Classifying the Top Utility-Scale PV Developers in the United States : Greentech Media

Classifying the Top Utility-Scale PV Developers in the United States : Greentech Media

The twelve project developers with the largest pipelines all share one thing in common: access to a large balance sheet

Assessing the size of the utility-scale PV pipeline in the U.S. is a highly subjective process. If you were to aggregate every project announcement, you'd find well over 10 GW of projects in various stages of development throughout the country. The BLM recently agreed to fast-track its review of 14 solar projects that alone add up to 6.5 GW, and prospective project developers are trawling much of the Western United States signing land leases for new projects.
But most of these projects will never be built. They'll run across siting, permitting, and interconnection hurdles. They'll have trouble signing PPAs at sufficient prices. Or they'll overcome the prior constraints and still be unable to close financing.
At GTM Research, we maintain a database of utility-scale PV projects in the U.S. We try to include only projects that have a reasonable chance of success given their current stage of development and their developer's track record. This whittles the total pipeline down to a more manageable 2.8 GW of projects that are likely to start generating power at some time in the next four years.
92 percent of this pipeline lies in the hands of the top twelve developers, indicating how consolidated the market remains today. Furthermore, a closer look at these twelve developers reveals that they all share a single characteristic: access to a large balance sheet. This enables them to contribute their own equity to projects, which in turn loosens the purse strings of lenders and tax equity providers.
So in an attempt to make sense of the fractured utility-scale PV market in the U.S., here is a breakdown of the top twelve project developers according to their source of balance sheet strength.


Source: GTM Research
Vertically Integrated Manufacturers
First Solar, Sunpower and BP Solar USA all have strong internal balance sheets through their own PV manufacturing operations (BP obviously also has a much larger balance sheet through its fossil fuel activities).
First Solar has, by far, the largest project pipeline, with three multi-hundred megawatt projects contracted through PPAs with California utilities (Sunlight, Stateline and Topaz) and three smaller utility-scale projects. First Solar's strategy is to build projects and then sell them prior to, or immediately upon, commencing operation. Most recently, First Solar sold its 21 MW Blythe project to NRG in November 2009. At least one of the larger projects may run across insurmountable hurdles in development. But given its track record and access to capital, First Solar gets the benefit of the doubt here.
Sunpower entered the project development game in 2006 with its acquisition of Powerlight, and has since used its downstream arm as a mechanism to create additional demand for its own modules. In contrast to First Solar, Sunpower is willing to own and operate projects, as well as developing them. Sunpower was one of the lucky few developers to raise a large project fund in 2009, with $100 million in tax equity coming from Wells Fargo in June. Its largest project in development is the 250 MW California Valley Solar Ranch, which is expected to be completed in 2012.
Gemini Solar, which is a joint venture between Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and Suntech Power, could fit in a number of these categories depending on how you classify it; I'll place it here because of the Suntech connection. Gemini's first project, a 30 MW system built through a PPA with Austin Energy, is expected to come online this year.
BP Solar USA makes the list because of a single project: the 37 MW system to be constructed at Brookhaven National Labs through a PPA with the Long Island Power Authority in New York.
Private Equity-Backed Developers
NextLight Renewable Power LLC was founded by Energy Capital Partners, a private-equity firm with over $3 billion in funds under management. Although its projects have yet to generate any power, Nextlight's huge pipeline and management team (which has deep roots in the energy project development business) have placed it as an early leader in large-scale project development. Nextlight owns another of the largest projects in our database, the 230 MW AV Solar Ranch One project, which has a PPA from PG&E. It is expected to be completed in 2013.
Recurrent Energy vaulted into the top twelve just this week with its announcement of 50 MW of PPAs from Southern California Edison. The PPAs are comprised of three utility-scale DG projects that are expected to be completed in early 2013. Recurrent raised $75 million in corporate equity in July 2008 from Hudson Clean Energy Partners, a private equity firm with over $1 billion in management. This enabled Recurrent to purchase a 350 MW pipeline from UPC Solar in March 2009, a bold gambit in the midst of an economic crisis.
Developers Owned by Larger European Renewable Energy Developers:
Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and GA-Solar both benefit from ownership by larger renewable energy project developers, both in terms of balance sheet strength and project development experience.
Renewable Ventures was purchased from MuniMae in 2008 by Fotowatio, one of Europe's largest renewable energy companies, and the company has been among the most successful at raising project finance during the credit crisis. Its most recent fund, the $200 million Solar Fund V, was raised in August 2009 with its own equity capital (likely supported by Fotowatio), as well as equity investment from Wells Fargo and debt from John Hancock Financial.
GA-Solar is a newcomer to this list, having just announced a 300 MW project in New Mexico last week. This may be the shakiest project included on our list, since no PPA appears to have been signed yet. But GA-Solar has both the project development experience (over 200 MW commissioned worldwide) and the capital backing (its parent company, Corporación Gestamp, is a $5 billion Spanish corporation) to bring the project to fruition.
Developers with Other Corporate Parents
These four don't fit into any of the other categories, but they still have access to a large balance sheet through ownership by larger corporate parents. And in each case, the corporate parents have some attachment either to the PV industry or energy project development.
Sempra Generation and PSEG Solar Source are both owned by larger energy corporations that also have utilities within their portfolios (San Diego Gas & Electric and Public Service Electric & Gas, respectively). Sempra's inclusion comes from a 48 MW expansion of its existing 10 MW El Dorado project in Nevada. Sempra has also planned a much larger, 400 MW project called Mesquite Solar that is still in the permitting process. Sempra Generation's parent, Sempra Energy, produced $11 billion in revenue in 2008. PSEG Solar Source is developing projects for AEP in Ohio and Jacksonville Electric Authority in Texas, both of which are expected to be completed this year with a combined capacity of 27 MW. PSEG, the parent company, does around $13 billion in annual revenue.
Chevron Energy Solutions, a division of the oil major Chevron Corporation, develops both solar and biomass projects. CES is developing a 45 MW project in Lucerne Valley, CA through a PPA with Southern California Edison. The project will be constructed in two stages, beginning this year with expected completion in 2012.
SunEdison would have been the anomaly on this list if it hadn't been purchased by MEMC in October 2009. But as it stands, SunEdison will benefit from MEMC's roughly $2 billion balance sheet. Expect its pipeline holdings to jump upward significantly in 2010.

