MR-Envirotech_&_Clean_Energy_Investor_Oct10

Multi-asset approach set to combat market volatility

Project financing hurdles hinder geothermal growth

Green infrastructure stakes claim as growing asset class

Shortfall in seed investment hampers technology innovation

Energy utility to develop South African renewables

Algae biofuels edge closer to full commercialisation

Global coverage of all envirotech and clean energy deals

Also featuring the industry’s most promising growth companies

Green resource scarcity drives investor interest in rare earths

OCTOBER 2010

solar wind bioenergy geothermal hydro marine energy efficiency fuel cells water, waste & recycling

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The industry journal for global investors, innovators & deal-makers

1www.EnvirotechInvestor.com

CONTENTS

Introduction3

Green resource scarcity drives investor interest in rare earthsA rapidly growing environmental technology and clean energy industry has cast the spotlight on the importance of rare materials and the potential for a new resources shortfall.

Algae biofuels edge closer to full commercialisationAs an answer to perennial liquid fuel challenges, algae-based biofuel has some way to go before it proves its doubters wrong and makes the step to global roll-out and commercialisation.

Features

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In-depth reviews, new perspectives and industry insights

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Deal Radar86Growth strategies and financing plans from the industry’s most promising companies

People News82The latest appointments, promotions and new initiatives for leading industry investors, executives and entrepreneurs

Solar news

Wind news

Bioenergy news

Energy efficiency news

Water news

Geothermal news

Fund news

Listed company results

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News

Essential news and intelligence on industry developments, investments and company activity

Deal Tracker92A global round-up of all the deals publicly announced in the last month, including investments, acquisitions and major contracts

Project financing hurdles hinder geothermal growthDespite its reliability and baseload capacity, geothermal could find itself sidelined as financing for projects remains a considerable hurdle.

Final months of 2010 could signal renewed deal activityIncreased activity during the early part of September could signal higher deal volumes in the global clean energy industry.

Industry ProfilesGrowth stories, expert insights and fresh outlooks from leaders in the industry

Heiko Von Dewitz, Intel CapitalCorporate venture capital the key to sustaining cleantech innovationLarge technology groups are increasingly choosing to supplement their in-house R&D efforts with a corporate venture capital strategy.

Claudia Quiroz, Cheviot Asset ManagementMulti-asset approach to combat market volatilityThe rise of multi-asset strategies is emerging from a growing investor interest, as they seek new methods to take advantage of a compelling global opportunity.

David Scaysbrook, Capital DynamicsGreen infrastructure stakes claim as growing asset classWhile the lack of funds targeting clean energy infrastructure may deter some investors, its capacity to generate stable returns is proving popular.

David Ward, MTIShortfall in seed investment hampers technology innovationPerceived notions of poor returns in early stage technology investments have led to a dearth of financing opportunities for emerging companies.

Nigel Meir, Ludgate Environmental FundQuoted vehicles offer liquid solution to green investorsWhile the investment approach to green private equity may be familiar, quoted investment vehicles can offer another solution for institutional investors.

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Investor ProfilesInvestment strategies and industry views from active investors across the globe

Dr Steven Lennon, EskomEnergy utility to develop South African renewablesIn a bid to address its growing energy challenge, South Africa’s leading power utility Eskom is turning towards renewables.

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Rob Hastings, The Crown EstateUK offshore industry gears up for market leadershipWith new developments to its offshore clean energy industry, the UK is relying on the backing and support of both public and private sectors.

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Let the right people know. The Deal Radar section of Envirotech & Clean Energy Investor covers the growth and � nancing plans of dynamic companies and highlights prospective deals that are likely to be of interest to prospective investors, business partners and customers amongst our readership base. Companies, projects and pipeline transactions that get coverage in this section gain valuable exposure to 5,000 investment and business professionals across the global clean energy and technology community.

Contact us if you know of a company, project or deal that merits the attention of the industry’s leading organisations and individuals.

Is your business an exciting growth story?

Contact Chris Hardman:Email: [email protected]: +44 (0)20 7845 7576

While data suggests that August was a 12-month low in terms of deal activity in the clean energy sector, September could

yet signal something of a return to form with the fi rst two weeks of the month already recording heightened activity. In this issue we take a look at the deals that characterised recent months, as well as the prospects for the remainder of 2010.

We also turn our attention to the growing concern surrounding the supply of rare earths in green technology, with the rapid growth of the industry casting the spotlight on the potential for a new resources shortfall. As the clean energy sector grows, opportunities surrounding access and use of these often overlooked materials are coming to the fore.

The issue also focuses on two very different clean energy sub-sectors. Despite its position as one of the more mature forms of alternative energy generation, geothermal faces something of a struggle as fi nancing remains a challenge. Its main selling point is its baseload offering, with its ability to convert a greater proportion of potential energy compared to other, more intermittent forms of energy generation, ensuring it continues to be part of the energy mix.

While not without its growing pains, algae-based biofuel is seen as one of the more exciting technologies. However, while it may promise a great deal for the renewable fuel industry, investors still remain wary as full-scale commercialisation remains some way off. Analysts, though, predict that the market will expand considerably over the next ten years and few would bet against this technology breaking through.

Following the recent inauguration of the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the coast of the UK, we speak to Rob Hastings from The Crown Estate, the organisation tasked with awarding development rights to offshore projects. From a fi nancing perspective, he discusses the need for a more comprehensive model that ensures risk distribution is spread between the government, private sector and investor community.

The issue also features interviews with asset managers, corporate investors and private equity fi rms – all with a focus and an interest on tapping into the range of global opportunities surrounding the green and sustainability themes. We look at the various strategies for tackling these opportunities, and what investors really think about the state of the market.

On a separate note, our fl agship Envirotech & Clean Energy Investor Summit will be held on 9 December in London. Following the success of last year’s event, which was sold out with 500 delegates, this year’s Summit promises to be the destination for the industry’s most excit-ing companies, facilitating new business and investment opportunities. For more on the day’s agenda, speakers and ways to get involved go to www.EnvirotechInvestorSummit.com.

Benjamin Chambers,Editor

Editor Benjamin Chambers

Deputy EditorNatalie Coomber

Production EditorMichael Davis

Reporters Tom Brown Jessica Davies

ContributorsLouise Wilkins

ResearchChris Hardman

DesignMariola Gajewska

SalesShelley Wilson

Advertising & SponsorshipAlex Fetrot

PublisherRichard Sachar

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Introduction

4 October 2010

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Although it may be clear that creating domestic renewable energy industries around the world reduces the dependence on oil sourced from a

handful of economically viable localities, switching to cleaner sources of power may yet hold even the most technologically-advanced nations hostage to the owners of these rare resources.

Alongside the uptake of electric vehicles and the move towards developing ever-larger clean energy generation projects comes the need to gain access to a group of rare earth minerals critical to making these applications work. Accessing these materials, however, may be more obstacle-ridden than ensuring access to traditional fossil fuels.

With China producing more than 90 per cent of the world’s supply and its government cutting export levels by about half in 2010, these previously overlooked materials have been thrust into the limelight and towards the forefront of investors’ minds.

Rare earth reliance Far from making individual countries energy dependent, the reliance on rare earths and other materials necessary to many green technologies highlights a critical supply vulnerability. There are 17 rare earth elements; yttrium and scandium and a further 15 within the chemical group known as lanthanides. Although predominately used in automotive catalytic converters and fluid cracking catalysts in petroleum refining, they are also essential components of the rechargeable batteries being used in hybrid and electric vehicles and generators for wind turbines.

Combine these applications with defence technologies such as jet fighter engines, missile guidance systems and satellite communication systems, as well as more mundane uses such as colour televisions and flat panel displays and it is clear the de-mand for these resources can only increase.

A study conducted by the Congressional Research Service in the US, Rare Earth

Green resource scarcity drives investor interest in rare earths

Elements: The Global Supply Chain, found world demand for rare earth elements to be estimated at 134,000 tons per year, with global production standing at about 124,000 tons. This is, however, expected to rise sharply, with global demand forecasted to reach 180,000 tons by 2012. New mining projects, the study said, are unlikely to close this gap in the short-term.

‘The examination of rare earth elements for new energy technologies reveals a concentrated and complex global supply chain and numerous end-use applications,’ it said. While US mineral policy emphasises developing domestic supplies of critical materials, placing the rare earth supply chain in the global context is unavoidable, it added. ‘Some raw materials

A rapidly growing environmental technology and clean energy industry has cast the spotlight on the importance of certain rare materials. With the potential for a new resources shortfall, investors are increasingly looking at opportunities around this scarcity.

FEATURE


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do not exist in economic quantities in the US, while processing, manufacturing and other downstream ventures in the US may not be competitive with facilities in other regions in the world.’

For Chris Berry, at commodity and mining research company House Mountain Partners, accessing rare earths is now thoroughly on the radar of both cleantech companies and investors in the space. ‘If you are an economy – such as the US or those in Europe – that through government policy or social policy is looking to deploy renewable energy technologies, you are essentially held hostage to whoever has the supply of these rare earths. Right now, that is China.’

He adds, ‘I don’t want to be too alarmist as there are plenty of rare earth deposits outside of China but the issue is, what is their grade? How rich is the deposit? How much rare earth ore is actually in the ground and most importantly is it economic to mine?’

China’s stranglehold China has long been aware of the importance these rare earths have to consumer, defence and new energy applications. After investing heavily during the 1990s in the mining of these elements – principally in the northern region of Inner Mongolia – the government is now embarking on what it describes as a clampdown on illegal mining practices, but what is viewed by many in the international community as a stifling of exports.

For July 2010, export quotas for the consortium of rare earths

out of China were down about 40 per cent on the previous year’s figures – a continuation of a trend that first began in 2005. At the time, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said the reduction was purely down to environmental concerns.

‘Mass extraction of rare earth will cause great damage to the environment and that’s why China has tightened controls over rare earth production, exploration and trade,’ Chen was quoted by state-controlled news agency Xinhua as saying.

China’s research into the area has led it to become home to the largest rare earth institution in the world, the Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths, as well as two key state-owned laboratories, the Rare Earths Materials Chemistry and Applications lab focused on separation techniques affiliated with Peking University and Rare Earth Resource Utilization, associated with the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry.

Berry says China’s lead in the area will inevitably result in it attracting investment. ‘China knows that they have this stuff in the ground and that they are the only ones mass-producing it. What they want is access to Western technology to make windmills and solar photovoltaics much more powerful and efficient.’ He adds, ‘They are going to draw investment from around the world into China because it is a huge bargaining chip.’

It is not the case, however, that China is the only country that has access to the regions of the earth’s crust that houses these earths. The US, for example, was once self-reliant on the materials it mined, a trend that has now altered to see it rely almost solely – bar a minimal level of recycling –

on exports. The difficulty is setting up mining

operations that are able to access these resources as fast as the clean energy and environmental technology space requires. Even a fast-tracked operation, Berry says, will take about seven to ten years before it starts to actively produce.

‘Until you can get a fast-tracked supply outside of China up to production, there is going to be a lot of upward pressure on these rare earths because they are going to be critical for electric car batteries, photovoltaic cells, for windmills,’ he says.

Securing access Outside of China’s domain there are only a handful of companies actively sourcing these materials. One such is Avalon Rare Metals, which owns the Nechalacho heavy rare earth deposit in Canada and a second Great Western Minerals, which has an offtake agreement for 100 per cent of the rare earth elements produced at the Steekkampskraal mine in South Africa, as well as interest in a further eight exploration and development properties in North American and Africa.

Encouraging greater exploration

Due to cost and supply issues surrounding its lithium-ion batteries, US car-maker General Motors is looking at a pilot project to re-use batteries, from its Chevrolet Volt hybrid

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FEATURE

6 October 2010

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for rare earth elements in the US, Australia, Africa and Canada could be part of a broad international strategy, the Congressional Research Service said. For Philip Blancato, president of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, however, the key is not to ploughing funds into mining efforts, but rather in making sure the technological solutions are suitably developed and suffi cient for purpose. ‘It will be best to see what actually works and then go from there. You have to fi x the problem fi rst and then decide which way will be best to go about it.’

Instead, Blancato proposes an arrangement whereby each country works to the advantages it has already worked hard to gain. ‘This is a global problem. This is not a country problem. China and the US are the world’s biggest polluters so they need the materials to make electric vehicle batteries more than anyone else,’ he says. ‘Let China produce the minerals, Australia do the manufacturing and the US be the research and development machine. If everyone makes the decision to go with their strengths then I think we would have real success.’

The need for both countries and individual companies to ensure continuous access to raw materials needed across the whole gamete of renewable energy technologies is not dissimilar to the challenge faced when guaranteeing a safe and secure energy supply.

The dynamics of energy prices and security, climate change and natural resources are very closely aligned, according to Yvo de Boer, the former head of climate change at the United Nations (UN), who stepped down as executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change earlier this year and has since taken a role as special adviser on climate change and sustainability at KPMG.

De Boer says accessing raw materials is not just a matter for governments but also large corporates. ‘The business community is increasingly worried about access to and scarcity of raw materials,’ he says. In addition, the list of precautions that need to be taken to protect yourself against running out of the very elements that hold the promise to meeting emissions targets would be very similar to the measures needed to deal with energy security, climate change and energy prices, he says. ‘I think the climate change agenda has become a much broader one in recent years.’

Investor opportunity Concurrent with this pressing global challenge are considerable opportunities for investors and technological innovation. In the context of rare earth ores, these are both diverse and far-reaching. The impact of how strong particular companies or countries have in accessing raw materials may infl uence investors’ decisions on a number of levels.

The rate of growth of China’s burgeoning clean energy

industry is proof alone of the sheer scale of investor appetite. In the past month, US cleantech investor VantagePoint Venture Partners has launched a $100m fund targeting opportunities in the country’s Bohai Rim region and European-based wind turbine giant Gamesa has said it will triple its investment in China by 2012.

Investor participation could come in a variety of ways, from securing stakes in the companies mining these rare earths, to technology businesses that can show a protected supply chain, or fi nancial vehicles such as exchange traded funds (ETFs) that give exposure to the pricing of these elements without making a direct commodity play. ‘Ultimately, individuals should keep an eye on rare earth element prices as well as those of other hard commodities.

I think governments will look to stockpile – Japan already does this – to ensure steady supply which will clearly add upward pricing pressure to certain rare earth elements,’ says Berry at House Mountain.

With companies such as Avalon actively talking to electric vehicle developers such as Toyota, fi nanciers are increasingly look to back exploration companies to secure upstream supply chains, with Avalon and General Western Minerals both closing underwriting or equity arrangements in recent months.

Attracting much attention is the world’s fi rst lithium ETF launched by New York-based Global X Funds, which it describes as the fi rst fund of this kind to offer investors targeted access to a resource industry critical for the renewable energy movement. The ETF, which tracks the Solactive Global Lithium Index, give investors access to the lithium value chain, from mining and refi ning to lithium-ion battery production.

Evelyn Hu, vice president of Global X Management, said the impetus for the product came from looking at ways to target both South America and energy storage advancements. ‘We wanted take part in the long-term upside of the renewable energy movement, but wanted an institutionalised investment vehicle that also mitigates technology risk and country-specifi c political risk.’

She adds, ‘Instead of investing into the downstream end of renewable energy, the idea was to enable the investment right up to the critical resource level, where it would still be correlated with renewable energy and the prices of electric cars and energy storage, but would diversify technology and market risk.’

Hu says initial trading volumes have exceeded initial expectations, with the opening day’s trading numbering 450,000 shares and daily volumes for the fi rst month averaging some 140,000.With the advantage of being at the intersection of renewable energy, mining and commodity sectors, it is attracting a wide range of investors keen to exploit this area.

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“We wanted to take part in the long-term upside of the renewable energy movement but wanted an institutional investment vehicle that also mitigates technology risk and country-specifi c political risk


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Worldwide demand for photovoltaic slurry has almost doubled leading up to 2010 according to Markus Kreuzer, marketing and communications manager at SiC Processing.

He says, ‘The share of conditioning and recycling of used silicon carbide in the process of wafering has increased rapidly.’

Electric vehicle majors are also making efforts to shore up their supply chain and do what they can to maximise the efficiency of how they use these elements and has led to some interesting collaborations in the space.

In recent months, it was announced that Nissan and Sumitomo have formed a joint venture to look at recycling batteries as they further target the electric vehicle space, while US car giant General Motors (GM) and manufacturing conglomerate ABB Group will collaborate on a pilot project to re-use batteries from GM’s Chevrolet Volt hybrid to provide stationary electric grid storage systems once the batteries have fulfilled their useful life in the vehicles.

Bazmi Husain, head of ABB’s smart grids initiative, says, ‘We are excited to explore the possibility of employing electric car batteries in a second use that could help build needed storage capacity and provide far-reaching economic and environmental benefits.’

With the cost of the batteries already identified as one of the key factors hold-ing back wider deployment of electric cars, engineers from GM and ABB are looking at ways utilities can use the Volt storage systems to hold electricity generated during off-peak periods to supplement demand.

As access to rare earth elements becomes ever more constrained, the opportunities to find alternatives to these resources – or ways of putting them back into the energy mix – are likely

to become more prevalent. With no immediate answer in sight, the supply and demand fundamentals are leading to a wealth of opportunities for investors from high-level commodity plays right down to the latest cleantech innovations.

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The reliance on rare earths and other materials necessary to many green technologies highlights a critical supply vulnerability

Recycling and reuse

With many of the rare materials used for renewable energy technologies originating from overseas, countries such as the US are increasingly looking to develop new processes to recycle and reuse these precious resources. In June 2009, the US filed a dispute at the World Trade Organisation over raw material exports from China and included in the list of elements it wanted to get its hands on was silicon carbide.

A company set-up to target this space is SiC Processing, which recovers and conditions both silicon carbide and polyethylene glycol contained in the slurry of photovoltaic and semiconductor production. With production facilities in US, China, Italy, Norway and China, the company’s plans for worldwide expansion are already well underway. Its offering has attracted investment from the likes of European venture capital firm Mountain Cleantech, which initially doubled its equity stake before carrying out a partial exit through a trade sale to Nordic Capital Fund VII.

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New industrial processes and technological innovations have seen the growth in demand for a selection of scarce raw materials

8 October 2010

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With liquid fuel accounting for approximately two-thirds of global energy demand and question marks surrounding the short-term

viability of many electric vehicles, biofuels look set to provide important alternatives to incumbent sources of fuel for several decades. Established feedstocks, however, exhibit very limited potential to meet such huge demand, with some studies estimating that devoting the entirety of the world’s entire arable land to their growth would yield less than 50 per cent of fuel required. At the same time, overall demand for biofuels continues to increase globally in the wake of energy security concerns, rising fuel costs and environmental catastrophes such as the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Microalgal technologies, due to their potentially superior photo-synthetic yields (between three and eight per cent compared to around 0.5 per cent for first generation feedstocks), are increasingly regarded by many as of critical importance in both meeting consumer demand and capturing investor attention.

As Mary Rosenthal, chief executive of the Algal Biomass Association (ABO), says, ‘Algae has the highest oil content of any biological creature, and has the ability to produce oil on a scale higher than other biofuel feedstocks. First and second generation biofuel feedstocks, which are traditionally terrestrial-based crops, generally yield around 60-100 gallons per acre per year. We estimate that algae will be able to produce between 1,500 and 8,000 gallons per acre per year, once we get to full-scale commercialisation. Third-party analysts have projected that by 2022, the industry could produce six billion gallons of algae-based biofuels in the US alone. The industry therefore offers very compelling opportunities for investors.’

With year-round growth and harvesting cycles of between one and ten days, compared to once or twice per year for first generation feedstocks, algae has the potential to reduce much of the uncertainty associated with current biofuel production.

Algae biofuels edge closer to full commercialisation

‘The algae space appeals to many people as it is a perfectly vertically-integrated feedstock for fuel production,’ says Peter van den Dorpel, CEO at Netherlands-based technol-ogy developer AlgaeLink. ‘Once you have selected the right location, you can control the production and also quality specifications entirely, just like with a chemical plant. This is unlike first generation feedstock, where price and supply are volatile and global inconsistencies exist.’

The secondary benefits of algae are similarly compelling. As algae production facilities can be sited on marginal land, they do not remove valuable agricultural land from food production. Moreover, many algae species can survive in saline water, remediate wastewater and recycle carbon

emissions from industrial installations. Algae can also produce a range of fuels, such as ethanol, biodiesel, aviation fuel and hydrogen, with the latter pointing to opportunities within the industrial desalination industry. Applications also transcend the cleantech space to include opportunities in biotech, while the high protein and carbohydrate content of many species make them suited to producing animal feedstock. Importantly, demand and growth prospects across all

sectors look extremely promising. A recent report by SBI Energy predicted that the algal biofuel industry will see an annual growth rate of 43 per cent until 2015, when it estimates total market value will be more than $1.6bn.

Recognising potentialThe potential of algae has not escaped the attentions of investors, with both public and private sources flooding the industry over the past ten years. According to the ABO, the US government alone has invested a total of $800m into algae research, most notably through $180m provided by the US Department of Energy in 2009. Similarly, the ABO estimates that the private sector has invested $2bn into the algae industry to date.

As an answer to perennial liquid fuel challenges, algae-based biofuel has some way to go before it proves its doubters wrong and makes the step from small-scale operations to global roll-out and commercialisation.

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There have been a lot of promises made that were not realistic. As a result, a lot of investors are sceptical about algae

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Green growthIn recent years, the fuel industry looks to be evolving from a consolidation of oil companies to a decentralised, fragmented market. This decentralisation has seen the number of algae-based biofuel start-ups more than triple between 2005 and 2009, according to a recent report published by SBI Energy. This was part of an overall increase in the number of com-panies active in this area from fewer than ten before 2000 to more than 60 today. However, the structure of this still immature sub-sector still presents barriers for investors.

‘Most of the companies in the algae industry are private and like to keep their IP close to their chest,’ says Rosenthal at the ABO. ‘Consequently, there is some misinformation in the marketplace, so many assessments of the industry are using data that is as much as 15 years old.’ This leads to obvious confusion and distortions regarding where the industry is as a whole and how near it may be to commercialisation, as well as in assessing where specific investment opportunities stand in relation to this. The myriad of processes and technologies currently under development, while potentially beneficial in the long-term, also makes selecting winners difficult.

‘To enable the industry to reach its full potential, we need ensure the availability of clear and accurate information in the marketplace, relating to aspects such as life-cycle assessments and technologies that have been developing. It’s also crucial that our industry achieve regulatory and financial parity with other biofuel feedstocks. Supportive govern-ment policy will create a level playing-field for algae-based biofuels – something we haven’t had up to this point,’ adds Rosenthal. Private equity investment, government contracts and strategic partnerships, such as that of ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics, also look set to be key.

Despite the obvious challenges, there is a growing sense of confidence within the industry, and Rosenthal continues to be resolute in her outlook. ‘Our industry is on the cusp of commercialisation. What we need now is to go from pilot production to commercialisation. Thus the investment and time required to get to full commercialisation is the major barrier to development. As investors, policy-makers and end users look more closely at the benefits of algae-based fuels, we’re confident this is a barrier that can be overcome,’ she predicts.

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Despite the quantities of capital flowing into the algae industry as a whole, the development of biofuel applications lags somewhat behind those in other spaces. ‘While this market is potentially as big as those of fuel oil and biochemical products combined, I think it is still regarded as an emerging field by many investors, although some have dedicated experts and can distinguish between the different players, which has led to some large investments,’ says Van den Dorpel. A handful of significant venture investments have been taking place in recent years, with companies such as LiveFuels, Solazyme and GreenFuel Technologies. In August 2010, Solazyme raised $52m in Series D funding, and the sector has also seen some investments come full-cycle with both PetroAlgae and AlgaeTec recently announcing IPOs.

Growing painsInvestor experiences, however, have not always been universally positive. As Nellya Litae, head of business development at Israeli biotechnology company TransAlgae, observes. ‘In the last few years, there have been a lot of major developments in this space. However, there have been a lot of promises made that were not realistic. As a result, a lot of investors are very sceptical about algae.’

Regardless of the potential of algal technologies, this scepticism is not without justification, with some companies still tending to over-promise what they can deliver, based solely on initial laboratory results. As Van den Dorpel says, ‘Within the industry, some companies are attractive from an investment point of view, but most are not. Many companies are still struggling with yields – their process technically works, but the numbers don’t add up, and so investing in feasible projects is not possible in a lot of cases. So investors should be very open-minded, but very critical when screening proposals.’

