Trump Win Boosts Coal, Hits Renewable Stocks
The prospect of an abrupt shift in U.S. climate policy under President-elect Donald Trump lifted the shares of U.S. mining equipment giant Caterpillar Inc, North American railroads and other companies tied to fossil fuels, and slammed shares of renewable energy firms. Trump has called climate change a hoax, said he would rip up the Paris climate treaty and promised to revive the U.S. coal sector. His victory caused dismay at a climate policy conference in Morocco on Wednesday.
Tesla Unveils Solar Roof Tiles, Longer-lasting Batteries
Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Friday unveiled new energy products aimed at illustrating the benefits of combining his electric car and battery maker with solar installer SolarCity Corp. The products include solar-powered roof tiles that eliminate the need for traditional panels and longer-lasting batteries aimed at helping to realize Musk's vision of selling a fossil fuel free lifestyle to consumers. "This is sort of the integrated future. An electric car, a Powerwall and a solar roof.
Tesla Wins U.S. Antitrust Approval to Buy SolarCity
Tesla Motors Inc has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy solar panel installer SolarCity Corp, the Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday. The deal was on a listing of proposed transactions that have won "early termination." The deal was announced on Aug. 1 and is part of an effort by Tesla to improve economies of scale in electrical energy management systems, battery production and marketing. (Reporting by Diane Bartz)
Gigafactory Costs may Exceed Expectations
Tesla Motors Inc said the cost of building and operating the Gigafactory could exceed the company's current expectations. The Gigafactory may also take longer than anticipated to come online, the electric carmaker said in a filing on Friday. Tesla, which is buying solar panel installer SolarCity Corp for $2.6 billion in shares, unveiled the massive battery factory, the Gigafactory, in Nevada last week. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Solar Company Sungevity To Go Public in Reverse Merger
Sungevity Inc, the No. 5 U.S. rooftop solar company by market share, on Wednesday said it would list its shares after a reverse merger by a shell company, allowing it to tap the public markets at a difficult time for solar stocks. Easterly Acquisition Corp, a company set up as an acquisition vehicle by private equity firm Easterly Capital, will purchase the Oakland-based company in a deal worth about $357 million, the companies said.
Oil Industry: Climate Deal a Chance to Innovate
If a crisis is a terrible thing to waste, the oil industry sees the Paris climate accord not as a death knell, but an opportunity to innovate and even grow. The move is a shrewd one for an industry that has been on the defensive for years on climate issues, constantly fending off attacks that its products have contributed to an unhealthy rise in global temperatures. While the landmark emissions-reduction agreement among 195 countries late last year was seen as a defeat for fossil fuel producers…
Solar Energy Company Sunrun Files for IPO
U.S. solar energy company Sunrun Inc on Thursday filed with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering of its common stock. Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs & Co and Morgan Stanley were among the underwriters for the IPO, the company told the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus. Sunrun, which installs and maintains solar panels for homes, has about 79,000 customers across 13 states, as of March 31.
SolarCity First-quarter Installations Top Forecast
SolarCity Corp, on Tuesday said first-quarter solar installations were higher than expected despite a particularly snowy winter in many of its key markets. The company, which is backed by Tesla Motors Inc founder Elon Musk, reported first-quarter installations of 153 megawatts, above its forecast of 145 MW. SolarCity reported a quarterly loss attributable to common shareholders of $21.5 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with $24 million, or 26 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 6 percent to $67.5 million.
SolarCity Launches fund for U.S. Solar Projects
SolarCity Corp has started a fund that includes an investment from Credit Suisse to finance more than $1 billion in commercial solar energy systems for companies, schools and government organizations in the United States. The fund is expected to finance more than 300 megawatts of new commercial solar projects over the next two years, SolarCity said in a statement on Wednesday. SolarCity, the top U.S. residential solar installer by market share…
Google Invests $300 mln Residential Solar Projects
SolarCity Corp on Thursday said it created a $750 million fund to finance about 25,000 residential solar projects, with Google Inc investing nearly half the funding. The money will be used by SolarCity to put solar panels on homes. Homeowners then will pay a monthly fee to lease the panels from the company. The growth of such financing has made generating electric power from the sun an option for households who do not want to shell out the $20,000 to $30,000 upfront cost of a typical residential solar system.
Oil Prices Weigh on Alternative Fuel Sector
With gas pump prices lingering near their lowest levels in five years, greener, cleaner alternative fuels are taking a hit. Makers of biodiesel, a fuel made from vegetable oil or animal fats, are slashing prices and margins in a bid to stay competitive with the price of diesel fuel, which is down more than 20 percent from a year ago. Shippers are delaying purchases of trucks that run on natural gas, and sales of electric vehicles are down, while demand for less fuel-efficient SUVs is up.
SolarCity Q3 Revenue up 20%
SolarCity Corp, the largest U.S. solar panel installer, on Wednesday reported a 20 percent rise in quarterly revenue as it added more customers. The company, which is backed by Tesla Motors Inc founder Elon Musk, said revenue rose 20 percent to $58.34 million. Analysts were expecting revenue of $60.23 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The company booked 230 megawatts of projects compared with 91 MW in the same quarter a year ago.
Some Fund Managers Take Shine to Pricey Solar Stocks
Some notable fund managers are betting on solar energy shares, expecting a wave of industry consolidation and lower costs to pay off for the notoriously volatile industry. The optimists, a mix of specialized environmental managers and mainstream investors, are going against several trends, since solar companies have already had a sizeable run-up this year and more fund managers have been selling the stocks than buying them.
SolarCity Deal Lights Way for Securitization
SolarCity may have created a securitization blueprint for the future last week with a new trade that sidesteps worries about repaying tax credits if the underlying collateral goes bust. The company embedded a master lease provision in the trade to avoid triggering the repayment of those credits on any project in the deal that ends up in foreclosure. Fears about such repayments have long stymied securitization in the solar sector…
SolarCity Buys Solar Panel Maker to Lower Costs
SolarCity Corp, the largest residential solar panel installer in the United States, said it would buy solar panel maker Silevo to drive down costs. SolarCity's shares rose 18 percent to $64.77 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq. The company, backed by Tesla Motors Inc's founder Elon Musk, will pay $200 million in shares and an additional $150 million in shares upon the achievement of certain milestones, SolarCity said in a regulatory filing.
SolarCity Raises Forecast As Demand For Solar Installations Rise
SolarCity Corp, the largest residential solar panel installer in the United States, raised its full-year forecast for installations after reporting a smaller first-quarter loss. SolarCity's shares rose as much as 9 percent after the bell. The company said on Wednesday it expects to deploy 500-550 megawatt (MW) this year, up from its previous forecast of 475-525 MW. SolarCity, which is backed by Tesla Motors Inc founder Elon Musk, has taken off as it allows homeowners to spread payment for solar panels over 20 years.