Environmental group sues to stop solar project

Riverside Press-Enterprise - Environmental group sues to stop solar project

By David Danelski, Jan 20

An environmental group has filed a lawsuit contending the federal government's "fast track" approval of a solar energy development -- already under construction in northeast San Bernardino County -- violated several laws.

The Western Watersheds Project, which works to protect watershed areas in six western states, wants a federal court to rescind the approvals and halt construction.

The complaint, filed Friday, names as defendants the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and other federal officials.

BrightSource Energy Co. broke ground in October on the 5.6-square-mile solar field in the Ivanpah Valley off Interstate 15 near Primm, Nev. The project was approved in an expedited process intended to help energy developers meet federal deadlines to qualify for stimulus subsidies.

BrightSource, based in Oakland, plans to focus heat from thousands of mirrors onto three "power towers" to generate steam and run turbines that would produce enough electricity for as many as 140,000 homes. The project is on public land controlled by the BLM.

"This project was just rushed," said Michael Connor, California director for Western Watersheds Project. "It was a rush to judgment. They had already decided they were going to build these things."

Lois Grunwald, a Ventura-based Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman, said she had not seen the complaint and could not comment on it. BLM officials also had no comment, spokesman David Briery said.

A BrightSource spokesman said in an e-mail that the company "does not comment on legal matters pertaining to governing bodies that regulate our industry."

The watershed group says the federal agencies cut corners on environmental reviews, violating the National Environment Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, among other laws.

Among several allegations, the group accuses the government of inadequate reviews of alternatives, such as allowing BrightSource to build on nearby Ivanpah Dry Lake, which has little or no habitat value for desert tortoises, a species threatened with extinction, and other wildlife. The lawsuit says 30 tortoises have been found at BrightSource's current location.

The government also did not fully analyze how upgrading power lines will affect wildlife, the suit alleges.

The Western Watersheds lawsuit is one of several legal challenges to solar projects that the Obama administration approved last year on public land in the Mojave Desert.

The Sierra Club on Dec. 30 sued the California Energy Commission over its approval last fall of the Calico solar development, planned off Interstate 40 about 37 miles east of Barstow, said Gloria Smith, an attorney for the club. The suit, filed with the California Supreme Court, faults the commission for not detailing how the developer would compensate for lost wildlife habitat.

Also in December, a Native American cultural protection group and tribal members sued the Obama administration over the fast-track approvals of six large solar developments, including Ivanpah and Calico. They contend federal officials violated laws that protect sacred places.

Evergreen Solar's Failure Amid Solar Market's Success - Seeking Alpha

Evergreen Solar's Failure Amid Solar Market's Success - Seeking Alpha

Who killed Evergreen Solar (ESLR)?
The company’s String Ribbon technology -- which emerged in 1994 from research conducted at MIT -- promised to reduce the cost of solar panels AND increase power output. Payback could be achieved in 12 months, it claimed. A successful IPO in 2000 dovetailed with the subsequent explosion in solar. In 2008, it opened a factory in Devens, Mass. with the help of $58 million in state money.
This week, the company announced it would shutter Devens and lay off 800 of 925 employees. The firm lost $54 million in the first nine months of 2010. A European joint venture limped offstage last year. All this amid a booming solar market.
The company isn’t quite dead -- it plans to reposition itself as a wafer maker -- but the future looks cloudy.
Conventional wisdom blames Chinese solar panels, which began to emerge in notable numbers in 2006 and 2007. But it’s not a fully adequate explanation. First Solar (FSLR), the largest solar module maker in the world, has led the industry in driving out cost. It comes from Arizona and runs factories in Europe and Malaysia. It doesn’t exactly take advantage of Chinese labor rates or all that cheap capital.
SunPower (SPWRA), meanwhile, makes some the world’s most expensive silicon solar modules. Yet it has managed to defy predictions about its impending death for years. Suntech (STP), a Chinese company, has a new factory in Arizona.
How come they -- and others -- are surviving?
Blame it on the Rogue Ripple, or a series of small, seemingly sound management decisions that have a massive and unforeseeable impacts on the destiny of a company.
Back in 1994, serial entrepreneur Jerry Kaplan formed an online auction site that quickly gained buzz with the business press and web consumers. Legendary VC firm Kleiner Perkins backed it.
It wasn’t eBay. The company was called Onsale -- eBay emerged the following year. Onsale specialized in selling PCs and other remainders from manufacturer and distributor warehouses. Ebay trafficked in used goods from consumers. Ebay exploded. Onsale held a dot.com IPO, tried a merger with Egghead, and ended up on the scrap heap of history.
"If you don't get the model exactly right, capitalism can be unforgiving," Kaplan, laughing, told me once.
The same happened to Direct Hit. Who? What? Back in 1998, Direct Hit, backed by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, was the next big thing in search. (At CNET, my old job, the first reference to Google (GOOG) comes toward the bottom on a story about Direct Hit.)
What happened? Direct Hit based its back-end on servers from Sun (JAVA). The company soon maxed out its ability to index the web. By contrast, Google built itself around cheap, replaceable Intel (INTC) servers.
"We spent our entire hardware budget for the year, and we quickly reached its limits," CEO Gary Culliss once told me. "They were able to focus on other things.”
String Ribbon wrings waste from wafer manufacturing. Traditionally, silicon manufacturers create a round log of pure silicon and saw off thin wafers, sort of like a butcher slicing mortadella. Square solar cells are then cut from the round wafer: silicon sawdust and the moon-shaped wafer edges need to be recycled.
In the String Ribbon process, two strings are placed in molten silicon. Gradually, as they are pulled apart, a thin sheet of silicon forms. No sawing, no lost corners, no waste. Brilliant idea.
Unfortunately, in the early version of String Ribbon, the silicon could only be stretched so far, leading to square wafers with a narrower X dimension than the diameter of traditional wafers. Unusually sized wafers led to unusually sized solar cells, which in turn required tweaks to solar modules.
Third-party module makers -- faced with the prospect of having to retool factories to adapt to Evergreen -- passed. Instead of selling wafers, the company’s module group became Evergreen’s captive customer.
When solar demand outpaced supply, the company could garner a profit (24.4 percent gross margin in 2007). Then the recession hit. Silicon dropped from a few hundred dollars a kilogram to $45. Module prices, goosed by an influx of suppliers, plummeted.
Suddenly, weird wasn’t a virtue. (Interestingly, Luminus Devices, an MIT alum with an odd-sized LED, is also undergoing challenges.)
Evergreen began to outsource module manufacturing and opened a wafer factory in China. It got the cost of its modules down from $3.18 per watt in early 2009 to $1.88 toward the end of 2010. Unfortunately, some are now selling modules for under $1.40.
Under the current recovery plan, Evergreen wants to sell its now standard-size wafers and cells to third parties. It could work, but the company carries debt and a whiff of failure. What kind of volumes can it achieve? What is the efficiency roadmap? What are the warranties and reliability test results? Evergreen needs to answer all of these questions.
Worse, many solar companies have gone vertical. What do we do with all of the factory equipment we bought last year if we adopt a third-party module?
China’s impact can’t be ignored. Everything costs less there and the government's programs to invigorate new industries are more consistent than ours. At times, the company has bought glass from China instead of nearby New Hampshire to cut costs.
Nonetheless, human decisions played a part in the drama. Think of it: if solar was really exclusively just about cost and losing out to emerging nations, you could replace executives at the VP level and above with rhesus monkeys.
When First Solar ventured into cadmium telluride, it went against the conventional wisdom that it could be done at scale. SunPower engaged in consumer advertising -- something other module makers ignored. It also pursued its development projects, a strategy Sharp (SHCAY.PK) and others are subsequently adopting.
AQT Solar got into commercial production of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cell with $15 million. Others spent several hundred million. AQT guessed correctly that it could be done with standard factory equipment.
And look at Innovalight. The same year Evergreen opened its module factory, Innovalight decided not to build one -- instead, it retrofitted its business to just sell solar ink to established manufacturers. It now has five customers, all Chinese.
Innovalight CEO Conrad Burke tells me that the company made the decision before the 2008 crash. Luck or better foresight? Maybe you need a bit of both.

