Solar Panels Decline In Price Crush Some Manufacturers

If you bought or installed solar panels in a power purchase arrangement recently you may have overpaid. According to an article at CNET News the price of panels has been dropping as demand has fallen short of predictions and manufacturers have reduced prices to get panels out the door. This is the danger of being on the bleeding edge of a products that is heavily subsidized.

Price declines, oversupply to hit solar in third quarter
by Reuters via news.cnet.com
The solar industry is in for a dire quarter as falling government subsidies and low volumes further drive down equipment prices at a time when oversupply has already led many sector players to lower their full-year profit outlook.

A pickup in demand for solar panels, widely expected by industry players for the second half, failed to materialize, pushing several U.S. companies, most notably panel maker Solyndra, to file for bankruptcy in recent months. …

Want to Get Acquired? Own a Pipeline

Another acquisition is rumbling through the pipeline industry with the disclosure today that Plains All American Pipeline is pursing the SemGroup but the SemGroup does not want to be the bride to PAA. SemGroup has another plan. See the full letter at this link.

Moves like this will continue to make the pipeline industry more like the railroad industry: one carrier per region. Pricing pressure could be expected by electricity generators using natural gas. There have been rosy projections for using natural gas for generation in place of coal and nuclear but with the consolidation in the pipeline companies this projection may face some hurdles.