This is the WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT written by MARTHA STOKES, C.M.T.

for the CASE STUDY "THE ANALYSIS OF SOLAR ENERGY COMPANIES"

 Each Study Group will choose a stock from the following list, or they may select a stock that is not on this list as long as it is in the Solar Sector of the Alternative Energy Industry. Only one stock may be selected for this Case Study.

You will be determining over the course of the Case Study Program that either this company has a viable chance of market dominance or that it lacks the qualities necessary to achieve market dominance.

Solar Energy Stocks:

SPIR, CSIQ, STP, SPW, TSL, FSLR, LDK, ENER, DSTI, HOKU, WFR, ESLR.

1. Members of the Study Group will debate and present to each other their opinions and documented facts in order to select one stock to use through the entire Case Study Program. The group must agree on this stock.

2. Selection should be based upon the preliminary analysis of the company and the stock chart.

3. The Study Group will summarize why the stock was chosen, the strengths or weaknesses of the company that led to the selection of this stock. This summary must be written on the study hall blog, for review by the instructor Martha Stokes, C.M.T.

Note from Adrienne:

TechniTrader® Case Study "The Analysis of Solar Energy Companies" Study Halls during Assignment #1 chose the following solar stocks to research:

FSLR: Dragon, Engulfing White, Hammer, Morning Star, Pole Vault, and Spinning Top

ENER: Dark Cloud, Doji, Hurdle, Nesting Candle, Springboard, and Three Rivers

SPW: Brothers Grimm SPIR: Harami STP: Resting Day

             BROTHERS GRIMM STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

As a study group, we have chosen SPX Corporation (SPW) as our stock pick for the case study. Reasons for this pick are it covers both energy and power which is global. Third quarter for 2008 reported revenues up 29%. The company recently repurchased three million shares of common stock and this shows cash flow is healthy. Institutional ownership is at 77% and outstanding shares are currently around 54.4 million. Currently it is trading around $46/share with a 52 week high of $140/share in Fall of 2008. Looking at the past 2-3 year trend, strong support at around $70/share so there is a lot of room to move up. Looks like it is currently coming out of a "V" bottom. Quarterly earnings are due on 2/25/09.

We also have chosen SPW because the chart is in an uptrend. RSI is up as well as money stream and volume. Chart shows institutional buying and TSV (Time Segmented Volume) is strong though Stochastics are not out of sight. The company plans to do a large restructuring in 2009 to position themselves better for future growth.

Brian and Julie

                     BROTHERS GRIMM STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

SPW: on a monthly chart is it a completed long term bottom? How will the restructuring help or hinder SPW in 2009?

Good work,

Martha

             DARK CLOUD STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

Dark Cloud looked at two companies this week: SPW and ENER based on initial technical and fundamental evaluations. Ultimately ENER was chosen for this study because 96% of total revenues are derived from solar products. By contrast SPW is a very diverse company transitioning into becoming a global infrastructure company. Information at SPX.com regarding their solar business was buried in the company’s diversity.

Technically ENER has a well developed long term bottom & is currently forming strong support above its IPO price. ENER chart is stronger than it's sub industry chart, Semiconductor - Specialized.

QQ rev/eps have improved/grown 6 quarters sequentially. Most recent earnings release was Mon, 2/9/09, with positive outlook for 2H2009 and beyond.

Nasdaq.com site analysis shows 75.1% Institutional ownership; 46M shares outstanding, both good numbers for an emerging growth company. Of the top 5 Institutional Holders 3 are BIG Institutions (FMR, Barclay's Global, Vanguard); 4 out of 5 of the top Holders have increased their positions. Number Buy/Sell & increase/decrease is almost neutral.

Mallory

                  DARK CLOUD STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

Great work picking up on the fact that ENER is specializing and focused solely on Solar Energy. Now, how will that key issue help them reach market dominance and how might a lack of diversity hurt them?

Also, checking a monthly line chart, is this a completed bottom?

