STUFF

Member of E.ON's board said Germany's solar manufacturing will disappear in 5 years from Chinese competition. Norway's Renewable E Corp permanently closing 300MW mono-crystalline solar wafer plant. Can't make it profitable. And, of course, FSLR's news today.

US NG storage 56% higher in March than year ago, 60% (934BCF) above 5-yr avg of 1.5TCF. Expect full storage by Oct, though almost all new drilling of unconventional reserves (fracking) running at a loss.

DOD set goal of 5GW of renewable energy by '25 for all their facilities.

TVA expecting increased demand, raising wholesale power rate 2.1% in May to 2.3 cents/kwh. They hiked it 3% this month. Cost overruns at new nuke plant could lead to more rate increases. Looking for another $1.5-2B to complete Watts Bar Unit 2 reactor, looking at '15 completion instead of this year.

Final leg of $1.9B upgrade to 90-mile power line and shorter, lower-volt line through southeast MN got regulatory approval. Overall project adding >700 miles of new line. '15 completion, launched in '04.

MD regulators ordered state's 1st new NG power plant since deregulation over decade ago, and ordered 3 of state's largest publicly regulated utilities to buy the power. $500M plant, online mid-'15. Questions over it's need.

For 1st time since recession, more workers quitting than getting fired.

Batt prices for EV's down 14%.

Global offshore wind market expected to reach $104B by '17. 53% annual growth. Most in Europe. Trade group: global wind power capacity to double by '16.

Argentina's president seized Repsol YPF's (Spain oil comp) operations in Argentina.

Titanic shipyard to become green energy hub.

Poor snowpack sending low flows to US western reservoirs.

US ethanol buying spree in Brazil coming to end. Imports expected to drop 1M liters this season to .5M.

France's sugarbeet bumper crop leading to record-breaking ethanol prod.

Argentina raised biodiesel blend to 10%. Biodiesel prod rose >80% yoy in Q1.

Plankton 98% of oceans' biomass.