Suntech Breaks Into Solar-Power Financing

Last month, Suntech said it had begun building a new solar cell factory in Yangzhou, China. The company expects the factory to make as much as 300 megawatts of solar cells by the end of 2009. With the new factory, the company's total capacity will reach 1.4 gigawatts in 2009 and 2 gigawatts by the end of 2010.

The announcement didn't lift Suntech's stock however.

Shares fell 17 percent to $30.21 per share in recent [Thursday, Oct. 2] trading as the financial market turmoil, compounded by the uncertainty of a $700 billion government bailout plan and nearly $18 billion in renewable-energy tax credits, has caused investors to be wary of solar stocks (see Senate Sends Energy Tax Credits Back to House).

Suntech and other major solar companies such as SunPower (SPWR Quote) and First Solar (FSLR Quote) all saw their shares dropping by roughly 8 percent to 10 percent during recent trading.