Environment News

Clean energy stocks are approaching a floor after European austerity measures and cheap U.S. natural- gas pushed wind and solar companies lower, Impax Asset Management Ltd. said.

ReneSola Ltd. has begun producing its own steel wire for slicing solar wafers and expects to handle 8,400 metric tons a year of output by the end of 2011, the Chinese company said today in a statement. The company expects significant savings compared with buying the wire from outside suppliers, it said. ReneSola also said it has developed a new generation of G6 casting furnaces with a capacity of 650 kilograms and annual output of 8 megawatts, compared with about 6 megawatts for its curent ovens.

First Solar Inc., the world’s biggest maker of thin-film solar modules, said second-quarter profit fell more than analysts expected as panel prices slumped. The shares sank 5.3 percent in after-hours trading.