Blog
July 6, 2011
CNPV is one of the bigger Tier 2 Chinese solar panel manufacturers with its factories based in China.The company does not have a big presence in the retail solar panel market as it sells mainly to solar farm developers.However with solar roofs becoming more important as government focus their efforts on residential installations compared to utility installations,it a matter of time before CNPV becomes available through online and offline dealers for residential solar.Quality wise and price wise the company is comparable to the smaller Chinese solar panel producers like CEEG,Sunink,ET Solar and SunEarth.However it does not have the backing of a big parent group so there is the danger that the company may not be available to survive the solar glut which has seen the solar panel prices coming down by more than 50% in 2011.However given its listing on the NYSE and its recent order flow from big distributors,it looks unlikely that it will fail.
July 6, 2011
After Solar Panels,Solar Inverters are the second most crucial component of the overall solar system accounting for around 10% of the overall costs.Solar inverters connect the solar panels to the grid converting the DC to AC which is used by the grid.Note for off grid solar installations,solar inverters are required as most electrical devices need AC for their operation.There are both grid tied and non grid tied inverters available on the market.Solar inverters have become highly sophisticated with features like optimization and monitoring etc.The efficiency of solar inverters are a major factor in their purchase as well as the quality and reliability.Inverters comes in various sizes and can be as large as 1 MW for utility applications.Note unlike solar panels,solar inverter manufactures are much bigger in size with SMA Solar having a 40% global marketshare.
July 6, 2011
Soar Rebates are a very important decision making factor when buying solar panels for your home or office or factory.The reason is that solar energy today is still not competitive with fossil fuel energy.However the costs of solar energy have declined dramatically in the recent past.It is estimated that solar energy will be competitive with coal,gas and other fossil fuels in 2-3 years in most places around the earth.In fact it has already reached "grid parity" in a number of countries like Italy,Hawai where there is a lot of sunshine and the cost of electricity is also high.Australia too has a large number of sunny hours which makes it ideal to install solar panels.State governments in Australia have been at the forefront of giving rebates and subsidies to promote solar energy in the country.This has resulted in a large boom of solar installations among residents in the country who are taking advantage of the generous subsidies.Though recently a number of provinces like New South Vales and Victoria have reduced the solar rebates , the falling cost of solar panels in Australia has still made it attractive enough for people to put up solar panels.
Most of the state government Feed in Tariff Schemes have closed down under a deluge of applications and have reached the limit.Now the rebates for solar energy is federal in nature where you can receive a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) or Solar Credit for the solar energy generated from solar panels.Here is a list of the solar rebates and subsidies available in different states of Australia.
July 6, 2011
Solar Power in India has been growing at an explosive pace due to declining costs of Solar Energy and incentives given by the Government of India under JNNSM.While most of the subsidies for solar energy in India are going to large solar farms,Solar Lighting is also growing steadily without any support.This is due to the fact that Solar Lighting saves on electricity costs and is also environment friendly.Solar Lighting in India is gaining traction not only in the upper income segments but also at the bottom of the pyramid.Solar Lanterns and Lamps are replacing expensive,GHG emitting kerosene lamps in poor rural as well as urban India.Depsite shoddy subsidies,solar lamps have become economic to compete with fossil fuel alternatives.Solar Lighting is also being heavily used for Street Illumination in places where the electricity grid is not present.Solar Lighting is also gaining acceptance in use in gardens where they can capture sunlight in the morning and light the gardens in the night using the stored energy.
July 6, 2011
Amorphous Silicon Solar Panels were the big rage in 2-3 years ago when the prices of polysilicon the main raw material were touching $500/kg making the mainstream crystalline silicon solar panels very expensive.Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) on the other hand is a non-crystalline silicon which is deposited as an extremely thin layer on glass and other substrates.The cost of the silicon is much lower though the efficiency of solar cells which are made from a-Si is about half of those made from crystalline silicon.Applied Materials with its SunFab turnkey amorphous silicon (a-Si) equipment capitalized on this opportunity, lining up a number of customers with some customer orders in the range of a Billion Dollars.Oerlikon Solar was the other major thin film equipment market winning customers in Europe and China.Sky high poly prices also gave birth to numerous Thin Film startups planning to Manufacture and Use their own equipment rather than selling it .
