21st Century Regenerative Technology

1. Borrego Gets Out of the Residential Solar Biz
2. Flurry of Federal, State Efforts to Kickstart U.S. Carbon Capture — Canada Next?

Borrego Gets Out of the Residential Solar Biz

2009-02-19 21:00

David Ehrlich - Big Green

Borrego Solar Systems has looked at its bottom line and decided to drop its residential solar power installation business and stick with commercial and government projects, which it said yesterday represented more than 75-percent of its new revenue last year. Don’t worry about that residential business, though; it’s not disappearing into the ether. Borrego’s residential business has been snapped up by groSolar, although the financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

borrego_installation

While residential projects could pick up under the new U.S. stimulus plan, El Cajon, Calif.-based Borrego is betting that its commercial and government markets will still outshine residential. In its release it said it expects the commercial and government markets to continue to outpace residential installations, and it plans to expand its sales and installation operations for commercial and government projects to the Mid-Atantic region, starting in New York and New Jersey. Borrego currently installs solar photovoltaic projects in California and New England.

With many homeowners facing foreclosure, businesses and municipalities could be in a better position to finance the largely high upfront costs of a solar installation. And consumers are just spending less in general, which means rooftop solar installations on homes will likely get hit this year.

But even if Borrego doesn’t want to play house anymore, White River Junction, Vt.-based groSolar is still a believer. The company said this deal will make it the fourth-largest residential solar power installer in the U.S. The residential solar market will likely see more consolidation like this — in difficult economic times, the big get bigger so they can weather the storm.

GroSolar, which handles solar thermal for water and air heating systems as well as solar PV, operates in 12 states and in Canada. The Borrego residential division that went to groSolar operates in California and Massachusetts, neither of which are new markets for groSolar, but the deal will expand groSolar’s distribution warehouse network, which it says is already the largest in the industry and in California.

In this economic climate it’s also surprising that the investment keeps flowing into solar installation companies. Borrego raised its first round of funding earlier this month, taking in $14 million in financing, but would only say that its investor was a “large corporation.” The backers of groSolar, including NGP Energy Technology Partners, SJF Ventures and the Calvert Social Investment Fund, have reportedly poured more than $16 million into the company.

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Flurry of Federal, State Efforts to Kickstart U.S. Carbon Capture —...

2009-02-19 19:01

Josie Garthwaite - Policy

Get ready for the carbon capture boom. Government funding for carbon capture and storage projects has ballooned in the last three months — and not just through the economic stimulus package, which increased federal support by 70 percent to $8 billion for demonstrations and deployment, according to a new report from Emerging Energy Research. The industry also has growing support at the state level, with new initiatives on the books in Illinois and Texas, and carbon capture legislation proposed in Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Kansas.

Yet another boost could come later this afternoon, when President Barack Obama and Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper are expected to unveil an “environmental deal,” likely related to carbon capture and storage technology, according to Canada’s CBC News. A White House official told the New York Times that the two countries will commit to sharing information about energy and technology, and will work more closely on research.

While President Obama’s talks with senior officials today in Ottawa are expected to center on economic issues — in particular, how to stabilize the financial sector and coordinate auto-industry bailouts — energy, climate change and clean technology will also come into play. CBC News noted last night:

When the president was asked about climate change during an exclusive interview with CBC News this week, he steered the conversation toward green technology and specifically referred to carbon capture. He described it as a way to reduce emissions without crippling the economy. “[If] Canada and the United States can collaborate on ways that we can sequester carbon capture greenhouse gases before they’re emitted into the atmosphere, that’s going to be good for everybody,” Obama said.

Not least of all for companies developing carbon capture and storage technology, a sector where investment could top $70 billion by 2030. According to EER, the six global supermajors — BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total — may stand to gain the most from that investment. But other, smaller players, such as the stealthy Sequoia-backed startup C12 Energy, are also looking to squirm into the market.

If Canada comes on board with anything like the provision for CO2 reuse added at the 11th hour to the U.S. economic stimulus bill, then carbon recyclers working with algae-based and other bioreactors could also find a new world of opportunities.