Top 5 Solar Companies To Watch For 2014

TransCanada (NYSE: TRP  ) is known much more for its Keystone XL pipeline, but the company is also looking at other ways to profit just in case this project goes south. The company just recently announced that it will be spending approximately $450 million on solar projects through Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ  ) over the next several years.�

This isn't the first time an oil company, or region for that matter, has made some big purchases of solar power. In hopes of increasing its oil exports via reducing domestic demand, countries in the Middle East expect to spend about $155 billion on solar projects across the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia alone expects to install nearly 10 times the current solar capacity in the U.S. today. What do oil companies see in solar? Tune in to the following video, where fool.com contributor Tyler Crowe discusses what is making solar power attractive for these companies and causing other oil companies to get on board with solar power.�

Hot Telecom Stocks For 2015: Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited(YGE)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and installation of photovoltaic (PV) products in the People?s Republic of China and internationally. The company offers PV cells, PV modules, and integrated PV systems, as well as polysilicon ingots, blocks, and wafers. It sells its PV modules to distributors, wholesalers, power plant developers and operators, and PV system integrators in Germany, the United States, Italy, China, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan under the Yingli and Yingli Solar brand names. The company also offers its integrated PV systems directly to end-users or to contractors for use in the electricity projects, as well as to mobile communications companies in the People's Republic of China. Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Baoding, the People? s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) was also the beneficiary of a $165 million loan agreement with the China Development Bank, which is owned by the Chinese government. This includes a one-year, $110 million loan and a three-year, $55 million loan for working capital needs. Yingli is one of the most indebted companies in the industry, but the government doesn't look like it is willing to let it fail. �

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Shipment and margin trends aren't usually isolated to one Chinese solar manufacturer so it's easy to assume that other companies will see disappointing numbers in the first quarter. The first two to watch are Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) and Canadian Solar� (NASDAQ: CSIQ  ) , who round out the top three Chinese solar module suppliers with Trina. All three have high debt, low margins, and massive losses. �

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) is to be the supplier to a large-scale solar power plant in its home continent of Asia. The company announced it had reached a deal for its Singapore subsidiary to supply over 10 MW of its multicrystalline photovoltaic modules to a solar facility in Malaysia.

Top 5 Solar Companies To Watch For 2014: Peabody Energy Corporation(BTU)

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in the mining of coal. It mines, prepares, and sells thermal coal to electric utilities and metallurgical coal to industrial customers. The company owns interests in 30 coal mining operations located in the United States and Australia, as well as owns joint venture interest in a Venezuela mine. It is also involved in marketing, brokering, and trading coal. In addition, the company develops a mine-mouth coal-fueled generating plant; and Btu Conversion projects that are designed to convert coal to natural gas or transportation fuels; and clean coal technologies. As of December 31, 2011, it had 9 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) has faced similar problems from its vantage in the coal sector, with a 22% decline since this time last year leading to an 18% overall drop during the S&P 500's bull market. Low natural-gas prices in recent years have hurt the prospects for coal, especially domestically as utilities shift their electricity generation from coal-fired to gas-fired power plants. Export opportunities to Asia have given Peabody an advantage over its peers, though, as it has resources in Australia to provide shorter transport than U.S. companies with solely domestic production. Asia's appetite for coal is likely to continue, and Peabody is a natural way to take advantage of it.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Although China and India produce plenty of their own black gold, Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU  ) makes a pretty penny off of domestic production and coal exports to those two countries. The company is the leading exporter to China and India from its U.S. and Australian operations, and is setting itself up for significant growth opportunities.

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  Investors have certainly been "fearful" of the coal sector. The exchange traded fund for coal, Market Vectors Coal (NYSE: KOL), is off nearly 20 percent for the year. Stocks such as Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) and Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) are also down sharply for 2013. But Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) just surprised Wall Street in beating forecasts for the most recent quarter: as a result, its share price is up more than 7 percent for the week.

Top 5 Solar Companies To Watch For 2014: DAQQ New Energy Corp.(DQ)

Daqo New Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells polysilicon in China. The company sells its polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers for use in the processing of ingots, wafers, cells and modules for solar power solutions. It also produces and sells mono-crystalline and multi-crystalline modules to photovoltaic system integrators and distributors in China and internationally under its Daqo brand. The company was formerly known as Mega Stand International Limited and changed its name to Daqo New Energy Corp. in August 2009. Daqo New Energy Corp. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered Wanzhou, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ali Berri]

  In trading on Friday, energy shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.42 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Daqo New Energy (NYSE: DQ), up 9.4 percent, and Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE: GDP), up 6.2 percent.
  

Top 5 Solar Companies To Watch For 2014: Renesola Ltd.(SOL)

ReneSola Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of solar wafers and solar power products. It offers virgin polysilicons, monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar wafers, and photovoltaic cells and modules. The company also provides cell and module processing services. Its products are used in a range of residential, commercial, industrial, and other solar power generation systems. The company sells its solar wafers primarily to solar cell and module manufacturers. It principally operates in Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, and the United States. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Jiashan, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  There will be winners, though. Shares of polysilicon maker Renewable Energy fell 7% in trading immediately after the announcement because the company will likely see either lower prices or lower demand. But shares of GCL Poly, who manufactures in China and is the biggest polysilicon maker in the world, jumped 4% on Friday after the news was announced.�Renesola� (NYSE: SOL  ) and LDK Solar� (NYSE: LDK  ) also have lots of unused polysilicon capacity that will likely experience more demand because of the move. The question is if they have sufficient quality to supply the industry.

• [By John Kell var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(func]

  ReneSola Ltd.(SOL) said it is being probed as part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s antidumping investigation of solar products imports. The Chinese solar-products company said it has temporarily stopped shipping products to the U.S. that fall within the scope of the probe and it intends to fully cooperate with the investigation proceedings. Shares dropped 3.6% to $3.78 premarket.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  
  

  One under-$10 name that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is ReneSola (SOL), a manufacturer of solar wafers and producer of solar power products based in China. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up sharply by 183%.

  If you take a look at the chart for ReneSola, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending very strong for the last four months and change, with shares soaring higher from its low of $1.25 to its recent high of $4.85 a share. During that uptrend, shares of SOL have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of SOL have pulled back a bit during the last few weeks, with the stock coming off that high of $4.85 to its recent low of $3.52 a share. This stock has now started to bounce off that $3.52 low and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SOL if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $4.25 to $4.50 a share and then once it clears its 52-week high at $4.85 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 2.09 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then SOL will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $7 to $8 a share.

  Traders can look to buy SOL off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average of $3.31 a share. One can also buy SOL off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.