July 6, 2011
Solar ETFs are in the new because of a spectacular decline in 2011 caused mainly by the massive oversupply of Chinese solar panels.This has resulted in the two solar ETFs TAN and KWT making new all times lows.The main reason is the huge negative sentiment towards green energy stocks in general because of the lack of support towards climate change and over competition from Asian companies.However the Solar Industry is one of the best growth industries and the leaders who come out of this consolidation will have a bright future.You can see the 100 solar energy stocks to pick up what you think would be the leader.For less ambitious mortals you can look to pick up the TAN Guggenheim ETF which is the biggest solar ETF.You can also look at the comparison between TAN and KWT to decide on what to buy.Note Solar Energy's biggest advantage is the falling costs of solar panels which is bad for the solar companies but great of solar demand and customers.When the weaker hands go out of business which is already happening (Solyndra),the solar companies that remain will make huge profits as they did in 2010 when demand surged by 150%.
July 6, 2011
Solar Trackers are used to increase the Energy Output from Solar Panels and Solar Receivers.Solar Tracker is a Device which follows the movement of the sun as it rotates from the east to the west every day.Solar Trackers are used to keep solar collectors/solar panels oriented directly towards the sun as it moves through the sky every day.Using Solar Trackers increases the amount of solar energy which is received by the solar energy collector and improves the energy output of the heat/electricity which is generated.Solar Trackers can increase the output of Solar Panels by 20-30% which improves the economics of the solar panel project.
July 6, 2011
Coal is the biggest source of Energy for Electricity Production in the world and its use is expected to continue to grow to 44% of the Electricity Production by 2030 (IEA).Despite Coal having many dangerous disadvantages,its Advantages of cheapness and abundance have made it the Fossil Fuel of choice.With global reserves estimated to be around 200 years,it does not have the "peak oil" characteristics as well.Though not a Coal Fan,nonetheless Coal stocks are a great investment choice due to the fact of its growing demand which is outstripping supply.China and India are massively growing their electricity,steel and cement production which requires billions of tons of coal.China consumers almost 45% of the global coal production while Indian demand is growing by leaps and demands as well.Indian Power Utilities are grabbing up Coal Mines in Africa,Australia and Asia to secure feedstock for their gigawatt thermal power plants.Despite its growing importance Coal does not have a lot of choice in terms of investment unlike Fossil Fuels like Oil and Gas.Here is a list of Coal Stocks which one can invest in and the sole Coal ETF - Market Vectors Coal ETF (KOL).
July 6, 2011
Solar Air Conditioner or Solar AC refers to an Air Conditioner where the energy for the air conditioning is dervided from solar energy.There are 3 types of Solar Air Conditioning namely passive solar AC,solar thermal and PV Solar Air conditioning.Solar Air Conditioners though a niche area are expected to grow strongly in the future in hot areas like India where Air Conditioning is consuming huge amounts of energy and where there is sufficient sun light to generate big amounts of solar energy as well.
July 6, 2011
Assemblies of solar cells form solar panels. The raw material in solar cell- silicon in its purest form makes an ideal neutral platform for the transmission of electrons. Silicon also has some atomic-level properties which make it even more attractive for the./ creation of solar panels. Solar panels receive sunlight and actively convert that energy into electricity. The solar cells have a large area p-n junction diode which convert the energy from sunlight into usable electrical energy. The basic principle behind the procedure is Photovoltaic Effect, photo = light, voltaic = electricity ie. conversion of sunlight into electrical energy
July 6, 2011
The Indian economy has performed strongly over the last few years, regularly hitting 8% and above growth rates . This rapid economic growth has led to a significant increase in demand for crude oil and natural gas, to the extent that India is currently the sixth largest consumer of oil and gas. India is one of the biggest importers of crude oil and natural gas as it has to import 2/3rd of its requirements of Oil. Upstream activity in India has rapidly grown post liberalization with 42 active offshore rigs and several seismic vessels engaged in operations offshore on the east and west coasts. Several significant discoveries have been announced since the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) was introduced. The commercial discovery of the Dhirubhai field by Reliance in the deepwater Krishna Godavari basin has demonstrated the existence of significant reserves in the basins of India. As India imports about two-thirds of its crude oil requirement, Exploration and production of oil and gas is critical for India's energy security and economic growth. Over the years the E&P industry has registered significant growth, primarily due to spiraling crude oil and gas prices.
