QUICK NEWS, May 20: SENATE PLAYS POLITICS WITH WIND’S INCENTIVE; SHARP BACK IN #1 SOLAR PANEL MAKER SPOT; INVESTORS EYE GEOTHERMAL OPPORTUNITY (Pt 1)

SENATE PLAYS POLITICS WITH WIND’S INCENTIVE U.S. Senate Blocks Bill With PTC Extension - What Now?

Joseph Bebon, May 16, 2014 (North American Windpower)

“The U.S. Senate has blocked a bipartisan tax extenders package that includes a two-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) and the investment tax credit (ITC) election for wind…[The Senate voted 53-40] not to move the bill containing the tax extenders package forward. Sixty votes were necessary, and only one Republican voted yea…because of a battle with Democrats regarding whether [Republicans can] propose amendments…The PTC expired on Dec. 31, 2013, and the legislation would retroactively…[allow project developers who] start construction this year or by the end of 2015…to take advantage of the $0.023/kWh incentive…[or] choose a 30% ITC in lieu of the PTC…[T]he package also includes about 50 other expired U.S. tax breaks...Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., [and Senate Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, plan] to work with Republicans on an agreement and revive the bill on the Senate floor next week…[Insiders say] the bill will eventually pass both the Senate and the House, but not until after the midterm elections in November…” click here for more

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SHARP BACK IN #1 SOLAR MODULE MAKER SPOT After Five-Year Absence, Sharp Solar Returns as Number One PV Module Supplier in Q1’14, According to NPD Solarbuzz; Sharp’s resurgence due to its shift in outsourcing strategy and growth in the Japanese solar PV market

May 14, 2014 (SolarBuzz)

“Sharp Solar returned to the top of the solar photovoltaic (PV) module shipment rankings during Q1’14, after a five year absence, according to [Solarbuzz]…Sharp was the solar PV industry market leader for 45 years between 1963 and 2008, before manufacturing capacity was scaled up in China. Between 2009 and 2014, First Solar and Chinese-based solar PV suppliers dominated the top rankings within the industry…[This] was the first time a non-Chinese module supplier has taken the leading position in the solar PV industry since the fourth quarter of 2009…During its previous reign as the industry’s leading PV module supplier, Sharp pursued a vertically integrated strategy, manufacturing its own solar cells and modules. However, during the past few years, Sharp has shifted its emphasis to selling modules manufactured by outsourced partners located mainly in China and Taiwan…” click here for more

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INVESTORS EYE GEOTHERMAL OPPORTUNITY (Pt 1) Here's How Geothermal Energy Will Soon Heat Up Wall Street

John Licata, May 2, 2014 (The Street)

“The geothermal power community gets no respect since solar and wind tend to steal the public eye…[but it is] time to power your portfolio with geothermal energy…[A] typical geothermal heat pump system benefits from the constant temperature between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit of the upper 10 feet of the Earth's surface to heat a home in the winter, make hot water and produce electricity. At the same time, the system can extract heat from the building and then transfer it back to the relatively cooler ground in the summer…The downside to geothermal power is really the fear of the unknown…” click here for more

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