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1. The Daily Sprout
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2. Competition for Green Power Could Sink Utilities' Eco Programs
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3. Nissan's ECO Pedal Pushes for Better Mileage
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4. LG and Waste Management To e-Cycle LG Gear for Free
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5. GM Gives a Nod to Natural Gas Vehicles — Pickens Smiling Somewhere
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6. What Obama's Energy Speech Means for Cleantech
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7. Two More Green Startups Join IPO Queue
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8. Tesla Hires CFO, Takes Another From Detroit
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9. The Daily Sprout
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10. From the Sucks to Be You Dept: GT Solar
The Daily Sprout
Craig Rubens - Misc
Ontario Poised to Steal California’s Cleantech Crown?: The Canadian province has lured numerous cleantech startups north with billions in infrastructure upgrades, municipal clean power purchases and green collar job training - VentureBeat.
Romm Calls Obama’s Proposal “A Real Energy Plan”: Romm writes unequivocally: “This is easily the best energy plan ever put forward by a nominee of either party.” He then labels McCain’s plan as “Nothing but Nukes” - Huffington Post.
Louts Engineers Make Electric Car Noisier: Tapping into their active noise cancellation technology, Lotus engineers have synthesized automobile sounds to make it easier to hear electric cars coming toward you for safety reasons - Green Car Congress.
Akeena Solar Opens East Coast Operations: Residential solar installer Akeena Solar will expand to the east coast with a Connecticut office to serve customers in the New England and New York areas. As fertile markets like California begin to saturate we’ll likely see installers moving out to claim new territory - Press Release.
Competition for Green Power Could Sink Utilities' Eco Programs
Celeste LeCompte - Energy
After the Florida Public Service commission excoriated Florida Power and Light for “mismanagement” of its nationally recognized green power program, Sunshine Energy, the utility was forced to shutter its program last week.
The PSC’s drastic decision caught many in the utility green power business off guard. FPL’s program has consistently ranked among NREL’s Top 10 Utility Green Power Programs for both total renewable energy sales (No. 4, as of December 2007) and total customers enrolled (No. 6). The program also just narrowly missed being in the Top 10 of programs with the lowest premiums, with a relatively low 0.9 cents per kilowatt-hour charge. The program’s 37,184 participants paid premium pricing to support a total of 42.6 average megawatts of renewable generating capacity, or more than 10,000 kilowatt-hours a piece.
The Florida PSC news release cited the program’s high marketing and administrative costs — as much as 80 percent of proceeds from the premium pricing — as a major factor in its decision. But Cindy Muir, director of the office of public information at the PSC, told us that the decision was also based on the commission’s belief that “a voluntary program has kind of had its day in the sun.”
Florida recently signed a new energy bill into law that has tasked the PSC with drafting a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Historically, states with green power programs are more likely to also have a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), according to NREL. But that once-happy correlation could soon prove challenging for voluntary programs, which will face increasing competition for both project development and renewable energy credits from utilities scrambling to meet RPS mandates. And that’s an issue that could soon have bearing for green power programs throughout the country.
Renewable energy credits can only be purchased from “new” renewables (those developed since 1997) and many of the credits available from both operating and under-construction projects are already spoken for, a situation that seems likely to worsen. A December 2007 NREL report (PDF) on green power marketing in the United States suggests that the growing number of Renewable Portfolio Standards across the United States could begin affecting the availability and pricing of “new” renewable energy projects as soon as 2010, when state RPS requirements ramp up. NREL projects that demand could outstrip supply by as much as 28 million MWh.
Thor Hinckley, green power program manager for Portland General Electric (a Top 10 program that also works with Green Mountain Energy, the green power marketer under scrutiny from the Florida PSC), says regional resources costs have jumped 20 percent annually over the last few years. Hinckley attributes that price increase in part to competition with RPSs in Oregon, Washington, and California.