Silicon Ink Kingpin Innovalight Signs Up Another PV Customer: This Time, It's Motech : Greentech Media

Silicon Ink Kingpin Innovalight Signs Up Another PV Customer: This Time, It's Motech : Greentech Media

Innovalight is on a roll.
The VC-funded firm has developed a solar ink that boosts the performance of crystalline silicon solar cells. They've signed a series of deals to sell their efficiency-boosting material to a growing list of China-based crystalline silicon cell and module firms.
This morning, the firm announced yet another customer -- Taiwan's Motech. Motech builds single and multi-crystalline silicon solar cells in Taiwan and reached one gigawatt in production capacity in the third quarter of 2010, making them the largest solar cell manufacturer in Taiwan and one of the top ten manufacturers worldwide in terms of production capacity and output.
This is the fifth announced deal for Innovalight; the firm already has agreements with Asian solar powers Yingli Green Energy, Solarfun, Jinko Solar and JA Solar. This is a meaningful accomplishment for a 65-person Silicon Valley startup. Innovalight's nano-particle materials are produced in the U.S.
In Michael Kanellos' view, Chinese solar developers understand low-cost manufacturing and have the capital to build factories. Innovalight has innovative science on their side -- and these Asian solar giants recognize that value.

Innovalight manufactures a nanotechnology-based silicon ink and licenses a platform process that allows c-Si firms to upgrade solar cell manufacturing production lines, boost performance, and lower production costs.
The platform license business model is novel and seems to be working. Innovalight provides their silicon ink at a nominal cost -- that's not the primary source of their revenue. The licensing model is structured so that Innovalight's customers pay a fee for every wafer produced that uses the Innovalight special sauce. And with a world market of approximately five billion silicon wafers -- there's a large and growing total available market.
The value of the Innovalight product is that it fits gracefully into a customer's production process. One process step is added at the front end, after the wafer texturing step, and the Innovalight ink step is integrated into the customer's production line.
Innovalight owns a small ten-megawatt cell production line, which looks a lot like the production lines used by the Asian solar vendors. This allows Innovalight and its partners to develop their product and processes in a real world test bed and garners the credibility necessary for a VC-funded David to work with the gigawatt-scale Asian solar Goliaths.

DOE Finalizes $1.45 Billion Loan Guarantee for One of the World's Largest Solar Generation Plants

Department of Energy - DOE Finalizes $1.45 Billion Loan Guarantee for One of the World's Largest Solar Generation Plants

Washington D.C. - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a $1.45 billion loan guarantee has been finalized for Abengoa Solar Inc.'s Solana project, the world's largest parabolic trough concentrating solar plant. Located near Gila Bend, Arizona, the 250-megawatt (MW) project is the first large-scale solar plant in the United States capable of storing energy it generates. Solana will produce enough energy to serve 70,000 households and will avoid the emissions of 475,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year compared to a natural gas burning power plant.

"As the world's largest solar plant of its kind, the Abengoa's Solana project is playing an important role in creating jobs and clean energy for Arizona as well as fostering innovation in the U.S.," said Secretary Chu. "As today's announcement and other recent announcements of completed loan guarantees for wind and solar projects demonstrate, the Department's loan program is gaining momentum, creating jobs in communities across the country while putting us on the path to a clean energy future."

"I congratulate Abengoa Solar and the administration for developing public-private opportunities that will create well paying, highly valued jobs for Arizona," said U.S. Rep. Raul M. Grijalva. "This is yet another example of stimulus funds helping to lead our nation's and Arizona's economy back to recovery, while transitioning our energy policies to allow us to become a national and world leader in alternative energy generation."

Abengoa Solar Inc., the project sponsor, estimates that the Solana project will create between 1,600 to 1,700 new construction jobs and over 60 permanent jobs. The jobs created by the project will be located in Arizona and in neighboring states. To accommodate the project's need for over 900,000 mirrors, a mirror manufacturing facility will be built outside of Phoenix. As a result, the company anticipates the project will create additional direct investment in Arizona's economy.

U.S. providers and manufacturers will supply 70 percent of Solana's components, such as mirrors, receiver tubes, and the heat transfer fluid. Electricity from the project will be sold through a long-term power purchase agreement with Arizona Public Service Company.

The Department of Energy, through the Loan Programs Office, has issued loan guarantees or offered conditional commitments for loan guarantees to support 16 clean energy projects totaling nearly $16.5 billion. Together, the 16 projects will produce over 37 million megawatt-hours, enough clean energy to power over 3.3 million homes. Additional DOE-supported projects include the world's largest wind farm and a 2,200 MW nuclear power plant - the nation's first in three decades.

