Energy

MEMC's Solar Christmas Order (WFR, XEL)

If anyone in the solar space could use an order for Christmas, it is MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR).  The company’s SunEdison solar services unit, just received an order from Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) in its Southwestern Public Service Company.  The order is for New Mexico and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2011.  The five photovoltaic installations represent a 50 megawatt order that will generate enough electricity to power 10,000 homes.

This order is part of Xcel’s renewable standards in the state to meet 15% of the public utility’s electricity needs by 2015 and 20% by 2020.  The facilities will be built, financed and maintained by SunEdison in a 20-year solar power services agreement with Xcel Energy.

It is hard to tell if this will be enough of an order for analysts to juice up estimates at all.  As of today, the Fiscal DEC-2010 consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters are $0.84 EPS and $1.60 billion in revenues.  This has so far hardly been able to move the bar for MEMC.  Its stock is up 1.5% at $13.32, and the 52-week trading range is $11.32 to $21.36.

JON C. OGG

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