It seems that even the insiders have lost some of their faith in FSLR as Michael J. Ahearn has sold a substantial amount of FSLR shares. During the last week of February, he sold FSLR shares for about $162,8M. Mr. Ahearn is FSLR’s former CEO and current chairman.

On the other hand T.L. Kallenbach (EVP, Marketing & Prod. Mgmt.) has bought FSLR shares for $103K and the new CEO Robert J. Gillette has added FSLR shares for $1.05M in his portfolio.

Yesterday, FSLR was quoted at $133.12. During the last year, the stock price has fluctuated between $85.28 and $283.45.

Read more in First Solar, SCE sign PPA for 550 MW solar projects (Cleantech Group).

For example, IBM sees big opportunities in the water management. At the moment, the government stimulus programs in water sector in both USA and China is making the sector even more interesting for the global leader in technology.

According to IBM, leaks in water infrastructure account for up to 60 percent of water supplied. This costs worldwide $14 billion every year. (Source: Reuters)

This wind energy company’s stocks might be a good choice for green investors who understand the huge potential for renewable energy sector in China. The wind energy has huge potential for China and the market grows constantly.

Read more about the company in China Wind Power Starts Trading (SustainableBusiness) and China Wind Power starts trading on TSXV (Cleantech Group).

During the last trading days, the First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) has continued to fall after the company announced it would offer rebates to defend its position in the German market against sharp price cuts from competitors. The company’s stock has dropped 14 percent since that announcement. Yesterday the stock was quoted at $147.98. Read more in First Solar down on competition, exec share sales (Reuters).

GT Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:SOLR) reported its profit jumped 51% on surging margins and higher revenue. As the stock market analysts had expected more, the shares dropped 4.1% to $5.67 in after-hours trading.

Photo: Fernando Tomás

For the Q2, the company reported earnings of $7.8 million (5 cents a share). Revenue increased 26% to $71.8 million. Read more in GT Solar 1Q Profit Grows 51% On Higher Margins; Sales Miss (The Wall Street Journal).

Less than two weeks ago, we reported on Bosch acquiring ersol, a German PV company. The German Robert Bosch GmbH is continuing the aquisition of solar technology companies with Aleo Solar AG (ETR:AS1). Read more in Bosch looks to take 39.4 pct stake in Aleo Solar (Businessweek).

Read more in CleanTech Brief.

Links: Bosch übernimmt ersol komplett (in German)

Solar panels

Water differs from other commodities in an important aspect: water is a commodity that is not bought and sold in commodity exchanges, nor are there any derivatives for water. Thus it is impossible to invest directly in water – the green investors must invest in the companies building the infrastructure for fresh water or involved in the different chemical processes. As the water sector has few global players, often investing in exchange traded funds replicating a water index is the most cost-effective way to invest in water sector.

The water ETFs differ from each other in the expense ratio and the index the ETF seeks to replicate. There are several different indices for the stocks in water sector, slightly differing from each other. In the following, I’ll shortly introduce the water indices commonly used.

Janney Water Index (^JGI) is a composite index that embraces water companies from all over the world. As a result of this, it reflects not only the industry in the more mature economies, but includes development initiatives in emerging markets, as well. The composite index is divided into Janney Water Works (^JWW) and Janney Water Technology and Infrastructure (^JWT) indices. Both sub-indices embrace 30 companies. To be included in the index, at least one fourth of a company’s revenues must come from water-related activities. Overall, more than half of the total revenues of the companies included in the composite index are generated from water-related activities.

S&P Global Water Index is comprised of fifty largest companies in water-related businesses. The constituents are distributed equally between water utilities & infrastructure and water equipment & materials. Constituent weights are driven by size. Maximum weight for a stock is 10%. In order to be included in the index, the stock must have a total market capitalization above US $250 million, three-month average daily trading volume must be over 10,000 shares and the stock must be quoted on a developed market exchange.

The index is rebalanced after the closing of the last trading day of March and September of each year. No companies are added to the index between rebalancing. The index base date is November 16th, 2001, and the base value is 1000.

Palisades Water Indices are modified equal-dollar weighted indices that embrace companies worldwide that are engaged in the water industry. Palisades has developed two separate water indices, a Global Water Index (^PIIWI) and US Water Index (^ZVI). The Indexes are comprised of six sectors, each of which is assigned a weight based upon relative fundamentals. The Global Water Index embraces 55 companies and the US Water Index includes 32 companies.

Société Générale’s World Water Indices embraces fewer companies than Janney Water Index or S&P Global Water Index do. The WOWAX indices embrace twenty largest companies in the fields of water utilities, water infrastructure and water treatment. It is an equally weighted index, which means that the weight of each company is set at 5% on quarterly basis. WOWAXcw is, on the other hand, a market-cap weighted benchmark, with a cap at 10%. Both indices are rebalanced quarterly and reviewed twice every year.

In the future, it could be possible to provide almost free clean energy for everyone, suggests Joel Makover in an article  published by the BusinessWeek. This would become possible, as the homes and businesses become smarter and more self-sufficient regarding energy as we install solar and other renewable energy systems to generate power.  The energy would become abundant instead of being a scarce commodity. Read more in the BusinessWeek.