GE places solar bets on thin-film cells | Green Tech - CNET News

GE places solar bets on thin-film cells | Green Tech - CNET News

Abound Solar nails DOE loan for thin-film factory | Green Tech - CNET News

Abound Solar nails DOE loan for thin-film factory | Green Tech - CNET News

Alternative Energy and Climate Change Mutual Funds, Part II | Alternative Energy Stocks

Alternative Energy and Climate Change Mutual Funds, Part II | Alternative Energy Stocks

Energy Storage – Opportunities and Intellectual Short Circuits | Alternative Energy Stocks

Energy Storage – Opportunities and Intellectual Short Circuits | Alternative Energy Stocks

Alternative Energy and Climate Change Mutual Funds, Part I | Alternative Energy Stocks

Alternative Energy and Climate Change Mutual Funds, Part I | Alternative Energy Stocks

Ormat Technologies (ORA): The 500-Pound Gorilla of Geothermal Power | Alternative Energy Stocks

Ormat Technologies (ORA): The 500-Pound Gorilla of Geothermal Power | Alternative Energy Stocks

Geothermal

Understanding Implementation Timelines for Energy Storage Applications | Alternative Energy Stocks

Understanding Implementation Timelines for Energy Storage Applications | Alternative Energy Stocks

A Good primer on storage and its timing of implementation

Solar Power Towers coming to California

Solar Power Towers coming to California

Jump in Energy Demand Seen by 2035 - NYTimes.com

Jump in Energy Demand Seen by 2035 - NYTimes.com

New EIA Energy Forecast for 2035.

More Trouble for Solyndra as Factory Closes, Layoffs Start - NYTimes.com

More Trouble for Solyndra as Factory Closes, Layoffs Start - NYTimes.com

Studies on regulatory cost versus benefits

Climate Compass | Blog of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change

Looking at the historical costs of regulation under the EPA.

CARB releases AB32 Draft

State unveils new rule for battling climate change

Key Highlights:

Begins in 2012
Credits issued representing 90% of all emissions per sector
Eliminates 273 million metric tonnes of CO2 by 2020 (ie. 1990 levels by 2020)

the electricity industry and large industrial plants that manufacture glass, paper, concrete and other products. In 2015 it will expand to fuel distributors and in all covers 360 businesses that work out of 600 sites across the state.

In 2012, the number of metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions estimated for California will be capped at what is forecast to be emitted that year. Over the next three years, the cap will shrink by 2 percent per year. From 2015 to 2020, the cap will drop by 3 percent per year.

Deutche Bank Bullish on China Solar - Suntech, RenaSola, Trina, Yingli

Deutsche Bank Remains Bullish on China Solar Energy Sector: Upgrades Suntech Power (STP) to Buy

9:41 am ET 10/19/2010 - StreetInsider

Deutsche Bank upgrades Suntech Power (NYSE: STP) from Hold to Buy. Deutsche analyst says, "We expect the leading China solar PV manufacturers to report strong sets of results in 3Q10E and 4Q10E, and believe this momentum should be further extended beyond 2010 due to a more stable module ASP outlook in 1Q11 qoq. Module ASP may start to drop in 2Q11E but we think this risk is likely to be overcome by the ongoing effort to reduce manufacturing costs. The sector trades at an inexpensive valuation of 5-7x 2011E P/E; we reiterate Buy on ReneSola (NYSE: SOL), Trina (NYSE: TSL) and Yingli (NYSE: YGE), and upgrade Suntech to Buy." "We remain bullish on ReneSola despite the 66% increase in share price in the past three months. We reiterate Buy on Trina mainly on its manufacturing cost leadership. We also like Yingli but see possible near-term pressure on 3Q10E gross margins due to the additional ramp-up cost from its polysilicon facility and new production lines. We upgrade Suntech as we believe the stock now offers an attractive risk-adjusted reward return after a year of share underperformance and expect the company to secure new wafer capacity in the near term." To see all the upgrades/downgrades on shares of STP, visit our Analyst Ratings page.Shares are trading at $9.27, down $0.27 (-2.86%) this morning.

Barclays - Trina, RenaSola Top Picks

Barclays on Clean Technology: SPI Preview - Case for Multiple Expansion; TSL & SOL Top Picks

1:39 pm ET 09/24/2010 - StreetInsider

Barclays on Clean Technology: SPI Preview - Case for Multiple Expansion
Barclays analyst says, "Solar companies will be hosting investor meetings at the Solar Power International conference in LA next month (Oct 12-14). We maintain positive bias on stocks heading into the conference. Although stocks have bounced off the May lows, several stocks are still down year to date and are trading at single digit multiples on conservative street estimates. Solar sector performance has historically been strong during the seasonally stronger period for industry fundamentals. We expect this trend to continue in 2010. We see an increasingly stronger case for multiple expansion as the upcycle extends into 2011 and street estimates edge higher. Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL), RenaSola (NYSE: SOL) remain our top picks."

33% RPS for CA by 2020

ARB News Release

California commits to more clean, green energy

New standard: 33% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020

SACRAMENTO - Today California took a decisive step toward a clean energy future by setting in place a standard that one-third of the electricity sold in the state in 2020 come from clean, green sources of energy.

California Cleantech Attacked by Prop 23

Cleantech Blog: California Cleantech Attacked by Prop 23

A recent UC study reported that California’s successful efforts to become cleaner have already created 1.5 million jobs with a total payroll of over $45 billion.

why Ontario should care about Prop 23

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Guest Post: Ontario Eco Commissioner Gord Miller on California’s Prop 23 and why Ontario should care