Great job everyone,

Martha

                     DOJI STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

The Doji Study Hall has chosen ENER to analyze as a company that could potentially dominate the Solar Energy Industry in the future. The reasons for our choice are as follows:

1. A company portfolio that is focused yet flexible

2. Substantial point gain potential

3. Increasing weekly volume

4. Increasing revenue and income for the last 5 quarters

5. Positive cash flow and good operating margin

Mike

                               DOJI STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

ENER is a good choice. When studying the charts this week, study the line chart on a monthly scale to see the entire history for this stock. Question: is ENER in a sideways trading range or is it in an uptrend, and why.

What resistance levels must it over come and how does monthly and weekly volume assist in your analysis. What is volume on the long term scale telling you?

Great work thus far.

Martha

                      DRAGON STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

We are selecting FSLR based on the following:

1. Large market cap. A number of the suggested companies are micro or small cap stocks. These small-new companies present inherent risks to investors.
2. Industry - Sub Industry Classification - only two stocks - FSLR and ENER - were consistently classified by MSN.Money.com, TeleChart2007® and some other services. We are thinking this will help for comparisons as we move deeper into the Case Study.
3. Institutional Ownership = 49.1% with more increased positions than decreased positions as reported by nasdaq.com. Total shares = 81 million
4. Financials
a. Sales Growth - 1 yr = 273.4%, 2 yr = 127.2% industry 5 yr = 22.2%
b. Earnings Growth - next 5 yrs estimated at +45.0% vs. industry estimate of +26.6%. EPSe for 12/08 quarter = +64.6% EPSe for 03/09 quater = +140.1%. EPSe for FY 2009 = +154.7%. EPSe for FY 2010 = +79.3%
c. Return on Capital - 1 yr = 21.2% vs industry avg = 15.5%
d. Return on Equity - 1 yr = 23.5% vs industry avg = 15.0%
e. Gross Profit Margin = 52.1%
f. Net profit Margin = 27.5%
g. News - Guidance: Reports 4th quarter and year end results on 02-24-09. Guidance from last 10Q - Main sales constraint has been production capacity. Customer demand has consistently exceeded the number of solar modules the company can produce.
5. Technical Analysis
a. F5 - looks like a stock that has bottomed and has been consolidating since mid December. Recently price has moved above the 10 day SMA.
b. F7 - volume has been quiet since late Nov.
c. Bollinger Bands have contracted recently
d. RSI rising and recently crossed above RS:SP500
e. BOP - distribution in Oct. followed by accumulation in Nov. Looks like slightly more accumulation than distribution.
f. TSV 20 rising since 01/14/09 and crossed above the 0 line, but it's below Rate of Change 10
g. STOCHASTICS 10,8,6 looks like it could be in a phase of "failing troughs" as price consolidates.

As mentioned earlier, only FSLR and ENER have market caps over $1 billion and consistent industry - sub industry classifications. A review/comparison of ENER to FSLR on the points noted above found FSLR to be the stronger company on almost every point.

One thing that gives cause for concern is a market cap of almost $12 billion on sales of $1 billion. Basically, we have a price to sales ratio of 11.7 vs the industry avg of 6.4 and the SP500 of 1.54. However, this shows that "investors" have picked this company as an industry leader. We think it will be interesting to see if our study case analysis confirms or contradicts the "investors" view of this company.

Mike

                                 DRAGON STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

You have chosen FSLR with emphasis on market cap and industry status. How will this help FSLR gain market dominance? Is ENER the only competitor FSLR needs to worry about?

Great work on the summary!

Martha

           ENGULFING WHITE STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

The purpose of this assignment is to identify a stock for serious analysis, and summarize the reasons for the choice.

1. We will analyze First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) which specializes in Renewable Energy Equipment and is listed on NASDAQ.

2. Preliminary chart analysis for this stock identify FSLR as a solid candidate for position trading. The fundamentals are generally positive.

