Solar stocks gain a second day on nuclear worries
By The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa
Stocks of solar power providers climbed for a second dayTuesday as the situation at a damaged nuclear power plant in Japanworsened, causing investors to gravitate toward companies that makesolar panels and other related equipment.
SunPower Corp. rose $1.52, or 10.5 percent, to $16.02. The San Jose, Calif., company makes solar cells, panels and inverters.
Canadian Solar Inc. rose 90 cents, or 8.4 percent, to $11.65.
And Suntech Power Holdings Co., a Chinese manufacturer of solar products, rose 64 cents, or 7.7 percent, to $8.92.
The spike was particularly noticeable on a day that stocksgenerally tumbled on uneasiness over the impact of explosions and therelease of dangerous levels of radiation at Japan's Fukushima Daiichinuclear power plant.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 200 points, or 1.7percent at midday, while the S&P 500 slid 21 points or 1.6 percent.
Kaufman Bros. analyst Jeffrey Bencik said in a note to investorsthat the earthquake in Japan will have an impact on the solar industryin both the short and longer term.
The immediate impact is a reduction in supply of polysilicon,solar wafers, cells and modules from Japanese manufacturers that havebeen idled by the earthquake. Japanese production amounts to around 10percent of total solar production.
"Therefore, we believe the companies that will benefit the mostfrom the recent quake are solar companies that manufacture polysiliconoutside of Japan, or those who have secured their supplies ofpolysilicon at long-term contract pricing," he wrote.
With the idling of the nuclear power plant and its six nuclearreactors, Japan may turn to solar power for additional generation sinceit's easy to install, Bencik said.
The events in Japan are likely to delay new nuclear plantconstruction in other countries, he said. That, along with the lengthypermitting periods for new coal plants, leads Bencik to theorize thatsolar power may be the most likely beneficiary of the disaster.
Coal and nuclear plants generate about 70 percent of total electricity globally, he said.
Stock of other solar energy companies rose Tuesday.
Shares of JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. rose 46 cents, or 6.9percent, to $7.15. The Shanghai, China, company makes solar energyproducts including solar cells.
Shares of Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., also based in China,rose 87 cents, or 7.7 percent, to $12.13. It makes photovoltaic modulesfor several countries including Germany, Spain, Greece, France, and theUnited States.
First Solar Inc. shares rose $8.11, or 5.5 percent, to $155.02 and LDK Solar Co. rose 88 cents, or 7.6 percent, to $12.46