OK, so what do the vagaries and uncertainties surrounding an election in California have to do with Ontario? Simple. Both Ontario and California are key members of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a collaboration of seven US states and four Canadian provinces.
WCI’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 15 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020 through a number of initiatives, the most important of which is a cap-and-trade system. Currently, two U.S. states (California and New Mexico) and three Canadian provinces (Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia) have passed the necessary enabling legislation required for the development of a cap-and-trade program. But, while Ontario has its enabling legislation in place (see Pricing Carbon: Can a Cap-and-Trade System Deliver the Tonnes from the ECO’s latest Annual Report) it has yet to publicly announce the specific design elements of its cap-and-trade program. It must do this through public consultation and the posting of its final decision on the Environmental Registry.
Losing California would be a major blow to the WCI and possibly to carbon trading systems elsewhere in North America, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Accord, and quite possibly to the developing international carbon market. Why? Because as California goes, so goes the rest of the U.S., the second largest carbon emitter after China and the third-largest emitter of GHGs on a per capital basis (just behind Australia and, yes, Canada). Without California’s leadership, the development of a North American-wide effort to put a price on carbon would likely be delayed for years.
As shown in the first chart below, California’s GHG emissions represent just over half of those WCI members ready to launch the trading system in January 2012, with a total of just under 480 million tonnes (Mt) of GHGs. Adding New Mexico brings the U.S. tally to almost two-thirds of the five jurisdictions’ emissions. Ontario is the next largest emitter at 190 Mt. Elections will also be held in New Mexico on November 2 and indications are it may withdraw from the WCI cap-and-trade provisions, too.

Climate Compass | Blog of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change

Climate Compass | Blog of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change

The panel of expert witnesses advised the Committee that if the United States wants to be a leader in clean energy, it needs to foster innovation by extending successful programs like tax credits, loan guarantees and grants, and adopt a renewable energy standard (RES). Tom Carbone, Chief Executive Officer of Nordic Windpower, said firms like his need clear market signals, such as a price on carbon or a RES, so they can respond to market demand.
Michael Liebreich, Chief Executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, emphasized the importance of market signals. Under an RES, the government would require that a certain percentage of utilities’ power plant capacity or generation come from renewable sources by a given date, and mechanisms such as credit trading would allow flexibility in meeting this requirement. However, the RES needs both to be ambitious and to have stiff penalties for noncompliance in order to be successful. Such a policy solution could help create the market demand clean energy firms need to establish footholds and ultimately achieve significant, self-reinforcing growth.

The Solar Module Market: Concerns Ahead « TechPulse 360

The Solar Module Market: Concerns Ahead « TechPulse 360

Sales in other European countries, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic, are moving ahead in advance of tariff cuts of their own. This is leading prices to be stable and wafer prices to even climb a bit. According to Y. Edwin Mok, an analyst at Needham & Co., crystalline cell pricing has risen to $1.35 a watt, compared with $1.25 a watt or so in the first quarter.
This could help vendors such as SunPower, JA Solar and Suntech Power Holdings.
The danger is that this year’s strength will turn into next year’s softness. The fear is especially high in Italy and Spain, which are facing large tariff cuts, says Mok. German installations could decline as well, he adds.
Mok is not alone in his assessment. John Hardy at Gleacher & Company said he expects the world’s largest module maker, First Solar, to post better-than-expected second-quarter sales later this month and speak favorably about the rest of the year.
“The big industry test is coming” in the first quarter of 2011, he says. That’s when sales could slump and another rapid decline in prices could spark worries of another 2009.

Can SolarReserve Top BrightSource? « TechPulse 360

Can SolarReserve Top BrightSource? « TechPulse 360

SolarReserve is one of the few next-generation solar-thermal vendors with field experience.
The company has the exclusive rights to the molten-salt technology United Technologies’ Pratt &Whitney RocketDyne tested at Solar Two in the California desert during the 1990s.
“We consider that to be a strong competitive advantage,” says Tom Georgis, vice president of development.
It also is a critical reason why the Santa Monica company believes its plants will match or top the efficiency of BrightSource’s Ivanpah. And the experience is at the foundation of SolarReserve’s belief it will find financing, despite the reluctance of private lenders.
SolarReserve is among the most promising of a new wave of solar-thermal developers. Instead of replying on parabolic mirrors, like the SEGS operating in the Southwest desert, these entrepreneurs hope to prove technologies just now moving from the drawing board to large scale deployment: ground-mounted heliostats, heat-concentrating towers, high operating temperatures and storage mechanisms, such as molten salt.
The company’s proposed plants (two in the United States and one in Spain) use as many as 17,000 heliostats to reflect sunlight to receivers atop of 653-foot towers. There the sunlight transfers heat to molten salt, warming the sodium and potassium mixture to 1,050 degrees Fahrenheit, after which it is transferred to a storage tank where it loses no more than 1 degree a day. (BrightSource also anticipates more than 1,000-degree temperatures at Ivanpah.) The superheated liquid is channeled to a heat exchanger where it boils water and powers a turbine.
Solar Reserves claims high efficiencies for much of its operations. The transfer of sunlight to heated salt is 88 percent efficient and the storage tank maintains 98 to 99 percent of the thermal efficient of the molten salt. The weak link is the steam generation system: about 39 to 42 percent efficient. Improvements in turbine technology should raise this.
Altogether, a SolarReserve plant will have an efficiency of 18 to 19 percent, says Georgis. This compares favorably to the 18 percent efficiency BrightSource expects at Ivanpah. (The new generation of solar-thermal plant with concentrating towers and heliostats in general should achieve efficiencies of 17 percent to 20 percent, says Electric Power Research Institute Project Manager Cara Libby – well above the 13 to 15 percent of the older trough plants in the Southwest and Spain.)
SolarReserve also expects to rival BrightSource with its capacity factor, a measure of the amount of time a plant can achieve full output.
The California plant, outfitted with a 150-megawatt turbine, is designed to generate peak-period power for PG&E. Running an average of 8.5 hours a day, it should achieve a capacity factor of 34 percent by heating and storing salt in the mornings and using it to deliver power well into the evening.
BrightSource’s 392 megawatt Ivanpah is to have a capacity factor of 30 percent.
SolarReserve’s Nevada plant should do better. It will have a smaller 100-megawatt turbine and operate longer hours, earning a capacity factor of 53 percent. (The longer the operating hours and the smaller the turbine, the higher the capacity factor is likely to go.)
Despite the ability of the SolarReserve facilities to storage energy, the challenge will be finding financing. Without federal loan guarantees, most plants won’t stand a chance. But the company doesn’t appear ready to buy into the theory.
“It is certainly a challenging environment,” agrees Georgis. “But we are confident we will secure financing for our projects.”
SolarReserve has applied for Department of Energy loan guarantees and is quick to defend their role. “Having the DOE loan guarantees makes it easier to finance,” he says. The extensive government due diligence makes private lenders more comfortable and debt cheaper.
That’s why the industry let out a sigh of relief when Abengoa’s Solana plant near Phoenix won $1.45 billion of Energy Department loan guarantees in July – the first granted since BrightSource’s $1.37 billion package in February.
But SolarReserve appears willing to push ahead even without a government award. It hopes to break ground in both California and Nevada by the end of the year.
The company argues that utilities wouldn’t sign power purchase agreements if they didn’t value the power – a key proof-point with banks. It also largely dismisses increasing competition from solar panels.
Panels are easier to finance, quicker to permit and simpler to deploy. They also are less expensive. With the collapse of module pricing last year, panel costs fell to between $3.50 and $5.50 a watt from $6 or more, says Ted Sullivan, senior analyst at Lux Research. Costs of solar thermal remain largely unchanged at $7 to $8 a watt.
Still SolarReserve isn’t deterred. “It’s more competitive now, no question,” concedes Georgis. But “our power plants are not intermittent resources (and) we’re offering competitive pricing.”
So will the new generation of plants be successful? “It’s too early to say,” says Sullivan. “There have been a lot of plans out there, but nothing has been built on that scale.”
With many technologies showing promise, it will be interesting to see who goes first.

