SAMSUNGI think we have to look at the bigger picture here.
1. Samsung has been in Canada since 1987 contributing to our economy in jobs and taxes.
2. South Korea or the U.S. or Europe or for that matter, countries and people from around the world have been contributing to our economy since we had one.
3. How many big industries are not foreign owned? Much like complaining when Toyota or Honda came to Ontario. A good thing they did. How about Kia or Hyundae? If we partner with a South Korean company or in our case, probably a European company, can someone tell me the difference or is it just racial?
4. Equating South Korea with China is mixing apples and oranges. Their culture is different. Their language is different and their business ethics are different. I just came back from South Korea and China. My daughter lives in South Korea and I have a fairly good grasp of what the South Korean mentality is all about. Very respectful. Very educated. They leave us a mile behind, actually, in both. Kindergarten students are studying English. Grade 8 students at school until 7p.m. and then homework. We have decided here that homework isn't necessary along with physical activity. My view is that it isn't that it isn't necessary, but it isn't necessary according to the unions, along with report cardx in the first term. Sad.
If we don't change our education system shortly, we are lost. I watch school buses dropping off high school students every day at 3.00p in my area. No physical ed? Don't get me started on that one.
5. Anything that can help our economy in Ontario is welcomed. Whatever profits they make, there will be more money going into oujr economy with a market developing that intends to supply the U.S. with product. We would be very stupid not to take advantage of it. Would it have been better that Samsung had gone to New York State instead and exported their solar products to Canada? Or produced their products in China and flooded our markets here with them? Paid their taxes elsewhere?
This Samsung deal probably only takes business away from First Solar or another foreign company. The labour is still coming from here. The taxes will still be paid here. What this deal does further is to bring massive media attention to Ontario and Solar. B.C. is on the bandwagon now, talking about competing with Ontario.
I don't think even SET saw the B.C. one coming and didn't include those potential markets in their forecasts. Other provinces will join, I'm sure. We may be in for bigger surprises along the line.
Secondly
1. Samsung's initial entry into Ontario is after we are already established and they are concentrating on wind and solar farm projects initially. We should be so lucky if they bought us out down the road.
2. What seems to be forgotten is that SET is not purely an inverter company. Yes we will sell the inverter to who ever wants it.
Mass production will give us large earnings in itself. In fact 500 MW of inverters in the next two years, as targeted by the company, is massive.
Now we have PARALEX.
Everything that the company indicates also points into the direction of PARALEX. I came away from the SET workshop on Dec. 9th with absolutely no doubts on that one. The workshop was based on PARALEX, not flogging inverters. Their 'best in the world' inverters are only part of the direction the company is going in. The reason for double news releases of Paralex and Sunergy.
PARALEX is about COMMERCIAL ROOF TOP SOLAR, designing and financing the project, repairing or adding to roof tops to support the project, doing the installations, supplying the panels from a Thin Film partner, racking and inverters and putting a maintainance program into being. If it is a leased rooftop, it is also about sharing the FIT's for 20 years.
Paralex will the the lead company doing roof top installations from A-Z and taking profit every step of the way including through financing partners. That is the reason for the liaison with David Carten and what appears to be a financing operation.
My bet is that the assembly plant will be more than an inverter assembly plant. It will be an inverter assembly plant and a solar panel assembly plant with the European partner on the same premises making the operation even more cost effective and competitive.
I am leaning towards 1. Signet or 2. Scheuten with the history involved and both are U.L. approved already. That also doesn't leave out APV and their cells if Scheuten (Multisol) is involved. And if APV is negotiating with a Fortune 500 company, their cells can't be all that bad. I suspect they aren't and they will no doubt surprise us in the near future with their own news.
Witth Odersun, possibly, but we would be waiting for U.L. approval before that happens. Maybe they have already applied.
As pointed out by Reduce, it would totally make sense. Is that the reason for D&H investing in SET? Looking forward in the big picture from the beginning? That would be a good thing. More research into their product would be interesting.
I want to thank Energy pointing out again the Jacob's Presentation on the Sustainables website. I think we have missed something very important from there.
In Set's presentation, they are targeting 4 countries for 2010 & 2011. What is glaring is that they are not, repeat are not targeting Germany at all! I totally missed that and I think others have as well. The VDE certification is for France. I still don't know why Germany isn't included as it wasn't with the Sunergy 1 but there must be a reason. Now, with it's cut backs, it is probably a good thing but we still could have made money there. Maybe we will, yet but it isn't even mentioned in the slide presentation to Jacobs. Also, the potential U.S. market is not included nor Italy. It is quite possible the following targets are very conservative, as they do not mention developing markets.
France target 25 MW for 2010. 100 MW for 2011.
Spain 20MW for 2010. 50 MW for 2011.
Greece 5 MW for 2010. 50 MW for 2011
Ontario 50 MW for 2010. 200 MW for 2011
That gives us a target overall of 100 MW this year and 400 MW for 2011 for a total of 500MW ending 2011!.
That's a lot of inverters. No wonder Jacobs is participating.
However, on top of inverters, throw in the earnings from PARALEX.
I would put SET's potential at up to Dawson's $3.70 a share on a buyout basing the company as an inverter company with basically 1 product, 'albeit the best in the world'.
Without, it's inverter, if a better one comes along, perhaps SET's PARALEX will still be a very large international corporation.
If it becomes that, with or without their present product, then the dream of $15 is totally not unreasonable. But I would settle for $3.70.
As I see it.