While utility green power programs can help boost public opinion and financial support for renewable energy, NREL has long warned that the voluntary green power market is a slow way to generate cash flow for increasing capacity. And when it comes to using those funds for local development, not all states are created equal when it comes to wind, solar thermal and geothermal resources, and even in areas where such resources are abundant, such projects can take years to complete, with issues from siting to financing to materials shortages causing delays.
Nissan's ECO Pedal Pushes for Better Mileage
Craig Rubens - Big Green
Even hypermilers, the fiercely efficient drivers who stretch a tank of gas as far as humanly and automotively possible, might chafe at Nissan’s latest attempt to increase the efficiency of their cars. The Japanese auto giant unveiled the ECO Pedal yesterday, a “driver assistance” device that calculates your optimal acceleration and pushes back on the accelerator if your lead foot is weighing a little too heavily on the pedal. Nissan says the device can improve a car’s fuel efficiency 5 to 10 percent and plans to commercialize the feature in 2009.
The device is fed fuel consumption and transmission efficiency data to figure out the most fuel-efficient acceleration and cruising rates. The pedal’s push-back mechanism is linked to an in-dash display that blinks and changes colors when you’re leaning a little heavy on the gas. Hypermilers know smooth and steady acceleration is a good way to save fuel, but having your car fight back doesn’t sound like a pleasurable driving experience.
Still, the device shows that automakers are thinking outside the box when it comes to increasing their cars’ fuel efficiency. Nissan has a “triple-layer” approach that includes addressing driver behavior (which the ECO Pedal does), vehicle technology and traffic conditions to improve efficiency. But don’t worry. If you’ve got some fancy get-away driving to do you can switch the system off and put the pedal to the metal, efficiency be damned!
LG and Waste Management To e-Cycle LG Gear for Free
Celeste LeCompte - Big Green
If you’re a consumer electronics maker, how do you promote e-cycling, and your gear too? Help launch a e-cycling program — but have only your gear picked up for free.
LG and Waste Management yesterday announced a partnership to encourage consumer e-waste recycling through Waste Management’s Recycle America program; consumers can drop off up to five LG-owned brand electronics, like TVs, audio equipment, VCRs, and set-top boxes, for recycling free of charge. The program only covers LG’s brands, including Zenith and GoldStar products.
Other items can be dropped off at Waste Management collection sites, but customers will have to foot the bill. (Though there are already programs for free recycling of cell phones, GPS gadgets and PDAs,). While the release makes no mention of the terms of the deal, we’re thinking LG is likely subsidizing the costs of the program.
Electronics recycling is gaining steam with manufacturers seeking brand-halo through green programs, as well as the growth of government-led initiatives such as EPEAT (Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool), which provides benchmarks for gadget recyclability and environmental impact. LG currently has just 13 monitors certified to the program’s Bronze level. (Sony, which launched a similar recycling program with Waste Management last year, has more than 120 Silver-level products.)
Waste Management currently accepts e-waste for recycling at 150 locations across the country in 42 states. The company says it expects to include recycling sites in all 50 states by September.
GM Gives a Nod to Natural Gas Vehicles — Pickens Smiling Somewhere
Katie Fehrenbacher - Big Green
All of the noise coming from the T. Boone Pickens camp over ramping up natural gas vehicles in the United States seems to be having some effect on the companies leading the remake of transportation. Or at least it’s creating a conversation out there. Recently GM Vice President, Research & Development Larry Burns wrote a post on the company’s blog that is surprisingly positive about GM’s position on using natural gas for vehicles, given that GM has been pushing biofuels and its Volt program far more than it’s led any discussion of natural gas vehicles.
Burns writes that natural gas powered transportation is “enticing because it is abundant, affordable and relatively clean,” and says GM already has “extensive experience with natural gas vehicles.” He’s talking about the Opel Zafira, a compressed natural gas vehicle for the European market, which doesn’t sound all that extensive of experience.
One of the most interesting bits is that Burns writes that GM is
exploring a dual-fuel approach with natural gas and gasoline for U.S. customers. While we are not ready to commit to a future production plan, we are taking a serious look at natural gas in the U.S. as yet another way to diversify our portfolio of affordable and sustainable transportation energy solutions.