On the technology side, there are clearly some challenges left to overcome, but the multi-sector relevance of algae technology may offer the key to speedy commercialisation. Success in producing algal biofuels will be at least partially dependent upon on the abilities of companies to develop and then leverage expertise within more established algae applications, such as nutraceuticals. Investors must, therefore, assess prospective investments relative to the algae space as a whole, not just that of algal biofuels.

Past experience proves that investors must avoid being seduced by the sheer potential of the sector, and search for opportunities in companies truly capable of developing into industry leaders. These companies are more likely to focus both on the development of the fuel production process, but will also work to address any existing shortcomings within the feedstock itself.

‘Until you domesticate a crop, you cannot grow it at scale, so I think that any algae companies not investing in some way in transgenics will really struggle to develop a cost-effective process,’ Litae says.

Opportunities could therefore present themselves within different fuel production, with the manufacture of hydrogen likely to become increasingly valuable as the prevalence of carbon trading increases.

Scale-up of of algal biofuel technologies from the laboratory is a proving an ongoing challenge for many companies

10 October 2010

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Final months of 2010 could signal renewed deal activity

There was very little private equity and venture capital investment in the clean energy industry during the month of August, resulting in a

12-month low by both volume and value, as well as a considerable year-on-year decline, according to data compiled by Zephyr and Bureau van Dijk exclusively for Envirotech & Clean Energy Investor.

August was also a disappointing month for clean energy M&A following strong results, both in August 2009 and July 2010. While a total of 100 deals worth an aggregate $3.35bn were recorded for the period, this represented a new 12-month low by both volume and value. Average deal value was also down, though the decline was exaggerated by a particularly strong performance in August 2009 that was not sustained in the following period. Deal activity for that month included China Yangtze Power’s $5.72bn acquisition of China Three Gorges Project Corporation’s electricity generation assets, in a massive cash deal that helped boost the month’s total. Volume also fell over the same time frame, from a high of 133 transactions for the same period last year.

Zephyr senior writer Amy Morris says, ‘M&A activity targeting the clean energy sector weakened significantly in August. Deal volume and value were both at 12-month lows, monthly transaction value was insignificant compared with the high values recorded in the year-ago and month-ago periods and private equity, venture and development capital interest floundered.’

Deal values downIn a month-on-month comparison, average deal values were down from an unusually strong result in July 2010, with 141 deals totalling $13.74bn. However, the average monthly deal value so far in 2010 amounts to $4.77m and offers a fairer tool for assessing August’s M&A value, according to Zephyr.

Morris attributes the disparity to several large billion-dollar deals during the period, the largest of these being electronics and technology giant Panasonic’s $4.8bn acquisition of its partly-owned subsidiary Sanyo Electric. Another notable deal

was agribusiness group Wilmar Australia’s $1.47bn acquisition of Sucrogen, the country’s largest renewable energy generator from biomass using cane bagasse, and its second-largest producer of fuel ethanol.

She says, ‘Both August 2009 and July 2010 were boosted by mega-deals and without such a fillip, August 2010 appears pale by comparison. However, such transactions cannot be expected on a monthly basis for a junior industry.’

Notwithstanding the absence of any similar blockbusting M&A deals in August 2010 and a drop in the actual volume of deals, there were some notable transactions during the period. Exelon’s $900m acquisition of project developer John Deere Renewables signalled the energy utility’s entrance into the wind energy sector and was the largest deal for the month. The transaction will immedi-ately add 735MW of power capacity to Exelon’s generation portfolio.The deal also included a provision for an additional $40m in projects under development, including 230MW in the latter stages out of development

portfolio totalling 1,468MW. Another notable acquisition was Nordic-focused energy

company Fortum’s acquisition of a 40 per cent stake in the Blaiken wind farm in Denmark, one of the largest onshore projects under development in Europe. Fortum invested around €160m in the project, with existing shareholder Skellefteå Kraft, which has planned the project since 2005, contributing around €240m of the total €400m project costs.

Strong September?Despite these disappointing results, there are signs that September could potentially see a return to the promising deal activity that marked the lead-up to a sub-par August.

In September, wind turbine manufacturer China Ming Yang Wind Power revealed that it is targeting $400m in an initial public offering (IPO) of American depository shares through listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is the largest non-state-owned or controlled wind turbine manufacturer in China. And while market conditions are still affecting many listing plans, with companies like Trony Solar

While August 2010 saw a 12-month low for both private equity and M&A deals in the global clean energy industry, increased activity during the early part of September could yet signal a return to higher deal volumes as confidence slowly returns to the sector.

FEATURE

M&A activity targeting the clean energy sector weakened significantly in August. Deal volume and value were both at 12-month lows

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FEATURE

pulling its IPO in August, China Ming Yang has expressed confidence as to the future on the back of ambitious expansion plans, and has said it intends to grow its production capacity and further establish an international presence.

On the project front, September also saw power utility E.ON selling its 20 per cent stake in the 165.6MW Nysted offshore wind farm to Dong Energy, which in turn offloaded a 50 per cent interest in the project to pension fund PensionDanmark for DKK400m (€54m).

According to Zephyr, only 12 venture capital and private equity deals were recorded in August 2010, totalling an aggregate $56m – a slow period by any standards. Notable deals did include a $20m Series C round for US-based clean technology company Infinite Power Solutions, co-led by existing investors DE Shaw Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners and Core Capital Partners.

Despite a broadly dismal period for private cleantech investment, the first two weeks of September again saw something of a recovery, with 12 deals already recorded and totalling more than the entire month of August already, further raising hopes of the period as a temporary blip.

Morris says, ‘Perhaps more noteworthy is the decline in private equity, venture capital and development capital deals targeting cleantech companies. There were just 12 valued at $56m, which in monetary terms represented a year-on-year decline of 89 per cent and a drop of 91 per cent in just four weeks. However, with 12 private equity, venture capital and development capital investments in cleantech already announced in the first two weeks of September – with a combined value of $100m – the outlook for September is more encouraging.’

Notable deals in September include electric vehicle charging station infrastructure company Coulomb Technologies,

securing $15m in Series C funding to accelerate the development and drive sales of its charging network. Early- to-growth stage capital provider Harbor Pacific Capital, Korea-based electrical company LS Cable and LS Industrial Systems joined the round as new investors in the company, while returning backers included Rho Ventures, Voyager Capital, Siemens Venture Capital and the strategic investment division of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Hartford Ventures.

Bioenergy crop company SG Biofuels also completed a $9.4m Series A financing round in which privately-held company Flint Hills Resources and biotechnology tools company Life Technologies joined existing investors, while University of Cambridge solar energy spin-out Eight19 secured £4.5m from the Carbon Trust and chemicals company Rhodia to propel it towards commercialisation.

With August seemingly bearing the belated brunt of the economic downturn, coupled with the annual holiday slowdown, the month’s disappointing results do still seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Despite a 12-month low in terms of deal activity, recent performance does suggest that this period of inactivity looks set to give way to a more buoyant clean energy market as the year concludes.

Global Clean Energy M&A Deal Volume

u

August 2010July 2010June 2010May 2010April 2010March 2010February 2010January 2010December 2009November 2009October 2009September 2009August 2009July 2009June 2009May 2009April 2009March 2009February 2009January 2009UnknownTotal

100141159156148169156170189192183171133188214154150185140150

03,248

6097

1009787

105102107122131118106

84109133105

94126

8190

02,054

3,45413,736

4,8676,8245,3926,1273,5075,4646,4696,5539,8433,597

17,8157,749

11,6517,4063,2304,726

19,2172,475

0150,100

Deal monthly value (Announced date)

Number of deals with known values

Number of deals Aggregate deal value ($m)

Source: Zephyr and Bureau van Dijk

Zephyr is an information solution containing M&A, IPO and venture capital deals with links to detailed financial company information. It is the combination of high quality M&A data provided by Zephus, and value adding software from Bureau van Dijk (BvD). Links to complementary company financials and peer reports from BvD’s product range are integrated for company valuation and benchmarking.

12 October 2010

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Project financing hurdles hinder geothermal growth

Earlier in the year, many in the industry may have felt that the plunging profit margins of geothermal heavyweights Raser Technologies and Calpine could

signal the start of a pullback from this particular renewable energy resource. But due to its baseload capacity and ability to generate power at a near-constant rate, geothermal remains something of a favourite with electricity providers such as US energy utility Southern California Edison (SCE).

At the end of its first financial quarter in 2010, US-based Calpine incurred losses of $47m with its commodity margin declining in the second quarter also. Similarly, August’s results saw Utah-based Raser in a negative gross margin slump, as it fell into losses of $1.2m for the first half of 2010 due to technical difficulties that cost the company around $52m.

Yet despite this poor outlook, geothermal power still has the capacity to keep power purchasers interested. While project developers often struggle to generate profit in the face of high capital costs, it is still relied on by a number of electricity dis-tributers for its ability to consistently produce power that is free from the kinds of intermittency issues seen in other clean energies, such as wind and solar.

Global capacityIn 2009 alone, the energy resource accounted for 57 per cent of US utility SCE’s renewables-derived electricity output, with an output of 7.8 billion KWh out of a total renewable energy portfolio of 13.6 million MWh. The fact that geothermal exceeds other renewable energy forms for SCE is even more impressive as it has far less installed output (956MW) than wind energy (1,583MW), yet it delivers more than double that provided by wind (3.5 million MWh).

The disparity is an area of particular interest for Marc Ulrich, SCE’s president of renewable and alternative power. While there are considerable costs to building a geothermal plant, this

is offset by a capacity factor that is up to three times greater than wind. While geothermal resources can generate power for 90 per cent of the time, wind installations will only generate power for about 30 per cent of the time.

‘You can rely on geothermal power more readily than wind or solar,’ says Ulrich. ‘With geothermal and wind, you have two renewable resources sized exactly the same on a megawatt basis, but because of their fuel sources, they have a different MWh output. A turbine will sit there to blow, but if it is not blowing it will not generate revenue.’

SCE serves a population of nearly 14 million through 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000 square-mile service area within central, coastal and southern California. The utility is actively looking to grow its renewables capacity, and understandably favours technologies that are more established and offer the most economical and reliable energy supply.

‘Geothermal is a good renewable resource and we have used electricity generated from it for more than 20 years,’ explains Ulrich. ‘However, there is more technology going to an increasingly smart grid, while renewable energy sources are fundamentally changing with zero fuel costs that are changing the economics of energy supply,’ he says.

The sector could, therefore, be facing a challenge as other clean energy technologies become cheaper and more efficient. Similarly, finance remains an issue in what has always been a relatively capital-intensive space.

‘There is a relationship between how expensive it is and the fuel source cost,’ Ulrich adds. ‘The price of coal has stayed fairly cheap, but wind and solar are equally as cheap.’

Heating upWhether geothermal remains such a strong choice in the fast-changing landscape of clean energy remains to be seen, though global capacity is predicted to grow. The International Geothermal Association (IGA) has reported that 10,715MW of geothermal power is currently online in 24 countries. This is expected to generate 67,246GWh of electricity in 2010, a 20 per cent increase in online capacity since 2005. With projected growth expected to reach 18,500MW by 2015, the main hurdle lies in the financing of what remains an often unpredictable energy resource.

Additionally, government support in the form of grants and loan guarantees look set to play an increasingly prominent role, according to global market analysts Frost & Sullivan. A 2009 report predicted that installed geothermal capacity in the

Although relied on by a growing number of energy utilities for its reliability and baseload capacity, geothermal could find itself sidelined as financing for projects remains a challenge and other alternative energies continue to improve their efficiency.

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You can rely on geothermal power more readily than wind or solar

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Storage spaceWhile the capital costs for a geothermal plant still make it more expensive than a natural gas facility, a massive advantage that geothermal has over solar and wind energy facilities is that it can be stored in a similar way to traditional fuel sources such as coal and natural gas.

Nonetheless, the economics of geothermal energy depend to a great extent on the abundance of the geothermal field and high upfront capital costs, which presents an enduring problem for developers. The absence of a carbon price in the US further raises the economic stakes of renewable energy, particularly when taking into account upfront development costs, accord-ing to SCE’s Ulrich, and is one area where the US could offer greater support to an emerging clean energy industry.

‘One of things that skews the economics against renewables in the US is that on the conventional side there is not a good price of carbon, which is a hidden cost. In the UK you have carbon prices, which give a true cost and make renewables relatively less expensive,’ he says.

However, the higher costs incurred when building geothermal plants may be at least partially offset by the fluctuating prices of other renewables, even if they may come down in the long term, he notes. Additionally, geothermal has not been an area that has seen a great deal of investment in the technology, which is comparatively well-established, and it may be necessary for new technologies and processes to emerge to help drive down costs and drive up efficiency.

SCE claims to have delivered more renewable energy in 2009 than any other utility, with its annual renewable electricity output accounting for 17 per cent of a power portfolio totalling six billion KWh. And while many utilities – in the US and elsewhere – are looking to build a renewable portfolio from a selection of resources in order to achieve a diversified energy mix, cost and reliability understandably lie at the heart of any future expansion plans. The economic potential of the various renewable energies on offer will understandably continue to remain a high priority, and geothermal could yet capitalise on its reputation for baseload reliability, providing the financing for the next generation of projects can be found.

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US will grow from 1.6GW to nearly 4GW in 2016. A similar growth story can be found in Europe, most notably in Italy, which currently has the greatest installed capacity in the region and is expected to see an increase from 842MW to 1.24GW over the next six years. Germany is also expected to undergo a pronounced ramp-up, from an installed capacity of just 13MW in 2009 to 490MW by 2016.

Elsewhere, the report highlights the need for targets to be specified by the European Union (EU), in addition to increased government support through initiatives such as feed-in tariffs, to encourage established industry participants to drive future growth. In order for the geothermal sector to develop further, investment in new research will also be vital to develop cost-effective and improved geothermal systems.

Additionally, the rising efficiency levels of other alternative energies could curtail the growth of the geothermal sector, requiring greater backing from governments, according to Alina Bakhavera, renewable energy research analyst at the firm.

‘I believe where the government support is strong, the development will still go on, but at lower growth rate than previously expected,’ she says, stressing the role of policy and government support as an essential tool to the growth of the renewables sector, amidst a still-challenging financial climate.

‘This is not unique to the geothermal energy market. The same trends are visible not only in other renewable energy sectors and also in conventional power generation markets with projects being delayed, put on hold, or investors pulling out of less attractive projects,’ she adds.

When facing shrinking profits and margins, developers are likely to focus on countries and regions with the highest level of support, Bakhavera explains. They are also likely to focus on their core regions where they have a strong foothold and less risky projects where there is a degree of certainty in their planned project returns.

‘Nowadays companies are a lot more cautious regarding new initiatives, and anything that involves additional expenses with unclear and less predictable outcomes,’ she adds. ‘I think the geothermal market won’t depict a set of trends dramatically different from other renewable energy markets.’

Total 3,296 13,619,000 100%

Small Hydro 201 561,000 4%

Biomass 174 899,000 7%

Solar 382 845,000 6%

Geothermal 956 7,785,000 57%

Wind 1,583 3,528,000 26%

Energy resource Capacity (MW) Delivered in 2009 (MWh) Percentage of SCE’s renewable portfolio (%)

Southern California Edison 2009 Renewables Summary

Source: SCE

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are so big, if it is not with the most senior management then it is not really worth having.’

How well-positioned is the UK offshore renewable energy industry compared to the rest of the world?

‘The UK is particularly gifted with marine renewable energy resources, which puts the country in an intrinsically good place at the outset. It produces over 50 per cent of Europe’s offshore renewable energy and that is increasing quite substantially.

‘By 2020, current expectations are that approximately 65 per cent of Europe’s marine energy will be produced by the UK. The remaining 35 per cent will largely be produced in Germany, with smaller amounts in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Holland and France.’

How can governments promote renewable growth? ‘The previous government saw renewable power as being a key priority within the energy agenda, but they were agnostic about whether it should be offshore, onshore or biomass and looked to the market to make the appropriate technology choices.

‘In reality, however, remaining impartial has been difficult, not least because of the differing risk profiles of the various technologies. This is one of the reasons that differential bands within the RO were introduced to provide higher or lower support to the various technologies. These policies were quite well-received, but there has continued to be a missing element for industry which is a longer-term plan for the UK in terms of its energy mix and issues around energy security.

‘It seems the renewable energy agenda is even more of a priority to the new coalition government and that is very encouraging. It is so much a priority that they can see that

Tasked with a mandate of awarding development rights to offshore wind, tidal and wave project developers, The Crown Estate has a unique role

in the development of the country’s renewable energy sector. Like many countries, the UK is in the midst of a massive infrastructure challenge, as offshore wind becomes increasingly integral to achieving emissions reduction targets as it aims to stay at the forefront of both technological and engineering advancements, according to Rob Hastings, director of the Marine Estate.

With the recent changes to the UK’s political landscape, questions have inevitably arisen as to the potential for support from the newly-installed coalition government. Amendments to schemes such as the Renewables Obligation (RO), which places a mandate on UK suppliers of electricity to source an increasing proportion of their electricity from renewable sources, will have a direct impact on The Crown Estate’s offshore developments, Hasting says. While details of the government’s proposed Green Investment Bank aimed at kick-starting low-carbon investments remain sketchy at best, he is adamant that market forces must be supported by a political agenda that de-risks the sector to a sufficient degree to attract both public and private investment.

How does The Crown Estate award its development rights? ‘Developers have got to be able to deliver on what they say they can. It sounds like a very simple statement, but it is quite a big call because what we are trying to do is a very large endeavour. The challenge for someone who wants to work with us is that they must clearly demonstrate they have the skills, competences, money and the clear understanding that if they don’t deliver on time, then statements of intent or commitment are irrelevant.

‘Bearing in mind how big a commitment this is for them, these decisions and assurances will typically come from their main boards, no matter how big they are, no matter whether it is an E.ON or an RWE. Because the decisions being made

UK offshore industry gears up for market leadershipWith some promising new developments to its offshore clean energy industry, the UK is relying on the backing and support of both public and private sectors to establish its position at the top of Europe’s renewable leaderboard.

Industry ProfileRob Hastings, The Crown Estate

By 2020, current expectations are that approximately 65 per cent of Europe’s marine energy will be produced by the UK

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infrastructure investors will become very interested in this sector.

‘We are only probably two or three years away before it will be an industry in itself; there will liquidity in the debt market, there will be derivatives, there will be all sorts of things the finance community is very familiar with.’

How important is UK investment into its domestic market? ‘There are two parts to that discussion. The first is where the money is coming from and the second is where is it best to locate the capacity to deliver market objectives.

‘The first is simply about investor returns. The second is about whether there are the optimum physical locations for where work needs to be done, in order to minimise the delivery risk and the costs. It is my view that in the offshore industry if you are remotely located from where you are trying to do the work it intrinsically adds costs to the project. The UK has a huge amount of redundant capacity that could be

deployed in the offshore industry, but it requires investment to get it working again.

‘That takes you back to the first point, which is how to gain investor confidence. As for where these investors are located. Frankly, I really don’t think that matters. In a global economy, which the UK is part of, it is very difficult to identify where money comes from. How much investment in UK infrastructure comes from the Norwegian Sovereign Fund, for example. Does anybody actually know?

Does anybody care?’ ‘Where the money comes from is not relevant; it is how

it is used. Does it provide a sustainable way forward to maximise the delivery of what we are trying to do? That is what it is about for me.’

How do you perceive the development of the UK marine energy sector? ‘I am starting to feel more confident about the sector. We tried to give it a jump-start by launching the Pentland Firth programme, targeting 1GW by 2020 and the attraction this offers is starting to come through now. It has been a difficult time in the last couple of years with the problems in the equity markets and the development of the sector has just happened at the wrong time. If we hadn’t had those problems then I think we would be a little bit ahead of where we are because the intrinsic proposition is relatively solid.

‘There has been a lot of good work going on in terms of consolidating the types of technologies. The project developers are now there as well and creating a pipeline to market for the product developers. It is behind the wind story but not that far. As we approach 2020, you will have consolidation of the heavy players and the market will become quite competitive.’

the RO support mechanism may not be as robust or efficient for the purpose of delivering the renewable energy targets as it could be.’

What is your opinion on the UK’s proposed Green Investment Bank? ‘There is a strong case for an investment bank which is supported by the state and designed to promote new investment in renewable energy. It is important that it does not adversely affect the natural investment market; however, I would suggest that it is right for the government to underwrite certain investment risks which derive from aggressive government policies.

‘While successfully stimulating the market, the government has been expecting it to deliver against its agenda. Of course, the problem with that is the markets won’t necessarily do what the government requires unless it can deliver to its investment requirements. A green investment bank is about acknowledging that there is a need for the state to step-up to the plate and de-risk the delivery programme to the point where the market itself will feel comfortable picking up those risks that it understands and is prepared to take.’

Do you think it will go far enough to spur institutional investor interest in the sector? ‘It is the right step to take, but I don’t think it is the complete answer. The market is trying to work with a risk-return profile that it doesn’t understand because of the government’s agenda. Until we have closed that completely, the Green Investment Bank will be a useful mechanism, but it can’t do the job alone.

‘There is a need here for a more comprehensive model to be set-up that ensures the risk distribution is clearly identified between the government, private sector and investor community. There needs to be a very clear model of how that will work and we haven’t quite got there yet. Getting to this new model – and here we arrive at the point which is always quite difficult – will require the government declaring a position on how the market will deliver.’

Does the relative immaturity of the offshore wind sector mean that investors tend to avoid it? ‘The great story about offshore wind is that it fits the infrastructure investor extremely well and although there is a tough environment to work with and we need some new technologies to do it, the proposition of building wind farms offshore is remarkably simple. You have a vast expanse of virgin territory where you put up a wind farm and you connect it to the consumer. Compare that to onshore renewable energy projects and those seem extremely complicated. We have got 1GW of offshore wind installed already and I am confident that once we get 2GW

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“There is a strong case for an investment bank which is supported by the state and designed to promote new investment in renewable energy

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16 October 2010

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– the tonnage of carbon dioxide emissions we produce – will increase, but we will be more efficient and carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour will be down,’ he says.

After 2025, Eskom is aiming to see its emissions drop in real terms, a target in line with the commitment it made at the UN climate meet in Copenhagen last December. ‘We have a whole suite of options and our sense is that there is no silver bullet.’ With its share of renewable energy comprising just five to six per cent of its total installed capacity, Lennon admits that this is a figure that will need to be increased dramatically if these targets are to be met.

First steps As the government continues to

debate the details of its integrated resource planning process, much of Eskom’s plans are still subject to final approval. It has, however, made some progress in its renewable energy footprint over recent months and is well underway with two major projects. The first is a 100MW wind farm that is in the final design stages and will rapidly increase the size of this renewable energy sector in South Africa, which currently stands at just 3.5MW. ‘We will be going out on an open enquiry on that by the end of this year or very early next. That will be an international tender for the purchase of the turbines themselves,’ he says.

The second is a 100MW central receiver solar thermal project that Lennon describes as a big step forward. ‘It is a demonstration plant because we appreciate that nothing like this has been built at this scale anywhere else in the world, although we note with excitement the solar developments in the US and Spain in particular.’ The initial aim is to have this up and running within three to four years with a view to expanding it considerably in the future. Recent reports have

As South Africa’s largest energy company, Eskom has long been aware of the need to increase and diversify its power sources and is increasingly

looking to build its renewables capacity, according to Dr Steve Lennon from the state-owned utility.

From 2007, the country has had to endure ‘load-shedding’, where power is actively switched off to some parts of the country to ensure supply for others, and in 2008 the situation was declared a national emergency. With three of its major mining houses - AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony – told to cease operations in January 2008, sending the price of gold rocketing, it was clear that maintaining the status quo was simply not an option.

At the time, the government announced it was to switch all traffic lights to solar power to put an end to the massive jams caused by the disruption to signals and put a cap on the number of energy-consuming incandescent bulbs on to the market.

Managing expectationsDespite the country being blessed with abundant solar and wind resources, perceptions need to remain realistic about the amount of investment that can be placed into the sector and the resulting rate of change, Dr Lennon says. ‘As far as renewable generation is concerned, there is a lot of positive thinking and a lot of pressure groups but I think there are also a lot of expectations that will not necessarily be met.

‘The approach we take to renewables is fairly pragmatic regarding a partnership with the government and the regulator ,but I do get concerned that there are a lot of unrealistic expectations out there.’

Eskom’s produces the vast majority of power in South Africa, some 85 per cent of which is derived from coal. Although it has had a diversification strategy for some time now, the renewables portion of its generation capacity is very small and much of that is hydropower imported from neighbouring Mozambique.