July 5, 2011
Multijunction Solar Cell Concept
The basic principle on which solar cells work is Photovoltaic ie. they convert the photons from the sunlight into usable electricity. However, in this process neither is all the light absorbed nor does all the photons get converted into electricity. High energy blue light photons do not have all of their energy converted into electricity, some is wasted as heat & low energy red light photons are not absorbed at all. Sunlight is made up of a broad spectrum and depending upon these various wavelengths, photons of light also have different energy levels.Hence, to minimize this wastage & to enhance the efficiency of solar cells, scientists came up with the concept of multijunction solar cells.
July 5, 2011
The hair care industry has grown a lot in the recent years. The reason can be attributed to the fact that a large portion of our Indian population is using higher quality branded products. Of the estimated Rs.1, 611 billion FMCG market in India, hair care products make up approximately Rs.91.5 billion, or 8%, of the total according the Nielsen Retail Audit Report. The 14% growth rate in the hair care industry is also slightly higher than the overall industry average of 13.4%. Shampoo and hair oils, including coconut oils, continue to be the key components of this segment. The marketing startegy of rural distribution campaigns adopted by the hair oil manufacturers and dealers have helped to greatly expand the geographic coverage of hair oil products into the rural parts of the country. In addition, average prices for hair oil products have risen from Rs. 22.25 per 100 ml in 2008 to Rs.23.74 per 100 ml in 2009 according to the Nielsen Retail Audit Report.
July 5, 2011
Education is a critical requirements for India today as it lags behind other Asian countries in education indices with vast swathes of its population being illiterate.India's hopes of becoming a major power will remain a pipedream till most of its labor force is educated and productive. As the country strives to become an economic superpower, need for high-quality education, at all levels, will increase. Not only is India deficient in providing primary eduction but due to the higher education costs, many students give up their decisions of pursuing higher studies. But, the emergence of education companies in India has led to a significant change in the scenario. They provide need based education solutions to facilitate the process of interaction between students, teachers and parents. These companies are coming up with technology based educational solutions to meet the educational needs of schools and colleges. These contents can be accessed from any part of India and other countries by interested individuals. They offer digitized content which can be disseminated through 3G spectrum mobile phones, broadband and other sources.
July 5, 2011
Water Purifying Industry in India is growing by leaps and bounds and has attracted a host of new entrants which are consumer giants.Earlier the field used to be dominated by Eureka Forbes which operated in the premium segment and focused on urban India alone.But with income increasing and people realizing the importance of clean water,other companies have entered the Water Purifying Industry.HLL and the Tata Group have introduced products for the lower segment of the market in the price range o f Rs 1000 as compared to the Rs 5-10,000 wafer filters by the incumbent Eureka Forbes.This has forced other companies to come with lower priced products as well.With the vast majority of Indians forced to go without tapped water leave alone treated water,this industry is set to grow in double digits for a long time.Water Treatment Companies too are growing rapidly as the Water Purification at the Municipal,Industrial Level is getting importance.
The above companies are the suppliers of the best wafer purifiers in India.Its tough to make a call on the best as it depends a lot on the nature of the water and price.However Kent and Eureka Forbes are generaly considered the best brands of water filters in India due to their products,after sales service and product range.In the lower priced band,Pureit is considered as good bet especially for rural India where the purchasing power is not that high.