3. Chart summary: stock has formed a solid support level following a V, with a consolidated high of 162.54 and a support low of 133.01. If entered now, the points at risk would be about 30.3, potential gain is 147, and the reward/risk ratio is 4.85. All time high is 313 and the target around 310. A negative aspect of this is the cost, which is rather high for many position traders. The indicators for today were not real favorable so this would be a “watchlist” candidate.

Fundamentals summary: The company’s main focus is renewable energy and solar power; many other stock choices only delved in solar energy in a minor way. The quarterly revenues are increasing at a steady pace and accelerating. The earnings are not real high, comparatively, but are in line with the revenues. Research and Development costs are a good $10M for the quarter. There is some debt but not too high and the current ratio is a decent 3.2%. Investments returns are positive. Institutional ownership is 53%. FSLR has been in the news a lot recently, and most of it is positive.

This will be a good choice for our team to research for the above reasons, but also because it has been around long enough and actively enough to generate a lot of information. Some of the choices were eliminated because it would be difficult to perform the thorough research this study hall is likely to require.

Jon

                                      John's Solar Snapshot Page 1 of 2

                                            Chart created by John

                                 John's Solar Snapshot Page 2 of 2

                                             Chart created by John

                  ENGULFING WHITE STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

FSLR had a meteoric IPO rise all of 2007 and into 2008 then it dropped back. How do you determine this is the final low for this stock? How do financials compare now to 2007?

Terrific comparison chart, John.

Great summary.

Martha

               HAMMER STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

Group Hammer has chosen FSLR (First Solar Inc.) as our stock to analyze for our case study. This company makes novel solar modules using thin-film technology. It owns and operates solar plants and also sells turn-key plants. Customers include warehouses, office and industrial buildings, public agencies, city governments, and utilities. It has long-term supply contracts with 12 European project developers. Recently it completed deals with Boulder City, NV and Masdar City, and it's agreement with Masdau Ahu Dhabi Future Energy Company to supply film solar modules is the largest project of its kind in the Middle East. It has posted strong increases in earnings a revenue year over year (158 mil in 2007 and estimated to earn 300 mill in 2008) and quarter over quarter. This amounts to a net profit margin of 27.4% and income growth of 115.6%. It has has a decent roe of 15 percent, has scored at least 150 million in earnings and sales in at least 7 quarters, it is projected to make 80% more in '09 and has the largest market cap out of the list of potential stock picks at almost 12 billion. It has institutional ownership of about 53% by 434 organizations. At last check the number of holders with increased positions is greater than those with decreased positions. It has a large amount of cash on hand and a manageable amount of long-term debt. On the other hand, it does have some weaknesses. It has more sold out positions than new positions among institutional holders. It is a very expensive stock and has dropped substantially from its 2008 high. This is some concern that this ship has sailed and another company may dominate. And it doesn't seem that the institutions are buying this stock right now. Looking at the charts, it has the potential to go up to $280. Volume has been mostly low lately with mostly neutral BOP. Short-term indicators show that MS is just above its moving average, TSV and ROC are almost on top of each other, Lineal Regression 25 is below 50. Not looking great right now, but RSI 15 has ticked up recently. It's been consolidating nicely after moving up off its November low.

John

                             HAMMER STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

How will FSLR's thin film technology help it overcome the obstacles it faces? What can it do to use this to its advantage to add consumer appeal?

Greak work,

Martha

               HARAMI STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

SPIR was chosen due to its combination of strong, forward-thinking leadership, and sound financials. They currently have 31.8% Institutional Ownership, and strong financials. BOP works well with this stock. Their solar equipment line has had 7 quarters of record sales and the company recently received significant contracts including one for the US Federal Prison Institution. They invest heavily in R&D and their guidance is strong for 2009. In a recent interview with Roger Little, CEO, he discussed the growth expectancy for PV modules through 2012 and how their manufacturing equipment is positioned to produce PV modules from 50W to 500megawatt productions. Their equipment is all UL listed and is portable and expandable to meet the growing needs of their customers. Their long-term R& D includes nanotechnology products.
Missy

                         HARAMI STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

Very nice summary, thank you. Your analysis is concise and well thought out. Now, how can they use these points to overcome the barriers to mass market consumer acceptance?