‘Up until 2025, we will aim to reduce the relative emissions of carbon dioxide. We appreciate that our absolute emissions

Energy utility to develop South African renewablesIn a bid to address its growing energy challenge, South Africa’s leading power utility Eskom is turning towards renewables as the answer to meeting ambitious emissions reduction targets as it sets out to build a brand new domestic industry.

Industry ProfileDr Steve Lennon, Eskom

There is a perception that renewable energy is wanted, but when people have to pay for it, it becomes a challenge

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not had as many as we would like. This illustrates that there is a perception out there that renewable energy is wanted, but when people have to pay for it it becomes a challenge.’

With the upcoming wind turbine tender, however, Lennon is keen to see this kick-start a domestic industry that in the future would be able to serve not only the South African market but export its wares on a global scale. ‘Because we anticipate that renewables are going to be an important part of the energy scene in South Africa for many years, we want to develop a renewables industry domestically,’ he says. Although the World Bank funding will mean the utility complying with international requirements and processes, Lennon is confident that at least a share of the total could be manufactured locally.

A major piece of the puzzle, however, is drawing in private equity financing to what domestically still a developing sector. A recently-announced feed-in tariff (REFIT) in which Eskom is the single buyer on the behalf of government will go a long way to achieving this aim. ‘We are now just waiting for the government and the regulator to finalise the criteria that we need to use and the selection of those independent power producers. The bottom line is that the tariffs offered under the REFIT are quite attractive.’

As investor interest picks up, both Eskom and the private sector as a whole are awaiting the government’s decision with keen anticipation. In the long-term, however, Lennon is confident government financial incentives such as REFIT will just be an interim measure. ‘Once we start installing plants at scale to the order of 1,000MW, we will see those cost curves coming into force. In the not too distant future, we will be seeing a lot of these renewables technologies being very cost competitive and we won’t need subsidies such as FITs.’

With many of the major mining groups operating out of South Africa now actively looking at co-generation as a means to reduce their carbon-footprint and Eskom working closely with European renewable energy project developer Vattenfall on developing a biomass industry, it seems that renewables could yet play an increasingly prominent role.

suggested a feasibility study into a 5,000MW solar plant – which if built will be five times bigger than any other around the world – will be complete in the coming months.

Both projects have been given a massive financial boost from the World Bank, which earlier this year awarded a loan worth $3.75bn to assist the development of the country’s power infrastructure. At the time of the announcement in April, the World Bank said the loan was the first major lending engagement with South Africa since the fall of the apartheid 16 years ago and was brought about by its 2007/2008 energy crisis as well as the country’s vulnerability to an energy shock, as exposed by the global financial crisis. ‘This project will help South Africa achieve a reliable electricity supply whole also financing some of the biggest solar and wind power plants in the developing world,’ it said.

For his part, Lennon says the World Bank contribution has been essential in light of the scarcity of opportunities for homegrown financing. ‘We are in the midst of a massive build programme in which we are also constructing a coal plant and there is going to be a requirement in future to build a nuclear plant,’ he says. ‘I anticipate there is going to be a lot more renewables built in South Africa and we need funding.’

Eskom’s aims are indeed ambitious and if met will see between 5GW and 10GW of solar thermal projects alone constructed by 2025.

Public engagement Ensuring the renewable energy industry takes off domestically – both at the commercial and residential level – is essential if the utility is to successfully build its capacity in any sustainable way. On the demand side, it is running a solar water heating programme to change the current trend of water being heated by electricity and whereby adopters can benefit from a subsidy. Lennon says although this has attracted interest, the figures not yet near the levels he would hope for.

‘While the subsidy is quite good, it is still a pricey process for the individual homeowners to do the switch and we have

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In the not-too-distant future, we will be seeing a lot of these renewables technologies being very cost-competitive and we won’t need subsidies

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18 October 2010

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segment, in that it corresponded with the investment aims of our latest investment product. The strategic rationale of our entry was that cleantech, with its various sub-segments, was

seen to provide many of the vertical market opportunities for Intel Group.

‘Intel Capital acts like a pure financial investor in terms of our requirements for good risk-adjusted returns. We are very broad in terms of stage, and are agnostic in that respect, and we found that cleantech offered many attractive investments based on long-term macro trends like renewable energy generation and energy efficiency that we found extremely compelling.’

Where does your focus lie within cleantech?‘The overriding logic is that we only

invest in areas that we feel we know about, and we look to leverage our corporate technology knowledge or existing expertise. Essentially, we focus on three sub-sectors, which are renewable energy generation, smart grids and electric transport.

‘Within renewable energy generation, we focus on solar photovoltaics [PV]. As opposed to wind or waste-to-energy and other themes, PV is essentially a semiconductor-based technology and this is at the heart to Intel’s core business. Obviously we are very cognisant of the difference between PV technology and that of the core business, but there are many competencies that can be leveraged across in areas such as FAB operations, equipment and processing, which apply to the traditional semiconductor world and the PV world.

‘From a strategic standpoint, we make a real point of leveraging Intel’s core expertise into adjacent areas. There is also a desire to promote distributed energy generation which has a demand creation aspect. The more distributed demand generation is available, the more power is available across the

As the venture capital arm of a global technology group, Intel Capital acts as something of a strategic business development tool, able to scout new trends

and identify new opportunities that might be outside the company’s immediate core focus. In many ways it operates as its parent group’s eyes and ears in a complex and rapidly evolving marketplace, according to Heiko Von Dewitz, a director at the firm.

He explains, ‘Intel is very is very much execution-driven. It requires somebody else to look at the opportunities or threats that might be outside of this focus. Most of the time in the high-tech arena, where things evolve very fast, there is a great deal of opportunity for disruption and leapfrogging and it is important to have to have your antenna out there to be aware of what is happening and utilise these trends to your advantage.’

Intel Capital has been active in the corporate venture business for more than 20 years. The group takes a global focus and invests between $200m to $400m on an annual basis, and has made some 1,200 investments to date.

Von Dewitz in particular points to the need to support and build new ecosystems and markets to allow for the widespread adoption of new technologies.

‘It is very complex. Intel products could not succeed if the ecosystems were not in place and complementary and enabling technologies were not operational. We invest in companies that provide these building blocks and enhance the ecosystem,’ he says. ‘For many of these emerging markets with huge growth rates, it is often about accelerating market growth. For some regions there is a real need for basic technology services, and we invest in regional providers and integrators who can help build those solutions.’

What led Intel Capital to look at clean technology?‘We started looking at cleantech from a number of different angles, but really it was in early 2007 when we made a conscious decision to develop new market opportunities for Intel Corporation in what we saw as a growing marketplace. At the time, we recognised a targeted, embedded market

Corporate venture capital the key to sustaining cleantech innovationIncreasing numbers of industrial groups and global corporations are choosing to supplement their in-house R&D efforts with a corporate venture capital strategy to source and incorporate innovative new green and environmental technologies.

Investor Profile: Corporate Venture CapitalHeiko Von Dewitz, Intel Capital

InVestOR PROfIle: CORPORate VentuRe CaPItal

Heiko Von Dewitz, Intel Capital

19www.envirotechInvestor.com

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approach is that innovation does not stop. There is a great opportunity to make good investments at reasonable prices and allow us hopefully to pick winners once the dust has settled. Many markets, like the semiconductor markets are cyclical by nature, similarly the investment markets. It is something that one has to live with. However, if the underlying value is sound and the macro trends are strong, then the outlook for the long term remains promising.

‘While one shouldn’t get too easily scared, it is important to be conscious and disciplined in terms of deal selection. It goes back to what constitutes venture capital. We need to see best-in-class technologies and best in class teams with a long-term global potential. ‘Me too’ technologies may thrive in a bubble but are unlikely to yield good returns in a recession.

‘In a way it is good that we are seeing more discipline from investors, with more of a pronounced focus on real innovation and technology differentiation than we have seen in previous years.’

What kind of deals do you look to target?‘It goes back to the essence of venture capital and how we like to approach our investments. Our mission is to be a stage-agnostic technology investor. Looking at the technology, we look for world class technologies with disruptive potential. That provides the opportunity for long-term market leadership and competitive differentiation. It sounds generic, but it is what one has to aim for if these investments are to provide good returns and we need to look at every company as if it can meet these criteria.

‘In terms of stage, we are very broad, and do early stage – even pre-revenue companies – as well as later stage companies for typical growth funding. Our typical scope is between $1m-$50m.

‘Obviously the earlier the opportunity, the more we have to be comfortable that the company’s technology has potential. If you move towards later-stage opportunities, then the market has provided its own form of validation on the technology, the team and the strategy, and obviously you tend to look more at private equity-style of financial parameters. But you still need to dig deep enough to see whether the company can become a market leader based on its core assets and competencies.’

globe which can power technologies like notebooks, and this pays directly into Intel’s daily operations. The more distributed energy generation you have, the smarter the electricity grids have to become, and this again requires more information technology, more computing and more communications and feeds directly into more opportunities for Intel in the various embedded sections. We aim to build an ecosystem for Intel products, as well as accelerate these market segments.

‘In areas such as smart grids, this applies to all regions of the world and concerns an infrastructure that has not been upgraded for many decades. There is a huge need to be more efficient with the stark resources on offer and also reduce the environmental effect by having a smarter grid that helps reduce energy consumption. It requires a lot of computing and communications capabilities that provide business opportunities for Intel.

‘We also look at the entire ecosystem around electric transportation in its various forms, as well as the complimentary infrastructure in terms of charging, billing and the service provisioning. The same logic applies as for previous areas as all this requires significant computing capabilities which again offers considerable opportunities for Intel products.’

Do you take a regional focus?‘It depends. All these cleantech themes are truly global and relevant, whether we are in Europe, Asia or the US. For that reason we look at global markets and opportunities. Within certain sub-segments, we do specialise somewhat, often based on individual regions development. Germany still retains a stronghold in solar PV in equipment and new innovative technologies like CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) and new thin-film PV technologies based on new materials.

‘In smart grid we see a lot of opportunity in the US, partly based on the size and complex nature of its grid. There is a huge potential for improvements and developments in demand response opportunities around smart metering infrastructure.

‘There are certain local flavours that drive technology adoption in some of these sub-sectors and may be stronger in some areas, but by and large these trends are global, and provide us with global opportunities.’

How do you perceive global clean energy space?‘Even in these economically uncertain times it is obvious to that the sector has a great deal to offer. The essence of our

We are seeing more discipline from investors and more of a focus on real innovation and technology differentiation

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InVestOR PROfIle: CORPORate VentuRe CaPItal

Intel’s expertise in semiconductor-based technology is directly transferable to solar photovoltaics

20 October 2010

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next three to five years. This generates attractive investment opportunities for those who understand the changes taking place with regards to consumer preferences, government spending, energy supply and security, food supply/demand imbalance and the general need for a cleaner and more

efficient economy.’Coupled with macro drivers such

as population growth across the developing world, the emergence of new investment opportunities is becoming increasingly apparent to institutions and asset managers alike.

Quiroz says, ‘The global population is expected to reach nine billion globally by 2050, an increase of 50 per cent in just 40 years, with most of the increase coming from the developing world. People within the developing economies will consume more water, food and energy and generate more waste.

‘As the developing world population grows and as their living standards increase, global water consumption is expected to grow by a factor of five by 2050. This poses a significant challenge, given that our existing supplies of fresh water are threatened by rising sea levels and changing rainfall distribution, both of which are the results of climate change,’ she adds.

Similarly, while per capita waste generation in the developing world is ten per cent of that in the developed world today, faster population growth and rising standards of living mean that global waste generation is set to increase by a factor of ten by 2050. A growth in associated investment themes keen to target this potential shortfall can be foreseen, as savvy investors look to take advantage of these compelling global trends.

Investors are seeing a new green economy developing around the convergence of macro drivers including climate change, population growth and resource

scarcity. This is generating a host of investment opportunities across various products, services and technologies developed for a cleaner and more efficient economy, according to Claudia Quiroz, fund manager at UK investment group Cheviot Asset Management.

There is also a growing appetite and interest from institutional investors and family offices keen take a greater focus on the opportunities around green and sustainable investments, she says.

‘We are seeing more and more interest in the space, as institutions and family offices realise that governments across the world are investing in sustainability and environmental projects to generate economic growth and create jobs.

During the financial crisis, for instance, we saw significant allocation of the stimulus packages to sustainability and environmental infrastructure,’ she adds.

Quiroz points to the US, where some 12 per cent of the total stimulus budget was dedicated to the green sector. Similarly, China allocated a considerable 34 per cent to the space, while the European Union committed an impressive 65 per cent.

Driving forwardWith drivers varying from growing interest in socially responsible investment themes and the ever-present quest for higher returns, the simplest reason for this heightened focus on the sector is its growth profile and the slew of new opportunities available to investors of all kinds.

She explains, ‘Growth is the key reason for general investor interest in the sustainability and environmental themes. Most end-markets in the sustainability space are expected to grow annually at double-digit rates over the

Multi-asset approach tocombat market volatilityThe rise of multi-asset strategies focused on the green sector stems from a growing interest from investors as they seek new methods to take advantage of a compelling global opportunity, according to Claudia Quiroz of Cheviot Asset Management.

Investor Profile: Asset ManagerClaudia Quiroz Cheviot Asset Management

InvesTOr PrOfIle: AsseT MAnAger

A multi-asset approach allows us to switch between equities and bonds, depending on the prevailing economic and interest rate environment

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leverage. As such, public equity markets are likely to remain the preferred way to fi nance the sustainability theme.’

However, one potential hurdle to the growth of green investment is the volatile nature of what remains an immature sector, according to Quiroz.

‘Most of the fund offerings within the sustainability space are mainly equity-only strategies. These have had signifi cant volatility over recent years, as most of their holdings are high beta stocks. These kinds of funds do very well during an upturn, but shockingly badly in a downturn.

As such, many investors still associate environmental or sustainability markets with high volatility and poor returns,’ she says.

By taking a mixed-asset approach, Cheviot hopes to combat this volatility and offer more consistent return expectations, refl ecting also the growing scale of opportunities across both listed and private equities.

And while legislation offers a much-publicised boost to many areas of global green and renewables growth, the often

fl uctuating regulatory environments offer a fresh challenge to investors, with a stable outlook key to encouraging a greater participation from the fi nancial sector.

‘Government support – including subsidies, grants and loans – has been a pillar underpinning the development of alternative energy technologies. Some of the sustainability end markets are still dependent on government stimulus.’

However, while helpful in the short term, subsidies and other forms of government support and regulation can distort the underlying growth of the markets, Quiroz says.

‘We saw in the solar sector how generous feed-in tariff regimes in Germany and Spain encouraged growth earlier this decade. However, as soon as these subsidies were reduced we saw a dramatic slowdown in demand. We believe in long-term regulation rather than short-term subsidies as a more sustainable way for governments to promote green technologies.’

Multi-asset approachAlongside this sizeable energy and resource-related challenge is a clear opportunity for investment within areas including alternative energy, water purifi cation and control, desalination and recycling. With a sliding scale of risks and returns, investors are also increasingly able to access a selection of strategies and themes, achieving returns on their investment, either through income or capital gains, Quiroz says.

‘At Cheviot, we run the Climate Assets Fund, a multi-asset fund which aims to reduce volatility and provide a smoother return through the economic cycle. The fund focuses on the convergence of climate change, population growth and resource scarcity, giving a well-diversifi ed portfolio in contrast to funds just focusing on climate change or environmental markets,’ she says.

As a multi-asset fund, Climate Assets invests in both equities, bonds and commodities (through ETFs). In addition to protecting capital, a multi-asset fund can potentially offer a higher yield than pure equity funds through a combination of dividends and interest income, Quiroz explains.

‘A multi-asset approach allows us to switch between equities and bonds, depending on the prevailing economic and interest rate environment.’

For investors such as Cheviot, when looking at the sustainability space there is a growing interest in multi-asset strategies, rather than an allocation to only one asset class. For many investors eyeing the sector, the green theme has come far in recent years, evolving varying screening approaches to prioritise companies that have a strong track record in sustainability.

‘We are great advocates of the positive screening approach, as it gives a focus on companies offering solutions to the global challenges of reducing carbon emissions, improving the food demand/supply imbalance and reducing water shortages. We believe these markets are set to grow higher than the overall economy, particularly in developed countries, where GDP growth is likely to remain in the low single digits for the next few years,’ she says.

Remaining hurdlesDespite the growing scale of private equity involvement in the green and sustainability sectors, Quiroz remains convinced that it is the listed markets that offer the best access point for asset managers seeking good returns from green investments.

She says, ‘We have seen an increasing interest from private equity in the sustainability space. However, the small-scale and early stage nature of many of the businesses involved makes them unsuitable for fi nancial

InvesTOr PrOfIle: AsseT MAnAger

Cheviot Asset Management was launched in May 2006, following the recruitment of 92 investment professionals and support staff from UBS.

Michael Kerr-Dineen, industry veteran and former chief executive of UBS Laing & Cruickshank, was appointed chief executive; and Sir George Mathewson, formerly chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland was appointed chairman.

Cheviot now manages and advises on over £3bn of client assets as of February 2010.

“We believe in long-term regulation, rather than short-term subsidies as a more sustainable way for governments to promote green technologies

22 October 2010

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conventional private equity strategies. What we did not see were investment vehicles of institutional quality focused on direct investments in clean energy project assets.’

Why did you choose to focus on infrastructure?‘By our analysis, the timing and the quantum of investment demand was for proven project solutions and not cleantech, which has longer time frames. It is in proven technologies that exist today and it was in the scale of their deployment that we saw the market opportunity. If you look at the International Energy Agency’s estimates, 70 per cent of the solutions to future emissions reduction are expected to come from asset-based projects, using existing and proven technologies.’

What interest are you seeing from institutional investors?‘It varies by jurisdiction. In Europe – and in particular the Nordic and Benelux regions – we see that large pension fund investors are definitely more proactive and further up the curve in terms of viewing the clean energy sector in asset class terms, and have already made commitments to certain products in the space. We are also seeing an emerging interest in South East Asia, Australia and Canada. The key attraction is in the income yield from these assets, underpinned in many cases by long-term contracted revenues. They appreciate that these assets generate clean and low carbon energy, something that is also set to increase in relative value terms.

‘The US is probably the furthest behind the curve in terms of their pension funds getting behind clean energy as a long-term, income-generating investment opportunity – that also provides portfolio diversification. But this is changing, and it is changing as we speak, even if slowly. It is compounded by

The growing profile and availability of project finance opportunities in the clean energy space offers a compelling prospect to institutional investors

interested in building a portfolio of green assets, according to David Scaysbrook, managing director in the clean energy and infrastructure team at asset manager Capital Dynamics.

Having founded renewables company Novera Energy in Australia in 1998 – taken over last year by private equity-backed Infinis Energy – Scaysbrook is familiar with mechanics of these deals, incorporating development, investment, financing and operational management. The unique profile of the new breed of renewable energy projects makes them an ideal match for institutional investors, he says, with the fund targeting IRRs of between 15 and 20 per cent.

‘The risk return-profile reflects the nature of direct asset investing. We invest in and own these assets with a medium- to long-term time frame. The assets generally have lifespans of 20-plus years, contracted cash flows with utilities or large energy companies, many of which are investment-grade rated. We like getting involved in the development cycle and the late stage development of portfolios, but we do not take technology risk.’

What led to the launch of the fund?‘In 2007, we began to examine where all the capital for asset-based solutions to climate change would come from. We analysed the make-up of investors in renewable energy up to that time. Institutional investors were not represented much at all; it was mainly corporate capital, utility capital and project finance. We felt that the scale of investment demand being talked about to achieve renewable energy and climate change targets meant that institutional investors, would ultimately have to figure in that mix.

‘We looked at the investment products in the market at that time and found mostly cleantech venture capital and

Green infrastructure stakes claim as growing asset classWhile the lack of institutional-quality funds targeting clean energy infrastructure may deter some investors, the sector’s growing profile and capacity to generate consistent, long-term returns is proving an increasingly compelling proposition.

Investor Profile: InfrastructureDavid Scaysbrook, Capital Dynamics

InvestOr PrOfIle: Infrastructure

In Europe we see that large pension fund investors are definitely more proactive and further up the curve in terms of viewing the clean energy sector in asset class terms

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energy. We look at the shape, strength and longevity of the regulatory incentives, whatever the region. Investors need long-term visibility and assurance that these incentive frameworks will be in place in the future. In essence, this means the ‘grandfathering’ of existing invested capital as an inalienable principle, even if the future regulatory direction changes. In that sense, clean energy is no different to any long-term capital investment. We are realists and we know that regulations such as feed-in tariff pricing will change, and they will impact future investment decisions. But the most important thing is supporting investor confidence, that investing in projects based on the regulatory stimulus as it exists at the time of their commitment will not damage their expected return. By and large, regulatory stimulus over the years has abided this principle and the investment incentives for clean energy have become more attractive and more extensive.’

How can you see the market evolving in the coming years?‘The next few years are going to be quite dynamic. This period is essentially about establishing platforms and targeting the markets to concentrate on. I believe that many of the serious institutional capital commitments will start to flow towards direct project investing using proven technologies. The areas we are focused on are those where we feel we can successfully deploy institutional capital, by explaining the risk-adjusted return proposition clearly and through our unique industry perspective. There will be a tightening of capital flows into venture capital and, therefore, cleantech. I think there will be some disappointments there particularly in the next 24 months. We will see a greater shift towards asset-based investing in proven technologies as a result of investor desire for regular income, in projects located in developed markets with strong energy demand growth and aggressive targets for renewables deployment.’

the fact that the US is still a fairly parlous market in terms of capital availability, especially across alternative or illiquid asset classes.

‘For many institutions, the ethical or SRI side is still seen as a ‘nice to have’, as opposed to a genuine driver. In the times we are in, the real drivers for investors are long asset lives and consistent, reliable cash flows from operating revenues. This is the typical profile of a renewable energy asset using proven technology and in our view, this positions clean energy between classic private equity and core infrastructure in portfolio asset allocation terms.’

Which areas are you focusing on?‘We are focused on North America, the Western European Union – in particular the UK – and Australia. These regions are where the team has actual energy investing experience and also are regions that feature deregulated, carbon-intensive energy markets. They have ageing power infrastructure and ongoing growth in energy consumption and importantly, all have specific targets for the build-out of more renewables. Potentially, some or all may introduce some form of carbon pricing or regulation over the next five years which represents significant new opportunity for the value of clean energy assets.

‘In terms of technologies, we are focused on those that provide the best risk-adjusted returns such as biomass, wind energy, waste-to-energy, run-of-the-river hydro, solar photovoltaics [PV] and landfill methane recovery. These are all projects we have invested in successfully in the past.

‘We like baseload or high-capacity factor technologies as a rule, but we also see interesting opportunities in solar PV and we think it is going to be a very significant part of the clean energy market in years to come. It is a very good technology to pitch to institutional investors new to the sector, as it is low risk and it is easy to understand. The technology itself is well-proven and in a lot of cases the power outputs are relatively predictable.

‘There are several areas of emerging technology which seem highly prospective and will certainly play a role in what we call the ‘second decade’, 11 to 20 years from now. We are focused on what needs to be built over the next ten years and that is overwhelmingly proven technologies and bankable projects.’

How much of a challenge are the regulatory environments?‘We are still in a transition phase where the industry is stimulated by regulation in order to attract the vast sums of capital needed to meet energy security and clean energy policies. People often make comment about how the renewable energy industry is supported by regulation, but this has always been the case for the energy industry as a whole. The electricity sector in particular is one of the most regulated industries in the world, as is oil and gas. Renewable energy is no different. Being familiar with and tapped into the regulatory environment is incredibly important.

‘When we look at the regulatory incentives, they act as stimulus to attract and deploy more capital into renewable

InvestOr PrOfIle: Infrastructure

David Scaysbrook, managing director, Capital Dynamics

24 October 2010

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According to Ward, the appeal of these technologies is that they can enhance a company’s green credentials, as well as saving them money through more efficient processes or use of energy. And while many new investors are keen to take advantage of favourable legislation to focus on renewable energy generation, he still prefers to remain down the chain

in terms of the investments in those capital-intensive areas, focusing rather on the underlying technology.

Ward explains, ‘Our issue is that the closer you get to an end-market of energy generation, the more dependent you are on government subsidies. While you can play that game with a big cheque book and an in-depth understanding of the regulatory environment, from our perspective and with our technology focus, we aim to tap into whichever market is strong at that present time.

