NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A) utility MidAmerican Energy will have spent $15 billion on renewable energy investments by the time a handful of wind and solar projects are completed in the next few years. Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway, disclosed the renewable investment figure in his annual letter to shareholders released on Saturday.
"We relish making such commitments as long as they promise reasonable returns. And, on that front, we put a large amount of trust in future regulation," Buffett said
MidAmerican's utilities serve regulated retail customers in 11 states and the company is the industry's leader in renewables.
"From a standing start nine years ago, MidAmerican now accounts for 7% of the country's wind generation capacity, with more on the way," Buffett said. "Our share in solar -- most of which is still in construction -- is even larger."
The costs of many recent MidAmerican deals, especially in solar energy, haven't been disclosed. MidAmerican's $15 billion investment, however, indicates that renewable energy is one of Berkshire Hathaway's biggest investment priorities.
Buffett characterized the renewable investment as in Berkshire's self-interest, and did not mention such issues as climate change as reason for the large investment.
"Our confidence is justified both by our past experience and by the knowledge that society will forever need massive investments in both transportation and energy," Buffett said. "It is in the self-interest of governments to treat capital providers in a manner that will ensure the continued flow of funds to essential projects."
He concluded, "It is meanwhile in our self-interest to conduct our operations in a way that earns the approval of our regulators and the people they represent."
First Solar, SunPower Deals
Hot Prefered Companies To Buy Right Now: JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd.(JASO)
JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of photovoltaic solar cells and solar products, which convert sunlight into electricity in the People's Republic of China. The company?s principal products include monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar cells, as well as various solar modules. It also provides silicon wafer and solar cell processing services. The company sells its products primarily under the JA Solar brand name, as well as produces equipment for original equipment manufacturing customers under their brand names. It sells its solar cell and module products primarily to module manufacturers, system integrators, project developers, and distributors in the Germany, Italy, the United States, Hong Kong, Spain, India, the Czech Republic, France, and South Korea. The company has strategic partnerships with various solar power companies, such as BP Solar, Solar-Fabrik, and MEMC/SunEdison. JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. was founded in 2005 and is based in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lauren Pollock]
JA Solar Holdings Co.'s(JASO) fiscal third-quarter loss narrowed as the solar company trimmed costs and improved its revenue on higher-than-expected shipments. The loss was still slightly wider than expected, and shares dropped 6.1% to $9.98 premarket.
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Yingli Green said it will continue to fight a U.S. plan to close a loophole that allowed Chinese solar manufacturers to avoid tariffs by assembling their products outside China. Yingli shares dropped 6.4% to $2.76 premarket. Among the other Chinese solar stocks trading lower Wednesday are JinkoSolar Holding Co.(JKS), Trina Solar Ltd.(TSL) and JA Solar Holdings Co.(JASO)
Top 5 Solar Stocks For 2014: DAQQ New Energy Corp.(DQ)
Daqo New Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells polysilicon in China. The company sells its polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers for use in the processing of ingots, wafers, cells and modules for solar power solutions. It also produces and sells mono-crystalline and multi-crystalline modules to photovoltaic system integrators and distributors in China and internationally under its Daqo brand. The company was formerly known as Mega Stand International Limited and changed its name to Daqo New Energy Corp. in August 2009. Daqo New Energy Corp. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered Wanzhou, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Energy shares dropped around 0.22 percent in today’s trading. Top decliners in the sector included Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), PDC Energy (NASDAQ: PDCE), and YPF SA (NYSE: YPF).
- [By Garrett Cook]
Energy shares dropped around 0.22 percent in today’s trading. Top decliners in the sector included Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), PDC Energy (NASDAQ: PDCE), and YPF SA (NYSE: YPF).
Top 5 Solar Stocks For 2014: LDK Solar Co. Ltd.(LDK)
LDK Solar Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of photovoltaic (PV) products; and development of power plant projects. It offers solar-grade and semiconductor-grade polysilicon; and multicrystalline and monocrystalline solar wafers to the manufacturers of solar cells and solar modules. The company also provides wafer processing services to monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar cell and module manufacturers; and sells silicon materials, such as ingots and polysilicon scraps. In addition, it engages in the production and sale of solar cells and modules to developers, distributors, and system integrators; and design and development of solar power projects in Europe, the United States, and China, as well as provides engineering, procurement, and construction services. LDK Solar Co., Ltd. operates in Europe, the Asia Pacific, and North America. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Xinyu City, t he People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Travis Hoium]
China won't let its solar industry die without a fight. After handing billions of dollars to manufacturers, including LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK ) , Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE ) , Suntech Power (NYSE: STP ) , to build capacity they are now generating demand domestically to soak up unsold panels.
Top 5 Solar Stocks For 2014: First Solar Inc.(FSLR)
First Solar, Inc. manufactures and sells solar modules using a thin-film semiconductor technology. It also designs, constructs, and sells photovoltaic solar power systems. The company?s solar modules employ a thin layer of semiconductor material to convert sunlight into electricity. Its integrated solar power systems activities include the project development; engineering, procurement, and construction services; operating and maintenance services; and project finance. The company sells solar modules to project developers, system integrators, and operators of renewable energy projects; and solar power systems to investor owned utilities, independent power developers and producers, and commercial and industrial companies, as well as other system owners. It operates in the United States, Germany, France, Canada, and internationally. The company was formerly known as First Solar Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to First Solar, Inc. in 2006. First Solar was founded in 1999 a nd is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jayson Derrick]
Analysts at Citigroup maintained a Buy rating on First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) with a price target raised to $87 from a previous $63. Shares gained 1.84 percent, closing at $69.72.
- [By Travis Hoium]
For nearly a decade First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR ) has paced the solar industry. The company's thin-film solar modules were by far the most affordable per watt when the industry was emerging in the 2000s, and it generated a gross margin of over 50% for a period of time.
- [By David Pinsen]
Shares of First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) were up more than 17% intraday Friday, after the company reported Q3 numbers on Thursday that beat consensus earnings and revenue estimates. For investors looking to add downside protection now, here are two ways to hedge.
- [By John Divine]
First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR ) has done a superb job at underperformance the past few days. Not only was it yesterday's worst performer, losing more than 7%, but investors also thought Tuesday's stumble wasn't brutal enough and further sold off shares to the tune of 10.8% today. Wall Street had good reason to be bearish: The solar-energy company plans to raise additional capital by diluting current shareholders with an 8.5 million-share secondary offering.�
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