Beyond dual-fuel natural gas cars, Burns says natural gas can be used to create electricity for the Volt, though doesn’t go into any details on that.
But getting customers to drive natural gas vehicles requires more than just design of the cars; it requires building out the infrastructure, too. Perhaps GM is willing to do for natural gas what it’s started to do for biofuels — invest in promoting the distribution.
And if GM actually does take natural gas seriously, they’re going to want government help. Burns says: “Governments will likely need to provide incentives to encourage early adoption of the technology and to jump-start the fueling infrastructure.”
What Obama's Energy Speech Means for Cleantech
Craig Rubens - Policy
Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama laid out a vision of America’s energy future yesterday in a speech from Lansing, Mich., in the automotive heartland. Speaking at Michigan State University, Obama presented his New Energy for America Plan in which he added several new concrete goals for America’s energy future and reiterated a number of previous stances.
One of Obama’s carefully phrased new goals needs some parsing: “[I]n 10 years, we will eliminate the need for oil from the entire Middle East and Venezuela.” It’s important to note that “the Middle East and Venezuela” represented just 30 percent of America’s oil imports last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. Still, a third of the $700 billion we pay to import oil annually is a start.
Obama’s plan to achieve this goal comprises three steps, dispersing $150 billion over 10 years to build a new energy future:
- Put 1 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, made in America, on the road by 2015.Obama proposes granting $4 billion in loans and tax credits to the sputtering American auto industry to retool its assembly lines. This proposal was released concurrently with a new ad by the Obama camp that blasts McCain for wanting to give $4 billion in tax breaks to the oil industry. Obama also wants to see a $7,000 tax credit for consumers buying these plug-in electrics.
- Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.By extending the production tax credit to five years, Obama hopes to boost wind, solar and geothermal energy production. He reiterated his goal to produce 6 billion gallons of “sustainable, affordable biofuels” by 2022. Obama also lumped clean-coal into his list of clean energies and called for five test facilities with carbon capture and sequestration technology. He also made mention of researching nuclear waste disposal. To spur all this innovation he promised “billions in loans and capital to entrepreneurs who are willing to create clean energy businesses and clean energy jobs right here in America.” Lastly, to clean our electricity, Obama wants to invest an undisclosed sum in upgrading our electrical grid.
- Reduce America’s need for electricity 15 percent by 2020. Through energy efficiency programs, Obama says we can save $130 billion on energy bills. Obama complimented California, land of the rolling blackout, for its leadership in restructuring utility economics: “We’ll follow the lead of California and change the way utilities make money so that their profits aren’t tied to how much energy we use but how much energy we save.”
Two More Green Startups Join IPO Queue
Kevin Kelleher - Big Green
Following recent news that two solar companies were braving listings in public markets, two more bold candidates recently threw their hats into the ring.
One of them is STR Holdings, short for Specialized Technology Research. The Enfield, Conn.,-based company has two lines of revenue: It makes encapsulants to secure and protect semiconductor circuits in solar modules, and it runs a consumer-products quality assurance business. The solar encapsulant business made up 45 percent of revenue last year, and the quality-assurance arm made up 55 percent.
STR had combined revenue of $61.3 million in the first quarter of 2008, nearly double the $31.3 million that it made in the year-ago quarter. Net income didn’t grow twice as fast. It delivered a net profit of $3.8 million in the March 2008 quarter compared with $2.8 million a year earlier.
It’s not very clear how a solar-component maker and a consumer-goods quality assurance service tie together, but what is a little clearer is that the solar business has much higher gross margins (about 50 percent versus 25 percent for quality assurance). So although STR has been in the quality assurance business since 1973, the solar side of things is shoring up overall profit.
But at least STR is profitable, which is more than can be said for the other newcomer: First Wind Holdings, a Newton, Mass., wind-power company. Wind power is a capital-intensive business at first, but has longer-term potential to deliver profits as the alternative-energy grows more common.