Survival Path Seen For Amorphous Thin Film « TechPulse 360

Survival Path Seen For Amorphous Thin Film « TechPulse 360

Equipment supplier Oerlikon, on the other hand, is not balking. O’Brien says he expects the global production capacity of amorphous cells to someday rival that of cadmium telluride, presently the most popular thin-film technology. First Solar, the world’s largest solar producer and the only significant maker of cadmium telluride, has about 18 percent of the global solar market.
Amorphous production capacity from manufacturers, such as Sharp and Konica Minolta, will add up, says O’Brien.
Thin-film advocates, such as Oerlikon, argue that a lot of the expected cost reductions have already been wrung from crystalline-cell manufacturing. Price declines will eventually slow.
This will leave an opening for thin film. It is an opening Oerlikon hopes to capitalize on. The company says the cost of thin-film cells made with its equipment will drop to 70 cents a watt by the end of the year, from $1 at the year’s start and a $1.50 in 2008.
This may not enable them to catch those from First Solar, which early this year reached 81 cents. (First Solar is likely to offer a new benchmark when it releases quarterly earnings next week.) But O’Brien sees competition increasing and says more significant cost reductions are expected next year. He declined to offer a target.
He says Oerlikon was able to avoid Applied Materials’ fate by maintaining a technological advantage. First, the company’s micromorph tandem junction technology is generating module efficiencies of 8.5 to 9 percent, up from the 7 to 8 percent of a single junction cell.

First Solar’s Cautious Sales Outlook, Cost Improvement « TechPulse 360

First Solar’s Cautious Sales Outlook, Cost Improvement « TechPulse 360

On a conference call, it said:
*Module manufacturing costs fell to 76 cents a watt, down 5 cents from the first quarter. Annual throughput per line was up 6 percent to 59 megawatts and material costs were lower. The company’s target is to reach 52 cents to 63 cents a watt in 2014.
*Utility-scale projects are expected to increase. First Solar said it anticipates building 500 to 700 megawatts of projects in North America during 2011, up from 175 megawatts this year.
*Demand is expected to exceed supply in 2010. First Solar expects production capacity to be 2.2 gigawatts by 2012, up from 1.4 gigawatts this year. Module conversion efficiency was 11.2 percent in the second quarter compared with 11.1 percent in the first quarter.

Nanosys Unveils $30M In Funding, Strikes Solar Deal With Samsung « TechPulse 360

Nanosys Unveils $30M In Funding, Strikes Solar Deal With Samsung « TechPulse 360

Suntech Boasts It Is The Largest Solar Company, Warns Of Higher Wafer Costs « TechPulse 360

Suntech Boasts It Is The Largest Solar Company, Warns Of Higher Wafer Costs « TechPulse 360

DOE Home Weatherization Looks More Like PACE – $120 Million To Speed Up Efforts « TechPulse 360

DOE Home Weatherization Looks More Like PACE – $120 Million To Speed Up Efforts « TechPulse 360

SolarEdge PV Series A - Inverters

Venture Capital Access Online | Venture Capital News

The SolarEdge PV (Photovoltaic) power harvesting solution includes PowerBoxes, which are module-integrated power optimizers, solar inverters and a module-level PV monitoring portal. This unique solution enables production of up to 25% more energy from any PV installation and a faster return on investment. In the past year SolarEdge has expanded its product portfolio, established mass production lines and global delivery infrastructure, partnered with leading PV module manufacturers, integrators and distributors worldwide, and generated significant sales growth. This extraordinary momentum has strengthened SolarEdge’s position as the leader in PV power optimizing.

Silicon Valley’s Solar Innovators Forced to Retool - NYTimes.com

Silicon Valley’s Solar Innovators Forced to Retool - NYTimes.com

Cleantech Blog: 10 ETFs to Capitalize on Cleantech Growth

Cleantech Blog: 10 ETFs to Capitalize on Cleantech Growth

Craton Equity Partners (LA)

Cleantech Blog: Craton Barreling Ahead
Being a senior advisor to the firm, I attended last week’s annual meeting of Craton Equity Partners, a cleantech private equity fund manager based in Los Angeles.

While cleantech in its focus, Craton doesn’t take on much technology risk. Rather, Craton generally invests in companies that have largely proven their technologies – or frankly don’t rely much on proprietary technologies – and are already generating substantial revenues, requiring growth capital to build out their business models into sizable scale.

This was illustrated by the stories told by three of Craton’s portfolio companies:

• Propel Fuels, which is developing a critical mass of biofuel retailing locations – by leasing space at existing gas stations, installing necessary equipment for biofuels, managing fuel delivery logistics, and retail marketing via co-branding – across California, with a view towards replicating this model in other geographic markets in the U.S.
• Petra Solar, which has standardized a photovoltaic product for installation on power poles, thereby enabling utilities to meet renewable portfolio standard requirements while also improving the quality and management of power throughout their distribution grids.
• GreenWave Reality, which is aiming to extend the smart-grid “beyond the meter” and into the home, via a centralized radio-broadcasting gateway at the service entrance and a variety of intelligence-enabled radio-controlled applications throughout the home to manage energy usage.

