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SunPower contract brightens its future
Mercury News ^ | 12/15/05 | Dean Takahashi

Posted on 12/15/2005 7:58:47 PM PST by NormsRevenge

Solar cell manufacturer SunPower is expected to announce today that it has won a $330 million contract to supply solar cells to a global solar systems installer, PowerLight, over the next five years.

The deal is the biggest in Sunnyvale-based SunPower's history and will help it expand its manufacturing capacity over time, said Tom Werner, chief executive of SunPower.

The announcement also comes on the heels of the plan unveiled this week by state regulators to provide $3.2 billion in incentives over the next decade to encourage Californians to use solar panels on homes and office buildings. The incentive plan would rebate $7,000 in 2006 to homeowners installing a typical residential solar system that can cost $25,000.

``This will help the company grow rapidly,'' Werner said.

SunPower makes solar cells at a factory in the Philippines. Companies such as PowerLight, based in Berkeley, use the cells to run solar systems they install on the roofs of houses to collect sunlight and convert it into electricity. PowerLight is the largest installer of solar systems in North America.

A spinoff from Cypress Semiconductor, SunPower went public in November at $18 a share and saw its shares rise dramatically. On Wednesday, the company's stock closed at $28.10 a share, up 27 cents. It is one of the year's best initial public offerings of stock in Silicon Valley.

Solar is hot because of volatile energy prices and the willingness of governments in Japan, Germany and California to promote alternative energy. SunPower's factory can produce enough tiles to generate 25 megawatts of solar power a year, but that's not enough to meet demand.

(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; US: California
KEYWORDS: calenergy; millionsolarroofs; powerlight; puc; solarpower; sunpower
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To: NormsRevenge

Yep... Wachter... that would be the one. Watch your wallet.

In addition to Wachter, here were a few more names reported that went on the trade mission that might raise eyebrows: F. Warren Hellman, venture capitalist; William Edwards, venture capitalist; Rockefeller Group Development Corp., New Jersey; other New York "financiers"... and of course, the ever-present Alan Zaremberg.

Gotta push those California products to China, right?


21 posted on 12/15/2005 8:23:08 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: calcowgirl

That's the problem! There's a giant trade deficit with china. We buy all their good and they buy non of ours. Remenber these chips are being made over there for us to buy back off them.
Most of the money is going their direction and all we get are some crappy chips "Made in China"


22 posted on 12/15/2005 8:25:24 PM PST by foreverfreedom
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To: NormsRevenge
I wonder who he supported in the Recall?

I have met Mr. Pearce and you can bet it was Arnold.

23 posted on 12/15/2005 8:27:49 PM PST by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are REALLY stupid.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Hmmm... Doerr is also the guy voicing support for the Global Warming "cap and trade" program. I guess these VC's found out that getting money from government (and its fine taxpayers) is easier than actually finding other business investments to pursue.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1534730/posts?page=2#2


24 posted on 12/15/2005 8:28:36 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: Amerigomag
Which is it? SJMN or... the Herring.

Both! lol. Their company structure is very convoluted. For a company that has had very few sales and been able to run up a $58 million deficit, one wonders why they need these complications (if not to simply confuse).

From the links I posted earlier, you can go to the SEC filings. I probably pulled most of my info from the Prospectus for their IPO. The highlights that I posted earlier, based on reviewing those files:

"They have only one solar cell production line in operation, located in the Philippines. Their assembly functions are conducted by third-party subcontractors in China.... It has subsidiaries in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland. "
Also, IIRC, the Red Herring was founded and run by Tony Perkins, the son of Kleiner Perkins principle.
25 posted on 12/15/2005 8:41:12 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: calcowgirl

Well, with the help of unwitting and/or willing voters, the gubamint we see entrenched in every business to some degree today, regulation wise etc, has made gubamint a big business in and of itself.

Ya got to go where the money is, yaknow. ;-)


26 posted on 12/15/2005 8:42:24 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Monthly Donor spoken Here. Go to ... https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: foreverfreedom

You're right. None of it makes any sense if you look under the covers. Unfortunately, our "journalists" forgot how to report and there seem to be plenty of willing participants in these schemes that keep the powerful and political elite living in grand style (and in control of our taxpayer dollars).