July 5, 2011
Desalination facilities exist in about 120 countries around the world. According to the International Desalination Association (IDA), the global desalination market is expected to grow to US$ 95 billion through 2005 to 2015. According to a report by Global Water Intelligence (GWI), the worldwide desalination industry is expected to grow 140 percent over the next decade, with US$ 25 billion in capital investment by 2010 and US$ 56 billion by 2015. While countries like the US, Spain, and the Gulf countries have been able to build mega plants, other countries in Asia, Africa, and South America have inadequate resources to do so. Initiatives have been taken by the governments in Spain, the Middle East, and Australia to construct desalination plants to turn seawater into drinking water.
July 5, 2011
Steel is an essential material used in many industries – it’s the backbone to countless products, structures and services that shape the everyday lives of people throughout the world.One of the major uses of Steel is in the Manufacture of Pipes which are used to transport energy products.Pipelines are a transportation system that enables the safe movement of inordinate quantities of energy products to industry and consumers, literally fueling our economy and way of life. They are arteries of any Nation's energy infrastructure, as well as the safest and least costly ways to transport energy products.
In general Steel Companies in India with the exception of the Jindal Group are not involved in the Steel Pipe production .Most of the Steel makers in India have major operations in foreign countries particularly Middle East.The boom times seem to be over for the sector and competition has become higher.
July 5, 2011
Stainless steel production in India increased from 0.5 million tonnes in 1994-95 to 1.76 million tonnes in 2004-05. India has emerged as one of the top ten stainless steel producer in the world. With a production of 1.1 million tonnes during 2002, the country was ranked 8th in the world. With the economy booming, there is increasing demand for a wider range of products and services in stainless steel.Stainless Steel is manufactured by the mainstream Steel Companies in India beside there are some focused stainless steel companies as well.The Mining Industry in India supplies most of the raw materials used in the production of Stainless Steel.
July 5, 2011
Production of iron ore in the country is through a combination of large mechanised mines in both public and private sectors and several smaller mines operated in manual or semi mechanised basis in the private sector. During 2001-02, 215 iron ore mines were operating in a total 638 leases which increased to 261, during 2005-06 operating in 505 leases. During 2006-07, India produced 172.3 MT of iron ore including lump, fines & concentrate. Normally, iron ore mining in India is done by opencast method and on the basis of mining methods, the mining can be broadly divided into two categories, i.e., manual and mechanized. Majority of the large mechanised mines are in the public sectors whereas manual mines are mainly in the private sector. In order to support steel production of 110 MT by 2019-20, the requirement of iron ore is placed at 190 MT & exports have been estimated to be around 100 MT. World iron ore production was 1,690 MT in 2006. Although iron ore is mined in more than 50 countries, the bulk of world production comes from just a few countries. The five largest producers are Brazil,China, Australia, India & Russia.
July 5, 2011
Samsung had decided a couple of years ago that it wants to be a major player in the Green Industry and has lined up billions of dollars to invest in solar and wind energy over the next decade.The company is already starting up massive solar panel plants and wind turbine factories as it hopes to capture a large chunk of the clean technology industry.Samsung is a global leader in the Semiconductor area which it is trying to reinforce by huge capital expenditure.Samsung has strong expertise in the areas of LCD and Memory manufacturing and technology, which it can easily leverage to develop Solar Thin Film technology.However,Samsung is focusing its efforts on high efficiency Crystalline Solar Technology.It recently announced a big investment commitment to Ontario in offshore wind and solar manufacturing and generation.The company wants to rival conglomerates like GE and Siemens which already have a large presence in wind,solar and smart grid technologies
July 5, 2011
There are a lot of books,pundits and websites that are starting to guarantee amazing returns by giving you nifty future tips.These scamsters and fraudsters have only one game plan which is not to make you money but to take your hard earned money.Note there is nobody who will give you nifty future tips that will make you money.Simple reason is that if these jokesters knew a way to make money,they would be making it themselves rather than wasting time and effort giving you tips.Have you ever heard of a successful person in a field giving you sureshot tips in generating easy wealth.Then why should these websites give you tips for paltry sums.These websites have a very simple business model which is to lure common people to their scams by paying money for a month or a year then giving them useless shit which will lose you more money.