‘If we were focused on one particular energy type on the generation side, we may not be able to be so mobile or take advantage of what remains an incredibly fast-moving sector. It would be too binary for us and it is a different scale and size of investing,’ he adds.

Deal flowThe firm’s £32m UMIP Premier Fund was launched in 2008, and focuses on late-seed and spin-out deals. The fund and aims to take advantage of the considerable technology output of one of the UK’s biggest universities.

‘One of the reasons we won the mandate to raise the fund is that Manchester’s faculty output in terms of spin-outs is very similar to our sector focus, with strength in physical and material sciences. Half the deals we do out of that fund are in the cleantech space.’

With its presence in the US, MTI also aims to take advantage of cross-border opportunities, as well as working alongside other investors who are keen to support their companies when looking at growth or expansion overseas.

When looking at the next generation of emerging material science companies, those seeing the most success are the ones that apply themselves

to clean technology, according to David Ward, a managing partner at technology investor MTI.

With a focus on physical science and engineering, the venture capital firm’s approach to green technology was not part of its original investment remit and sprung out of the rise of opportunities in the material sciences space, he says. The firm invests across the US and Europe, and its latest fund, the UMIP Premier Fund, is Europe’s largest institutional fund to have a single academic focus, working in partnership with the University of Manchester, in the UK.

Ward explains, ‘MTI’s approach to the sector has not been a traditional one, in that we originally never made a conscious decision to target what people now call the cleantech space. We grew our participation in the sector through some related investments in areas such as carbon composites.’

The current MTI team re-focused the business around 2005, and saw the opportunity to target a couple of growth areas, which included cleantech.

He adds, ‘Unlike what we saw with other sectors in this period, such as nanotech and the bubble that grew around it, which saw cycles that never really amounted to anything without a true vertical market to play into, cleantech allowed certain technologies to play into a market that is actively looking to grow and make acquisitions.’

Technology solutionsWith its focus on material science, MTI targets niche, highly-engineered technologies, aiming to exploit the opportunities for innovation with the cleantech space, as well as the raft of new companies which have emerged in recent years.

Ward says, ‘One thing we want is a company that can solve a problem for their customers that cannot be done any other way. This immediately offers a strong position in the market, as the economics are attractive if you can offer something compelling and unique.’

Shortfall in seed investment hampers technology innovationPerceived notions of poor returns in early stage technology investments have led to a dearth of financing opportunities for emerging companies, though active investors continue to identify innovative energy solutions in a less than crowded marketplace.

Investor Profile: Venture CapitalDavid Ward, MTI

InVestOr PrOfIle: Venture CaPItal

The closer you get to an end-market of energy generation, the more dependent you are on government subsidies

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percolates through to the appropriate fund managers to encourage technology innovation and company growth.

Problem solvingOne good thing about the cleantech marketplace, according to Ward, is that there are no shortage of problems which could potentially be solved by new technology and innovation.

He says, ‘Often you can identify the problems – whether they are concerned with new industrial processes or energy generation – and track back to the universities to look at how these problems can be solved in practical sense, rather than many universities and academics that spin stuff out, which often you have to spend time considering how and where this might be relevant.

‘It comes back to an issue that we are seeing in the cleantech space, in that a lot of successful companies in this area are often the result of a collaboration between faculties, such as chemistry and engineering, to give solutions that are applicable in the real world, outside the lab. When you talk to the best of the universities’ technology transfer operations, their thinking on commercialisation of cross-faculty technology is governed by the market, as opposed to because the science is particularly new or ground-breaking. ‘

‘A lot of what we do is with a real [focus on] end-markets, real problems and providing actual solutions. Too often in the past it is these “pure science” companies that struggle in the outside world, illustrating how important it is to know the end market application,’ he adds.

With investments recently announced in companies including water treatment developer Arvia Technology, energy efficiency technology company PowerOasis and environmentally friendly pest control business Exosect, MTI is making bold inroads into its particular niche of the green technology sector, as it aims to capitalise on the growing trend for innovation, energy saving and efficiency.

With a close eye on the relative strengths of various technology markets and the associated opportunities for exits, Ward says the firm looks to trade sales as the destination for the majority of MTI’s investments.

He says, ‘If there is an opportunity to IPO then that is great, but it cannot be relied upon. Over a past few years, there have been some successes, but I would not say it is something you can build a fund on. At our stage we like corporate partnerships and we co-invest all the time.’

Similar to many early stage investors, Ward is convinced as to the inherent benefits of partnering with larger, more established companies to help technology development and support future manufacturing and supply capabilities.

‘We see them as advantages. Companies need as much leverage as they can get, and having a corporate on board is a big help. It doesn’t necessarily impinge on the exit, and does not always mean you will sell the company to that corporate.’

Ward adds, ‘We aim to build companies that fit well into a corporate set-up that allows them to be incorporated into existing activities easily, with acquirers able to plug these companies into their global sales and marketing operations and immediately start creating extra value from the combined entity.’

Ward is in no doubt that there is a shortfall of seed investment for emerging technology companies and spin-outs, with further support required if many promising emerging companies are to make it beyond the early stages.

‘A lot of people have shied away from early stage investing because of the perceived high risk-reward profile,’ he says. The supposed high-risk characteristics of these investments are often due more to the type of funds targeting these investments, and less to do with the quality of opportunities on offer. He points to what he describes as ‘historical structural impediments’ in this investment type, with many funds restricted as to what they can invest.

‘Many [funds] that target the early-stage have had an artificial cap – say £250,000 – and then all that happens is that when other investors come on board, you get diluted out of sight. By definition, the really good companies bring on lots of money and grow, at which point you are stuck with only £250,000 invested after a third round and unable to capitalise on the company’s success,’ he says.

Return expectationsReturns for late seed-stage investments, therefore, have historically been poor, though he argues that this is more due to the structural inadequacies of some of the investors.

‘It wasn’t necessarily because the investments were poor or too early. The problem is that positions were often diluted and returns inevitably suffered. This is why we said we wouldn’t do this fund with Manchester if we couldn’t get it above a critical mass size, and that we had to be able to invest freely,’ Ward says. ‘We will continue to be leading these late seed-stage investment rounds, but it allows us to ensure that we at least hold our position when going through follow-on financing and can end up holding a decent stake in a successful growth company.’

While the sector has been held back by this perception this is not always a negative for active investors such as MTI.

‘If anything, it means that it is not a crowded marketplace for investors at this stage, and while companies often struggle to gain financing, it allows investors like us to gain access to some promising young companies,’ he says. ‘We would love to do more investing in this area.’

However, while Ward points to encouraging initiatives such as the UK Innovation Investment Fund, which is intended to provide commitments to technology investors at this early stage, he says it remains to be seen whether this actually

InVestOr PrOfIle: Venture CaPItal

A lot of people have shied away from early stage investing because of the perceived high risk-reward profile

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investment, enabling commitments on a much larger scale. For quoted funds, the structure means that cash acts as a drag on performance, particularly in the current interest rate environment. As such LEF has deliberately only raised sufficient capital for

investments over the next 18-24 months, Meir says.

‘This structure, though less typical for private equity, has served us well – LEF is mainly held by shareholders with whom we have long-standing relationships and over 80 per cent of the shareholder base is made up of our top ten shareholders who understand our investment strategy and horizon.’

Turbulent times‘The investment environment since we created the fund three years

ago has been undeniably tough,’ says Meir. Whether looking at private equity or the listed markets, capital constraints have clearly been felt across the investment landscape.

He adds, ‘The reasons are many, but clearly companies are facing considerable challenges as they attempt to attract funding, either privately or through IPO. Many companies have found it very difficult to even reach the stage where they become interesting to potential investors like us.’

LEF’s investment strategy focuses on those companies and technologies that have gone some way to proving their viability and business model.

‘We have always said we want to invest in proven technologies, with an existing business model and existing revenues, where companies are basically rolling out plant or products which have proven themselves – if not yet profitably, certainly in terms of good customer traction,’ Meir says. ‘The companies we typically look at are those that have had investments already, those that are significantly down the road from start-ups.’

While the majority of institutional investors may prefer the familiarity of the traditional private equity fund structure, quoted investment vehicles

offer an appealing alternative, according to Nigel Meir of Ludgate Environmental Fund (LEF), a green-focused investment company listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. The fund’s investors principally comprise institutional and family offices, he says, who appreciate the greater liquidity and transparent framework offered by a listed private equity fund.

Following a recent £10m fundraise in August of this year, with participation from existing investors including The Co-operative Asset Management and local authority pension funds, capital under management totals just over £55m, with approximately £25m in cash to invest. And despite the difficult conditions, there are still deals to be made in an increasingly global marketplace, he says.

’We are seeing investment opportunities in a number of cleantech sectors, including those where we are already invested and still see good fundamentals.’

Listed benefitsIn terms of structure, there are evident pros and cons between the traditional LP/GP structure, and that of a quoted investment vehicle with an underlying private equity portfolio, according to Meir.

‘The positive side to having a quoted structure is having a market price for investors,’ he explains. ‘The discipline imposed by having a public fund in terms of reporting and supervision also benefits investors. The quoted structure allows you more flexibility. The fund’s investors can decide to extend the life of the fund or even become an evergreen fund, or decide to stick to the life of the fund – in our case eight years – and wind it down at that point. Whereas, with an LP, realisations go directly back to the shareholders and cannot be recycled or reinvested. As such, you are limited to the life of a fund.’

There is an advantage in terms of size for unlisted private equity funds, with LPs able to draw down their cash per

Quoted vehicles offer liquid solution to green investorsAlthough the fundamental investment approach to renewables and cleantech-focused private equity may seem familiar, quoted investment vehicles can offer another solution for institutional investors keen to access the green sector.

Investor Profile: Private EquityNigel Meir Ludgate Environmental Fund

There will be plenty of deal-flow; though whether the market will be very propitious for exits remains to be seen

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As a result, there have been fewer opportunities because of the great difficulty of achieving that initial funding in a tough economic climate.

He adds, ‘Our pipeline has been less than it might have been in a better market, though the opportunities themselves are still of a good quality. If anything, the more stringent requirements from investors and the tougher market environment ensure only the best companies make it through.’

However, Meir is adamant that while LEF’s deal-flow may have slowed, it has not been affected in terms of quality and potential investment opportunities.

‘Has there been an impact on the quality of the opportunities we are seeing and the prices at which we would wish to invest? No there hasn’t. We have found the deals we wanted and while it may have taken a bit longer than planned to find them, the terms have been very reasonable because of the tough market conditions.’

Another symptom of this general market malaise is the lack of available capital for company growth, with project finance lacking from the more traditional routes, forcing investors such as LEF to leverage their own capital to support the next stages of company development.

‘We have had to be much more creative with the types of funding we provide ourselves. We have become something of a one-stop-shop in some cases, providing equity, convertible loans and even working capital facilities,’ he says.

While the market is still not back to normal, delays will clearly be felt in terms of the speed with which companies can grow. However, despite a turgid IPO market impacting throughout the investment spectrum, environmental and clean technology sectors could yet be seeing an improvement.

Waste streams With a growing number of investors keen to take advantage of the growth opportunities in clean energy and related technology, LEF made a conscious decision to avoid some of the more populated areas within established renewable energy.

‘We decided to deploy capital in areas where a waste stream could be used more effectively – waste management and treatment, energy from waste, recycling – all aiming to get the maximum potential from a waste stream,’ he says.

‘We felt and still feel that those areas were more economically resilient in a tough financial environment because they involve exploiting a resource which would otherwise be discarded. They were less reliant on government subsidies compared to areas like solar.’

The UK is one such region looking to stimulate the creation of better waste infrastructure, with increased funding from European and UK agencies. In the case of waste-to-energy, Meir points to potential incentives from the UK government which could involve double Renewable Obligation Certificates or feed-in tariffs. While support of this kind can offer a valuable aid to growing sectors, it can also prove vulnerable during an economic downturn, as was recently the case in Spain.

Meir explains, ‘The country’s solar sector took off because the Spanish government subsidised it. Given the fragile Spanish economy, their government decided to revise tariffs going forward. There was even a fear they would impose

InvEstOr PrOfIlE: PrIvAtE EquIty

the new regimes retroactively, though this looks like it will not go ahead following lobbying from the solar industry. Governments with tight budget constraints are clearly going to be very conscious of these state aid packages.’

In areas such as waste and recycling, investors are beginning to appreciate that there are huge efficiencies still to be exploited, particularly in those regions where governments have helped drive revenues, such as increasing taxation and therefore improving the economics for greener waste management. Meir highlights LEF portfolio company Terra Nova as a prime example in the recycling sector. The company takes printed circuit boards and helps to extract the precious metals from them.

He says, ‘The feedstock is not an issue. There are increasing penalties for companies attempting to ship this to developing countries, so it is being stored in huge stockpiles in Europe for just this type of processing. Precious metal prices are relatively high, ensuring good prices for their product and it does not require government intervention to make it a viable business opportunity.’

For LEF, the outlook is broadly positive, despite an often unclear macro-economic environment.

Meir says, ‘We are anticipating there will be plenty of deal-flow; though whether the market will be very propitious for exits remains to be seen, but it can probably only improve from here.’

He also points to the huge opportunities for renewable energy and waste treatment in the large developing economies of China and India, which could potentially see the firm turn its attention beyond the UK and Continental Europe to take advantage of this rapid future growth.

‘Looking ahead, I would say that in the developed world, governments will continue to increase the price of carbon on both sides of the Atlantic, driving developments of a greener economy with all that entails, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste treatment and recycling, pollution reduction and green buildings.’

Nigel Meir, Ludgate Environmental Fund

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JGC becomes first Japanese company to invest in concentrating solar powerYokohama-based engineering group JGC has become the first Japanese company to invest in concentrating solar power, form-ing a partnership with Abengoa Solar to jointly own two 50MW concentrating solar power plants in El Carpio, in the province of Córdoba, Spain

Abengoa Solar will retain a 74 per cent controlling stake in the project and operate both facilities following the deal.

The two plants represent a total investment of more than €500m and the first concentrating solar power plant investment by a Japanese company.

A majority of the investment, €350m, was raised through a project finance

loan, which was concluded with four international commercial banks, SMBC, HSBC, Mizuho and BNP Paribas this August, said JGC.

The plants are under construction by Abengoa companies Abener and Teyma,

and are expected to start commer-cial operation in early 2012.

Both projects, will sell power to the grid based on the current Spanish feed-in tariff system, the company added.

Abengoa Solar CEO Santiago Seage said, ‘This partnership, with the participation of a Japanese engineering company and Japanese and other international banks, demonstrates the interest of the international investment

community in concentrating solar power projects in Spain.’

Abengoa Solar currently has approxi-mately 450MW of solar projects under construction, in addition to 193MW in commercial operation.

Abengoa Solar will retain a 74 per cent stake in the projects

Air Liquide, a specialist producer of gases needed in the production of photovoltaic cells, has signed an agreement to provide large quantities of gases to 3Sun, which intends to produce solar panels in Sicily from 2011.

It will also build the entire distribution network necessary to supply the gases, the company said.

3Sun is based at a defunct semiconduc-tor facility in the Italian city of Catania, which was formerly owned by STMicro-electronics. It was taken over by a joint venture of Sharp, Enel Green Power and STMicro in January 2010, and will now produce photovoltaic cells for Sharp.

‘Air Liquide has been chosen based on the competitiveness of our offer, our leadership position in the silane market, our solar R&D road map and our strong presence in the Italian market,’ said Air Liquide’s vice president for Southern and Eastern Europe, Augustin de Roubin. ‘The solar market is at the crossroads of high-tech, energy and the environment, three growth drivers for the Air Liquide Group.’

Air Liquide signs 3Sun gas supply contract for solar panel plant

AEG Power Solutions has been awarded a contract to supply 260MW of equipment to 13 photovoltaic (PV) utility-scale plants in Eastern Europe over the course of 2011.

As of December 2010, AEG will provide complete electrical systems to the plants, which each have a capacity of 20MW. Power electronics product provider AEG Power Solutions, which is wholly-owned by 3W Power Holdings, will design and supply its TKS-C product, which contains a solar inverter, monitoring and supervising equipment, a transformer and medium voltage switchgear.

AEG said it will supply further combiner boxes and PV power monitoring and control technology, in addition to commissioning equipment on site.

AEG awarded 260MW Eastern European PV contract for 2011

Yingli Green Energy has signed a 7.9MW photovoltaic (PV) module sales agreement with Cegelec, a systems integrator based in France, after recently setting up a base in the country.

The modules supplied under the agreement are expected to be installed into ground-mounted systems located in south-west France in the largest collaboration between the two compa-nies to date.

‘In view of the fact that the French

solar market is booming, Yingli Green Energy has recently set up office in Lyon, France, with the objective of being close to the market and thus being able to provide best service to our customers and part-ners,’ said Liansheng Miao, chairman and CEO of Yingli Green Energy.

‘In our opinion, sustainable long-term growth requires our steady and long-term commitment to the market and support from major players such as Cegelec.’

Yingli to provide solar cells to Cegelac

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SunPower obtains $1.8m grant for solar research

State-owned lender China Development Bank has agreed to provide RMB30bn ($4.4bn) to China-based solar cell manufacturer JA Solar through a combination of credit facilities and financing to sup-port the company’s long-term growth and corporate development plans.

The agreement provides a broad framework in which China Development Bank and JA Solar will collaborate on mutual opportunities to facilitate JA Solar’s strategic growth plans. The two parties also plan to identify further opportunities for

strategic co-operation to increase JA Solar’s global competitiveness.

The various credit facilities at the centre of the agreement will be sub-ject to a series of internal procedures conducted by the bank in accordance with its risk management and opera-tional regulations, the company said.

Dr Peng Fang, CEO of JA Solar, said, ‘Through this strategic partner-ship with China Development Bank, JA Solar will be able to pursue cer-tain business opportunities and future growth plans with the backing of a very strong financial partner.’

China Development Bank assists JA Solar’s growth plans

With its additional line of credit, JA Solar will be able to facilitate strategic growth plans


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AXA Private Equity has made a €3m investment into France-based photovoltaic solar energy company JIT Solaire. Based in the Poitou-Charentes and Rhône-Alpes regions, the solar group installs turnkey electricity-generating solar power systems for individuals, companies and local authorities.

At end of July 2010, it had installed more than 6MW of peak power capacity and its sales have enjoyed continued growth, according to AXA.

The funds will provide the company with the resources it needs to maintain its growth, and accelerate the development of its business of installing solar panels and running power plants for its own account.

Following the AXA investment, JIT Solaire’s founding directors Jérôme Bailleul and Franck Braudel said the company has plans for further growth.

AXA Private Equity’s director Alexis Saada said, ‘We were won over by the team’s expertise, and their ability to innovate and tackle a dynamic market. This provides us with an opportunity to assist the directors of JIT Solaire in a key stage of the group’s development.’

AXA Private Equity has $25bn in managed assets and its global reach extends across Europe, the US and Asia. It supports the development and long-term growth of its portfolio companies with sustainable growth strategies and by granting them access to the AXA international network.

San Jose, California-based solar cell manufacturer SunPower has been awarded around $1.8m in a state grant to enable the company to further its research into photo-voltaic (PV) energy storage.

The grant has been awarded from the California Solar Initiative Research, Development, Deployment and Demon-stration Program and is intended to enable SunPower to research energy storage for large commercial applications.

SunPower will partner with three energy storage companies, Ice Energy, Xtreme Power and ZBB Energy, to establish a pilot programme for demonstrating the integra-tion of advanced energy storage systems, in combination with existing PV systems for commercial customers.

‘Rooftop solar is affordable today and growing rapidly in cities across America,’ said Jim Pape, president of SunPower’s residential and commercial divisions.

JIT Solaire pursues growth following AXA investment

GT Solar stakeholder to sell ten million shares, exchange notes awardedGT Solar International has announced a secondary offering of ten million shares by one stakeholder, just months after it made a $24m acquisition.

Alongside the offering, it will sell up to 15 million additional shares to UBS Securities in advance of an offering of exchangeable notes.

The company has also granted the underwriters, UBS Securities and Credit Suisse, an option to buy up to 1.5 million additional shares to cover excess demand.

GT Solar, which has its headquarters in New Hampshire, US, will not receive any proceeds from either offering, but will pay the expenses of its holding company and the selling stakeholder GT Solar Holdings.

In July, GT Solar bought the privately-held company Crystal Systems, which manufactures sapphire components used in LED lighting, for $24m, plus $5.4m in shares.

In its latest round of Series D financ-ing, global solar module manufacturer Solaria surpassed its target by $20m, raising $65m, including a $10m growth loan facility provided by US venture debt firm Western Technologies.

Private equity firm Adams Street Partners and venture capital group Cycad also joined the round, which was led by CMEA Capital and DBL Inves-tors, and follows a May 2010 close that included Sigma Partners, NGEN Partners, Mitsui Ventures and Savitr Capital. An additional small invest-ment was put forward by EDF Energies Nouvelles company enXco.

Solaria said it will use the newly-raised funds to increase availability of its patented modules in the face of steep demand.

‘We’re accelerating production to meet strong demand for our new modules,’ said Solaria CEO Dan Shugar. ‘We appreciate our customers and investors’ confidence in Solaria’s ability to deliver a reliable, cost-effective product.’

Adams Street partner Tom Berman said the firm made the investment in the company on the basis that it developed a ‘superior’ low concentration solar technology for use in large solar tracking systems.

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Crown Agents to institute$8.6m solar plant in UruguayInternational development organisation Crown Agents has confirmed that it has signed a framework agreement with the government of Uruguay to install the country’s first solar plant in the northern region of Salto, under a wider support programme agreement between the governments of Japan and Uruguay formed in 2009.

Crown Agents said the Japanese government is funding the project under its Cool Earth initiative, which provides a number grants to worldwide projects as part of the country’s supplementary budget for fiscal 2009 to 2010.

Part of the government’s procedure is to appoint entrusted local agents to sub-contract the projects, including Crown Agents, which has worked for the Japanese government since 1987.

Crown Agents spokesman John Demeza said the international devel-

opment organisation will procure and manage the development of the project in tandem with Japanese energy developer Japan International Cooperation Systems.

He said Crown Agents has not yet started work on the project, but its team is currently in Uruguay finalising the agreements.

Japan and Uruguay exchanged notes in late 2009 for the Proyecto para Intro-ducción de Energía Limpia por Sistema de Generación de Electricidad Solar, which Crown Agents said is worth around ¥730m ($8.6m).

The international development organisation signed a framework agreement for the 480KW project with Uruguay Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining Roberto Kreimerman, according to Latin America newspaper Prensa Latina.

Solaria exceeds its $65m Series D fundraising target

Total eyes eDF’s stake in joint solar venture TenesolFrance-based oil giant Total is seeking to take full control of its solar photo-voltaic joint venture Tenesol by buying EDF Energies Nouvelles’ 50 per cent stake, according to local press reports.

Total has broached talks with EDF regarding the proposed takeover, according to French newspaper Les Echos. Each company currently holds a 50 per cent stake in the solar joint venture as a result of a partnership between the companies that began in 2005 when both committed equal in-vestments in Total Énergie, which was subsequently renamed Tenesol.

Originally founded in Africa in 1983, Total Énergie established a solar module manufacturing facility named Tenesa in Cape Town in 1996, which EDF subsequently took a 20 per cent stake in. Total Énergie established a business in Latin America in 2004 before opening a production centre in the French city of Toulouse a year later to capture the European market, more recently establishing a number of additional bases across France.

PV Powered secures federal funding for PV grid adoptionPV Powered, which was recently acquired by Advanced Energy Industries, will continue development work on solar grid-connection, having been selected for the final commerciali-sation stage of the Solar Energy Grid Integration System (SEGIS), and funded under the US government’s Solar En-ergy Technologies Program (SETP).

The SEGIS initiative was chartered in 2008 under the umbrella SETP scheme, which is financed through the US Department of Energy and administered by Sandia National Laboratories.

Spearheading a team of recognised distributed energy and smart-grid partners, the US-based company’s development efforts are focused on lowering the barriers to the adoption of solar energy on US utility grids.

Solaria CEO Dan Shugar

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Sunvalley Solar has been awarded a $3m commercial contract to install solar power at Felix Chao Chuo Farm in the Palm Spring area of the US state of California.

The contract calls for Sunvalley Solar to design and install a 653KW installation comprising three solar modules with 6,876 solar panels at Felix Chao Chuo Farm, in Thermal City, from early 2011.

