Desert Rose Sinking

First Solar shares tumble and then rebound

Shares of First Solar Inc. fell, then rebounded in a rollercoaster day of trading Friday after the maker of solar panels said its proposed Topaz solar farm will meet a deadline for a loan guarantee of federal government by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Jefferies & Co. analyst Jesse Pichel said the controversy surrounding a loan of 528 million U.S. Department of Energy gave Solyndra Inc. in 2009 may be to delay the approval of loan guarantees now, because a Solyndra filed for bankruptcy this month.

Overall, shares of solar companies have taken a hit this year due to the global economic downturn, competition from cheaper Chinese competitors and reducing subsidies for solar energy in some European countries.

This year, the company's shares fell a fraction of what they once were. First Solar have fallen by 58 percent from their peak on April 1. In just the last week, its shares have lost about 22 percent of their value.

The spark: The Tempe, Arizonacompany said Thursday that its Topaz solar farm project meets the program and received a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee in June, but there was not enough time to address all the requirements before the deadline the September 30.

The Big Picture: First Solar said it was in advanced talks for the sale and financing the project with potential buyers who would not need a Ministry of loan guarantees for energy.

The farm of 550 megawatt solar plant in California should be built over the next three years and the first modules use solar plants in Ohio and Arizona.Once completed, the Topaz solar farm will generate enough electricity to power about 160,000 homes.

Meanwhile, the company's 230 megawatts Antelope Valley Ranch a solar project and the proposed 550 megawatt desert sun, which has also received conditional commitments, could still receive loan guarantees, First Solar said.

Analysis: Pichel maintained his "Buy" rating for the company and said he still thinks the project Topaz will always eventually be sold, probably to a utility, even without the loan guarantee.And the impact on the purchase price will be minimal, if the purchasing company has a solid credit rating.

Desert Rose: We're sinking and the engine won't start

On the transom (stern) Desert Rose is a tubular structure that has a rudder on the bottom (we have two rudders), a pole mount and what looks like a rectangular box of sheet metal meccano. This is the autopilot vane. Each yacht that spotted the ports has ooohed and ahhed about how good they are. I am still convinced ... In short, we discovered that the speed of the boat pushes the stern a few bolts and go underwater. During the heavy weather we had in the first two days some of them came loose and they are now leaking. Brilliant.The question is how to hold the bolt head during tightening of the nut inside the hull. Someone has to go to the stern and someone must go into the galley - I do not fit into the caboose. We are now waiting for a sunny calm day! Back on the watch at midnight I contemplated how we could continue without electricity. In fact, it's not so bad: our GPS work on batteries so we can sail, we have a manual water pump so we can drink and have an oil lamp that we can see at night (plus torches ). The only thing we would not be able to do is to communicate to the outside world by satellite phone.I contemplated calling Woody and tell him to put a message on the blog site: "You will not hear from us for the next 3 weeks, but do not worry!" However, as these thoughts snaked through the brain on a dark night and windy I went back to what we had done to the engine since we had the day off when it worked very well. Nothing. I was just wondering: I pulled and pushed the lever to kill some time and then click the starter button. Bang, she left. Sheeeez relief!

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