Energy News: First Solar, Inc. (FSLR)’s Solar PV Clusters, Executives’ Farewell to SandRidge Energy Inc. (SD), Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) Begins Kearl Oil Sands

…double by late 2015, the company said in a statement. The Kearl site is 46 miles (75 km) northeast of Fort McMurray, Alberta, and is operated by Imperial (IMO) Oil Ltd., which is 70 percent owned by Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM). “Kearl is a historic development for Imperial,” Richard Kruger, Imperial Oil’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP), First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) & Short Sellers’ Four Favorites (Insider Monkey)
Most investors own stocks in the hopes of seeing them rise in value over the years. But for short-sellers, betting against stocks is the name of the game, and profits come when share prices fall. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), short position: 30.4% of float and 21% of outstanding shares. The solar industry has been hit hard by overcapacity, but First Solar shocked bears earlier this month with guidance on sales and earnings that was far above what industry analysts were expecting. Moreover, its purchase of TetraSun will help First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) boost the efficiency of its solar modules, an area in which the company has long lagged some of its competitors. Short-sellers are feeling the squeeze as a result of much higher share prices recently, although the stock still trades well below its levels from early 2011.

Sandridge Could Be Further Negatively Impacted By Poor Trust Well Performance (Seeking Alpha)
SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD) has been in the news recently because of activist involvement in the company, which culminated with new board members being added and the founder and CEO Tom Ward’s employment under review. However, the headlines and articles around the management and direction of Sandridge may have missed a more fundamental issue, which may lead to further underperformance of Sandridge stock. The underlying issue at Sandridge is that well performance has been substantially worse than expected. This is not obvious from the company’s investment presentation, but is possible to infer by reading through results from SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD)’s drilling trusts.

ExxonMobil sued for allegedly brutalizing Indonesians (Salon)
Syukri A-Wahap still bears scars from the two days he spent tied to a chair at a military checkpoint here in northern Indonesia in 2003. Indonesian soldiers who suspected he was aiding separatist rebels used their guns to try and beat a confession out of him. With the butt of an SS1 rifle they cracked his skull and busted his lower lip. Syukri says he now suffers from short-term memory loss, pointing to a zigzag scar beneath a shock of thick, black hair. “I didn’t feel anything,” he said, recalling the lengthy interrogations. “It felt like I was already dead.” His story is one of thousands involving kidnap, torture, rape and murder at the hands of the Indonesian military, which some victims here say was aided by US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM).

SunPower Corporation (SPWR): The Metric You Have To Keep An Eye On (Insider Monkey)
At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 9 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -31% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes substantially. When looking at the hedgies we track…