fourth quarter in Germany and robust demand in Italy and the United States could benefit the sector. Germany posted record installation in 2011 when everyone thought it would down from 2010. 3) Deutsche Bank analyst Vishal "Our checks indicate that inventory levels across the supply chain are now at record low levels and we believe record December month shipments (in Germany) is likely to create a sense of rush among installers" in the first half, Shah wrote. 4) Large European Fund buys into big French Solar Park 5)Solar panel demand in China and India this year could also top industry expectations, Shah said, while the U.S. solar installers may seek to buy panels from Chinese manufacturers ahead of a possible import duties