The solar system is expected to generate more than 1.1 million KWh of electricity annually and to generate surplus power during the peak months of May to October that will offset the cooler winter period and earn credits

with Imperial Irrigation District Utility. ‘This contract is another milestone for

us in the Palm Spring area following our just announced contract with Long Life Farms to install three solar systems com-prised of 8,460 solar panels with a total contracted value of over $3.69m,’ said James Zhang, CEO of Sunvalley Solar.

‘We are working together with other farms in the Palm Springs and Thermal City areas to introduce the option of solar power as a cost–efficient, eco-friendly alternative to traditional electricity. This is just a start in our overall strategic plan to be the dominant supplier of solar products to the Palm Springs market segment.’

China-based solar company LDK Solar has agreed to repay a loan from solar cell manufacturer Q-Cells early, significantly strengthening Q-Cells’ liquidity position. Q-Cells originally extended a loan to LDK Solar in early 2008, as an advanced payment for raw material supplies, which now stands at $224.9m (€170m).

Having already made an initial pay-ment of $56.2m (€44m), LDK Solar has committed to repay the loan in its entirety by the end of 2011 and will make payments of $195m (€150m) until the end of 2010 under the new

agreement. Previously, the repayment schedule envisaged staged repayment until the end of 2015.

In return for the advanced payments, the existing bank guarantee with which the Q-Cells loan is secured will be reduced in stages and replaced by other collateral, the company said.

Q-Cells, which has two outstand-ing convertible bonds, said the early repayment of the loan was a ‘major step forward in the long-term financing of the company’. A repayment sum of €492.5m for the first of these bonds is due in February 2012.

Sunvalley awarded $3m solar installation contact

Q-Cells to benefit from LDK Solar early loan repayment

Ben Franklin invests in three solar projectsState-funded economic development organisation Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northern Pennsylvania has made three separate investments into lo-cal solar projects as part of a wider round of investment into regional innovation.

It awarded CEWA Technologies $146,000 to help it design and construct a point-concentrated solar power dish prototype that the company said will deliver power at a lower cost.

The toroid solar collector dish is due to be fabricated, assembled and tested at Northampton Community College’s campus and is capable of providing thermal power for power generation, desalination and process heat applica-tions, at a cost comparable to fossil fuel-based sources of energy.

SolarPA received a $50,000 investment to complete proof-of-concept research for a proprietary coating that the compa-ny claims enhances photovoltaic effects and improves the efficiency of solar cells.

A University of Cambridge solar energy spin-out fostered by the Carbon Trust and Cambridge Enterprise, Eight19, has secured £4.5m from the Carbon Trust and international spe-cialty chemicals company Rhodia to propel it towards commercialisation.

Spun-out from the Carbon Trust’s Cambridge University-TTP Advanced Photovoltaic Research Accelerator, the latest commercial phase of the offshoot will develop and manufacture high-performance plastic solar cell proto-types for high-growth volume markets.

Eight19, which got its name from the eight minutes and 19 seconds it takes for light to travel from the sun to the earth, was created in partner-ship with professors Sir Richard Friend, Henning Sirringhaus and Neil Greenham of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory and technology develop-ment company TTP.

Carbon Trust, Rhodia invest $4.5m in solar spin-out Eight19

LDK Solar is committed to repaying its loan by the end of 2011


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China-based solar manufacturer CNPV Solar Power has entered into a contract to supply bespoke high performance solar modules with a total peak capacity of 20MW to Linyi Juhuang New Energy Technology Development under a roll-ing contract that lasts until 2012.

The new contract calls for CNPV to deliver a small 1MWp load of photo-voltaic modules this October, before delivering a larger load of solar modules with a total capacity of 19MWp throughout 2011 and 2012.

‘The first grid connected system is on target for connection using our premium solar module range,’ said B Veerraju Chaudary, CNPV’s COO, CTO and board member.

‘This bespoke system will add a further 25 per cent yield increase on our premium range’s market leading capabil-ity. It is an exciting time for us to be further involved in Shandong province’s home grown solar electricity generation.’

CNPV Solar sells solar modules to Linyi Juhang

Q-Cells will hold a 50 per cent stake in the joint venture

Solar module provider Q-Cells has established a joint venture with two manufacturing companies to develop large-scale renewable energy projects in the Canadian province of Ontario, the company has confirmed.

Q-Cells and manufacturing solution provider ATS Automation Tooling Systems will each hold a 50 per cent stake in the joint venture, and will together use solar modules devel-oped by integrated photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer and module developer Photowatt Ontario.

The joint venture project develop-ment company, Ontario Solar PV Fields, has experienced initial suc-cess and in April received conditional feed-in tariff (FIT) contracts from the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) for seven Ontario ground-mounted projects totalling 64MW, the company said.

These projects represent approxi-mately ten per cent of the 650MW in ground-mounted solar projects that have been awarded throughout the province and are expected to begin construction from 2011 onwards.

Q-Cells targets Ontario solar market through joint venture

Idaho’s first utility-scale solar array approvedCalifornia-based energy developer Grand View Solar PV One, has agreed to sell the electricity generated by its proposed 20MW solar energy project to power distributor Idaho Power. Construction will begin on Idaho’s first utility-scale solar array after regulators approved the project near the town of Mountain Home.

The utility said this is the first time it has bought solar power from a large-scale developer, although it has bought power back from small residential solar installations. Under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, US utilities are legally required to buy back power from smaller producers at a price set by state commissions.The sales agreement is for 20 years, beginning in January 2011. The agreement is ‘non-levelised’, meaning the price for the electricity generated gradually increases through the life of the contract.

Anwell solar subsidiary to expand China productionGlobal turnkey manufacturing solution provider Anwell Technologies’ solar subsidi-ary Henan Sungen Solar Fab has secured a long-term supply agreement, which it said strengthens its plans to expand its thin-film solar plant in China’s Henan province.

The company has secured a deposit from an undisclosed solar panel distributor and developer for a contract it said could provide it with projected revenue of more than $300m on the close of deliveries, with the first shipment scheduled to be made in October. Anwell said the deposit was made following an earlier agreement that it signed with the developer to deliver solar modules over the next three years, with an aggregate minimum capacity of 180MW. It simultaneously plans to ramp-up the Henan plant. which began mass production this March, to more than 120MW by the end of the year from its initial 40MW capacity.

‘The partnership developed through the agreement will enable Anwell to broaden its reach to other regions, as well as further increase the business momentum of our solar division in the overseas market,’ said Franky Fan, executive chairman and CEO of Anwell.

‘We believe that the world-class quality and competitive cost of our products, coupled with the strong sales and service network provided by our partner, will allow Anwell to lead its solar division towards a brighter success.’

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Portland General Electric (PGE) has entered into two power purchase agreements to buy electricity from solar photovoltaic installations to be built and operated by EDF Energies Nouvelles company enXco in the US state of Oregon.

The contract will see PGE buy electricity for 25 years from two proposed installa-tions located in Willamette Valley near Salem in Yamhill County, which will have a combined generating capacity of 2.84MW.

‘These agreements with enXco are part of our strategy to help meet Oregon’s renewable energy goals,’ said Jim Lobdell, vice president for power operations and resource strategy at PGE.

‘Together with PGE’s other ground-based and rooftop arrays, as well as strong support for residential and com-mercial customer-owned projects, these

installations will help us grow solar in our state.’

enXco said it plans to start construc-tion on the projects in early 2011, which are due to reach com-mercial operation in July 2011.

‘These projects represent the largest ground-mounted solar PV installations in the Pacific North-

west, as well as the first solar development for enXco in the region,’ said enXco project developer Troy Gagliano.

‘Our investment in these solar projects is an investment in a cleaner energy future for Oregon,’ added Betsy Kauffman, senior programme manager for Oregon’s Energy Trust.

The new projects provide PGE with more than 17MW of solar capacity in its resource mix, helping the utility meet the state’s renewable energy standard of providing 25 per cent renewable energy by the year 2025.

Global electronics giant Sharp is to acquire solar project developer and Hudson Clean Energy Partners portfolio company Recurrent Energy for $305m in cash.

A second shareholder of Recurrent, which has a 23GW product pipeline, was venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures.

Sharp said the acquisition is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Under the deal, Recurrent will retain its name and will still be lead by CEO Arno Harris, who will now report to Toshishige Hamano, executive vice president responsible for overseas business at Sharp.

Harris said, ‘Sharp’s support will help us accelerate our growth and further cement Recurrent’s goal to build the leading global solar generating company.’

The company has more than 330MW of contracted distributed-scale solar power projects, including 170MW with the Ontario Power Authority, 60MW with the Sacramento Municipal Utility Distrcity and 50MW with Southern California Edison.

Hamano added, ‘It is essential for Sharp to function as a developer in the photovoltaic field, in order to further expand its business in this area.’

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Sandia National Laboratories is to invest $8.5m in four projects that have reached the third stage of the country’s Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) programme.

The department said that these investments will be matched at least equally by the initiative’s contractors to support projects totalling more than $20m.

It said that the selections are part of its ongoing work to improve the country’s electrical grid reliability, as solar energy technologies reach cost-competitiveness with conventional sources of electricity.

‘Continuing to support solar and grid technologies is necessary in order for America to maintain its competitive edge in the clean energy industries,’ said US Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

‘These types of projects will help ensure that our efforts to advance renewable energy and support the modernisation of our electrical grid are co-ordinated and integrated.’

Initiated in 2008, the SEGIS pro-gramme is a partnership between the DOE, Sandia National Laboratories, power utilities and universities.

Projects under it will look into how commercialise intelligent system controls and how to integrate expanded solar resources onto the grid.

Those awarded grants under this third round of the initiative include the University of Central Florida’s Solar Energy Center partnership, for a project that focuses on the imple-mentation of shared inverters which secured more than $660,000.

A Petra Solar, PSE&G, PEPCO Holdings, BP Solar partnership also involving the university received more than $2.7m for a project addressing utility-grid interactivity.

A Princeton Power consortium that includes First Energy and International Battery received the largest award to help it address the final details of a demand response inverter design for the demonstration stage.

US DOe invests $8.5m in solar integration system development

Portland General Electric adds enXco solar to portfolio

Sharp buys project developer Recurrent energy for $305m


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Construction is due to take place in 2011

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Solarworld Americas unveils solar project financing optionsSolarWorld Americas, the sales and marketing arm of US solar panel manufacturer SolarWorld, has unveiled a suite of ‘no-money-down’ financing options for authorised installers that it claims can accelerate initial cost hurdles and provide savings.

The new SolarWorld Financial Solutions programme delivers funding options from outside financial service partners.

It allows installers to tap high performance crystalline silicon solar panels without committing large upfront system costs.

The financing arrangements include a variety of leases or a power purchase agreement, under which a third party finances a solar system for a property owner in turn for power at a discounted rate.

SolarWorld said it will also continue to explore new financing options into the future.

‘This portfolio provides a broad range of options for a variety of custom-ers to ease financial access to solar projects,’ said Kevin Kilkelly, president of SolarWorld Americas.

‘The advance in ready-made financing versatility leads American markets in addressing solar’s upfront costs – the only ones that matter in a technology requiring no fuel, moving parts, maintenance, emissions or labour to operate. The upsides to the pocketbook and planet alike begin accruing immediately.’

Jose Luis Contreras, president and co-founder of US solar company Solar Energy, said the new financing portfolio, ‘will further the distance we can put between ourselves and competitors who sell solar products that come with little, if any, manufacturer support’ and ‘land more sales’.

LS Power finalises Delaware solar project financingLS Power subsidiary White Oak Solar Energy has finalised project financing arranged by Union Bank for its proposed 10MW Dover SUN Park in the US state of Delaware, which will be the first utility-scale solar plant in the region.

The project is due to start commercial operation late next year, with the installation of equipment due to begin in January.

White Oak has also executed agreements for SunPower to design, construct, operate and maintain the solar park, under which it will install SunPower Tracker systems and high

efficiency SunPower E19 solar panels. It has also entered into long-term power purchase and

environmental attribute agreements to sell the full output of the facility to the City of Dover, Delmarva Power and Light, Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation and the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility.

White Oak said that with engineering on the plant currently underway, it will now procure equipment and prepare the site, whereas a separate affiliate of LS Power will manage construc-tion and operations of the project.

Suncor, Teck Resources to develop 88Mw Canadian wind projectsSuncor Energy has signed a joint ven-ture agreement with Teck Resources to develop the 88MW Wintering Hills wind power project near Drumheller in the Canadian province of Alberta.

The agreement calls for Suncor, which owns a 70 per cent stake in the venture, to operate the project with Teck holding the remaining 30 per cent interest.

Renewable Energy vice president

Jim Provias said, ‘Wintering Hills will be Suncor’s biggest wind power project to date and another example of Suncor’s ongoing commitment to increasing renewable energy options in Canada.’

The planned project, which received regulatory approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission in June, will consist of 55 General Electric turbines located on privately-owned land ap-

proximately 21km south-east of Drumheller.

‘Suncor Energy’s announcement shows that Alberta continues to move in the right direction, as we work to increase the role of renewable resources in our energy mix,’ said Ron Liepert, Alberta Energy Minister.

Construction on the project began in July and it is expected to be complete by the end of 2011.

Ingenious Solar affiliates plan £30m share offeringIngenious Solar UK VCT1 and sister com-pany Ingenious Solar UK VCT2 will look to raise up to £30m through a public share offer-ing, in order to invest in companies operating in the UK solar energy market.

Both companies plan to offer a total of 20 million shares including ten million new ordinary shares at a price of £0.01 and another ten million at £1 per share in either October or November 2010, together with a further over-allotment facility of up to ten million shares.

The companies seek to invest in compa-nies that install, operate or commercialise roof or ground-mounted solar energy projects around the UK, with a minimum investment of £3,000 targeting annual dividends of at least £0.06.

The investee companies are anticipated to take advantage of the 25-year index-linked government feed-in tariff scheme through which they will receive added revenues at a fixed minimum price in addition to the rev-enues received at the market wholesale price.

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juwi sets sights on 1GW of global solar installations

Combined-cycle photovoltaic (PV) plant developer juwi solar expects to create 500 new jobs globally by 2012, as it enters into new markets as part of its international expansion.

Approximately half of the new jobs will be created in Germany, despite solar tariff cuts, the company said.

‘We enter into new markets and are creating 500 new jobs’, said juwi solar managing director Lars Falck.

The subsidiary of Wörrstadt, Germany-based juwi group has an-nounced an ambitious global expansion target, planning to develop 1GW of PV plants over the next two years in its key markets in the US, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Greece and Spain, in addition to Germany.

The US has developed into the com-

pany’s second most important market, said juwi, which is planning around 150MW of projects in the country by 2012.

It estimates that it has a ten per cent market share in Greece and is plan-ning 15MW of new developments in the Czech Republic. The company also plans to expand its operation and main-tenance and off-grid divisions.

By the end of the year, juwi said it will enter the solar markets in Bulgaria and Slovakia, establishing foreign branches within the next months there, as well as in the UK and India.

It has already begun its first PV project in Bulgaria; a 3.5MW plant in the south-west region of Drachevo. Another 5MW of projects are planned for Slovakia.

SunPower to double its installed capacity under federal contractsSunPower’s solar technology will be installed on several US government properties under a round of new contracts totalling 20MW, which will double the photovoltaic capacity it has installed under federal awards.

The technology was chosen for installation on the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the General Services Admin-istration (GSA) building, in addition to several locations belonging to the US Navy and US Air Force.

‘SunPower has worked with federal agencies since 1999, resulting in the installation of more than 20MW of solar power systems at government facili-ties,’ said Karen Butterfield, SunPower’s director of federal accounts. ‘As a result, SunPower has the experience and credibility to successfully navigate the federal procurement process, and deliver reliable, high performance solar systems that meet agency requirements.’

PNM Resources has received approval to build 22MW of utility-scale solar power facilities throughout the US state of New Mexico, which are expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

The new solar facilities received unanimous votes of approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, following a previous hearing examiner’s recommendation that rejected the company’s initial renewable energy plan in its entirety. PNM’s original plan called for the addi-tion of 80MW of solar power, including 45MW of utility-scale facilities.

Regulators have capped the facili-ties’ cost at $101.7m and PNM said it plans to file for recovery of these costs through a rate rider implemented a year after its new rates – which are currently under consideration – become effective.

The costs that are incurred by a New Mexico-based power utility are deemed reasonable and recoverable in rates under state law, as long as they are consist-ent with an approved renewable energy plan. PNM said the solar addition to its rate base and subsequent recovery is ex-pected add approximately $0.03 to $0.05 to its earnings per diluted share in 2012.

‘We are pleased that the commission recognised the significance of add-ing renewable energy to our existing generation resources,’ said Pat Vincent-Collawn, PNM president and CEO.

‘Our industry, along with regulators, needs to continue to look for ways to add renewable power, while balancing the cost impact to consumers. This is the first step toward achieving that goal and meeting the state’s requirement to diversify our energy resources.’

Along with approving the smaller solar utility-scale plan, the commission said it also approved a plan to build a 500KW solar power and storage demonstration project that is partially funded by a grant from the US Department of Energy.

In addition, it said it also modified other residential and business customer initiatives that could add solar power to New Mexico’s energy mix.

PnM gets approval for new Mexico solar projects

Approximately half of juwi’s new jobs will be created in Germany


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The rapid growth of the solar market in the Canadian province of Ontario after the establishment of a recent feed-in tariff (FIT) will slow in 2011, due to rules requir-ing the use of locally-sourced equipment, a report shows.

Market research firm iSuppli said Ontario’s photovoltaic (PV) market is expected to rise to 257MW in 2010, up 272.5 per cent from 69MW in 2009. But this will slow dramatically in 2010, rising 75.5 per cent to 451MW in 2011.

The report said given that Ontario is the most populous province in Canada, these moves by the government may have a major influence throughout North America. Mike Sheppard, financial services/PV analyst for iSuppli, said, ‘Ontario in 2009 passed the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, adopting an aggressive green energy policy that includes a FIT programme as its centerpiece.’

He added, ‘This FIT programme represents North America’s first comprehensive guaranteed pricing structure for electricity production from renewable fuels sources.’

The report specifies that in 2010, the component bill of materials for 40 per cent of residential installations, as well as 50 per cent of commercial installations must be sourced locally.

Italy-based solar cell manufacturer Silfab has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, Silfab Ontario, to run its operations in Canada.

Although the new subsidiary’s core business will focus on manufacturing solar modules, it has also been licensed to assemble and distribute them in Canada and the US.

The company has obtained a 100,000 square foot production facility in Mississauga, Ontario, close to Toronto International Pearson Airport. Silfab Ontario said it plans to start production in early 2011 with a capacity of 60MW, rising to 180MW by 2012.

Most of the plant’s capacity will be devoted to manufacturing Silfab’s sili-con modules, but a part of its production will be set aside for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) companies.

The OEM companies will provide their own component materials to build photovoltaic modules at the Missis-sauga plant and distribute the finished products under their own brands.

Researchers sponsored primarily by ENI Petroleum under the Eni-MIT Alliance Solar Frontiers programme have discovered a method for creating small solar cells that have the ability to self-repair, which could have wider applications in the solar power industry for increasing solar cell efficiency.

The process that the researchers have developed results in an increased photoconversion efficiency rate of more than 300 per cent for a tested period of seven days, which they said can be extended indefinitely.

Researchers have developed a process that involves two recombinant proteins, phospholipids and a carbon nanotube that mimics naturally-occur-ring processes in photosynthetic cells found in nature that limit the impact of photo-damage.

Ontario solar market hampered by mandate

Silfab establishes Canadian branch

Researchers find self-repairing solar cells maximise efficiency

Munich, Germany-based solar company Centrosolar has established a subsidiary in the UK in its drive for international expansion, which will add to its sales office in the US and across Europe.

Following the introduction of attractive feed-in tariffs (FITs) in April, Centrosolar said its UK division will be in a position to respond to increased demand for photovoltaic (PV) systems, particularly in England.

Centrosolar has appointed experi-enced solar specialist Simon Gerrard to head the London branch, who has worked in the solar industry for seven

years leading domestic sales. The com-pany also predicted increased potential for PV systems on private houses and commercial roofs due to the UK FITs.

Alongside its integrated packages comprising crystalline high-perform-ance modules and components, Centrosolar supplies lighter thin-film systems that are especially suitable for roofs with low load reserves.

The company said the UK division will tap into an existing network of sales partners covering the wholesale, installation and social housing sectors, which it said is to be further expanded.

Centrosolar creates UK base to leverage feed-in tariff openings

Centrosolar aims to be in a better position to respond to orders in the UK

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Luvata, which manufactures ultra-thin copper wire for solar cells under the brand name Sunwire, is to set up a factory in Appleton, in the US state of Wisconsin, to secure a foothold close to its domestic customer base.

This will be the third plant producing Sunwire after Luvata’s existing facilities in Pori, Finland and a second factory which is under construction at Pasir Gudang, Malaysia. Luvata said the 3,000 square me-tre facility will enable it to move produc-

tion facilities closer to its customer base, providing shorter lead times on orders.

‘We believe this close proximity to our customers will provide a level of respon-siveness and flexibility customers have come to expect from the Luvata Group,’ said Jussi Helavirta, executive vice- president of Luvata.

Similar thinking was behind the establishment of the Malaysian factory, which will supply the growing east Asian solar market, it said.

Luvata establishes US facility to manufacture solar equipment

China-based manufacturer JA Solar has joined other solar product makers in Asia by stating it is also experiencing a huge backlog in orders for its products to be delivered in 2011.

The announcement follows Comtec Solar’s statement that said it expects orders to surpass production capacity by the end of the year.

Amid strengthened demand, JA Solar has signed multiple supply agree-ments to provide several companies with more than 500MW of monocrystalline and multi-crystalline solar cells due for delivery next year. All of these supply agreements include prepayments for committed solar cell delivery in 2011, the company said.

JA Solar sees Asian demand bolstered for solar cells in 2011

Germany consolidates world leader status for solar in 2010Photovoltaic (PV) solar installations in Germany during the first half of 2010 reached 3GW-peak (GWp) and have consolidated the country’s position as the world’s largest market, according to new figures.

A report by state-run German promotion agency Germany Trade & Invest found that in 2009, Germany accounted for almost one of every two newly-installed modules worldwide, with total installations estimated to be 3.8GWp.

Feed-in tariffs (FITs), which have spurred the industry to be the world’s largest under Germany’s Renewable Energies Act were passed in early July, with a further adjustment to take effect on 1 October.

The reductions to the government incentives have conversely pushed many developments forward to complete in the first half of the year ahead of the expected cut-back.

In addition, the report said there has been a further shift towards the rooftop segment of the business, as field installations become less economically attractive but smaller projects begin to leverage the ‘own consumption’ bonus.

While FITs were eliminated for cropland field installations on 1 July, rooftop subsidies were reduced by a less dramatic 13 per cent.

Manufacturer of copper wire Luvata has set up its latest plant in Wisconsin, US

Solar Frontier supplies thin-film PV modules to Japanese projectsShowa Shell subsidiary Solar Frontier has announced that it will supply enough copper indium selenide (CIS) thin-film solar cell modules to generate 1MW of electricity, for the new Tsuno 2 solar plant opening next year in the Miyazaki Prefecture region of Japan, as part of a regional initiative.

This is the second solar plant in Miyazaki Prefecture to use Solar Frontier modules, following an adjacent solar plant of equal capacity and larger rooftop solar installation that the company is currently constructing.

Solar Frontier CEO Shigeaki Kameda said, ‘Solar Frontier will aggressively pursue both public and private projects in booming solar cell markets, leveraging our global marketing network.’

The Tsuno 2 plant is currently being undertaken under the region’s Miyazaki Solar Frontier Vision initiative and forms part of the Miyazaki Solar Way project that will see the installation of solar pan-els along 3.6km of an overhead structure at Linear Motorcar Miyazaki Test Track.


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Unprecedented demand for its products is outpacing China-based solar wafer manufacturer Comtec Solar Systems Group’s capacity to deliver, as the company expects to surpass its full production capacity by the end of the year.

Comtec said it received more than 600MW of orders for its monocrystalline solar wafers – the semiconductor substrates of solar cells – to be delivered next year, and expects this volume to nearly double to 1GW when the year is up.

Half of this wafer capacity will be supplied to JA Solar and Suntech Power, while China Sunergy will receive a further sixth, the company said.

The company has also signed new

wafer supply framework agreements in-volving negotiated prices with Gintech Energy, Jetion Solar, Chint Group and Neosolar Power, totalling around a third of the 600MW capacity orders.

It will supply each of these compa-

nies with around 50MW worth of monocrystalline wafers from January 2011 through until December that year.

