Suntech says solar demand has turned up (in the last month, particularly in Germany)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE5874TB20090908

Suntech says solar demand has turned up

Tue Sep 8, 2009 3:03pm EDT

By Nichola Groom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Global demand for solar power has improved substantially in the last month, led by top solar market Germany, Suntech Power Holding Co Ltd Chief Strategy Officer Steven Chan said on Tuesday.

That improvement, Chan added, gives the Chinese solar panel maker more confidence that it can meet its 2009 shipment goal. Last month, Suntech had cut its forecast for 2009 solar cell shipments for the second time this year.

"Maybe about a month ago the markets were still slower than we would have liked, but as of the past month -- and this has been led principally by Germany -- we have seen the market pick up," Chan said at the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit in San Francisco. "Suntech and others in the market are quite busy right now. We are doing everything we can to ship as much product as we can to our customers. That will probably last for most of this year."

Following Chan's comments, Suntech shares rose more than 6 percent after having been up about 3.3 percent earlier.

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