July 5, 2011
Solar Power is rapidly increasing around the globe driven by falling prices of solar energy and increasing costs of electricity generated from coal,oil and gas.Besides governments are supporting renewable energy as it leads to increased energy security,less pollution and helps in reducing global warming.Solar Panels Costs have fallen rapidly in recent years falling to as low as $1/watt from $4/watt in 2008.This is due to increasing scale of manufacturing by Chinese producers of solar panels,improved technology and efficiency.While Solar Panel Installations have profilerated in Europe and even in Australia driven by state government rebates,they have not really taken off in New Zealand.
The reason is that the prices of solar panels are still higher here because the market is so small that volumes have not decreased the price yet.Major solar panel manufactures also don't have distribution in New Zealand which means that only high cost solar panels are only available from companies like Mitsubishi and BP Solar which are niche players in the global arena.In fact BP Solar has stopped manufacturing solar panels and outsources the production to Asian companies.
July 5, 2011
Natural gas is rightly termed as the Fuel of the 21st Century, has emerged as the most preferred fuel due to its efficiency and cost effectiveness. The demand of natural gas has sharply increased in the last two decades at the global level. The production of natural gas is around 87 million standard cubic meters per day. The main producers of natural gas are Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), Oil India Limited (OIL) and JVs of Tapti, Panna-Mukta and Ravva. Even private parties from some fields produce gas under Production Sharing Contracts. Government has also offered blocks under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) to private and public sector companies with the right to market gas at market determined prices. In India most of the production of gas comes from the Western offshore area. The on-shore fields in Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat States are other major producers of gas. Smaller quantities of gas are also produced in Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan States. OIL operates in Assam and Rajasthan States, whereas ONGC is operating in the Western offshore fields and in other states. Prior to 1987, gas prices were fixed by ONGC/OIL. since 1987, the price is being fixed by Government. The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has been regulating the allocation and pricing of gas produced by ONGC and OIL by issuing administrative orders from time to time. The gas produced by the JVs and by NELP operators is governed by the respective production sharing contracts between the Government and the producers. Under the existing policy, 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed for both LNG projects and natural gas pipeline projects.
July 5, 2011
The Internet is full of websites that advertize and give you steps on how to make solar panels.In fact DIY (Do it Yourself) Solar Panels has become almost a regular industry in training common people to make solar panels at their homes.The reason given is that building solar panels at your home is much cheaper than buying solar panels from wholesalers.There are numerous books as well that you can buy on amazon that have diy solar panels.These books have nothing but a manual on how to solder solar cells together to make a solar panel.You can pretty much get this for free from any of the credible solar websites.However DIY Solar Panels throws up tons of books and website advertizements that seemingly would make you into a wizard solar panel maker.The truth is far from what these charlatans say.Solar Cell and Solar Panel prices have fallen drastically in the last few years.In fact you can buy very good solar panels from China and other places.In fact you can buy very good quality Japanese solar panels from Sharp or Sanyo at $600 for a 200 watt solar panel.
July 5, 2011
Solar Panels Demand has exploded in Ontario Canada boosted the the provincial government MicroFit program which gives a generous feed in tariff (higher electricity price) for the solar power generated from silicon solar panels fitted to your home or office.The Feed-in-Tariff depends on the size of the solar installation and is guaranteed for 20 years at a fixed price.This implies that you not only save on power bills but also get a much higher electricity price for the solar energy electricity that you are generating.This has led to a veritable boom in solar panels sale in Ontario and made it the fastest growing solar energy region in the whole of North America.However solar panels cannot be bought from anybody to qualify you for a government rebate.Only Solar Panels which meet the domestic production criteria can get solar rebates from the government.