Comtec is also due to supply troubled Canadian Solar with 50MW worth of its wafers, but did not specify contractual details of the order.

‘At the moment, we still cannot fulfill all the demand from our custom-ers and they keep request-

ing additional commitments for the shipment in 2011. This gives us strong confidence that we can fill up additional capacity when we ramp up to 1,000MW before the end of 2011, said Comtec Solar chairman and CEO John Zhang.

Demand for Comtec solar wafers outstrips its production capacity

Abengoa gets go-ahead for projectSpain-based renewable energy project development company Abengoa has received unanimous approval from US state regulators for its Mojave solar thermal project, the second installation of this type to get the go-ahead in recent weeks.

The California Energy Commission gave approval for the 250MW facility to be built in San Bernardino County. It is one of nine large-scale solar thermal projects scheduled to go before the Energy Commission for a decision before the end of the year in order to qualify for federal stimulus dollars.

In August, the energy commission gave the nod to the proposed Beacon Solar thermal project in the first permit granted in the state for 20 years.

Anthony Eggert, energy commissioner, said by working in collaboration with other state and federal partners it has scored another big win for the state’s economy and clean energy credentials.

juwi switches on Bulgaria’s largest solar plantA 3.6MW solar park built by juwi Solar in Drachevo, Bulgaria has been con-nected to the grid, becoming country’s largest solar project to date.

Germany-based juwi Solar said the irradiation conditions in Bulgaria were ‘excellent’ and that it had several further projects in the country in the pipeline. juwi is building separate plants at Hostovice in the Czech Republic and

Kosihy in Slovakia, which should be generating power late 2010. The company has set a target of 1GW of installed capacity globally by 2012.

In January, juwi opened a new office in the Slovak capital, Bratislava.

‘We see great potential in Eastern Europe and will intensify our invest-ments and create new jobs,’ said Lars Falck, managing director of juwi Solar.

Orders for the monocrystalline wafers are expected to double by year-end

SunEdison, the solar energy develop-ment subsidiary of MEMC Electronic Materials, and the regional government of Gyeongsangnam-do in the south-east region of South Korea have announced a memorandum of understanding to establish 400MW of solar power plants in the province.

Subject to negotiation and completion of definitive agreements, it is expected that SunEdison will use public land and rooftops to build a number of installa-tions totalling 400MW.

The government of Gyeongsangnam-do will support SunEdison in securing the land or buildings, and in completing the authorisation and permission processes. The projects are expected to be complete by the end of 2013. The governor of the province, Doo Kwan Kim, has been working to foster the growth of renewable energy initiatives and attract investment.

Sunedison to develop Korean solar projects

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5Gw South African solar park study nears completionSouth Africa is to complete a study into the viability of a 5GW solar energy park, which would be five times larger than any installation being developed in the world if given the go-ahead.

The plant may cost up to $21bn and if given approval, is expected to be built in Upington in the Northern Cape, according to Bloomberg.

State utility Eskom recently revealed that this region would be home to its 100MW solar thermal project, currently in the planning stages, which it said would be complete in 2014 and hopes will be expanded considerably going forward.

It is thought that a memorandum of understanding was signed by Dipuo Peters, Energy Minister for South Africa, alongside representatives from the Clinton Climate Initiative almost a year ago to develop the plant.

The solar thermal project and a 100MW wind energy project have both received funding from the World Bank.

The largest solar project being planned to date is Solar Millenium’s proposed 1GW solar thermal power plant at Blyth in California, US, which received approval from the California Energy Commission.

Constellation to create 4.4MW solar array at Denver AirportConstellation Energy and Oak Leaf Energy Partners will develop a 4.4MW photovoltaic (PV) solar installation at Denver International Airport (DIA).

Constellation Energy will finance, own and operate the solar installation, and DIA will purchase the electricity produced by the system over a 20-year period. Intermountain Electric (IME) plans to begin construc-tion of the project within the coming months, with completion expected by early 2011.

The system is expected to supply approximately 7GWh of electricity to DIA each year, using 19,000 PV panels produced by China-based Yingli Green Energy.

‘Denver’s airport has a wide-spread reputation as a green airport. This is a great example of public- private partnerships advancing the green economy,’ said Kim Day, avia-tion manager for DIA.

This is the third solar project at DIA and the largest to date. A 2MW array financed by MMA Renewable Ventures

and designed by WorldWater & Solar Technologies was completed in 2008.

A second 1.6 MW array, funded and operated by MP2 Capital, went online in March.

Both projects were installed and managed by IME, and used solar mod-ules manufactured by Sharp.

Dow expands Michigan staff for Solar Shingle launch

The Dow Chemical Company has created 100 new jobs to support the development of its new Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingles at its Midland facility in the US state of Michigan in preparation for the 2011 commercial launch of the product.

The company unveiled the Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle as the first in a portfolio of building related solar energy products in October 2009. The building integrated photovoltaic product includes a roofing shingle with a solar cell.

The ramp-up is a result of the con-tinued collaboration between Dow with Michigan state and the city of Midland to accelerate the production of its products, in order to make the state a green tech hub, according to Dow Solar general manager Jane Palmieri.

Radiant to market Ascent Solar modules in ChinaChina-based building materials company Radiant will distribute thin-film solar developer Ascent Solar Technologies’ thin-film copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar modules to be used in building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) projects across China.

Ascent Solar said the agreement with Radiant gives it access to multiple mar-ket segments in China’s emerging solar market, including direct integration into Radiant’s line of building materials for residential and commercial solutions.

Radiant said it would install Ascent modules on its metal roofing demon-stration site to demonstrate the products to its customers.

Farhad Moghadam, president and CEO of Ascent Solar, said, ‘This relationship will give us access to a very large and rapidly growing market for BIPV applications in China. We also ex-pect that other products in our line-up of flexible, lightweight CIGS modules will be marketed through this relationship.’

Constellation will own and operate the solar installation

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BP Solar, Verve Energy to build Australian PV plant

BP Solar has been contracted to build Australia’s largest ever grid-connected solar power installation, a 10MW photovoltaic (PV) array in Geraldton, Western Australia, with the state energy corporation Verve Energy.

The project is valued at more than A$50m ($47m) with BP Solar carrying out the engineering and construction activity, and the operation and maintenance of the plant once constructed. Work will begin in early 2011 and should be complete before the end of the year.

One-third of the cost will be met by the state government, with additional fund-ing from Australia’s Office of Energy and Royalties for Regions scheme.

Asian competition pushes down solar inverter prices Asia-based suppliers will push down the price of solar inverters, as the global market looks set to expand by a factor of nine by 2014, according to new research.Success in the burgeoning market for power inverters will hinge on suppliers’ capability to provide the lowest long-term costs and their near-term ability to source sufficient amounts of compo-nents, market research firm iSuppli said.

Global inverter shipments are set to reach more than 23.3 million units by 2014, a 900 per cent increase on the 2.6 million in 2010, it said.

This will also translate to a revenue increase of up to $8.9bn in 2014 from $5.3bn in 2010.

In addition, suppliers based in Asia will leverage lower manufacturing and raw material costs to push down prices

even more despite many experiencing challenges to deliver bankability.

Combined with a sharp rise in demand will be a rapid decrease in the price per watt for inverters worldwide, with costs decreasing by 13.5 per cent in 2010 alone.

Greg Sheppard, chief research officer for iSuppli, said, ‘Solar invert-ers are on track to become one of the world’s highest volume ruggedised electronic systems.’

The increased competition in the market is further compounded with an increasing market share being garnered by larger inverters, which can offer a lower price per watt.

On top of this, iSuppli said manu-facturers have to cope with continual pressure to drop costs further.

Phoenix Solar unveils new Malaysia officeThe Singapore arm of Germany-based group Phoenix Solar has established a subsidiary in Malaysia with regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The new company will develop and build turnkey ground-mounted and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) plants, offering a range of products and services which includes stand-alone PV systems and building-integrated solar plants.

At the end of July, Malaysia’s Ministry of Energy announced feed-in tariffs for PV plants that are due to be introduced in 2011.

The country’s National Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan provides for an increase in the pro-duction of electricity from renewable energies from one per cent to 5.5 per cent by 2015.

SolarReserve expands operations in US ahead of 100Mw solar plantPhotovoltaic developer SolarReserve has expanded its US operations by opening an office in Las Vegas, Nevada, which will spearhead the development and construction of a 100MW utility-scale solar thermal plant near the town of Tonopah in Nye County.

‘Opening our Nevada office is mean-ingful because it represents not only an-other step toward the completion of our project, but also illustrates a commitment to expanding our presence in Nevada,’ said SolarReserve CEO Kevin Smith.

‘We view Nevada as a hub for solar power development – with SolarReserve planning to build utility-scale solar plants utilising technology that was developed here in the US.’

The Crescent Dunes solar project at Tonopah will have the ability to store ten hours of solar energy and will be able to shift power production to meet peak demand periods, the company said.

One-third of the cost for BP Solar’s plant will be met by the Australian government

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San Diego Gas & electric solar initiative gains state approvalThe California Public Utilities Commission has approved a San Diego Gas & Electric solar initiative that will help the power utility meet anticipated high energy demand and minimise congestion on its power grid.

The initiative will also go towards the power utility’s aim to derive a third of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. The state regulator said that this initiative could more than double the amount of solar power that is cur-rently generated in the utility’s service territory, by enabling the installation of around 100MW of photovoltaic solar

capacity, which at present numbers ap-procimately 80MW.

San Diego Gas & Electric said that it will install and procure solar power projects, ranging from between 1MW, and 2MW, and provide for solar installations of up to 5MW through the solicitation of power purchase agree-ments in the region.

The power utility has pledged to construct 26MW of solar projects on its existing properties and subsequently own the energy generated, while purchasing an additional 74MW from independent power producers.

REC to close Glava solar module production plant

Greece approves €2bn of renewable energy projectsGreece approved a number of green energy schemes worth more than €2bn in an attempt to attract investment to its fragile economy. The projects, with a total capacity of 840MW and worth €2.1bn, have been approved by the coun-try’s Regulatory Authority for Energy.

The move comes alongside a pledge to fast-track approvals and licensing of clean energy projects, as it attempts to hit a 40 per cent renewables share of its electricity consumption by 2020, according to Reuters. Greece’s banking crisis rocked financial markets earlier this year and sent fresh waves of volatil-ity across global markets.

Despite renewable energy amounting to about only four per cent of the coun-try’s power usage, its solar and wind po-tential is strong and causing it to attract the interest of international companies.

Vacon aims for global solar business by 2011Global AC drive manufacturer Vacon aims to establish a global solar busi-ness by the end of the year, having already strengthened its foothold in the sector with a number of significant orders, largely from Europe.

In the Czech Republic alone, Vacon has received orders for installations on solar projects totalling more than 100MW, in addition to purchases from Italy and Belgium.

‘Vacon’s business is clean technology, distinguished by two growth areas. One is the long-established field of control-ling electric motors with AC drives, and the other one is our product offering for harnessing renewable energy,’ said marketing director for Vacon Renewable Energy Applications, Olli Tevä.

Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) is in talks with trade unions to discontinue opera-tions at its 150MW solar module plant in Glava in Sweden. The company said it will continue producing modules at a reduced capacity at the plant until the end of the year.

‘I would like to recognise the considerable efforts of the REC ScanModule team over the last quarters to improve its cost position. Unfortunately the financial perform-ance of the plant has remained unsatisfactory, and despite the efforts of the Glava team, the prospects for long-term competiveness of the plant are weak,’ said REC executive vice president John Andersen.

The closure will affect around 300 employees, which REC said it will support in seeking new job opportunities. REC said it will maintain its current solar module supply capabilities, while improving its overall cost position through its solar cell plant in Narvik in Norway.

It said the operations of its 180MW Narvik plant will not be affected by the move and that solar cells produced in it will be used to manufacture REC Peak Energy modules, partly in its Singapore facility and partly through existing contract manufacturing arrangements.

Staff at REC’s Glava plant will work at reduced capacity until the end of the year

For more of the latest deal news, company updates and industry developments in the solar sector, go to www.newenergyworldnetwork.com


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Gortahile Windfarm, which owns and operates a 20MW project in County Laois, has been acquired by the fund managed by private equity investor BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners as a cornerstone invest-ment to its Ireland portfolio.

The Gortahile Windfarm recently began commercial operation and is expected to produce about 70GWh of electricity per year. It said as part of its geographically diversified investment portfolio, the team aims to acquire additional assets of wind generation capacity in Ireland over the course of its investment period.

Francesco Cacciabue, CFO and in-vestment director, said the fund targets both operational wind farms and those under construction.

‘We are securing a deep pipeline of projects with a number of developers and owners to enable us achieve our target in-vestment size in Ireland,’ Cacciabue said.

The Gortahile Windfarm acquisition is the first in a partnership agreement with wind energy developer ABO Wind, in which the parties have agreed to transact 50MW of generation capacity over the next 16 months.

BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners launched its fund in the days after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. It has a Europe-wide investment focus and it predominately invests in projects that are fully developed or ready for construction.

Technical director Peter Dickson said, ‘What we are looking for is a well-managed, risk-return profile. We look

for projects that are fully developed and ready for construction. We are looking for technologies that are totally proven and through that we focus our investments in onshore wind, solar photovoltaics, combustion technologies and small-scale hydro,’ he said.

Joost Bergsma, CEO of the fund, said the policy regime in Ireland is prov-ing invaluable support and helping to encourage investment into the country’s renewables sector.

‘This acquisition represents the cornerstone of a larger portfolio that we intend to build in Ireland,’ Bergsma said. ‘Ireland is a very attractive renewables market for financial investors because of its strong wind regime, its robust REFIT support policy, and its commit-ment to achieving its 2020 renewable energy target.’

Energy utility Exelon has made its entry into the wind power sector with an agreement to acquire project developer John Deere Renewables in a deal it said it expects will close late this year.

The $860m transaction will immedi-ately add 735MW of power capacity to Exelon’s generation portfolio. The deal also includes a provision for an additional $40m in projects under development, including 230MW in the latter stages out of development portfolio totalling 1,468MW.

Exelon, which claims to be the least carbon-intensive major US electricity utility, said the acquisition is part of the 2020 renewable energy strategy that it formed to eliminate the equivalent of its 2001 carbon footprint.

The company said it will finance the transaction using Exelon Generation debt.

‘Not only does this acquisition add value for Exelon shareholders, providing incremental earnings in 2012 and cash flows in 2013, but it also is one more way to implement a clean energy future,’ said Exelon chairman and CEO John Rowe.

‘Whether harmful emissions are priced or regulated, our combined capacity of nearly 19,000MW of zero-emission wind, solar, hydro, landfill gas and nuclear pow-er remains a clear competitive advantage that will only become more valuable.’

John Deere Renewables’ installed energy portfolio includes 36 projects in eight US states.

Exelon expands with John deere Renewables deal

BNP Paribas buys Gortahile Windfarm, focuses on Eire

REH to sell two German wind assets for €40mEnergy developer Renewable Energy Holdings (REH) has entered into an agreement to sell its interests in two wind projects to Allianz Renewable Energy Management, in order to raise capital to develop its other portfolio projects.

The company has committed to sell the Windpark Kesfeld Heckhuscheid and Windpark Kir wind projects based in Ger-many for a total consideration of around €39.8m, with a deferred consideration of

up to €2m.The company said the deal is expected to close by the end of this month. On the date the disposal closes, REH said it will provide two performance bonds totalling €1m for the two-year period fol-lowing closing.

These bonds include €650,000 to serve as security for all warranty claims and other breaches of the sale agreement. The company has agreed to provide another €350,000 to serve as security for an

indemnity it granted to Allianz with regards to energy losses resulting from restrictions imposed on the projects by planning regulations in Germany.

REH also said €30.4m of the initial consideration will be used to pay down its existing debt and the company’s board said that at present it intends that the majority of the remaining proceeds will be re-invested in its Kobylany Wind Farm Project in Poland.

Joost Bergsma, CEO, BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners

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Following a public tender held in Brazil to promote wind power development in the country, Enel Green Power has been awarded contracts to develop 90MW of wind power capacity which will double its installed capacity in the country.

The Enel Group company, which is dedicated to developing and operating renewable resources internationally, has been contracted to develop three high-output wind power projects in Bahia state.

The wind projects have high wind potential compared to other projects, boast-ing a high capacity factor of around 50 per cent, whereas the average capacity factor for wind farms is roughly 30 per cent in the UK.

This means that the wind turbines will be able to generate power for more than 4,000 hours equivalent per year, according to Enel, which is approximately twice the European average.

The contract was awarded via an auction through which only 528MW out of around 7,000MW of authorised projects were awarded.

With an installed capacity of 30MW each, the Cristal, Primavera and Sao Judas projects are slated to generate over 390,000MWh of power per year, equal to the consumption of around 245,000 Brazilian households.

Iberdrola Renovables has contracted wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa to supply turbines for the second round of Brazilian tender contracts it won in September to develop 258MW of projects with Brazil-ian holding company Neoenergía.

Gamesa is due to supply 129 of its G8X wind turbines to Iberdrola over the next two years.

The contract calls for Gamesa to sup-ply, transport and erect the 2MW capacity turbines, and perform start-up and main-tenance work over the two-year period.

The tender for the projects was called by Brazil’s electricity industry authority, Agencia Nacional de Energía Elétrica.

This represents the first supply agree-ment formed by Gamesa in Brazil. The company recently opened its subsidiary in the Mercosur in São Paulo, a move that fits within the framework of Gamesa’s strategy for venturing into emerging markets that offer growth potential, the company said.

As part of this strategy, Gamesa has entered six new markets in Europe, Latin America and Africa this year alone.

Gamesa has installed more than 200MW of wind energy in five countries in Latin America and has more than 1,100MW under contract in Honduras, Mexico and Costa Rica.

Enel awarded high output Brazil tender wind contracts

Gamesa to supply turbines for Iberdrola’s Brazilian projects

Gamesa is due to supply 129 of its G8X wind turbines over the next two years

IMPSA sells wind turbines worth $730m to BrazilArgentina-based renewable energy company IMPSA has sold over $730m worth of wind turbines to a selection of Brazilian buyers through its subsidiary Wind Power Energia, according to re-ports.The 450MW of wind turbines were sold to companies that secured contracts in a tender led by Brazilian electric-ity regulator ANEEL. In August, the company was pre-awarded one of the most significant hydroelectric projects in Argentina in the past 30 years.

It has been chalked to supply turbines for the 1740MW Condor Cliff and La Barrancosa hydropower projects in partnership with Corporación América and Camargo Correa Consortium.

IMPSA said it will manufacture the turbines in its plant in Mendoza, in co-operation with a number of Argentine small and medium enterprises.

The hydro complex is also slated to generate over 550GWh of renewable energy each year.

UK private equity firm 3i Group is looking to sell its portfolio wind farm developer Global Energy Services (GES), according to reports.The group has employed Citigroup to undertake a strategic review of GES, but has not definitively said whether or not it will sell the company.

Potential buyers include private equity firms and trade bidders that offer wind industry services such as General Elec-tric, Siemens or Alstom, said Reuters.

Buy-out firm Doughty Hanson, which owns LM Wind Power, is also tipped as a potential buyer. 3i is rumoured to be seeking about $632m from the sale of GES, which it bought in 2006.

Contrastingly, 3i has estimated the value of GES to be around $312m, Reuters said. It acquired GES as a spin-out of Spain-based wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa for $217m, so 3i would effectively make a profit around twice the value that it bought it for.

3i to sell Global Energy services

Ikea grows portfolio with German wind farms

In its first transaction in the Baltic region, the Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank, has agreed to buy carbon credits from a group of wind farms operated by OÜ Nelja Energia.

The transaction was negotiated by the fund’s carbon manager, Green-Stream Network.

OÜ Nelja Energia is a renewable energy company owned by Freenergy, an Estonian investor in renewable energy in Eastern Europe. It develops and manages a portfolio of 19 wind farms in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, with a combined planned capacity of 330MW onshore and 700MW offshore.

Under the purchase agreement, the fund will acquire carbon credits resulting from six OÜ Nelja Energia’s wind farms projects in Estonia and Lithuania, generated via the United Nations’ joint implementation mecha-nism under the Kyoto Protocol.

EBRd fund signs first projects in Baltic region

Wind developer Iberdrola Renovables has been awarded a contract to develop nine new wind farms in Brazil in partnership with Brazilian energy holding company Neoenergia and an additional investee.

The company secured the €60m contract for the installation of 258MW of wind capacity during the Brazil’s second renewable energy tender, organised by the Agencia Nacional de Energía Eléctrica.

It has committed to supply the electricity generated at these facilities to the Brazilian government for a 20-year period, starting in January 2013.

The contract was the largest volume of all the contracts that were issued to different operators during the tender, which included contracts for 50 wind farms, five hydroelectric plants and a 64MW biomass facility.

It is the first contract formed between the companies since Iberdrola and Neoenergia committed to work together to develop wind projects in Brazil under a memorandum of understanding.

The agreement stipulated that the companies will eventually form a joint venture and plan to jointly participate in the future tenders held by Brazil’s Agencia Nacional de Energía Eléctrica.

iberdrola consortium to develop nine new wind farms in Brazil

Ming Yang looks to raise $400m in NYSE listingWind turbine manufacturer China Ming Yang Wind Power hopes to raise $400m in an initial public offering (IPO) of American depository shares through listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Filings made with US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the company is the largest non-state-owned or controlled wind turbine manufacturer in China.

Founded in 2006, it said its com-petitive strengths of a strong research base, strategic locations close to wind resources and vertical integration of its supply chain give the company a competitive advantage to compete effectively in China’s wind power equipment industry.

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Retailing giant Ikea has acquired six German wind farms from Spain-based turbine manufactur-er and project developer Gamesa for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition will see Ikea take control of wind projects in four different locations with an installed capacity of 45.05MW.

According to reports, the deal brings the number of wind turbines owned by Ikea to 52, after a transaction that saw the company buy four French wind farms in 2009. The wind assets are in Lower Saxony, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, and have recently been developed by Gamesa with the latest extension of the Zettingen project still under construction.

Germany is Ikea’s biggest retail market and the move underscores a growing commitment by large corporates to invest in the renewable energy sector to miti-gate their own emissions.

Other notable investors include Google and food retailer the Co-operative. In addition, US retailing group Walmart has also signed a number of power purchase agreements to buy energy from wind farms.

‘We are conscious of our impact on people and the environment, so we feel duty bound to act responsively in all we do,’ Mikael Ohlsson, CEO of Ikea, said according to a report in the Financial Times.

The deal is thought to have been completed earlier this year and will bring the amount of its power needs it derives from renewable energy to about ten per cent.

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Ikea’s latest acquisition brings the total number of turbines it owns to 52

London-based asset management firm BlackRock has become a major investor in Denmark-based wind turbine manu-facturer Vestas after increasing its stake in the company in September to above the five per cent threshold. BlackRock’s holding in the company rose from more than 10.14 million shares to nearly 10.24 million shares in September.

Vestas spokesman Michael Holm said, ‘BlackRock went above and beyond the five per cent limit for major shareholders. They have traded around the five per cent mark for a while.’

Vestas did not disclose any further information regarding the investment, as part of company policy.

Days on from the investment, Vestas was reprimanded by a NASDAQ watch-dog regarding company disclosure and one of its prototype turbines experienced

a breakage, reportedly seeing the com-pany’s shares dip. Vestas also announced in September that it was reprimanded by NASDAQ OMX Surveillance Copenha-gen for not taking action when rumours of a 570MW order for Terra-Gen’s Alta Wind Energy Center in California

surfaced in mid-July. The watchdog reprimanded Vestas for failing to disclose a company announcement about the ongoing negotiations with the customer, as soon as it became aware that the information relating to such was available in the market.

Power utility E.ON is to sell its 20 per cent stake in the Nysted wind farm, offshore Denmark, to Dong Energy, which will in turn offload a 50 per cent interest in the project to pension fund PensionDanmark.

PensionDanmark will buy a 30 per cent stake from Dong for DKK400m (€53.72m) while Dong will acquire E.ON’s 20 per cent share and then sell it on to PensionDanmark for DKK400m.

As a result of the transaction, Dong and PensionDanmark will each own 50 per cent in the project.

Anders Eldrup, CEO of Dong Energy, said, ‘We are very pleased that PensionDanmark has wanted to invest in renewable energy production, and we hope that this agreement can pave the way for similar pension fund investments.

‘We also see it as recognition of Dong Energy’s unique expertise in operating offshore wind farms.’

