SunPower (SPWRA) saw an increase of more than 10% in its stock price on March 15. This trend was seen across almost all companies in the solar industry, including SunPower's competitors FirstSolar (FSLR), SuntechPower (STP), and Yingli Green Energy (YGE).

Our price estimate for SunPower's stock is at $14.41, about 10% below its current market price.

Shares of photovoltaic play Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (STP), first discussed here on July 28, 2009 at a price of $19.24, continues to exasperate, but I still like the shares. Here's why:

Look for Suntech's 2010 revenue to surge 30-40% on increased customer demand and better financing arrangements. Meanwhile, China's solar subsidy program, as well as U.S. government initiatives to invest in renewable energy, should continue to stimulate sector growth. On the downside, retail prices may drop slightly in 2010.

Readers of this space know that the preferred public policy has stance has the United States moving away from first dependency on oil imports, then dependency on oil, period.

And the reason is obvious enough: as convenient as oil has been, it's created havoc for the U.S. economy, via series of oil shocks. Hence, yours truly is always in search of that breakthrough, universal, accessible, affordable energy form that will final break oil's grip on the United States energy system. That breakthrough energy form has not appeared yet, but one that may contend for that title is natural gas.

The solar energy movement, so promising, has hit a speed bump. Just as solar's cost per kilowatt hour starts to become attractive, from a U.S. residential use standpoint, sure enough another roadblock has appeared.

The problem? Environmental concern about destroyed or altered vistas -- essentially sight pollution -- but also pollution that physically harms the environment.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein's, D-California, stated opposition to building in the Mojave Desert has effectively ended 13 big solar energy plants and wind projects there, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Sunny skies are here for Ausra, the solar thermal company backed by Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures. The company is looking for a buyer, and it's already talking to three, according to a report by Reuters. Everything is up for grabs, from a majority stake in the company to 100% of it, and the back-and-forth going on is at a "very aggressive level."

The businesses looking to pick up Ausra are said to be global power generation conglomerates but haven't been named yet. So, the clean energy company would be a way for one of them to diversify.

Investors hoping to ride the climate change bandwagon have had a roller coaster ride over the past two years. Greentech stocks soared with the oil spike in 2007 and 2008, then crashed with stock market and commodity price declines in 2009. Since then, some of the most obvious stock plays have strongly rebounded. Many solar stocks have posted high double-digit gains since rebounding off year-to-date lows in March 2009.

The leading solar panel manufacturer, FirstSolar (NASDAQ: FSLR) has appreciated by 45% from lows of near $100 to a closing price of $154 on October 14. "I wouldn't be stepping into buying these stocks right now," says Pacific Crest senior analyst Mark Bachman, who covers solar stocks. Still, he rates FirstSolar as a market perform and considers it the best solar stock at present on his coverage list.

"A smart grid is one of the holy grails of 'green' technology, enabling utilities to deliver resources when and where they're needed and reduce resources when they're not," says Brendan Coffey.

In The Cabot Green Investor, he explains, "There are larger companies in the smart metering arena, but Echelon (NASDAQ: ELON) has posted some significant wins in the marketplace recently and appears primed to generate more."

"Right now, grids are set up to provide as much power as needed at peak times, all the time. Studies show that when customers are part of a smart grid, and have more information to reduce energy usage, demand is slashed by up to 50%, particularly in areas where rates are discounted depending on the time of day.

"If there was ever a stock we can hold for a few years, natural gas company Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is it," says Ian Wyatt. Here's the latest from his Top Stock Insights.

"Chesapeake Energy is the largest independent natural gas company and most active driller of wells in the US. Its operating activities include the onshore exploration and production of natural gas.

"The Obama administration is keen on achieving energy independence for the US. Natural gas is a good option for energy, since it is inexpensive, clean and domestic. I believe the administration will continue to push natural gas as an alternative to oil, and create incentives for the industry.

General Electric Company (NYSE GE) plans to ramp up its solar power division. GE already has a foot in the market, but up to this point it has produced only $200 million in sales.

GE made a minor acquisition in the solar field with the purchase of Astropower, and it acquired a stake in PrimeStar Solar. Now GE is taking a long-term view of the energy market and sees it as a multi-billion dollar industry. Jeff Immelt, GE's chief executive officer, told the Financial Times that energy was "clearly one of the big industrial businesses filled with what I would call seismic change, whether it's clean energy or scarcity of resources."

"Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI), which is involved in the build-out of smart grids -- has been our radar screen for awhile," says growth stock expert Toby Smith.

In his ChangeWave Investing, he suggests, "As the top supplier of smart meters and meter infrastructure for the electricity industry, Itron is by far the best-positioned company for the smart grid build-out."

"The build-out of smart grids employs technologies that deployed across an energy grid which allow greater efficiency and flexibility during energy distribution and transmission.