Excellent work,

Martha

              HURDLE STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

I vote to go with ENER. I like the in house R&D and the thin film technology as I said before. Looking at the quarterly earnings, ENER has had two profitable quarters in a row and the estimates are for positive earnings over the next few quarters.
Here are pros: good science, good earnings growth, excellent liquidity, good PEG ratio, good price/book, good price/sales and good sales growth.
Cons: Inconsistent earning in the past, P/E ratio is at a premium to other companies in the Electrical Equipment industry, economic factors that may slow growth.
Stock Chart:
Since the Nov 20th low of $18.32, the stock has been in a trading range between about $20.00 and $30.00. It is now trading above its 50d SMA but well below the 200. It gained 6.21% today with a bullish engulfing candle. Volume is over the MA25, MS riding high, RSI 14 and TSV 16 are both above 50 and above their respective MA20’s. DI+(10/21)crossed DI- Feb.9. On the weekly chart, MS and TSV look good with RSI over its MA20. BOP is very low.

David

                           HURDLE STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

I am waiting to review your summary. Have you chosen ENER? (Note from Adrienne:  Jacquie replies yes and to use David's summary as the final choice).

Well done, David. Concise and well thought out. Thank you.

Martha

              MORNING STAR STUDY GROUP - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

FSLR - projected earnings/revenue up qtr over otr and year over year.

shares: 81.1m
inst ownership: 48.68%
P/E: 43.22X
P/S: 11.75X
P/B: 8.60X
P/CF: 25.53X

Gross margin: 52.06%
Operating margin: 35.06%
Profit margin: 24.47%

Growth Rate
Earnings per share: 151.0
Sales: 184.8

All things considered, I think FSLR is showing better fundamentals, especially projected earnings/revenue, price to cash flow and growth rate. It doesn't have the institutional interest that WFT does, but it's younger and I think that that will change with time and profit.

TIM

                         MORNING STAR STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

I am assuming you have chosen FSLR based on Tim's last summary statement. How will FSLR achieve dominance? It takes more than good fundamentals.

Martha

                  NESTING CANDLE STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT

We have evaluated all of the stocks on our list. The two that seemed to stand out as the best candidates for the case study were SPIR and ENER. With some reservations we chose ENER.
In terms of the technicals, the 3 day chart was used for most of the analysis. The stock is setting up a nice base near the lows of the platform of 07-08. This should provide reasonable support. Resistance is very light at 44.00 and light to moderate at 64.00. Volume is a little soft which is common in a sideways market. The last couple of 3 day bars, however show some buying coming in. One of our concerns is the lack of green BOP. This may be because the institutions already own 75% of the stock and are just waiting out the current market condition. There was some accumulation during the 07-08 base so it is reasonable to assume that if the fundamentals stay strong BOP should pick up as this current base develops. TSV and MS don’t look great on a 3 day but if you scroll down to a 1 day they are showing signs of improvement. Stochastics is showing a positive divergence with price which we find significant since it is a leading indicator. In summary we feel that the chart looks good but the indicators are of some concern. Given the market condition we feel that the indicators should improve over time.
Fundamentally the company is doing pretty well. Earnings as well as revenues have been positiveand have increased each of the last 4 qtrs. Earnings estimates for 2009 are 1.46 per share, up from .32 per share in 2008. Institutional ownership in terms of increased positions versus decreased positions has been relatively flat however the number of new funds has increased over the year.
The most intriguing and compelling aspect of this company are its businesses units. Energy Conversion Devices has several subsidiaries involved in the development and manufacture of a wide range of green energy generating products. These product groups include solar panels, different battery technologies, fuel cells and low cost hydrogen production processes. All of these product categories stand to benefit either directly of indirectly from the resources that the government will be putting into green energy in the coming years.
We feel that the diversification of this company as well as it's proven fundamental performance position it well for future growth.

Don

                           NESTING CANDLE STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

Wonderful summary.