Power systems developer Alstom has secured an order worth over €200m from Scottish Power Renewables (SPR), a sub-sidiary of Spanish energy group Iberdrola Renovables, to build a 217MW extension to the Whitelee wind farm in Scotland by May 2012.

Alstom will install, commission, oper-ate and maintain 69 of its most powerful offering, the ECO 100 wind turbine, and six of its lower-output ECO 74 wind turbines, under the new contract.

The Whitelee wind farm extension is one of the largest onshore wind power projects in Europe and represents the first large-scale project for Alstom’s ECO 100 wind turbine, which the company described as ‘a major milestone’.

The ECO 100 turbines have a capac-ity of 3MW, compared to the 1.67MW capacity of its ECO 74 turbines.

Alstom and Iberdrola Renovables have also formed a collaborative agreement to install wind projects in Spain over the next two years, with a 100MW project pipeline in 2011 and a further 49MW in 2012.

Pensiondanmark buys nysted wind farm stake from E.On

BlackRock becomes major shareholder in Vestas

BlackRock’s holding in Vestas rose to 10.24 million shares in September

Collaboration on Whitelee wind farm extension


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PensionDanmark will buy a 30 per cent stake from Dong for €53.72

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US-based power generation company NRG Energy has reached a definitive agreement to acquire retail renewable energy provider Green Mountain Energy for $350m in cash.

The deal will see Green Mountain’s green retail franchise aligned with NRG’s portfolio of renewable power assets.

NRG said the acquisition will bring together a development pipeline and create the foundation for what will be the pre-eminent platform of clean en-ergy solutions in Texas, New York and other core regions the companies serve.

David Crane, president and CEO of NRG, said Green Mountain serves a customer base that is increasingly interested in deriving its power from sustainable sources, more so than any other retail energy provider.

‘Increasingly NRG, with our expand-ing portfolio of wind, solar and biomass initiatives working with and through Green Mountain, is poised to become the clean energy provider of choice for Americans who want to make a differ-ence for the environment,’ Crane said.

Going forward, Green Mountain will be run as a standalone business within

NRG and is expected to contribute an annual EBITDA of $70m to the company.

The transaction, which is expected to close by mid-November, will allow Green Mountain to further its customer base, according to its president and CEO Paul Thomas.

‘Our acquisition by NRG strengthens Green Mountain’s ability to provide the clean energy products that our custom-ers value, while allowing us to reach new markets and offer greater consumer choice – all while preserving our found-ing ideals,’ Thomas said.

In August, NRG Energy signed an agreement with affiliate of the Black-stone Group to acquire 3.88GW of Dynegy’s assets in California and Maine for $1.36bn, in a deal that included a natural gas fuelled-generating station.

NRG wind farms acquires Green Mountain Energy for $350m

RWE Innogy awards €35m contract to nkt cables for Gwynt y Mor offshore farm Energy company RWE Innogy has awarded a €35m contract to cable company nkt cables to manufacture and deliver 83km of offshore cable to be used in the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm in Wales.

Munich-based municipal utility company Stadtwerke München and Siemens are also involved in the development of the Gwynt y Môr wind farm, which is RWE Innogy’s third offshore wind farm off the coast of North Wales.

RWE Innogy COO Paul Coffey said, ‘With contracts in place for the supply of turbines, substations and offshore export cabling, we have now secured the key project components to enable us to begin with offshore construction as planned in the autumn of next year.’

investec to finance 300Mw developmentInvestec is rumoured to have agreed to finance a 300MW wind power develop-ment in the Northern Cape province in South Africa, according to local media.

The project that Investec is thought to be funding will be located near the town of Sutherland in the Karoo region.

The plan to finance the project was revealed by the bank’s head of project finance, Michael Meeser, according to

local news service Beeld.The news-paper also said Investec has provided financial advice to Concentrix Solar for a 50MW solar photovoltaic project that is valued at $420m at Touws River in Western Cape province.

Investec is also due to make a deci-sion on a 1,000MW GDF Suez power project that it has agreed to finance, the report added.

NRG scales Green Mountain Energy

Energy technology start-up Ampyx Power has secured a subsidy from the European fund for regional development, which will allow it to finalise the automation of its Power-Plane prototype.

The company claims that its Power-Plane system has the potential to generate renewable energy at costs equivalent to those used to produce power from fossil fuels.

The system incorporates an innova-tive method using a glider plane to unwind a cable from a winch during flight, which propels a ground-based generator with costs that the company claims are significantly lower than those of traditional wind turbines.

Ampyx obtained the European development fund subsidy through the Kansen voor West initiative at The Hague, in the Netherlands.

Ampyx Power secures subsidy to develop innovative glider

United Technologies mulls Clipper Windpower takeoverUS wind technology company Clipper Windpower’s largest share-holder United Technologies (UTC) is considering taking full control of the company after low turbine orders for the fi rst half of 2010 saw its cash position drop from $140m to $86m between June and August 2010, and its revenues took a nosedive.

During crisis talks between the two companies, UTC issued a non-binding indication of interest to acquire all the ordinary shares in the group that it does not currently own, Clipper has revealed.

The interest was made on the conditional completion of confi rm-atory due diligence and certain additional terms, although the com-panies also discussed fi nancial facilities ranging from credit support for a work-ing capital line to equity purchases, the company said.

One potential pitfall of such a deal going ahead is that the subscription agreement between Clipper and UTC

entered into in January 2010 – under which UTC invested $207m into Clip-per – contains standstill provisions that generally limit UTC to a 49.9 per cent shareholding until January 2012. This caveat has so far only ever been extended to a 55 per cent aggregate share-hold of the company by UTC and its affi liates.

detroit Edison increases renewable energy portfolioThe largest renewable energy purchase to date by US power utility Detroit Edison will set in motion a 20-year agreement with Invenergy Wind and bring its total renewable energy generation to four per cent of its portfolio.

The arrangement will see 200MW of wind power installed in the US state of Michigan and has already received approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC).

The agreement, which represents a $1.1bn commitment to renewable energy by Detroit Edison, paves the way for Invenergy Wind to install and operate a 30,000-acre wind farm near Breckenridge in Gratiot County.

Slated to be the largest wind farm in the state, the new project will host 125 of General Electric’s 1.6MW wind turbines that are expected to be operational by late 2011, after a year of construction.

‘This contract represents a large step in Detroit Edison’s growing renewable energy portfolio,’ said Steve Kurmas, Detroit Edison president and COO.

‘Just as important are the economic development ramifi cations and building the state’s renewable energy industry,’ he added.

Detroit Edison said the contract with Invenergy Wind is one of many agreements it expects to sign in the coming months and years to provide renewable energy to its customers.

PGE negotiates rights to buy RES wind farmUS power utility Portland GeneralElectric (PGE) has entered into a preliminary agreement with Renewable Energy Systems Americas (RES Americas) to purchase the development rights assets for the Rock Creek Wind Farm in Gilliam County, Oregon.

The agreement endows PGE with the exclusive rights to purchase the project until the end of 2010.

‘We’re going to need signifi cant new renewable generating resources in com-ing years, as we work to meet Oregon’s renewable energy standards,’ said PGE vice president of power operations and resource strategy Jim Lobdell.

‘Good renewable sites are highly sought after, so we are pleased to have reached preliminary agreement on certain terms with RES Americas and look forward to working with them in the coming months, to see if we can arrive at a fi nal agreement that serves our customers’ best interests.’

nextEra to sell $350m stake to credit suisseRenewable energy project developer NextEra Energy has agreed to sell $350m in equity units to the US arm of Credit Suisse Securities in a transaction that closed on 21 September.

It has also granted Credit Suisse an option to purchase an additional $52.5m of equity units to cover over-allotments

NextEra said net proceeds from the sale will be added to FPL Group Capital’s general funds, and will be deployed to fi nance investments in independent power projects and for other general corporate purposes.

Each equity unit will consist of a contract to purchase NextEra Energy common stock in the future and fi ve per cent undivided benefi cial owner-ship interest in an FPL Group Capital debenture due in 2015.

Clipper’s drop in revenue has prompted UTC’s takeover intervention


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scotland needs to plug its £4bn funding gapScotland will need to fill a multi-billion pound funding gap if it is to maximise its potential as a generator of low carbon power, a financial expert has said.

Scotland could earn up to £14bn in exports by 2050 by moving to a low carbon economy, but not unless it addresses a massive funding gap that stands in the way of its wind farm development efforts to meet 2020 targets, according to financial services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The level of funding needed to plug the Scottish funding gap could peak to £4bn over the next ten years, according to Paul Brewer, a partner with PwC.

‘The finance needed at UK level to fill the gap before debt is accessible is of the order of £10bn at any one time, as development reaches its peak towards 2020 – with up to £4bn of this relating to Scotland,’ he said.

‘The biggest challenge is in the period prior to successful operation of each major wind farm development. Currently offshore wind developments are regarded as too risky for debt until successful operation.’

The funding gap, however, is outweighed by the potential investment that the renewable energy projects themselves could bring to the region.

US DOE pumps $5m into wind energy development

The US government has awarded more than $5m in funding to support nationwide wind energy development, with the aim of doubling US renewable energy generation capacity.

The US Department of Energy has committed $3.4m in federal funding over the past two years to projects geared towards improving short-term wind forecasting, which US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said will acceler-ate the use of wind power by enabling grid operators to predict electricity generation more effectively. Working in tandem with the government and the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-ministration (NOAA), New York-based company AWS Truepower and Minnesota-based WindLogics will spearhead the deployment of advanced atmospheric measurement systems to provide data to improve short-term wind forecast on a demonstrative basis.

NOAA will support the project research, data assimilation, meteorol-ogy and advanced weather modelling aspects of the project, incorporating the findings into an advanced weather forecast model.

Canada to invest up to $65m in wind powerWind energy in the Canadian province of Quebec received a boost in September, thanks to a substantial investment of up to $65m by the government of Canada.

Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Christian Paradis announced the investment, which will be made over a period of ten years to assist the development of two wind farms in the Gaspé region.

The investment will be made through the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power programme, and help to support the Carleton and L’Anse-à-Valleau wind farms, which are owned by Cartier Wind Energy.

‘The government of Canada’s support for the Carleton and L’Anse-à-Valleau wind farms is another example of our action to increase the supply of clean, renewable energy to Canadians,’ the Minister said.

Acciona, Tetra Tech to build Lamèque 45Mw wind farm Acciona Infrastructures and Tetra Tech have been awarded a $30m contract to provide turn-key construction services for the 45MW Lamèque wind power project in New Brunswick, Canada.

The joint venture between the two companies will provide construction management services for access roads, foundations, turbine transportation, and erection, electrical collection sys-tems, and substation facilities.

The farm will consist of 30 1.5MW Acciona wind turbines spread over 3,100 acres. This is Acciona’s fourth wind farm in Canada and the company has invested $112m and established a purchase agreement with energy com-pany New Brunswick Power.

Tetra Tech, an engineering consul-tancy based in California, was recently awarded a $50m contract for infra-structure improvements in 25 develop-ing countries.

US DOE has committed $3.4m in federal funding for short-term wind forecasting


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Alerion Clean Power, a renewable energy company listed on Borsa Italiana, the Italian stock exchange, has received full authorisation to build a wind farm with a total installed capacity of 64.8MW in Romania through its subsidiary Compania Eoliana.

Following a total investment of €85m covered by Alerion’s financial resources and project financing efforts, the wind farm will be built in the Auseu and Borod municipalities in the north-east of Bihor County in Romania, the company

said. The project, which will incorporate 36 turbines, is slated to have an annual production of around 155GWh.

Alerion CEO Giulio Antonello said,

‘The authorisation of our first inter-national farm represents an important milestone in our growth strategy and confirms that Alerion’s ability to deliver can be brought beyond Italian borders.’

According to Antonello, Alerion has further plans to expand internationally.

‘Internationalisation and geographical diversification will become a central element in Alerion’s growth strategy, and shall soon turn Alerion into a relevant European player in the renew-able energy industry,’ he added.

The first offshore wind farm in the US has received state backing, paving the way for the 130-turbine project to be built in the Nantucket Sound.

A high court in the US state of Massachusetts has rejected a claim that the project received approval by navigating legislation against local opposition.

The Supreme Judicial Court sup-ported a 2009 decision by the Energy Facilities Siting Board that permits should be secured despite a rejection by the Cape Cod Commission.

The decision removes a major ob-stacle to the project’s construction as it rejects a challenge to its permit.

David Rosenzweig, Cape Wind’s attorney in the proceedings, said the court’s decision brings to a close ten years of state and local permitting for the landmark clean energy project.

‘This important decision brings Cape Wind’s benefits of hundreds of new jobs, greater energy independence and a healthier environment that much closer to the people of Massachusetts,’ Rosenzweig said. ‘The court was right to say no to the delay tactics of the oil- and coal-funded opposition group which brought this lawsuit.’

Cape Wind to go ahead following state backing

Dutch engineering company Ballast Nedam will lay the foundations for two offshore wind farms being developed by Dong Energy, under new contracts.

The company said it will use offshore service provider A2SEA’s heavy lift vessel Svanen to install the foundations of Dong Energy’s Anholt and Walney II offshore wind farms. Dong Energy obtained the concession for the Anholt wind farm located in Denmark earlier this year and it will consist of 111 turbines, each with a capacity of 3.6MW that will be connected to tubular steel foundational monopiles.

The foundations for the Anholt project are due to be laid in late 2011, with the entire project expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2012.

Ballast Nedam entered into a separate contract to install monopiles using the same vessel for the UK Walney II offshore wind farm being developed by Dong Energy, in partnership with Scottish and Southern Energy in the second quarter of 2011.

Ballast nedam to lay foundations for two dong Energy wind farms

Italy-based Alerion secures rights to develop wind farms in Romania

Maine calls for offshore wind and tidal project proposalsThe US state of Maine’s Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) has released a re-quest for proposal for offshore wind and tidal renewable energy projects.

Initial proposals are to be submitted to the commission by May 2011, it said.

During its 2010 session, the Maine legislature passed a law based on the recommendations of the Governor’s Ocean Energy Task Force that is designed to facilitate the development of such offshore wind or tidal projects.

The law directs the commission to conduct a competitive solicitation for proposals for long-term contracts to supply renewable energy and renewable energy credits from deep-water offshore wind energy pilot projects or tidal energy demonstration projects.

As specified in the new law, the com-mission said it may authorise one or more long-term contracts for up to 30MW, with no more than 5MW to be supplied by tidal energy demonstration projects.

Alerion’s wind farm will be built in the Auseu and Borod municipalities

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crystal Rig ii wind farm begins operationsProject developer Fred Olsen Renewables has officially opened the second phase of its Crystal Rig wind farm, which is already supplying 138MW to the grid.

The 60 new turbines are situated next to Fred Olsen Renewables’ original Crystal Rig project, which opened in 2003 in the Lammermuir Hills – about 25 miles east of Edinburgh. The two projects have a combined capacity of 200MW.

‘Crystal Rig wind farm shows just

how far we have come from the 20 turbines which commenced operation in 2003,’ said Torger Lien, CEO of Fred Olsen Renewables.

The Crystal Rig project was the subject of controversy after a 40m blade fragmented and became detached from one of the turbines in April 2005, leading locals to voice concerns over the safety of the project.

The second phase of the wind farm was built despite strong local opposition.

Suzlon Energy to develop 30MW of wind projects in RajasthanIndia’s largest wind turbine manufac-turer Suzlon Energy has secured an order from Altrade Group to install 30MW of wind capacity in the Jaisalmer and Jodhpur districts of Rajasthan.

Suzlon said it won the orders through two of its portfolio com-panies, Tarini Minerals Private and Indrani Patnaik. Under the contract, Suzlon will set up, operate and maintain the projects, which will comprise 20 Suzlon S82 wind turbine generators – each with a capacity of 1.5MW – and are due to be commissioned by January 2011.

This project is the Altrade Group’s maiden venture into wind energy. Altrade – based in Orissia, India – focuses primarily on the iron ore mining

industry, but it is diversifying into the real estate and hospitality sectors.

The group said it also has plans to register the projects under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism.

The project will extend Suzlon’s hold of the Rajasthan wind market, increasing its installed base to more than 700MW.Ashok D’Sa, president for Suzlon

Energy South Asia and Middle East, said, ‘We are happy to contribute to the group’s green initiative and help them achieve their sustainability goals.’

Renewable energy project developer RES Group is to develop a 25.3MW onshore wind farm in Scotland and hopes to sub-mit plans in the next few months, according to reports.

The company is thought to have already begun discussions with local residents for the 11-turbine project and will look to local contractors to be involved in its construction. In September, RES subsidiary Nordisk Vindkraft officially opened Sweden’s largest onshore wind project, the Havsnäs Wind Farm, that has an installed capacity of 95.4MW.

The project comprises 48 Vestas V90 turbines, 70 kilometres of tracks, a sub-station and five wind measuring masts and is 75 per cent owned by private equity firm HgCapital and 25 per cent by Nordisk Vindkraft.

Tom Murley, head of renewable energy at HgCapital, said, ‘As Sweden’s largest onshore wind farm, it is an important milestone for everyone involved in its development, construction and operation and for Sweden as a whole.’

The amount of installed wind power capacity in Spain increased by 727MW during the first half of the year, reflecting a slowed pace in the uptake of the renewable energy resource, according to the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE).

Total installed capacity reached 19,876MW in Spain by 30 June on the back of favourable government feed-in tariffs.

Spain’s Renewable Energy Plan from 2005 to 2010 has set out that the country should install 20,155MW of wind power before the end of this year, a target that AEE said the country should meet.

The pace of wind power uptake in the first half of the year was, however, only 3.8 per cent, reflecting a slowdown in the installation rate.

The AEE also said the new regulatory environment will be critical to develop-ment of the industry going forward. Amendments to the Royal Decree are expected that will reduce government subsidies to the renewable energy industry, combating an oversupply of the market.

wind installations in spain slow down during H1 2010

The project will increase its installed base to 700MW

RES plans to develop 25MW onshore wind farm in Scotland

Tom Murley, HgCapital

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UK wind power achieves record peak in september

UK wind power hit a record peak in early September, producing enough energy to account for around ten per cent of the UK’s total power generation, the National Grid has confirmed.

At 8.30pm in the evening on Monday 6 September, 1,860MW of wind energy was generated and connected to the UK power transmission system. A major-ity of this power was produced in Scotland, which accounted for around 4.7 per cent of total energy generation at the time. Wind power generated in the 24 hours between midnight on Sunday and midnight Monday accounted for five per cent of all electricity – 40.5GWh out of a total 809.5GWh.

National Grid estimates about ten per cent of the power used by the region in that time frame was generated by wind, taking embedded wind generation into account. The power utility said the spike in wind power was mainly due to an increased amount of wind on the day, coupled with the day falling at the tail end of the low energy demand summer period.

National Grid’s UK media relations manager Stewart Larque said, ‘It spiked on Monday because it was particularly windy, combined with the fact that wind capacity is in general increasing, and low summer demand means the available wind generation makes up a larger percentage of demand.’

BPA enlists Calpine to support wind projects in the Pacific NorthwestBonneville Power Administration (BPA) has enlisted diversified energy com-pany Calpine to support its wind power projects in the Pacific Northwest region of the US that will work alongside its hydroelectricity plant to provide flexible energy generation.

The BPA has entered into an agreement with Calpine to buy up to 75MW of potential power from its natural gas-fired Hermiston power project, to provide flexibility to wind power projects in the region.

With the agreement, when wind generators produce more electricity than forecasted, BPA can request that Calpine quickly reduce Hermiston’s output to ac-commodate the renewable wind power.

Calpine will then buy the excess power on BPA’s system to fulfill its existing Hermiston plant contracts.

‘The federal hydro system has historically provided the vast majority of within-hour reserves for wind power in the Pacific Northwest,’ said Elliot Mainzer, executive vice president of corporate strategy for BPA.

‘But as the amount of wind power increases, BPA has been looking at other sources to help reduce the balancing burden on the federal hydro system.’

REG reaches agreement with Mod over planning permission UK wind energy group Renewable Energy Generation (REG) has received planning permission for the construction of a 4MW wind farm at French Farm near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, UK following initial objections from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The group secured planning permis-sion after agreeing on planning condi-tions with the MoD, which originally objected to the wind farm on grounds it would interfere with radar equipment, enabling the group to install two 2MW wind turbines on the greenfield site.

The MoD withdrew its objection when certain planning conditions

were agreed on by both parties.REG said Peterborough City Council

was supportive of the application throughout the process, but was unable to initially grant planning permission because of the MoD objection, which was later resolved during the planning appeal process.

The permission may also be condi-tional on the approval of a scheme to mitigate the impact of the development on two nearby Royal Air Force bases.

According to this condition, the project must not be brought into opera-tion until the approval of this mitigation project is given, allowing REG a four-

year window to gain mitigation project approval. REG said it is currently considering the best way to progress on any mitigation scheme.

In the final planning decision, the planning inspector said, ‘There is a wide array of international, European, and UK laws and policies, which are aimed at tackling climate change and securing increasing energy supplies from renewable sources.

‘In my opinion, the limited adverse effects arising from the proposed development would not be sufficient to outweigh these very strong material considerations.’

National Grid estimates about ten per cent of power generated was by wind

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Suzlon debuts in Swedish market with REpower launch Marking its debut in the Swedish market, Suzlon Energy’s Germany-based wind turbine manufactur-ing subsidiary REpower Systems has formed a Stockholm-based subsidiary, secured a local order and also said it plans to open another office before the end of the year.

On the launch of REpower Systems Scandinavia, the Hamburg-based company said it plans to open another office in the city of Västerås in the Swedish province of Västmanland by the end of September. It has also signed an agreement with special purpose vehicle Klågerup Kraft for the delivery of three MM92 wind turbines for a wind farm near Malmö in the Skåne province of Sweden, each with a rated power of just over 2MW.

The project is developed and partly owned by wind developer HS Kraft and is slated to be installed and operational by 2011.

‘Sweden is an important market for the future of wind energy,’ said Per Hornung Pedersen, REpower CEO.‘The Swedish government’s concrete and ambitious goals for the expansion of renewable energy sources, the simplified planning and approval process – along with the joint certificate market with Norway, slated to be active by 2012 – offers a supportive regulatory framework for wind turbine projects.’

Recent reports suggest that India-based wind turbine major Suzlon is said to be in talks to buy-out the whole of project develop REpower Systems.Robin Banerjee, CFO of Suzlon, told Reuters the companies were working towards becoming one entity, but the brands would continue to operate independently of each other.

Falcon, chongqing to target Mongolian wind market

Chongqing KK-Qianwei Windpower Equipment, a wind turbine control provider targeting the Chinese mar-ket, has entered into a collaborative agreement with power conversion technology developer Falcon Electric to manufacture heat-resilient turbine controls for projects in Mongolia.

Power outages occur inside the control cabins, where a reliable UPS must be able to maintain a clean power source with several minutes of battery back-up, in case of a local power out-age, the company said.

The Chongqing KK-Qianwei Windpower Equipment Company was formed as a joint venture between Denmark-based company kk-electron-ics and Chongqing Instrument Factory to produce heat-resilient wind turbine control systems.

Gaelectric secures approval for cregganconroe wind farmIrish energy company Gaelectric has secured planning approval for a 11.5MW wind farm at Cregganconroe in Pomeroy, County Tyrone.

The Cregganconroe wind farm will require a total investment of about €22m and is just one of a number of projects that Gaelectric has in planning in Northern Ireland, which together total approximately 130MW.

Gaelectric CEO Brendan McGrath said, ‘We have been working on plan-ning for a range of sites in Tyrone and Antrim for a number of years. The Cregganconroe approval is a further important step for Gaelectric and rep-

resents our second planning success in Northern Ireland this year.’

‘It has been very helpful over the last few years to be able to deal with the Northern Ireland Executive, which was at all times open to the benefits of re-newable energy and to finding a solution that would work for the area.’

Gaelectric plans to continue its high level of investment in Northern Ireland wind energy over the coming years, according to McGrath.

‘To achieve this, we need an efficient planning system that has sufficient resources to deal with the current work-load,’ he said.

Gamesa looks to develop presence in ScotlandSpain-based renewable energy com-pany Gamesa is interested in exploring wind power investment opportunities in Scotland, according to the country’s First Minister Alex Salmond.

The announcement follows a meeting between the First Minister and Gamesa board representative José María Vázquez Ugusquiza in September.

Ugusquiza said, ‘We have a clear interest in establishing a local presence in Scotland: we want to be in the best position to offer our customers the best service. We are currently nearing the final stages of decision-making; therefore, we regard our meeting today with the First Minister as a positive development in that process.’

