FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Plunging prices for solar cells and writedowns on its plants and inventories led German solar company Q-Cells to reveal a gigantic loss in the second quarter, sending its shares tumbling.

“We’ve been hit very hard by the market environment,” Chief Executive Nedim Cen said in a conference call on Wednesday, pointing to weak demand in Germany, the world’s No.1 solar market, and resulting low capacity utilisation.

FRANKFURT, Aug 10 (Reuters) – E.ON (EONGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s
largest utility by sales, joined peers in posting weak half-year
results as Germany’s decision to abandon nuclear power forced it
to slash its profit outlook, its dividend and up to 11,000 jobs.

E.ON said on Wednesday it now expected 2011 adjusted
earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)
of 9.1-9.8 billion euros ($12.8-13.8 billion), down from a
previous outlook range of 10.7-11.4 billion.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Europe’s biggest solar company is unlikely to meet profit margin forecasts this year, analysts say, as demand in its largest markets collapses and global competitors start to force down prices.

SMA Solar has long been seen as a cash cow for the sector, treating investors to margins near 30 percent. It is the world’s biggest maker of inverters, which feed solar power from daylight-converting panels into electricity grids.

LOS ANGELES/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Solar investors should brace themselves for some downright dreadful second-quarter earnings reports in the coming weeks, though the rest of the year may provide some relief to battered solar stocks as panel prices stabilize and profit margins recover.

The solar market likely bottomed in the second quarter after pullbacks in subsidies in No. 2 solar market Italy stalled development of projects there this spring, creating an oversupply of solar panels in the market and sparking a more than 20 percent drop in prices.

LOS ANGELES/FRANKFURT, July 29 (Reuters) – Solar investors
should brace themselves for some downright dreadful
second-quarter earnings reports in the coming weeks, though the
rest of the year may provide some relief to battered solar
stocks as panel prices stabilize and profit margins recover.

The solar market likely bottomed in the second quarter
after pullbacks in subsidies in No. 2 solar market Italy
stalled development of projects there this spring, creating an
oversupply of solar panels in the market and sparking a more
than 20 percent drop in prices.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German insurer Allianz will decide before the end of the year whether it will add offshore wind parks to its renewable energy portfolio.

“Offshore wind offers significant opportunities to deploy more capital and we’re certainly looking at it,” David Jones, chief executive of Allianz Specialised Investments, a unit of Europe’s biggest insurer, told Reuters in an interview.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Snatching up a well-managed and profitable solar company has crept up the agenda of every global energy player trying to expand its solar portfolio in a post-Fukushima world.

The nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant in the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami in March, and Germany’s subsequent decision to pull out of nuclear power completely, has given extra impetus to the argument for renewable energy.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Snatching up a well-managed and profitable solar company has crept up the agenda of every global energy player trying to expand its solar portfolio in a post-Fukushima world.

The nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant in the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami in March, and Germany’s subsequent decision to pull out of nuclear power completely, has given extra impetus to the argument for renewable energy.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany is set to turn back to coal, gas and imports to fill the energy chasm left by its fast-track exit of nuclear power, refusing to boost green power and threatening its efforts to lower emissions.

The government permanently shut eight nuclear power plants immediately after the Fukushima crisis in Japan, and is closing the remaining nine in stages up to 2022.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany is set to turn back to coal, gas and imports to fill the energy chasm left by its fast-track exit of nuclear power, refusing to boost green power and threatening its efforts to lower emissions.

The government permanently shut eight nuclear power plants immediately after the Fukushima crisis in Japan, and is closing the remaining nine in stages up to 2022.