27 posted on 12/15/2005 8:47:33 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: calcowgirl
I guess these VC's found out that getting money from government (and its fine taxpayers) is easier than actually finding other business investments to pursue.

A more frightening development than their pell mell rush to empower our enemies and screw the people who made them rich for an even bigger buck.

28 posted on 12/15/2005 8:52:57 PM PST by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are REALLY stupid.)
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To: foreverfreedom
When are we going to stop giving money to these con-artists and put it to better use.

If you look carefully, the people behind solar cells ARE the major investors in fossil fuels. That's because solar cells consume more energy than they produce.

Hence biomass and nuclear.

29 posted on 12/15/2005 8:55:56 PM PST by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are REALLY stupid.)
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To: calcowgirl
...Tony Perkins, the son of Kleiner Perkins principle.

Correction: principal

30 posted on 12/15/2005 9:01:46 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: NormsRevenge
...has made gubamint a big business...

TOO Big!

31 posted on 12/15/2005 9:03:46 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: Carry_Okie
That's because solar cells consume more energy than they produce.

What is the ratio on that?

32 posted on 12/15/2005 9:03:47 PM PST by Jigsaw John
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To: SierraWasp; FOG724

Ooops. I forgot that I was told by SW that he was "ping dependent"
(and the fogger will have my hide if I forget them again, lol)

Ping.


33 posted on 12/15/2005 9:08:21 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: Jigsaw John
What is the ratio on that?
34 posted on 12/15/2005 9:53:30 PM PST by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are REALLY stupid.)
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To: calcowgirl
(and the fogger will have my hide if I forget them again, lol)

I won't take any hide, just leave a bald spot. LOL.

35 posted on 12/15/2005 10:02:59 PM PST by FOG724 (http://nationalgrange.org/legislation/phpBB2/index.php)
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To: foreverfreedom
There's a giant trade deficit with china

That should come as no surprise. The Chinese have always made most of their money on take-out. :-)

36 posted on 12/16/2005 12:17:18 AM PST by Mind-numbed Robot (Not all that needs to be done needs to be done by the government.)
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To: Carry_Okie
That's because solar cells consume more energy than they produce.

The link you provided actually disputes what you stated above.

37 posted on 12/16/2005 7:56:20 AM PST by Jigsaw John
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To: Jigsaw John
That's because solar cells consume more energy than they produce.

And by the way, the link to the article you provided is over 2 years old, and there seems to be no links for the source.

38 posted on 12/16/2005 8:05:03 AM PST by Jigsaw John
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To: Jigsaw John
The link you provided actually disputes what you stated above.

Not if you understood my sketchy comment as intended. ;-)

By the time you count ALL the factor inputs that go into solar electricity (including those Boot Hill mentions that are not in his calculations), including the energy to produce them, reduced output from overheating, dirt, damage, common shade factors (particularly important in winter) such as hills, trees, and other buildings, orientation problems with existing construction, downtime, maintenance, repairs, and (a biggie) disposal costs when they go bad, they don't produce as much energy as they consume. I can't wait to see people using LimeAway on their panel glass to clean off the calcium deposits from rinsing off dirt, only to have the acid eat the aluminum housing.

Nor have I seen even once, in any article touting the blessings of solar cells on domestic housing, the cost of interest taken into account. Then there's the cost of lost opportunity when considering what the same capital could have produced when invested in a more efficient source of electrical power. Did I mention earthquake loading on existing construction? How about the marginal cost of roof repair with a set of panels installed?

Then there are the costs of solar on a large scale that aren't even in the picture now. Consider the reflections off a hillside of panels in an urban area. It won't be pleasant.

There may be sound reasons to install solar cells on new houses in remote areas, particularly if we could back them up with stationary fuel cells running on propane at night to eliminate the need for batteries, but as a primary source of electricity they suck compared to nuclear and biomass (the latter of which we have to do something about anyway).

39 posted on 12/16/2005 2:38:48 PM PST by Carry_Okie (There are people in power who are REALLY stupid.)
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