ReneSola Ltd
SOL
recently completed the sale of a portfolio of four solar development projects, situated in the state of Maine, to Greenbacker Renewable Energy. The portfolio has a total generation capacity of 12 megawatt-direct current (MWdc).
The aforementioned transaction should further strengthen ReneSola’s position in the rapidly growing U.S. solar market and bolster its operational results.
ReneSola’s Place in the U.S. Solar Market
With growing demand over the past few months, the U.S. solar industry has been witnessing a solid upside lately, overcoming the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is evident from the latest installation trend prevalent in the nation. For instance, as stated by Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), in second-quarter 2021, the U.S. solar market installed just 5.7 gigawatt-direct current (GWdc) of solar capacity, reflecting a solid 45% improvement year over year. It also represented the largest second quarter on record for solar installation in the nation.
The aforementioned statistics reflect the initiatives taken by U.S. solar players like ReneSola that have contributed to such a solid installation trend in recent times.
The United States continues to be a large and lucrative market for ReneSola. As of Jun 30, 2021, the company had mid-to-late-stage projects of 470 MW in the United States.
Looking Ahead
Per the latest forecasts made by Wood Mackenzie, the United States will average just over 29 GW of new annual solar capacity additions through 2026.
ReneSola’s projects are under development in the states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California. ReneSola is also actively evaluating opportunities in both solar-plus-storage and independent storage facility solutions in the United States.
Considering the growth projections for the U.S. solar market, the aforementioned project pipeline of ReneSola is expected to reap benefits in the coming days.
Peer Moves
To reap the benefits of the growing U.S. solar market, other solar players apart from ReneSola are also making notable efforts to expand their footprints in the market.
For instance, in August 2021,
First Solar
FSLR
broke ground on its third manufacturing facility in Ohio, which comes with a 3.3 GWdc capacity. Once fully operational, the facility is expected to scale up the company’s Northwest Ohio footprint to a total annual capacity of 6 GWDC, which is believed to make it the largest fully vertically integrated solar manufacturing complex outside China.
Notably, First Solar reported third-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 42 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 33.3%. In the past six months, the stock has gained a solid 55%.
In October,
SunPower
SPWR
purchased Blue Raven Solar, one of the fastest-growing residential solar providers in the United States. This transaction is likely to have enabled SunPower to serve more customers in underpenetrated areas including the Northwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.
SunPower reported third-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of 6 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 cents by a whopping 200%. In the past six months, the stock has gained a solid 46.2%.
In November,
Enphase Energy
ENPH
announced the enhancement of its partnership with Your Energy Solutions, a Northern California-based residential clean energy systems installer and service provider, for providing its battery storage systems.
Enphase’s third-quarter adjusted earnings of 60 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 27.7%. In the past six months, the stock has gained a solid 112.5%.
Price Performance & Zacks Rank
ReneSola’s shares have gained 88.1% in the past year, outperforming the
industry
’s growth of 22.8%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ReneSola currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
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