Future Bright for Residential Solar Installations

• By the tickerspy.com Staff
• On 12:44 pm EDT, Tuesday October 6, 2009

It's been uncharacteristically quiet in the solar energy sector recently, but gains could be had for those reading between the lines.

Massive electricity-generating solar plants aren't the only way to harness the sun's energy, and Dow Chemical (NSYE: DOW) sees a $10 billion opportunity in solar shingles. According to Reuters, Dow will begin selling energy-generating rooftop shingles in 2010 - a move the company thinks could yield $5 billion by 2015, and twice that in the next decade.

The shingles will turn everyday roofers into copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar installation specialists. According to the report, pronouncing the solar components could be more difficult than installing them. CIGS solar shingles require no specialized skills or knowledge of solar systems to install, and they can produce energy at a -10% to -15% per-watt discount to traditional polysilicon cells.

Most components of the Solar Stocks Index are, for the time being, more focused on the established polysilicon technology, but according to The Business Insider, a river of venture funding is flowing into CIGS-oriented start-ups. As the technology develops, it will be interesting to track the performance of stocks moving into the more efficient space.

DayStar Technologies (NASDAQ: DSTI - News), the Solar Index's smallest component at a mere $22.3 million, is one of the only publicly listed plays on CIGS technology. Over the last month, it is one of the top performers, up by over 20%. Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ: ASTI - News) is another CIGS player.

Plainview, New York-based Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ: VECO - News) manufactures CIGS deposition systems, among other high-tech devices. On September 16 the company announced a multi-million dollar order from Hong Kong's GroupSat. GroupSat CEO Nasir M. Ameriar said, "We have an aggressive plan to become the first true CIGS thin film solar manufacturer in China," according to a Comtex report.

Other Chinese solar players are showing strength in the U.S. markets today. Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP - News), Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE - News), and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL - News) are all ahead by 5% or more for the session.

Elsewhere in the solar sector, Michigan-based rooftop solar play Energy Conversion Devices (NASDAQ: ENER - News) won a 4.8-megawatt supply deal with Recurrent Energy in Spain, according to yesterday's report by Reuters.

Peripheral bets on Dow's solar shingles can be made via investment in homebuilders Pulte (NYSE: PHM - News) and Lennar (NYSE: LEN - News), which, according to Bloomberg, will utilize the new technology in future construction projects.

As of this writing, the Solar Stocks Index is one of the top-75 performing tickerspy Indexes over the last month, up by 8%.

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