Historically, tumultuous times offer some of the best opportunities to buy stocks, and the market's recent mess surely qualifies. There are many stocks that have been unduly beaten down, and some investors think solar component and systems maker SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) is one of them.

In our Motley Fool CAPS community, nearly 89% of the 1,569 members rating the company are bullish, so there's no shortage of reasons why SunPower will thrive, three of which I've highlighted below.

But here at the Motley Fool, we're all for looking at both the good and the bad sides of an investment. Once you're done with this article, you can read the case against SunPower, weigh in with your own comments, or rate SunPower yourself in CAPS.

1. Strong U.S. presence
Big growth in U.S. demand is expected in the years ahead as state and federal initiatives push the country to the leading edge of the solar revolution. SunPower's systems can already be found on the rooftops of major U.S. retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT), and the company has a strong pipeline of projects with utility companies such as Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL). While Chinese companies like Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE) want a manufacturing footprint here in the U.S., SunPower plans to significantly expand its domestic manufacturing facilities.

2. Improving outlook
For SunPower, demand has been increasing more than previously expected recently -- better than it was when the company announced its latest earnings. SunPower expects a 40% increase in third-quarter revenue and earnings per share compared with the second quarter, and it's also more optimistic about the financing environment, as evidenced by a recent deal with Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC).

3, International growth
While U.S.-based First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) is hunting for growth in China, SunPower is setting up manufacturing in Europe, so that products can be made closer to the company's end customers. Like Suntech Power (NYSE:STP), SunPower has experienced sales dropping off in Spain, and now countries such as France, Italy, and Germany are becoming relatively more important sources of revenue.

To see details of what CAPS members are saying now about SunPower, just click on over to Motley Fool CAPS and have a look -- or add your own thoughts directly to this story in the comments box below.