How will ENER be able to use is diverse product line to overcome obstacles that it's industry faces?

Martha

                POLT VAULT STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

The most difficult point in a new project is the beginning. Everyone participated this week and all made thoughtful contributions to the assignment. Thanks to each one of you.
Our group considered FSLR and CSIQ with FSLR selected for the Case Study.
Some of the strengths identified for this company were as follows:
1. They are the largest manufacturer of solar modules and are also noted for an advanced process used to build modules for both commercial and residential jobs. FSLR produces Thin-film semiconductor panels, which are not silicon based. This is a key strategic advantage as world supplies of silicon are severely constrained. Most of FLSR's competitors are silicon based.
2. The fundamentals look good; FSLR is increasing revenues and earnings.
3. Institutional ownership is about 50%. A number of existing owners added to their positions compared to those that reduced them.
4. FSLR is the low cost leader in solar, with improving margins and manufacturing scale/capacity. They have a fairly strong backlog.
5. In their marketing campaign, they put an accent on their environmental mission that gives them a lot of points in the competition.
6. Their strong executive team and great marketing skills are the reasons FSLR is strong and this team will help First Solar outperform its rival companies.

Ned presented a weakness of the company as an investment. It is not for me, he stated because I see a couple 125-150pt retracements, 50 pt sideway trading ranges with the nearest support @ $90.00 and not again until $30.00. This resulted in more risk than he was willing to take.

The chart does not show any BOP since the middle of November, TSV dipped below the centerline in mid January and MS has also moved horizontally just above it’s 25 day MA. Also candles have gotten smaller since mid January. These conditions may be a leading warning of a downturn.

Doris

                         POLE VAULT STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

Great summary! FSLR as the thin film leader--are there any competitors that have started using this technology or does FSLR have a proprietary product that really gives it a leading edge toward market dominance?

Martha

             RESTING DAY STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

Our group has selected Suntech Power Holdings Company Ltd. (STP) as a candidate for long term potential in the Solar Industry. The company is relatively young, founded 2001. IPO'd on NYSE 12.14.05 @ $20.35. Outstanding shares are about 155.84mil. STP designs, manufactures and markets photovoltaic cells to power residential, commercial, industrial and public utilities worldwide. They also design and manufacture several other components for solar energy. Market cap 1.57 billion, 42% institutional holding and volume well over the min of 100,000 per day (avg 10 day 2.3 mil). An article found in Yahoo states that they just built their new solar powered headquarters building in China. It is the world's largest grid connected, building- integrated solar system. Solar will power 80% of the building resulting in reducing CO2 emissions by 600 tons and eliminating the use of 367 tons of coal per year. While this may have added debt to the company, it has the potential to become a new standard in building.
In terms of the fundamental criteria we assess, STP meets the criteria:
Suntech Power Holdings Company Ltd.
Industry: Diversified Electronics
Institutional Ownership: 47.30%
Earnings: EPS latest quarter : .33
Earnings growth rate average last 4 quarters: 44%
Revenue growth rate last 4 quarters: 63.2%
Debt/Equity Ratio: .59
Next Earnings release: Feb 18
Volume 2.1 million
The stock price currently trades in the $9 to $10 range, and had an all time high of $88, offering good risk/reward potential from the current price.
Technically, the stock experienced a sharp selloff in the early part of 2008, and shows a V bottom formation when looking at the weekly chart with the F10 setting, and shifted sideways. OBV is moving up, and RSI is leading RS, which are positive long term signals.

Shalini

                         RESTING DAY STUDY HALL – WEEK 1 REVIEW

STP just built a new building in China, how can it use this fact to overcome obstacles the industry faces? Is this building a strategic move that will increase global awareness and how can it achieve that?

Great job on the summary,

Martha

               SPINNING TOP STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

Our group narrowed our stock choice down to FSLR and ENER. We chose FSLR to be our stock for further study for the following reasons:

Fundamental analysis: FSLR has enjoyed a stronger earnings growth rate over the previous 3 years and recent quarters. It also has a better debt to equity ratio, and although ENER is certainly acceptable, in this climate more cash is going to be critical for survival and development.