Along with these three presentations by portfolio company CEOs, the Craton senior partners provided their perspective on the state of the cleantech investment markets.

Of note, the Craton partners believe that the collapse of the credit markets over the past few years has yielded good opportunities for its fund to invest equity in companies – some of whom are generating tens of millions of dollars of revenues, and already profitable – that really ought to have been able to secure debt during more normal times, thereby generating attractive risk-return profiles upon which Craton could capitalize. Clearly, Craton was fortunate to have been focused on later-stage private equity opportunities, rather than earlier-stage venture capital opportunities, where the credit crunch has provided no such opening.

The recent addition of Kevin Wall to the Craton team, possessing significant high-level contacts around the world, reflects Craton’s view that many of the best growth and exit possibilities for cleantech in the coming years will occur internationally. This is a sad but entirely legitimate commentary on the state of the U.S. cleantech marketplace: if you want to really do well in cleantech investing in the next several years, you’re going to have to focus a lot of attention overseas.

Consistent with my personal experience, the Craton team noted that the key success factor for their portfolio companies continues to be management quality. Fortunately, they are seeing (as I am) an influx into cleantech of a greater quantity of better talent in the past few years. Of course, this is in part driven by deteriorating economic conditions and opportunities in other sectors of the economy. But, I also sense it’s because many capable people are increasingly drawn to cleantech for other intangible attractions. (I was recently on the phone with an old friend of mine who made a lot of money in real estate and didn’t find it challenging enough – so he’s moving into cleantech. Five years from now, I’m sure this friend of mine will not complain that making money in cleantech wasn’t sufficiently challenging!)

On the whole, it appears that Craton's first fund is doing generally well, and the firm is beginning to prepare for raising its second fund. The question will be whether Craton's good performance on paper (no liquidity events yet) will be able to overcome a very tough fund-raising environment. Given their strong relationships in the California marketplace – where cleantech has the most traction of anywhere in the U.S. – Craton's progress in the coming 12-24 months will be a good barometer of the health of the cleantech investing thesis in the U.S.

Petra Solar® - Intelligent Energy By Design - Home Page

Petra Solar® - Intelligent Energy By Design - Home Page

which has standardized a photovoltaic product for installation on power poles, thereby enabling utilities to meet renewable portfolio standard requirements while also improving the quality and management of power throughout their distribution grids.

Cleantech Blog: Johnson Controls SAFT Lithium Batteries

Cleantech Blog: Johnson Controls SAFT Lithium Batteries

Since 2007, Ford and Johnson Controls have worked with leading electric utilities and EPRI. In 2007, Ford announced a partnership with Southern California Edison, the electric utility with the nation’s largest and most advanced electric vehicle fleet. The partnership is designed to explore ways to make plug-in hybrids more accessible to consumers, reduce petroleum-related emissions and understand issues related to connectivity between vehicles and the electric grid. For the 3-year study, Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrids have been heavily used. It will not be until 2012, that consumers can order plug-in hybrids from Ford.

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Q-Cells and ATS Automation create Ontario JV to develop 64MW of solar

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Q-Cells and ATS Automation create Ontario JV to develop 64MW of solar

Q-Cells, one of the world’s largest solar PV providers, has inked a deal with ATS Automation Tooling Systems of Cambridge, Ont., to develop 64 megawatts worth of solar projects in Ontario already conditionally approved as part of the feed-in-tariff program. The two companies have formed a 50-50 joint venture called Ontario Solar PV Fields Inc. that is expected to begin construction in 2011. ATS will use Q-Cells’ PV cells in modules it will manufacture at its Photowatt Ontario facility in Cambridge, allowing the JV to qualify under 60 per cent local content requirements. “The Ontario market is projected to be one of the dominant solar markets in North America in 2011,” said Marc van Gerven, Q-Cells North American chief executive.
As I mentioned in a previous post, ATS is one of more than 10 companies that had annunced intentions to make solar modules in Ontario, adding up to more than 1,000 megawatts annually of local manufacturing capacity. ATS was promoting a dual strategy — producing both its own product as an Ontario extension of its France-based Photowatt business, and making modules for other companies under contract. This JV fits with the latter.

Morgan Solar

Morgan Solar Website

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Morgan Solar recruits eSolar CEO as its own

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Morgan Solar recruits eSolar CEO as its own

The folks over at Green Energy Reporter are reporting that eSolar’s founding chief executive Asif Ansari has decided to join Toronto-based Morgan Solar as its new CEO. I knew this deal was in the works, and apparently Ansari has been with the company now for a couple of weeks and plans to relocate his family from California to Toronto. It’s a good catch by the Morgan boys, who I’m betting will be making more news over the next couple of years. Ansari tells Green Energy Reporter, “I took a look at Morgan’s technology and I instantly understood that they had developed a game changer.” That’s the feeling I walked away with as well. It’s a great story unfolding.

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Guest Post: Glen Estill on Ontario’s local content controversy

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Guest Post: Glen Estill on Ontario’s local content controversy

Japan is appealing Ontario’s Green Energy Act procurement policies to the World Trade Organization, on the basis that the Ontario content requirement violates international trade agreements. Japan’s interest is obvious. It is a major supplier of solar panels, with major brands such as Sanyo, Kyocera and Sharp playing a major role in the world markets. It will be interesting to see the interaction between Canada’s federal government and Ontario on this one. After all, the federal government doesn’t have jurisdiction over electricity procurement.

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Ontario to close four more coal-fired power units

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Ontario to close four more coal-fired power units

On Friday we’ll see four more coal-fired units totalling 2,000 megawatts closed in Ontario, part of the government’s commitment to phase out coal by 2014. Two 500 MW units at Lambton station and two 500 MW units at Nanticoke will be shut down ahead of an earlier schedule because of a combination of factors: lower electricity demand, increased natural gas capacity and a rise of wind, and to a lesser extent, solar power. Another plant, the smaller Atikokan station, will be converted to burning biomass.

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Who knew? World’s largest solar PV plant is now in Ontario

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Who knew? World’s largest solar PV plant is now in Ontario

Sarnia solar power plant and that the facility now ranks as the largest solar PV plant in the world. The plant is owned by gas and pipeline giant Enbridge Inc. — you know, the guys who had the big oil spill in Michigan. The press release says it is an 80-megawatt plant, but over at PRResources.com it ranks the project first at 97 megawatts. Not sure what the deal is there. But even at 80 megawatts it’s still 33 per cent larger than the second-largest plant, which is in Olmedilla, Spain. The next largest in Canada, ranking 24th worldwide, is the 23.4 megawatt facility in Arnprior, Ontario.

