Steve Pluvia

Comment Stream » Highest Rated

Comment Stream
Filter comments by:
Highest rated Latest comments
Or filter by symbol:
  • Alternative Energy Storage Stocks: Review and Outlook
    @Sargasso:

    eestor is not an ultra cap company, its an R&D company that has no product, has failed to raise any significant capital and has delayed every milestone they've promised. Zenn is a Pump n dump that uses eestor as hype.

    until eestor meets significant milestones or demonstrates proof of concept, its vaporware, and leaving zen nothing but a over priced golf cart mfgr.
    Jan 01 14:20 pm |Rating: +3 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • What Obama Needs to Know about Tim Geithner, the AIG Fiasco and Citigroup
    You, lost me early in this overly-long soap-box stint.

    Are you *seriously* suggesting the U.S. let AIG blow-up?

    So let me see if I get your point...

    Let AIG fail; All foreign held debt insured by AIG blows up...
    -- US treasury and corporate debt immediately has zero credibility;
    -- US corporations and have zero borrowing power for short term trade and expansion.
    -- Trade grinds to a halt as foreign partners no longer honor purchase orders from US corporations.
    -- Run on all banks;
    -- The dollar gets crushed; and,
    -- The US have very little ability to jump start the US economy with spending

    Oy freakin vey. Your idea is ridiculous. Clearly you don't understand the implications of what you propose.

    Nov 26 10:04 am |Rating: +3 -3 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Alternative Energy Storage Stocks: Review and Outlook
    The lowest cost energy storage solution for wind and solar is currently pumped hydro, although obviously location and permit dependent. FSLR's PV is cheaper that parabolic troughs or power towers. As far as solar thermal storage, the Germans and an EU consortium are conducting the most advanced research; google search and you'll find info on all these things.
    Jan 01 14:27 pm |Rating: +2 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • The Year in Solar: Strikes Mixed with Gutters
    @Solar Guru:

    Your opinions regarding thin film are ignorant and baseless, but typical of the uninformed green-tech investor.

    Thin Film PV from FSLR & Nanosolar can be produced for under $1per watt; If poly prices drop to $50 the lowest price si PV would still cost $150-$1.75/watt.

    Do the math. Your argument that thin film requires too much footprint is ridiculous to anyone in the PV business. You can supply all residential electrical needs [including demand for a plug-in hybrid vehicle] with 800-1200 sq ft of roof space [obviously depends on home size/power demand] using 10.5% efficient thin film from FSLR.

    Installed costs for FSLR product in their last 10mw plant have been reported at $3.17/watt, producing power cheaper than grid power without any subsidy.

    Next time you think about scribbling anything regarding Solar PV, I suggest you immediately slap yourself in the face and repeat the following three times:

    "Its all about cost stupid"
    Dec 30 11:28 am |Rating: +1 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • What Obama Needs to Know about Tim Geithner, the AIG Fiasco and Citigroup
    @stoneweapon:

    "Why fund a leveraged wager of CDSs with taxpayers money?"

    I answered why we cannot let AIG fail; if we let them fail this happens:

    -- All foreign held debt insured by AIG blows up...
    -- US treasury and corporate debt immediately has zero credibility;
    -- US corporations and have zero borrowing power for short term trade and expansion.
    -- Trade grinds to a halt as foreign partners no longer honor purchase orders from US corporations.
    -- Run on all banks;
    -- The dollar gets crushed; and,
    -- The US has very little ability to jump start the US economy with spending

    Most do not understand Lehman, Merrill et al packaged ANYTHING with a revenue stream almost ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD into an asset back security, then created synthetic "bonds" when they found it easier than rounding up assets with revenue.

    Many of these were insured by AIG. If AIG fails within a week we have a worldwide meltdown. The idea of letting AIG fails demonstrates the author of this article has no idea what he's talking about or is supremely ignorant.

    A simpler example is this: Imagine New Orleans after Katrina -- except we let every insurance company out of their obligation to pay policy holders to rebuilding homes/properties. Not only would New Orleans no longer be a city, the lack of confidence in all insurance would go down the toilet.

    AIG is a big bag of sh*t, no doubt about it. But letting AIG fail instantly makes commercial paper world wide into toilet paper.