July 5, 2011
Sanyo Solar is one the biggest Japanese solar companies along with Sharp,Kyocera and Mitsubishi.After Panasonic bought Sanyo,the emphasis on the renewable energy green division has been increased by Panasonic..Sanyo had been already been metamorphizing into a Green company from an Electronics company before Panasonic bought it for a very cheap price.Sanyo had never found much success in the cut-throat Electronics Sector with Operating Margins very near to break-even.However under Panasonic it could become a potential leader in the extremely fast growing Green Sectors.Panasonic has completely changed its strategy to become a major Green Player targeting a Major Percentage of Sales in the future to come from Green Products.Panasonic which is the world’s biggest Plasma TV producer is going to spend $1 Billion on Green Building investments.Panasonic will combine its Green Strengths with Sanyo’s to sell a complete Eco-Friendly Home complete with Solar Power,LED Lighting and Energy Storage and Efficiency capabilities.In Solar where Panasonic is the No. 3 player in Japan behind Sharp and Kyocera ,it is speeding up the expansion of solar capacity.It will spend more than $500 million aiming to triple its energy solutions business in Europe to 800 Million Euros by 2016.
July 5, 2011
1366 Technologies has got a $150 million DOE Loan Guarantee as the startup looks to raise $300 million to fund its solar wafer producing factory.Note the company is using an innovative technology which it says will be game changer in reducing the costs for making solar wafers.Note Solar Wafer Companies in China have managed to raise scale and reduce costs substantially in recent years winning marketshare from European companies like REC and Solarworld.The smaller companies like PV Crystalox are in deep trouble because of their high cost of operations and are trading at a fractional of their book value.Its a tough environment for solar companies especially if they are starting out as established solar panel companies like Evergreen Solar are facing potential bankruptcy.Evergreen Solar got millions of dollars in grants and loans from Massachusetts however the company has been forced to shut down its factory.Like 1366 Technologies Evergreen too uses a unique technology "String Ribbon" to producer solar wafers .However it has not been able to scale and reduce costs compared to the mainstream silicon solar wafer producers like LDK and GCL.
July 5, 2011
The Indian Income tax Act prescribes different tax slabs for Senior citizens, Women & Individuals including AOP (Association of Person), BOI (Body of Individuals) & HUF (Hindu Undivided Family).
To calculate the total income tax liability, one needs to follow the below mentioned process:
* Calculate your gross total income. This includes gross income from the five sources of income - Income from Salary, Business/ Profession, Capital Gains, House Property & Income from other sources.
* Calculate the net deductions for example donations, investments and savings such as provident fund subscriptions, Life Insurance Premiums etc.
* The net taxable income is gross total income less net deductions.
* Then the appropriate income tax rate is applied to calculate the total tax liability.
* Education Cess of 3% is applied on the tax payable to arrive at the total tax payable. Relief under various sections would be applied on this total tax.
July 5, 2011
India suffers from a massive electricity deficit with large swathes of the country undergoing power blackouts of as long as 8-10 hours on a regular basis.The problem becomes even more acute in the summer season when air conditioners are being used in an increasing number of homes and offices.The industry too is using more and more amounts of electricity as the Indian economic growth rate has exceeded at 8% in the last few years.The electricity situation has not improved and looks like it will become more miserable.The sorry state of affairs is that the cost of fuel is rising but the electricity regulators are loath to increase prices.This means that Indian electric utilities will supply low power as they will be reluctant to buy higher cost electricity.According to CEA,India had a peak demand of around 116 MW in Apri-Dec 2009 with 101 GW of Supply resulting in a 12.5% Demand Deficit.The Fast Growing Economy has resulted in even higher demand for power which has not been met by increased demand.
July 5, 2011
By definition it goes that Solar Energy is renewable. The sun rises every morning & sets every evening. It has continued like this since last billions of years & will continue for more billions of years. Hence there is an unlimited supply of sunlight. Unlike coal & oil which is fast depleting, there is an abundance of sunlight. Hence the prices of these products are getting dearer, whereas the solar energy will definitely be very reasonable in the near future. The day is not far off when all our homes & offices will be lit by this solar energy & that too for almost free.
Strictly speaking nothing in this universe is renewable but if the time-line of the energy source is sufficiently long for example in the case of the sun which will be billions of years then it is renewable.Solar Energy is definitely more renewable than Hydro or Geothermal sources of energy .
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