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Smart meters are here…. Get over it

Clean Break » Blog Archive » Smart meters are here…. Get over it

Ontario’s feed-in-tariff program has problems with its design and price structure, and that in some scenarios there are certainly better ways to reduce CO2 emissions and stimulate jobs. It’s a good program in principle, but delicate adjustments will be needed and much more emphasis must be placed on conservation and co-generation/CHP.

Finer System Level Details for the Comparison of Photovoltaic Technologies | Alternative Energy Stocks

Finer System Level Details for the Comparison of Photovoltaic Technologies | Alternative Energy Stocks

Flexible PV modules promise to be integrated into building materials, similar to the way United Solar, a division of Energy Conversion Devices (ENER), laminations have been used in single ply roofing and standing seam metal roofing. When a PV technology can reduce the structural balance of systems (BOS) cost there is an economy for the installation due to the lack of glass and the potential for true building integration. Look for CIGS companies like Miasolé, Global Solar Energy, Ascent Solar (ASTI), and Nuvosun to follow in SoloPower's footsteps in certifying the long-term performance and safety of high efficiency flexible PV modules for building integrated (BIPV) and other flexible applications.

JA Solar (JASO) and LDK

View From the Turret: Crossroads Trading -- Seeking Alpha

Solar Strength
A number of key solar names were sharply higher last week as traders reacted to a few compelling themes:

1. LDK’s $8.9 billion dollar funding from China Development Bank has the industry hopeful that additional funding and liquidity will be available in the quarters to come.
2. A sustained rally in the euro makes exports from Chinese manufacturing companies to European buyers more attractive.

Many of the stocks are extended significantly beyond an appropriate buy point, but a pullback in the next few days could offer an attractive entry point.
JA Solar Holdings (JASO) is one of the many solar companies that is seeing a rebound in both revenue and earnings, and analysts have been increasing their expectations for the next two years.
With a stable balance sheet and a PE multiple that is still in the single digits, JASO could continue to rally for some time to come. I’m not interested in chasing the stock at these levels, but a pullback to near $7.50 or $8.00 along with a period of consolidation would have me much more interested in picking up a small position and then adding more exposure as the trend reasserts itself.

Walmart to Install Thin Film Solar Panels

Walmart to Install Thin Film Solar Panels

Walmart uses First Solar (CdTe) and MiaSole (CIGS) for its solar installations. The company notes an important decision in using this technology was its lower environmental life cycle cost, supporting my master's thesis on the lifecycle environmental impact of solar technologies.

Investment Managers Still Lagging in Response to Climate Change

Investment Managers Still Lagging in Response to Climate Change

California State Teacher's Retirement System (CalSTRS) $130 B

"As a long-term investor, CalSTRS wants to invest in well-managed companies that can address the physical risks of climate change and adapt to the changing regulatory and market realities of a carbon-constrained economy," said Jack Ehnes, chief executive officer of CalSTRS, the nation's second largest public pension fund, with more than $130 billion of assets under management. "Our asset managers need to ask the right questions and critically evaluate how companies are positioned so that we’re sure that our investments will produce outstanding risk-adjusted returns for our members."

The survey was done at the request of the Investor Network on Climate Risk, a network of 80-plus pension funds and other institutional investors who rely on asset managers to manage their investment portfolios. Eighty-four asset managers managing $8.6 trillion in assets completed the survey, including 66 in the P&I top 500 list and 18 others who responded at the specific request of INCR client members.

In summary, the survey found only a few asset managers – MFS Investment
Management and F&C Asset Management plc, among those – that are including
climate risks and opportunities throughout their investment analysis – in their
asset allocation, portfolio valuation, and corporate governance due diligence. Like
companies that are rethinking and retooling their business strategies in response to
climate change, these asset manager leaders are positioning themselves to capture
the opportunities and understand and manage the risks of climate change across
their portfolios.
The vast majority of respondents, 84 asset managers managing $8.6 trillion
completed the survey, including 66 in the P&I 500, are in the preliminary stages
of including climate risk in their due diligence.

Ceres and CalPERS Announce Initiative to Accelerate Corporate Action on Global Sustainability Challenges

Ceres and CalPERS Announce Initiative to Accelerate Corporate Action on Global Sustainability Challenges

Announced today at the Clinton Global Initiative, the collaboration catalyzes a powerful group of investors, corporate leaders and other key market players to propel 1,000 companies to embed sustainability factors into day-to-day decision-making, including operations, product development and global supply chains.

The initiative will include roundtables and forums in California and other parts of the country with companies and investors. Much of the activity will evolve around The 21st Century Corporation: Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability, a comprehensive Ceres report that outlines the urgency, vision and competitive advantages for companies to fully embrace sustainability and 20 key expectations for achieving such a goal.

The Ceres “21st Century Sustainable Corporation” report is a key tool for integrating sustainability into the DNA of business – from the boardroom, to copy rooms, and across entire supply chains. The roundtables and forums will help drive companies to implement key expectations outlined in the Roadmap, including:

• Make energy efficiency and renewable energy the foundation for company operations;

• Design and implement closed-loop systems so that air and wastewater emissions are eliminated and zero waste is produced;

• Require 75 percent of top tier suppliers to meet company sustainability performance standards;

• Dedicate 50 percent of R&D investment to developing sustainability solutions;

• Compensate and provide incentives for top executives and other employees to drive sustainability into the business.

The full report is available at www.ceres.org/ceresroadmap.

Cleantech Stimulus Still Not Stimulating | Alternative Energy Stocks

Cleantech Stimulus Still Not Stimulating | Alternative Energy Stocks

Of the $31 B that was granted for the clean tech industry in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, less than 25% of these funds have been deployed over the last 12 months.

Alice in EVland: 6 Impossible Things I Believe -- Seeking Alpha

Alice in EVland: 6 Impossible Things I Believe -- Seeking Alpha

This blog discusses the disadvantage that EV vehicles have over hybrids in CO2 reduction, the inadequate economic payback of an EV, the safety issues surrounding lithium ion batteries.