"The cool thing about smart grids is that they are capable of isolating and better managing power outages and disruptions, integrating local power generating equipment, and avoiding electricity congestion or bottlenecks.

The U.S.'s country & western culture has a saying that goes, 'I was country, before country was cool.'

Well, billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens was "bullish on oil, before being an oil bull was cool." And, despite the bursting of the leverage-influenced oil bubble, during which oil plunged from $147 to below $40 in less than a year, Boone-Pickens is still bullish on oil, long-term.

"The solar sector has been notably weak, including First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR)," says Stephen Leeb. Despite the setback, the editor of The Complete Investor rates the stock a high risk buy.

"First Solar is one of the few whose earnings outperformed consensus estimates: its fourth-quarter results reported yesterday after the market's close were nearly 25% better than estimates.

"First Solar made $1.61 per share this past quarter; Wall Street was expecting $1.30 per share. Revenues were also ahead of estimates, although the company reduced 2009 revenue estimates by about 10%, citing short-term credit concerns for customers.

"American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) should benefit from an update of the nation's power grid," says Jim Powell.

Here, the editor of Global Changes & Opportunities Report reviews this leading manufacturer of more efficient high temperature superconductor-based wires and cables.

"I've been writing about infrastructure stocks ever since it became apparent that big federal spending programs were on the way. I believe American Superconductor will perform very well. In fact, its price has already started to rise.

"American Superconductor is not yet profitable. However, the company is well past the development stage. AMSC makes high temperature superconductor (HTS) wires and cables that carry as much as 150 times the current as conventional products of the same weight and diameter.

"President Obama has stated that he's been studying Roosevelt's first 100 days and the way out of the current economic mess will look a lot like the New Deal," says David Fessler.

The advisory panelist for The Oxford Club explains, "Seventy-five years after Roosevelt's inauguration, I think we will soon see President Obama get the ball rolling on his version of the New Deal, focused on two very specific areas: energy and infrastructure." Here, he looks at stocks poised to benefit.

"Saving energy will be one of his first initiatives. It's what will give us the quickest bang for our buck. Better insulation in homes, programmable thermostats, fluorescent bulbs, more fuel-efficient cars, energy management systems for use in larger-scale commercial buildings and beefed-up public transportation are just a few of the ways to save energy.

"The government will likely offer attractive tax incentives to rally support. So who stands to prosper from such initiatives?

"Big blue-chip companies, like Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), maker of insulated glass and building insulation; General Electric (NYSE: GE), manufacturer of wind turbines, energy control and infrastructure products; and Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI), maker of energy management systems (for buildings and vehicles) and hybrid vehicle batteries.

Shares of First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) have been pummeled this week, as analysts, starting with Citigroup (NYSE: C), downgrade the stock.

Previously, the stock had enjoyed high ratings, generally in the Buy or Accumulate range. With Citi leading the way, other analysts have followed suit with rating reductions.

Citi cited concerns regarding the amount of solar panel inventory waiting to be absorbed, along with worries about future demand.

By some estimates, only 10% of the solar panels in inventory at the end of the year will be taken up by the anticipated increased demand generated from the adoption of the Obama energy proposals. An additional 20% reduction of inventories is projected to result in 2010.

The market is not distinguishing among the companies in the solar panel manufacturing business. Regardless of the strength of an individual manufacturer, all are being treated with the same lack of enthusiasm by analysts and investors. A closer look at First Solar suggests that this should not be the case.

First Solar is a leading designer and manufacturer of solar modules using thin-film semiconductor technology, which converts sunlight to electricity. Based in Phoenix, Ariz., First Solar has long-term supply contracts with 12 European project developers and systems integrators.

The solar module industry has come into recent criticism for its impact on the environment. Concerns are being raised that the eventual disposal of solar panels will result in the emission of large amounts of greenhouse gasses as the semiconductors disintegrate.

First Solar, however, has established a model for extended producer responsibility, which creates an obligation of the producer to have policies and practice to ensure that the company takes responsibility for environmental consequences from cradle to grave. The company provides the purchaser of its products with a guarantee to take back all its panels at the end of their useful life.

First Solar has received acclaim for building concern for environmental impact into all phases of the manufacturing and recycling of its products.

FSLR stock is trading around $142 per share. Shares had rallied last week to $165 per share on the heels of President-elect Obama's energy proposals. The stock had increased in price by 76% from its 52-week low, and was approaching its 12-month target price of $167.70.

The sell-off of FSLR has been greatly overdone. The company's balance sheet is strong, with a long-term debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 3.23. The 21.84% on equity should also be of comfort to investors.

An additional plus for FSLR is the likelihood of a push to solar energy as part of the job stimulus program of the new administration.

Louis Navellier's PortfolioGrader Pro, which rates Wall Street stocks, rates FSLR a B or Buy.

Jamie Dlugosch is a contributor to NavellierGrowth.com.