Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Chinese power generation and wind turbine specialist A-Power Energy Generation Systems (Nasdaq: APWR) were charged up today, gaining as much as 14% in intraday trading on heavier-than-average volume.

So what: A-Power reported that it has signed a contract to work on a coal-based power plant for Inner Mongolia Huolinhe Coal Trade Group. The project is in the $600 million range and A-Power expects the plant to be fully operational by the end of 2015. The news is a breath of fresh air for A-Power investors after the stock took a beating following the company's third-quarter earnings report and questions over its relationship with General Electric (NYSE: GE).

Now what: The new project is definitely a nice win for A-Power, though it certainly doesn't answer many of the questions surrounding the company. Perhaps most pressing is whether the Spinning Star wind farm project in West Texas will get the funding it needs to begin construction, and thereby give A-Power's budding wind energy business a nice chunk of business. Since hitting the public markets, A-Power's stock has been manically volatile. While the stock is still a relatively speculative one, the current valuation is right near the bottom end of its historical range and if it falls a bit more, I might even start to consider it a bargain.

Want to keep up to date on A-Power? Add it to your watchlist.