For Investors Only; Just Exactly How Expensive Is Solar Energy?

Breaking news: Ukraine's neighbor, Moldova, now requests to "join" Russia. I haven't read the story, just the headline. Wow, isn't that interesting? I think somehow any reasonable person can say this all started with Obama's apology tour. It appears Mr Putin and former states of the USSR took the apologies seriously. My hunch is that Russia offers a better health care program for its citizens than Moldova could afford, and, of course, cheaper natural gas.

The Trans-Dniester region split from Moldova around 1990 and made a failed attempt at independence in 2006, when it held a referendum that was unrecognized internationally.

The region did not want to split from the Soviet Union at the time of its collapse and has now requested unity with Russia.

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Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here. I report on companies that I have no investment relationship about as often as I report on companies that I invest in. If that makes sense. In other words, just because I mention a company, it doesn't mean I'm making any recommendations about it. Generally, information is posted to help me understand the Bakken better or put the Bakken into perspective. Yes, including ObamaCare and global warming.

This is simply idle chatter; waiting for another appointment. This is a note I sent a reader earlier:

Absolutely quiet out there today. I do have to agree with the lead story over at Yahoo!Finance right now -- that the markets yesterday over-reacted to the Fed's/Ms Yellin's testimony. I agree with you that rates (mortgages) will be going up, but for the general market to drop 150 points yesterday with her remarks was a bit crazy. 

First, everyone knew she was going to continue tapering. And she didn't taper by much in the big scheme of things, certainly not more than expected. Second, I think she sounded pretty dovish -- if the unemployment rate drops to 6 or 6.5, under the "old rules" the Fed was going to raise rates.  

Yellin is not going to box herself in; she says she will look at everything before raising rates (I think she's telling us she also knows the unemployment numbers are "managed." LOL). 

So, for the moment at least, the market is back up; oil down slightly. I think with the Crimean thing (and everything that looks like might follow), the price of oil will go up, all other things staying the same. 

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News from California from the SRE "page."

I posted the announcement about a week ago. Forbes sees the outcome the same as I do:

After the official retirement of California’s largest nuclear plant last June, many in the environmental community there were celebrating. Now that the state’s public utility commissioners have said that the state’s utilities can use natural gas to replace a portion of that lost power, they are far less sanguine. [And it's more than just a portion; I think the split was about 80/20, natural gas/renewables.]

The closure of Southern California Edison’s San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in June 2013 opened up a whole other debate, which is how to supplant a carbon-free electricity source in a state that has caps on how much carbon pollution utilities can emit. As expected, natural gas will be the primary fuel to do so, given that it is abundant and relatively affordable — and it’s also a fuel that can run around-the-clock.

Bloomberg notes that SRE and Con Edison will share five (5) solar farms:

Sempra Energy (SRE) and Consolidated Edison Inc. agreed to jointly own and operate five solar farms in California and Nevada that will have a total capacity of 360 megawatts. 

Each company will own 50 percent of the power plants, which all have long-term contracts to sell the electricity, San Diego-based Sempra said today in a statement. 

The deal comprises Sempra’s 250-megawatt Copper Mountain Solar 3 plant that’s under construction near Las Vegas and four Con Edison sites the went into operation in 2012, the largest of which has 50 megawatts of capacity. 

Terms weren’t disclosed. [Unfortunately, probably because of the cost.]

SRE is trading near its 52-week highs, and could hit a new high today. Again.

Also, from SRE page (this will be repeated in a stand-alone post). A press release notes:

SunEdison, a leading solar technology manufacturer and provider of solar energy services announced today that it has completed construction of a 24 MW (megawatt) DC (direct current) solar power plant located in the California Desert. 

The Cascade solar power plant is supplying renewable electricity to San Diego Gas & Electric through a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement. Wells Fargo & Company provided tax equity financing following completion of the solar power plant.

The press release did not say how much a 24MW solar power plant costs. So, how much does a 24MW solar plant cost? In Italy, quite a bit. 

PV-Tech reported last year:

Dubai-based investment company Adenium Capital has purchased a 24MW solar farm in Italy.

The €52 million (US$69 million) acquisition, in partnership with ForVEI, almost doubles the capacity of its solar portfolio.

The Calabria solar park is one of the ten largest in Italy and was originally built by Talesun Solar Switzerland.

$70 million / 24MW =  $2.9 million / MW.

So, now we have some numbers to work with:

• Solar: $3 million / MW
• Wind: $2.5 million / MW
• Natural gas: $865,000 / MW

And then one wonders why the EU is going broke. And, one wonders why the US follows.

Einstein had a great definition for insanity.

Anyone who tells me wind and solar energy are free ... 

[Disclaimer: I often make simple arithmetic mistakes. If something looks wrong, it probably is; go to the linked source if you have questions. There is a probably a huge difference between what Dubai was willing to pay to have a site in Italy, compared with what smart California government bureaucrats would be willing to pay for tortoise and bird killers in the desert.]

[Later: Copper Mountain Solar Facility, SRE, 2010, 48 MW, $141 million = $3 million / MW; additional background; some ambiguity about total cost and total energy production.]

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From The EPD Page

 24WallStreet is reporting:

EPD was the beneficiary of an analyst upgrade at Credit Suisse on Wednesday. The firm’s John Edwards raised Enterprise Products to Outperform from Neutral, and the target was raised to $78, versus a $68.80 close.

This upgrade is significant for several reasons. First is that Enterprise is the largest standalone entity in the land of master limited partnerships (MLPs). Second is that the MLP sector has been battered with concerns about lower distributions (yield equivalents). A third reason this upgrade stands out so much is because this $78 price target represents upside of more than 13%, plus that 4.1% distribution yield. Lastly, the $78 price target is only $2 shy of the street high price target, and it is more than $5 above the consensus price target.

So, what does Credit Suisse’s John Edwards see here that is above and beyond most other analysts after an analyst meeting update?

Edwards shows a 1.5 times distribution coverage at its current distribution growth trajectory, as well as an investment of three to four times the capital to sustain that growth trajectory, which should allow Enterprise to grow the distribution faster than most MLPs.