The majority of investors, when considering stocks to buy, have given up on solar companies.
That's mostly due to a two-year beatdown of the sector and plenty of bad publicity from the demise of federally subsidized Solyndra.
But while the sector continues to suffer - more solar companies will likely go under in 2013 - a choice few are positioned to benefit from a rebound that will start this year.
One sure sign of better days ahead is that the sector has recently attracted interest from one of the world's most respected investors, Warren Buffett.
Just within the past month MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., a subsidiary of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B), announced a deal to pay SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR) between $2 billion and $2.5 billion for two California solar projects.
That followed MidAmerican's purchase of a 49% stake in an Arizona solar plant jointly owned by NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) and First Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR), as well as the $2 billion purchase of a planned solar farm in San Luis Obispo, CA, also from First Solar.
Here's why Buffett has taken an interest.
Solar power has continued to grow in popularity even while solar companies have struggled.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), U.S. solar installations grew from about 1.9 gigawatts in 2011 to 3.2 gigawatts in 2012. SEIA projects growth to nearly 4 gigawatts in 2013 and nearly 8 gigawatts by 2016.
Such growth hasn't helped solar stocks because oversupply of photovoltaic (PV) technology, which converts sunlight into energy, has kept prices falling, eroding profits.
That situation figures to improve in 2013.
"Prices will stabilize by the middle of next year," Glenn Gu, a senior PV analyst on price analysis for IHS Solar solutions, wrote in the IHS Solar Whitepaper for 2013.
He attributed the improvement "to a moderate cut in production" among top PV suppliers and "because some excess capacity in China - from ingot to cells - is also expected to leave the industry by mid-2013."
Chinese overproduction figures to fall this year because Beijing is growing weary of pouring money into its struggling solar industry. A few weeks ago, the State Council, China's cabinet, said it would encourage mergers and acquisitions among its solar companies by using "market pressure mechanisms."
In addition to the prospect of less Chinese competition, U.S. companies stand to benefit from rising demand here in the United States, particularly utility-scale projects.
The U.S. Department of the Interior in October finalized a program designed to encourage development of utility-scale solar projects on public lands in six Western states, several of which already have strong solar incentives.
Meanwhile, the drop in solar costs has made it more competitive with other forms of energy, adding to its inherent appeal versus fossil fuels as a "green" source of energy.
Taken together, it means now there are some solar stocks to buy - the better-run survivors that finally will begin to see some benefit from their endless efforts to cut costs and improve efficiencies.
Here are three solar stocks to buy that have an excellent chance to ride the coming rebound in solar:
power-generating company is focused on clean energy sources and is dramatically increasing its solar-generating capacity, already the highest in the United States. If its McCoy solar energy project on public land in California is approved, NextEra's total megawatt generation will increase from 320 MW to well over 1,000 MW. NEE trades at about $70.77 with a reasonable P/E of 13.74. This stock also has a dividend yield of 3.5%.
For more hot stocks to buy in 2013, check out this looming M&A wave set to deliver huge profits this year.
Related Articles and News:
[epom]
About the Author
David Zeiler, Associate Editor for Money Morning at Money Map Press, has been a journalist for more than 35 years, including 18 spent at The Baltimore Sun. He has worked as a writer, editor, and page designer at different times in his career. He's interviewed a number of well-known personalities - ranging from punk rock icon Joey Ramone to Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Over the course of his journalistic career, Dave has covered many diverse subjects. Since arriving at Money Morning in 2011, he has focused primarily on technology. He's an expert on both Apple and cryptocurrencies. He started writing about Apple for The Sun in the mid-1990s, and had an Apple blog on The Sun's web site from 2007-2009. Dave's been writing about Bitcoin since 2011 - long before most people had even heard of it. He even mined it for a short time.
Dave has a BA in English and Mass Communications from Loyola University Maryland.