    Nov 26 13:36 pm |Rating: +1 -2 |Link to Comment |View article
  • SunTech Power: Three Points to Consider for Q3 Earnings
    Credit Crunch = lower PV demand;
    Lower Demand = Lower PV ASP
    Lower ASP = Lower C-Si Margin;

    Winner = producer with lowest production cost/watt
    Loser = the author of this article and others here who don't understand the key metric for PV which is production cost/watt

    PV MFGR's that are winners are thin film producers with production cost around $1 and install costs below $3.50/watt. If you don't know who this is, stop investing your own money.
    Nov 12 11:58 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Alt Energy ETFs: Separating Profit Potential From the Hype
    This guy could fit his knowledge of this sector into a thimble and still have room for his brain.
    Oct 22 21:19 pm |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Paulson Plan: The Death of the Dollar & Free Markets
    Shorting the dollar here? Based on "Austrian economics" Uhhhhh huh. Take off that tin foil hat and Ron Paul sticker while I drop some knowledge. The commercial paper problem is not restricted to the USA -- see death spiraling EU markets for evidence. And while leadership in the U.S. has been asleep for the past 8yrs eff'n up practically everything thinkable, one thing remains true: We still have the smartest, fastest self healing financial system in the world. The credit crisis in the EU will dwarf what happened in the U.S. precisely because they don't have the means to fix the problem we do. Austrian economics in the EU vs intervention in the US is happening as we speak. Results? strong dollar weak euro.
    Oct 06 10:39 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Getting Charged Up About Lithium
    Julian; do better research:

    1. Lithium in not rare;
    2. $500 25kwh Lithium Batteries -- coming to a Th!nk car near you:

    ARGONNE, Ill. (July 17, 2008)—Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and their industrial partners have won two R&D 100 Awards for innovative fluid sealing and lithium-ion battery technologies.

    www.anl.gov/Media_Cent...

    "EnerDel/Argonne Advanced High-Power Battery for hybrid electric vehicles

    The EnerDel/Argonne lithium-ion battery is a highly reliable and extremely safe device that is lighter in weight, more compact, more powerful and longer-lasting than the nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) )batteries in today's hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).

    The battery is expected to meet the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium's $500 manufacturing price criterion for a 25-kilowatt battery, which is almost a sixth of the cost to make comparable Ni-MH batteries intended for use in HEVs. It is also less expensive to make than comparable Li-ion batteries. That cost reduction is expected to help make HEVs more competitive in the marketplace and enable consumers to receive an immediate payback in gas-cost savings rather than having to wait seven years for the savings to surpass the premium placed on HEVs."
    Jul 29 10:00 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • GT Solar: Will the Sun Shine On This Solar IPO?
    GT Solar should not be purchased. Given their hi valuation and focus on c-Si they are "old tech", soon to be replaced by thin film which has significant production cost advantages.
    Jul 21 09:24 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Who Will Crack the CIGS Nut in Thin Film?
    Alex G: CIGS, like all PV, must be encapsulated to avoid oxidation. You cannot "spray" it on cement etc and magically generate electricity.

    CIGS, like all PV must be constructed in a "clean room" like a giant semiconductor. CIGS can use flexible backing and encapsulation that reduces weight, reduces transport costs and provides more options for building integration during construction. The primary advantage of CIGS is the ability to manufacture much more rapidly and at a lower cost than traditional PV -- known as "crystalline PV" or c-Si.

    Hope that helps

    Steve P
    Jul 10 10:29 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Who Will Crack the CIGS Nut in Thin Film?
    Neil, good article; you are perhaps the first seekingalpha poster who actually knows the renewable business [unlike many here who make the fatal mistake of trying to base investment decisions on eps that are rapidly evolving due to advent of more cost competitive tech -- sorry Jack that means you =)].

    We have evaluated all of the CIGS players and came to very similar conclusions; we're long development co ASTI [because its the only public CIGS pure play + quality mgnt + depth of experience] but would buy Global Solar if it were public. As you noted in earlier articles, Global operated their pilot plant for 3 years before effectively 'perfecting' their production line.

    While many dispute Nanosolar's claims, they have installed a 1mw solar farm [germany] using their product which is the largest CIGS install in the world. Definitely worth watching, and should they become public forcing them to demonstrate their claims, they could be a world beater.

    Steve Pluvia
    Jul 09 11:19 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • The 'Peak Oil' Myth: New Oil Is Plentiful
    Author is clueless re: the cost metrics of oil exploration, production & refining; Typical fat, lazy American research.
    Jun 23 09:51 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • The 'Peak Oil' Myth: New Oil Is Plentiful
    Authors so called "facts" are nothing more than unsupported opinion and guesstimates of others who generally have no fact basis;

    This article is a fantastic example of pathetic research.
    Jun 23 09:41 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article
  • Confessions of a Shallow Solar Trader
    I wasted 43 seconds reading this pointless scribble
    Jun 23 08:58 am |Rating: 0 0 |Link to Comment |View article

Steve Pluvia's Comments Stream Stats

  • 89 Comments, 10 , 5
  • Total Comment Stream rating - = 5