Institutional ownership is at 52% which is strong, but still leaves more room for additional accumulation. It also has the added benefit of 5% insider ownership compared to 70% inst and 0.42% for ENER. As a business owner I also think that it is beneficial to have some incentive for inside owners to grow the business. New vs sold positions were about equal for both companies. The ROE is also better for FSLR which suggests a stronger management team.

Technical Analysis: FSLR has had quiet accumulation in Oct vs none recently for ENER. FSLR has an ascending triangle with increasing RSI and OBV. There is a stronger increasing MS average while ENER is pretty flat. FSLR has moderate resistance at 183 then clear to 260 with it trading now at 145 so there is much better point potential than ENER which is at 27 and has to overcome strong overhead resistance because of sideways trading from 30-35 over about 2 years.

Sentiment indicators like put:call ratio and short ratio are also in favour of FSLR over ENER. Two of the solar ETFs have a much larger share of FSLR than ENER (13.7% vs 4.6%).

Overall FSLR appears to be a strong candidate and warrants further investigation.

Respectfully submitted,

SPINNING TOP GROUP

JoAnn

                         SPINNING TOP STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

I found your summary, thank you. Your focus was on comparing two companies. This week you need to provide more on how FSLR will dominate over ENER with its ability to overcome obstacles better than ENER would.

What does FSLR have that would pole vault it to the top status in its sector of the solar industry?

Excellent work by the way,

Martha

               SPRINGBOARD STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

Looking at the stock charts we narrowed down to the stocks that are building platform (in bottom formation or otherwise), has enough volume and then looked at inst holdings. Based on this we short listed these stocks. After looking at financials we further eliminated stocks for some more analysis to look at their products.

Based on this we tend to think that ENER, FSLR, LDK, CSIQ seem to be better candidates for study. We are picking up ENER since it has broader product offerings. Also we think that due to broader offerings the company will have to do lot of work in different markets for dominating that market. They may have advantage of understanding these markets and learning from one market and adopting for the other product(s).

Satish

                           SPRINGBOARD STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

You have chosen ENER. It"s diversity of product line was a key point in your summary written by Satish. How does this tie into the homework assignment of this week with regard to overcoming a barrier to market acceptance?

I am pleased with your efforts,

Martha

               THREE RIVERS STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

Stock Selected:

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ENER)

Preliminary Analysis:

Even though ENER has been around for 14 years, we believe it is reinventing itself with partnerships with Carlisle Energy Services who manufacture roofing products and Italian steel manufacturer Marcegaglia S.p.A. We also like the business model of combining roofing with solar. The CEO, CFO, and President are all new in the last 18 months. The new CEO has a global marketing background and was an attack helicopter pilot and CO in the air national guard. Their SVP, Dr. Subhendu Guha, recently won the PVSEC award for R&D.

Technical Analysis:

Charts show a bottoming stock with good increasing volume, positive TSV, and increasing MS.
Daily BOP shows positive neutral. Weekly BOP shows accumulation

Financial Analysis:

Yearly revenues for the last three years have been increasing with increasing profits each year.
Revenues and profits for the last 4 quarters have increased
Institutional ownership is 76% and a large percentage held by large institutions who are increasing ownership.
They have about 46M shares outstanding.

Weaknesses:

Age of the company.
Long Term debt
ROA and ROE are low

Bill

                         THREE RIVERS STUDY HALL - WEEK 1 REVIEW

How will ENER's age be an asset against competitors? Can it exploit this to reach market dominance? What reinvention is going to really help ENER in 2009?

Martha

This is the WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT written by MARTHA STOKES, C.M.T.

for the CASE STUDY "THE ANALYSIS OF SOLAR ENERGY COMPANIES

 1. The Study Group will outline how the company is addressing and overcoming at least one of the challenges and market barriers for it's products.

