Editor’s Note: Related tickers: SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF)
Solar panels are a lot more affordable if you rent them rather than buy them. California-based SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) capitalized on that fact to become the darling of the renewable-energy industry and the major provider of rooftop solar in metro Phoenix. Its strategy to offer solar leases or similar financial arrangements has helped deploy thousands of rooftop solar arrays to those who otherwise could not pay the big up-front costs, which can run $20,000 to $30,000 before incentives for the average home.
First Solar Appoints Sharon Allen to Board of Directors (BusinessWeek)
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) today announced the appointment of Sharon Allen to its board of directors. Allen served as U.S. Chairman of Deloitte LLP from 2003 to 2011, retiring from that position in May of 2011. She is the first and only woman ever to serve as chairman of a large, private U.S. professional services organization. Spending the entirety of her professional career at Deloitte, Allen achieved a number of “firsts,” including being the first female board member in Deloitte’s history and the first executive chairman of Deloitte LLP.
SunPower Corp. PT Raised to $38.00 at Northland Securities (SPWR) (WatchListNews)
SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) had its price objective raised by Northland Securities from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, ARN reports. SPWR has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at Northland Capital Partners raised their price target on shares of SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday.
Elon Musk Talks About SpaceX (Youtube)
Solarcity Moves Up In Market Cap Rank, Passing Cliffs Natural Resources (Forbes)
In the latest look at stocks ordered by largest market capitalization, Russell 3000 component SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) was identified as having a larger market cap than the smaller end of the S&P 500, for example Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF), according to The Online Investor. …But comparing market capitalization (factoring in those share counts) creates a true “apples-to-apples” comparison of the value of two stocks. In the case of SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY), the market cap is now $3.06B, versus Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) at $3.02B.
First Solar Sets World Record in Solar Cell Efficiency (DailyFusion)
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), an American manufacturer of f thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules, has announced yesterday it set a new world record for cadmium-telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic (PV) module conversion efficiency, achieving a record 16.1 percent total area module efficiency in tests confirmed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The new record is a substantial increase over the prior record of 14.4 percent efficiency, which the company set in January 2012. Separately, First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) also set a record for CdTe open circuit voltage (VOC), a critical parameter for PV performance, reaching 903.2 millivolts (mV) in NREL-certified testing.
SunPower Solar Science Academy Inspires Students Across California (4-Traders)
Approximately 250 students from ten California school districts are participating in this summer’s SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) Solar Science Academy, an academic program launched last year by SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR), a global solar technology and energy solutions company. The project- and work-based learning program is delivered over the course of one week in each participating district, immersing district students and teachers in a solar-focused curriculum that emphasizes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