Even so, the losses at First Wind seem daunting. The company has racked up an aggregate $138 million in losses since 2003. And although it didn’t start making revenue until 2005, it’s only made $37 million in revenue through March 31, 2008. First Wind has borrowed a lot of money, which it’s hoping to pay some off with this offering.
Last week saw GT Solar go public and fare badly. GT waded into a turbulent market facing terrible economic news. Its underwriters overvalued the IPO and some are accusing it of merely wanting to cash out insiders rather than benefiting new investors.
Still, the financials of GT Solar looked stronger than either of these new candidates. If GT is getting slapped around, how do you think the market will tolerate weaker offerings?
Tesla Hires CFO, Takes Another From Detroit
Katie Fehrenbacher - Startups
Electric vehicle startup Tesla Motors has coaxed away another top tier exec from Detroit. The San Carlos, Calif.-based company has hired Ford exec Deepak Ahuja as its Chief Financial Officer, the company said late Monday. Ahuja, who moved from Michigan to Silicon Valley for the Tesla position, worked for 15 years at Ford, most recently as the controller for Ford's small cars product development program.
This is the second exec from Detroit in as many months, as the startup looks to ramp up production of its Roadster and move its Model S into production. In July Tesla said it had hired a 24-year Chrysler exec Mike Donoughe as its EVP Vehicle Engineering and Manufacturing, to oversee the development of both the Roadster and 'Model S' program.
Tesla CEO Ze’ev Drori said:
"The addition of another seasoned auto industry executive to the senior management team at Tesla demonstrates that Tesla is focused on combining the best of what Detroit and Silicon Valley has to offer in building the next great American automobile company."
Then there’s the other reason why some companies hire CFO’s. The firm could be deciding to go public some time soon; back in February, Tesla told us that an IPO could occur as early as 2009. The startup does need someway to finance all of its production plans.
The Daily Sprout
Craig Rubens - Misc
Silicon Valley Startups and Titans Bask in the Sunlight: While solar startups are scrambling to secure funding and prove their technology, tech giants like Intel, Applied Materials and National Semiconductor don’t intend to let the multibillion dollar potential of the solar industry pass them by - SiliconValley.com.
A Third of China’s Emissions Due to Exports: For developed countries, cleaning up emissions has meant shipping dirty manufacturing processes overseas. A lot of it has wound up in China and economists now estimate that a full third of China’s carbon footprint, representing 6 percent of the globe’s total carbon emissions, are expended on goods exported back to the developing world and elsewhere - NewScientist.
Go Fly a Kite to Tap High Altitude Winds: The energy potential of wind is related to the cube of its velocity, making speedier winds far more energetic. Scientists in the Netherlands have successfully tested a kite that generated 10 kilowatts of power and claim they can boost that to 100 megawatts - Guardian.
Tesla Founder Loves His New Tesla: Telsa founder Martin Eberhard says he’s already put over a thousand miles on his brand-spanking new Tesla and has been passing “slow pokes” on Skyline Boulevard. But he isn’t a fan of the “horrible” radio and nav system - Tesla Founders Blog.
From the Sucks to Be You Dept: GT Solar
Katie Fehrenbacher - Big Green
What’s worse than getting getting ditched by a high profile customer the same week your company does an IPO? Having a series of class-action lawsuits continue to stamp on your newly public stock. That’s what’s happening to GT Solar.
The silicon solar gear maker went public two weeks ago, and after pricing its shares at $16.50, saw its stock close down almost 12 percent the day of its debut. Then the day after that, GT Solar’s shares slumped as much as 36 percent to change hands for $9.30 after it was revealed that customer LDK Solar had inked an agreement to buy equipment from GT Solar competitor JYT Corp.
And now things have gotten worse. Last Friday, law firms began filing a series of suits claiming that GT Solar didn’t properly disclose the risk of losing LDK’s business. GT Solar fell 10 percent today to close at $10.64.
The worst part about it, could be what the Boston Globe claims was the company’s IPO motivation:
GT Solar didn’t need money, choosing to go public only so private investors who bankrolled the company could cash out some of their investment. All $500 million raised in the IPO went to them.
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