2. Each Group will also discuss how the company is not addressing one of the solar industry market barriers. You must discuss and present a way the company might address this problem in the future.

3. You may do all of the listed market barriers, obstacles, etc if you wish--if you have time.

The assignment only requires that you identify one that the company is addressing and one they are not addressing.

4. Summarize your conclusions. This summary must be written on the study hall blog, for review by the instructor Martha Stokes, C.M.T.

             BROTHERS GRIMM STUDY HALL - WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

For stock pick SPW

Addressing #7- Since SPX restructuring it enables the company to offer better service. Active communication and training throughout all levels of the company world wide provide for ensuring implementation, operation, understanding, maintenance of the quality of support and service. SPX provides one-on-one training with their expert engineers to service their solar panel chambers and furnaces. SPX is trained for on site preparation and readiness for their solar products and will build to the customers needs.

Not Addressing #6- SPX is a company that specializes in engineering solutions and problem solving for its customers. SPX produces a line of silicon crystal growing furnaces specifically targeted for solar cell and photovoltaic applications and the Tenney Solar Panel Environmental Test Chamber. SPX has helped in the design of using solar panels to power pumps in the desert and furnished cooling towers for a solar power plant in Nevada. SPX is a multi-industry company with products and services that span multiple industries. Their solar energy products are limited probably because the solar energy field needs some work to be regulated and more cost effective.

Laura

                    BROTHERS GRIMM STUDY HALL - WEEK 2 REVIEW

Thank you for your summary. It is concise and well done. Things to think about: getting the word out through strong support is a good step but it relies heavily on word of mouth which takes more time and is a more passive marketing tool. SPW needs to also approach the consumers they do not have as customers as well via communications that create a networking of information. How could SPW use the social networks or other web communication connections to garner consumer interest?

Martha

             DARK CLOUD STUDY HALL - WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

Summary of the 7 Challenges Solar Energy Must Overcome:

Challenge 1: A shortage of information about solar technologies and a lack of
consumer awareness of solar technology systems and products.

ENER is tackling this by signing agreements with distributors, building material suppliers and roofing companies. One such example of this on their business and industrial installs side, is a recent agreement with Carlisle Energy Services. Carlisle Energy Services is a newly formed division of Carlisle Construction Materials, which has been manufacturing single-ply membrane roofing systems for more than 45 years. To date Carlisle has produced more than 15 billion square feet of roofing membrane. These companies take care of sales marketing, installation, and warranty etc. By partnering with several companies like this and using their already existing supply and marketing chains, you are effectively expanding your product into the market several fold.

On the consumer housing front they are launching solar PV products into the residential market in 2010 with leading residential roofing manufacturer Certain Teed. Certain Teed is North America’s leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, windows, fence decking, railing, millwork, foundations, pipe, insulation, walls, ceilings and access covers. Headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa, Certain Teed and its affiliates have more than 7000 employees and more than 70 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. In 2007 the group had consolidated sales of more than $3 billion.

By joining supply partnerships with these companies ENER is able to get their product into the consumer market by using strong and established supply, sales and marketing chains that are already in place. Thus getting their product into the market quickly and efficiently.

Challenge 5: A lack of state and local financial incentives for consumer
acceptance.

This is critical for solar companies at present as it is the only present means to make the installation of solar panels cost effective, as they still need government subsidies to compete with conventional energy. The federal, state, and local government is providing several tax, grant and loan incentives to businesses and homeowners to spur the USA towards green energy. These incentives at the state and federal level can be found at http://www.dsireusa.org/

In my conversation with Richard from Carlisle Energy Services (ENER customer), he stated that government incentives worldwide accelerated the PV industry so much they couldn’t keep up, thus driving the cost of PV up. Now that there is a slow down and more factories are able to come online, with the combination of lowered material costs, PV products should become cheaper. Parity with conventional energy was expected around 2012 to 2015 but because of the present conditions making PV cheaper he figures PV will reach parity before that.

