Solar Installations, Rare Earth Manipulations

Written By Nick Hodge

Posted March 17, 2012

It’s 75 degrees and sunny in Baltimore this weekend.

And it’s St. Patrick’s Day.

So go outside and plant something or drink a beer — I’ll keep this to a brief recap of the week…

Oil pulled back a bit from its highs near $110 and has caused a bit of profit-taking in the space, with most majors drifting a few percentage points lower this week.

A ray of light shined on solar as we learned the number of megawatts installed in the United States in 2011 more than doubled from 2010.

Utility demand alone quadrupled to 760 MW.

A 50% decline in the price of solar panels last year is driving customers to take advantage.

That sector is shaking out, the losers are dying, and there are some steep discounts available. I’d wait ’til after this earnings season to pick through them.

A year after Fukushima, uranium stocks are still at a steep discount. And with a supply crunch in store for the next few years, now is looking like a good time to make some easy long-term gains in the space…

Check out the stalwarts: Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), Denison (AMEX: DNN), and Uranium One (TSX: UUU).

And finally, rare earths are back in the news after a hiatus for most of the latter part of last year.

Stocks were up this week as the U.S., EU, and Japan filed complaints with the World Trade Organization, charging China with limiting exports that are vital to technology components.

Molycorp (NYSE: MCP) climbed 30% this week as it bid $1.3 billion to buy Canada’s Neo Material Technologies, gaining rare earth processing capacity and access to the Chinese market.

China still controls over 90% of the rare earth market, so any outside production is going to fetch a premium in the market.

Same goes for the “Miracle Material,” about which I’m holding a free online seminar next Thursday.

China currently controls over 80% of its production, but that is quickly starting to change…

I’m convinced the situation is going to deliver gains on par with the rare earth run of 2010 and early 2011.

Make sure you sign up for a spot today.

Then go outside and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.

Call it like you see it,

Nick Hodge
Editor, Energy and Capital


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