In the meantime he stated that Government incentives are critical in making solar financially viable for companies. He said when they present their solar products to a company they present the whole financial picture which includes government incentives. This was also confirmed by my conversation with Centrosolar Group (ENER customer), who said that in their sales presentations they include information about federal, state and municipal incentives for companies. They said making customers well aware of government incentives is common practice in the solar industry.

Germany is the largest user of solar energy, and one of the main reasons is aggressive government incentives and one of them is as follows: Feed-in tariffs are used in Germany and account for the rapid growth of solar in Germany over the past 3 years. Feed-in tariff’s pay a certain amount per kilowatt-hour for rooftop systems.

This fits so well into ENER’s growth plan. In ENER’s 2Q2009 conference call on February 9, 2009 Mark Morelli, CEO, made references to incentives from municipalities and states in the form of renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and other incentive programs. Morelli stated, “As an example, last week Michigan, supported by Governor Granhom, announced legislation which proposes a feed-in tariff favoring rooftop systems.” This is positive news on the U.S. front and should drive growth even more.

Challenge 6: Insufficient and inconsistent Venture Capital, Private Capital,and
Commercial Capital for proper R&D and market introduction of
solar technology.

ENER has been recently using government programs to fund most of their R&D as stated by them in the following quotes:

ENER 10Q February 9: "The majority of our combined product development and research expenses are funded by government programs under contracts from the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Energy’s Solar America Initiative. We continue to invest in product development and research to improve the throughput of our PV cell manufacturing equipment, reduce the cost of production and increase the sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency of our PV laminates."

ENER August 28 2008 10K: “We seek to offset our research and development costs in this segment with third-party funding, including product development agreements and government funding. For example, in July 2007 we entered into a three-year cooperative agreement in which we will receive approximately $19 million from the Department of Energy under an innovative, new program, the Solar America Initiative. “

Challenge 7: Insufficient trained personnel to service solar energy products.

I talked with ENER about their training methods. They said they have no ownership in the downstream work with installers. I was told that they train their distributors, who are in turn supposed to pass on that training to any installers they distribute to. One method of teaching is their installer training DVD they send out to be viewed by installers. One installer I talked to said that after he watched the training DVD he had absolutely no doubt about how to install the solar panels. He said he never had any problems concerning ENER as an installer.

I talked to a distributor and they said that they received their training from ENER and that it was mandatory for them to train installers they distribute to. She said her training had been great and anytime she had questions she was able to get a hold of ENER and was satisfied. Two more distributors I contacted also didn’t have anything negative to say.

But the fifth distributor I contacted did, here is what he had to say and the steps ENER should take to solve them: He is part of a distribution/installation company. When he was in the field for example, if he had a problem and phoned his contact at ENER his contact might be out of the office for the day. He said it would be hit or miss when he phoned in. We agreed that ENER should have a dedicated 24 hour technician line with someone always available. If a technician calls his distributor for help for example, from a job site, and the distributor doesn’t have the answer for them, then the distributor has to get a hold of ENER, get the info and feed it back to their technician immediately. Not, 'he’s out of the office maybe try tomorrow,” that doesn’t cut it.

The same distributor also complained that ENER doesn’t keep them up to date as to when they are going to discontinue a product. He said once he did the measurements and analysis for a job then went back to the office to order a specific product for that job and found out they don’t carry it any more. He said that ENER should give it’s distributors notice of a month or two in advance of product cancellation. He also said they should do the same for products that are going to come online for use. This could be a website installers could check combined with a dedicated phone number in case they are in the field, to check for product availability or to see what new products are about to be launched.

In conclusion, I would say that the training when it is provided by ENER seems to be solid. It is the technician and product support though, that definitely needs improvement.

Carl

                        DARK CLOUD STUDY HALL - WEEK 2 REVIEW

An exceptional Summary for week 2. Congratulations! Carl, you went above and beyond the assignment requirements and did a thorough, in-depth study that exposed strengths and weaknesses not discovered by other groups.

I am going to use this summary as an example of a terrific effort in this weeks discussion for the Case Study in the Daily Market Educator on Friday.

I am most impressed.

Martha