However, the company said it can-not reveal any further details of its plans in Scotland at this stage for com-mercial reasons.

Suzlon has signed an agreement for the delivery of three MM92 wind turbines for a wind farm in the Skåne province

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wind power emerging as major energy sourceWind power now constitutes a major component of the energy mix in a number of trail-blazing countries, according to the International Energy Agency’s annual wind report. The report provides a snapshot of the progress of wind power around the world: still marginal in most countries, but growing rapidly and beginning to come into its own as a source of electricity.

‘Wind power is firmly established as a viable option for increasing green electricity production, and continued increases in capacity are expected in 2010,’ the report said.

Wind accounted for more than ten per cent of national electricity demand in Denmark, Portugal, Spain and Ireland, the IEA’s figures show.

Denmark led with 19 per cent of electricity generated by wind. Additionally, 2009 was a less windy year than average, so in future the total should be even higher. At peak times in some countries, wind supplied more than 40 per cent of the total, with no transmission problems reported.

Only Italy suffered problems with power surges due to an inadequate grid infrastructure, currently being upgraded. At the end of 2009, the countries with most wind power installed were the US (35GW), Germany (26GW), China (25GW), Spain (19GW) and India (11GW).

World’s largest offshore wind project opens in UKProject developer Vattenfall has inaugurated the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, located off the UK’s east coastline. It is currently the world’s largest offshore wind farm, at 300MW.

With an investment close to €1bn, the wind farm has been described by Vatten-fall as a ‘springboard to the future’.

The wind park will boost the amount of energy generated from offshore wind in the UK by a third to 1,314MW, according to reports.

‘This is an expression, not only of the rapid technological development in off-shore wind power, but also of Vattenfall’s development strategy, where the UK is seen as one of the main future markets for offshore wind power,’ Vattenfall said.

Thanet lies in sight of Kentish flats, another offshore wind farm owned by Vattenfall and the two organisations have been merged into one.

When Vattenfall purchased the Thanet wind farm it had secured all necessary licenses but the owners were close to bankrupt. The project was a key part of The Crown Estate’s Round Two licensing round and through it Vattenfall is now producing a quarter of the world’s offshore wind power. Through the opening of Thanet wind power capacity in the UK has now jumped to 5GW, providing four per cent of the country’s total power consumption.

Project developer Vattenfall also recently announced that it has strategically reoriented its business direction to focus on core markets in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands as it consolidates to face challenging market conditions. The company said it will remain as an integrated European company, while diversify-ing its production portfolio to include distribution, trading and sales of electricity, heat and gas.

‘With the new strategic direction, Vattenfall is taking the next step in the com-pany’s development,’ said Øystein Løseth, CEO of Vattenfall.

AC drive manufacturer Vacon has said it expects 15 per cent of its revenues to be garnered from the wind energy sector in 2010.

The Finland-based company said it has also began moving into the solar market in recent months and has re-ceived a number of European orders.

Olli Tevä, marketing director, renewable energies at Vacon, said, however, that its renewables footprint will continue to be led by its success in the wind power sector.

‘Vacon’s business is clean technol-ogy, distinguished by two growth areas. One is the long-established field of controlling electric motors with AC drives, and the other one is our product offering for harnessing renewable energy. Vacon offers new and exciting solutions for this growing business area.’

‘We started to bring our products into the wind energy market in mid-2000,’ Tevä added. ‘Fifteen per cent of revenues will come from wind energy in 2010, with the main market being China,’ he added.

Vacon production facilities, as well as various research and development operations, are located around the globe in regions including Finland, the US, China and Italy.

The company also has plans to establish a global solar business by the end of the year, having already strengthened its foothold in the sector with a number of orders in Europe.

Vacon manufacturers AC drives that Tevä said can lead to vast energy efficiencies. The company posted rev-enues of €272m in 2009 and its shares are quoted on the main platform of the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

Vacon targets growing wind energy sector


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For more of the latest deal news, company updates and industry developments in the global wind sector go to www.newenergyworldnetwork.com

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California-based developer Cool Planet Biofuels raised $3m in a recent round of funding, according to reports.

The company has also rented 50,000 square feet of additional space to develop gasoline from biofuel, in a process that creates no carbon footprint.

The company said it will use fractionators in addition to the normal

fermentation process used to produce bioethanol.

These fractionators incorporate heat to make gasoline and a solid carbon by-product called biochar.

This extra product can be used as a soil fertiliser or sequestered under the ground, ensuring the process is carbon negative, according to the company.

Entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and Unilever have become the latest inves-tors to back algae biofuel developer Solazyme in its recent Series D round of financing.

Branson’s investment, which was made in a personal capacity, comple-ments existing Virgin Group invest-ments through the Virgin Green Fund in the renewable energy and resource efficiency sectors.

‘Sustainable renewable oils and biofuels will play an important role in our future,’ said Branson.

‘We have made a number of invest-ments in these emerging fields over the last four years and I’m excited about Solazyme’s potential to make oils for fuels, chemicals and foods at scale.’

Unilever, which has an existing research and development agreement with Solazyme, is working with the company’s tailored renewable oils, having successfully tested them in current product formulations.

Branson, Unilever join Solazyme financing round

Cool Planet raises $3m to develop biogasoline

Mississippi pledges financing for KiORNext-generation energy company KiOR has reached an agreement with the US state of Mississippi, to build five commercial-scale renewable crude oil production facilities supplied by biomass in return for a state assistance package that includes a $75m loan.

According to the agreement, privately-owned KiOR will build three of the five facilities over the next five years.

By 2015, the project will deliver an estimated $500m worth of investment, the company said. In addition to the loan, the state’s package includes assistance with infrastructure needs and workforce training.

The company said it plans to utilise Mississippi’s abundant supply of woody biomass to produce commercial volumes of Re-Crude, a high-quality crude oil that can be refined into conventional fuel products – including gasoline and diesel – and deployed in the country’s existing transportation fuels infrastructure.

‘This partnership with the state of Mississippi will help us to rapidly scale our technology while creating quality jobs and spurring economic development in the state,’ said Fred Cannon, president and CEO of KiOR.

Governor Haley Barbour added, ‘KiOR’s revolutionary technology will allow the company to use Mississippi’s abundant, renewable natural resources to produce a crude oil substitute that will help meet our nation’s energy needs while reducing our dependence on foreign oil.’

ADM’s new facility will convert corn residue into biofuels

BiOeneRgy: deal news

dP CleanTech, axis join forces for lithuanian plantDP CleanTech and Axis Technologies, a Lithuania-based construction com-pany, have joined forces to add biomass capacity to an existing fossil fuel power station in Siauliai, Lithuania.

The facility, which is owned by Siauliai Energija, currently burns natural gas and heavy fuel. By adding a new biomass fired boiler, the com-pany will be able to generate more power without increasings its carbon dioxide emissions.

DP CleanTech will provide the engineering, project management, pro-curement and manufacturing expertise to extend the power station, and will supervise the construction and commis-sioning of the complete boiler island.

The entire plant should be fully operational by April 2012, the company said.


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Bioenergy company SG Biofuels has completed a $9.4m Series A financing round in which privately-held company Flint Hills Resources and biotechnology tools com-pany Life Technologies joined existing investors.

The financing follows SG Biofuels and Life Technologies’ recent announcement that they have completed the sequence of the Jatropha genome and will support the company’s efforts to advance jatropha as a high-yielding, low cost feedstock for diesel, jet fuel and petrochemicals. Anthony Sementelli, CEO of Flint Hills Resources and Life Technologies’ gene technologies, and vice president Nathan Wood joined the company’s board of directors following the deal.

Kirk Haney, president and CEO, of SG Biofuels, said, ‘Our integrated platform of breeding, biotechnology and agronomy provides a significant opportunity for SG Biofuels and our partners to create a thriving global market for crude Jatropha oil.’

Jatropha curcas is a non-edible shrub that is native to Central America, with high oil content seeds that can be used as feedstock substitutes.

Earlier this year, SG Biofuels and Life Technologies formed a strategic alliance to accelerate the development of jatropha through use of Life Technologies’ biotechnol-ogy and synthetic biology tools.

SG Biofuels claims to have assembled the world’s most diverse library of jatropha genetic material and developed a crop improvement platform that has doubled the yield of Jatropha, while reducing input costs for growers.

Technology developer Biomagnetics Diagnostics has agreed to acquire China-based diesel biofuel pro-ducer Zhuhai Oil Energy Science and Technology, and will finance the deal through a share offer.

Biomagnetics said it intends to close the deal of the biofuel com-pany, which is located in Guangdong province, during a trip to China in September by its CEO and will issue ten million shares of common stock in order to fund the purchase.

The acquisition is the second in a series of four planned acquisitions of Chinese technology and products by Biomagnetics, which the company said will be highly accretive and boost its common share value.

Biomagnetics also said it has sched-uled meetings with government officials relative to its proposals to acquire Hubei Tianyuan Chemical, Lanzhou Sunshine Plastics and Lanzhou Sanhuan New Technology.

Zhuhai’s biofuel formulations are

designed to significantly reduce particu-late and carbon emissions, it said.

‘We have decided to accelerate the closure of Zhuhai for several reasons. The first is the recent patent application submitted last week to protect the for-mulation for this unique biofuel blend. With the filing completed, we can now move toward a formal purchase agree-ment,’ said Clayton Hardman, CEO of Biomagnetics.

SG Biofuels raises $9.4m to develop jatropha as jet fuel

Biomagnetics Diagnostics to close acquisition of Zhuhai

Biomagnetics will issue ten million shares in order to fund Zhuhai’s purchase

BioFuel secures bridge loan from GreenlightEthanol production company BioFuel Energy has entered into a six-month bridge loan agreement with investment firm Greenlight Capital and some of its affiliates, alongside an affiliate of investment adviser Third Point.

The company has already used the proceeds from the loan to repay in full its working capital loans under its senior debt facility.

It has also entered into an agreement with the lenders to conduct a rights offering in order to generate proceeds to repay the bridge loan and its subordi-nated debt, whereby its common stock and Class B shareholders acquire the right to buy its preferred stock.

BioFuel Energy has two ethanol plants in the US Midwestern corn belt that each produce around 115 million gallons of ethanol per year.

Global oil and power company Statoil has agreed to fund US-based Bio Architecture Lab’s (BAL) research, development and demonstration algae biofuel, as well as further commercialisa-tion efforts in Norway and Europe based on the success of the development.

The two companies have partnered under a strategic agreement in Sep-tember to produce renewable ethanol derived from macroalgae grown off the coast of Norway. BAL will have the right to buy an interest in the company as it progresses and will receive royalties on all ethanol and by-products produced by the partnership, under the new agreement.

‘This game-changing partnership will allow BAL to accelerate our path toward commercialisation and establish our technology in key markets in Europe,’ said BAL CEO Daniel Trunfio.

During the initial phase of the partnership, BAL will be responsible for developing the technology and process to convert Norwegian seaweed into ethanol.

Statoil to finance Bio Architecture’s algae biofuel development

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The US Department of Energy (DOE) has invested up to $16.5m in two major research and development (R&D) initia-tives that will support the expansion of renewable transportation fuels production.

‘Developing cost-effective renewable transportation fuels is a key component of DOE’s strategy to reduce green house gas emissions and move the nation toward energy independence,’ said US Energy Secre-tary Steven Chu.

The first initiative will pump nearly $12m over a three-year period into four projects to advance technologies for the thermo-chemical conversion of biomass into advanced biofuels that are compatible with existing fuel infrastructure.

Each recipient will utilise this process to breakdown biomass into bio-oil, a process that has shown potential to be refined and used in current vehicles.

WR Grace & Co was awarded $3.3m for a project aimed at processing bio-oil

into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The Pacific Northwest National

Laboratory gained $3.1m for a catalytic pyrolysis oil deoxygenation study in

collaboration with Albemarle and technol-ogy group UOP.

Gas Technology Institute secured $2.4m under the initiative and Battelle Memorial Institute was awarded $3.2m.

The second initiative provides up to $4.5m to three projects that support research fo-

cused on designing landscapes that produce bioenergy feedstock while protecting natural resources and enhancing ecosystem services. Under it, North Carolina State University received over $2m for its project to evaluate the impacts on hy-drology and safety of biomass feedstock cultivation, while Purdue University obtained more than $1.5m to aid its sustainability assessment of multiple species of energy crops.

US invests $16.5m in biofuel feedstock R&D

Energy Secretary Steven Chu

gevo acquires ethanol facility for isobutanol production

Biodiesel firm gushan buys copper recyclerBiodiesel manufacturer Gushan Environmental Energy is set to acquire a 67 per cent stake in fellow China-based company Mian Yang Jin Xin, which recycles copper.

Gushan paid RMB17.7m ($2.6m) to two individuals, Chen Lian and Liu Hanjiu, for their stakes in Jin Xin.

Gushan produces biodiesel and related products from a variety of feed-stocks, such as vegetable oil, animal fat and recycled cooking oil.

A simultaneous stock purchase agreement will see Gushan will sell 18 per cent of its wholly-owned subsidi-ary Engen to the British Virgin Islands company Golden Hero, owned by Mr Chen’s wife, and 15 per cent to Silver Harvest, owned by Mr Liu’s daughter.

Gushan will also make a loan to Jin Xin of RMB30m ($4.5 million), quadrupling is current registered capital of RMB10m.

ARES invests $8m in Renewable Energy GroupRenewable Energy Group (REG) is set to acquire biodiesel assets in New Mexico from engineering specialist ARES in an all common stock transac-tion, that will also see it gain an addi-tional $8m investment from ARES.

The 15 million gallon per year facility is based in Clovis in New Mexico. REG said the deal was a strategic move forward in response to the Renewable Fuel Standard 2 policy programme, which aims to lay the foundation for achieving significant reductions of greenhouse gas emis-sions from the use of renewable fuels.

‘In support of RFS2, REG continues to expand its national footprint of pro-duction facilities and related logistics, to better serve our growing customer base of regional and national busi-nesses,’ said REG president and COO Daniel Oh.

Privately-held renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company Gevo has closed its acquisition of Agri-Energy’s ethanol production facility in Minnesota, US, which it plans to refit for the production of renewable isobutanol.

The plant in Luverne is expected to provide 18 million gallons per year of production capacity for chemicals and fuels customers, the company said.

Engineering for the mechanical retrofitting of the plant has already begun and isobutanol production is expected to start in early 2012.

During most of the retrofit process, it is expected that the facility will continue to produce and sell ethanol.

Gevo has developed a proprietary process designed to fit into current ethanol production facilities, which also enables the production of isobutanol from renew-able feedstocks including corn, wheat, sorghum, barley, sugar cane and cellulosic feedstocks when biomass conversion becomes commercially available.

Gevo’s integrated fermentation technology platform consists of two components including a yeast biocatalyst and a separations technology unit that bolts into exist-ing ethanol plants.

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BiOeneRgy: COMPany news

European wind energy heavyweight Acciona Energy’s second foray into straw biomass combustion has been connected to the power grid, spearheading its devel-opment portfolio of upcoming biomass projects in Spain.

Acciona already has one straw biomass plant under construction, in addition to two 4MW forestry and timber waste biomass plants in the Spanish provinces of Soria and Cuenca, as well as an ad-ditional five plants in the pipeline.

Its 16MW herbaceous and forestry waste biomass plant in the Miajadas region of Spain is said to be at a ‘very advanced’ stage of construction and is due to enter service in the last quarter of this year.

As the first biomass plant to use straw as feedstock in the central Spain region of Castilla y León, Acciona’s latest straw combustion biomass plant in Briviesca in the province of Burgos sent its power to the grid in September as part of a trial phase that will last three months prior to full-scale production. The facility repre-sents a €50m investment, in which public regional energy entity Ente Regional de la Energía participated with 15 per cent of the capital.

Acciona has already guaranteed the supply of raw straw from the Burgos and Palencia provinces for the project through medium- and long-term supply contracts, with more than 100 farmers and 38 companies in central Spain.

acciona energy opens its second straw biomass plant

Enerkem starts building waste-to-biofuels plant

Biofuel company Enerkem has broken ground on the construction of its municipal waste-to-biofuels facility in the Canadian city of Edmonton, on which it is partnering with the city’s authorities and the government of Alberta province.

The plant is the world’s first industrial-scale biofuels project to use municipal solid waste as feedstock, according to Enerkem.

The C$80m ($76m) project is slated to have an annual production capacity of 36 million litres and be in operation by late 2011.

The company has signed a 25-year agreement to convert 100,000 tonnes of the city’s municipal solid waste into biofuels annually, and it will be built, owned and operated by Enerkem subsidiary, Enerkem Alberta Biofuels

‘This groundbreaking marks the launch of a transformative project and leads the first wave of commercial-scale advanced biofuels plants in North America,’ said Enerkem’s president and CEO Vincent Chornet.

Enerkem CEO Vincent Chornet sets sights on Canadian expansion

Biofuels demand spurs African ‘land grabbing’ by firmsThe practice of ‘land grabbing’ in Africa to meet biofuels demand in northern countries is underestimated and out of control, putting both the host countries rural land use and international investment at risk, according a new report.

Across 11 African countries, at least five million hectares of land is bring acquired by foreign companies to pro-duce biofuels mainly for northern mar-kets, a Friends of the Earth report said.

It said European biofuels policies must be scrapped in favour of incen-tives and investment that reduces the use of energy in the transport sector.

In addition, land prices in Africa are in many places very cheap com-pared with the international market and land values are rising, suggesting the potential for investment.

The UK’s Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) said it is disappointed that only a minority of companies in the UK sourced biofuel that was produced according to a recognised environmen-tal standard.

According to provisional data collected by the RFA, 2.9 billion litres of biofuel have been supplied under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, which requires a certain amount of biofuel to be sold at fuelling stations, from the 12 months following mid-April 2009. In addi-tion, the initiative proved successful in delivering carbon savings.

But over the period, just 30 per cent of biofuels met an environmental standard, compared to a target of 50 per cent.

Sourcing biofuel in accordance with environmental standards is a voluntary practice and one which the RFA said has not been widely taken up to date.

RFa disappointed at lack of biofuels meeting standards

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Researchers at the University of Cambridge have identified key plant en-zymes that hinder the extraction of energy from non-edible foliage such as wood and straw, which they say can be used to improve the viability of biofuels while reducing the impact on food crops.

The research, which was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), identified and examined the genes for two enzymes that toughen wood, straw and stalks, mak-ing it difficult to extract sugars to make bioethanol. The research team, which is now part of the BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre, said this knowledge can now be used in crop-breeding programmes to make non-edible plant material that

requires less processing and less energy to convert into biofuels. This research has the potential to increase the economic viability of producing sustainable biofuels from inedible crop by-products through increas-ing the understanding of plant structures, the researchers said.

Lead researcher professor Paul Dupree said, ‘There is a lot of energy stored in wood and straw in the form of a substance called lignocellulose. We wanted to find ways of making it easier to get at this energy and extract it in the form of sugars that can be fermented to produce bioetha-nol and other products.’

Until now, energy-rich xylan that represents around a third of the sugars that could be used to make bioethanol has been

very hard to extract from lignocellulose, which gives plants strength and rigidity.

The researchers found that xylan is easier to break down in plants that lack the enzymes used to build the xylan part of lignocellulose in plants.

The research team studied Arabidopsis plants, which lack two of the enzymes that build the xylan part of lignocellulose in plants, and found that though slightly weaker, they grow to a normal size with xylan that is easier to break down and convert into sugar.

Dupree said, ‘What we didn’t want to do was end up with floppy plants that can’t grow properly, so it was important to find a way of making xylan easier to break down without having any major effects.’

Biofuel conversion discovery promises to bring down costs

Swedish utility Gothenburg Energy to construct biogas plant with BioWaz

BioWaz has signed a SEK5.4m (€590,000) contract with Gothenburg Energy for the supply of equipment and consultation for a biogas plant at a research farm outside Gothenburg in Sweden. Gothenburg Energy hopes to produce 1 terawatt-hour of biogas over a ten-year period and expects the project at Nötcenter Viken, to be the first of many small-scale farm-based biogas plants in the region.

‘We are very excited to close such an important contract in a large and important market like Sweden and especially with a well-known energy utility company, Gothenburg Energy,’ said Paal Braathen, CEO of Norway-based BioWaz, which has so far built four similar plants in Norway and Sweden.

‘They are cautiously optimistic that there will be many similar projects over the next few years in this region, which will enable BioWaz to demonstrate the potential in our niche market where we already have an accomplished position.’

lincoln County Commissioners share cost of a-Power biomass feasibility studyChina-based distributed power generation systems A-Power Energy Generation Systems has entered into an agreement with the board of Lincoln County Commissioners, under which they plan to share the cost of a biomass feasibility study in the US state of Nevada.

The feasibility study will involve constructing and operating a 10MW

biomass facility that will be fuelled with biomass derived from landscape enhancement projects undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Lincoln County.

The county said it has sought to iden-tify companies that could use biomass produced by the region’s local pinyon pine and juniper under BLM landscape treatment projects.

Technology developer Joule has been issued a US patent covering its conver-sion of sunlight and waste carbon dioxide technology into liquid hydro-carbons that it claims are fungible with conventional diesel fuel.

Joule’s intellectual property port-folio now includes two US patents and numerous patent filings cover-ing its core technologies, system and integrated process. Joule said it is the first company to achieve and patent a direct, single-step, continuous process for the production of hydrocarbon fuels requiring no raw material feedstocks, which is unlike biofuel processes that require intermediates such as sugar, algal or agricultural biomass,

The company said that the hydrocar-bons produced by its patented method could be marketed for costs as low as $30 per barrel.

Having already proven the direct production of diesel and ethanol, Joule said it plans to begin pilot production by the end of 2010.

Joule awarded patent for liquid Fuel from the sun technology


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BiOeneRgy: COMPany news

solazyme makes world’s largest algae biofuel delivery to Us navy

US algal biofuel developer Solazyme has signed a contract with the US Depart-ment of Defense for a research and development project, and has completed the world’s largest delivery of microbial advanced biofuel to the US military.

Satisfying a contract announced in 2009, the company completed the delivery of over 20,000 gallons of algal-derived shipboard fuel, developed in conjunction with re-fining partner Honeywell’s UOP and consisting of non-alcohol biofuel to the US Navy.

Under the new contract, Solazyme has committed to produce 150,000 additional gallons of algal-derived Soladiesel Renewable Naval Distillate fuel in 2010 and 2011, an order seven times larger than the previous one.

Representing Solazyme’s third advanced biofuels contract with the department in the past year, the new agreement calls for additional research and development using Solazyme’s innovative renewable oil production technology platform to deliver fuel for the US Navy’s testing and certification programme.

Sustainable forestry project devel-oper ECO2 Forests intends to use the biomass by-products of its Kiri Tree forest operations to produce energy and expects to be generating income within the next 18 months. The company said it is negotiating joint venture opportuni-ties with potential renewable energy partners in order to establish ‘strategic biomass partnerships’.

The Kiri tree can be re-grown post harvest, in a way that the company said will give it the ability to generate early-stage annual revenue within around 18 months. Its key target is to expand the Global Forestry Plan, with the goal

of cutting the time frame to deliver revenues from projects under the plan to less than two years.

Specifically targeted for use in biomass gasifiers, the Kiri biomass is heated instead of being burned, which breaks it down into various gases that can be captured and burnt in a gas tur-bine or generator to produce electricity or converted into electricity and water.

The company estimates that a 10,000-acre Kiri Tree biomass forest project can yield around 340,000 tons of Kiri biomass, which is enough to consistently generate around 40MW of electricity per hour.

Sterecycle gain planning permission for Rotherham plant

saiP forms bioenergy distribution agreementwith ndPl in indiaNorth Delhi Power (NDPL) will distribute energy from Solena-ABSi India Private’s (SAIP) plasma gasifica-tion bioenergy technology under a newly-formed agreement between the two companies. The businesses have formed a memorandum of understanding, under which SAIP will produce up to 40MW of renewable power that will be fed into NDPL’s distribution network in the north and north-west of Delhi, India’s second largest city.

The organic waste-to-energy plant will use SAIP technology to convert biomass from waste into renewable bio-synthetic gas, without incineration or combustion.

ECO2 Forests expects to generate biomass income within 18 months

Waste treatment and renewable power company Sterecycle has been awarded planning permission for a Combined Heating and Power (CHP) plant and potentially an Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant on the site of its existing waste treatment facility in Rotherham, UK.

The company received planning permission for the CHP plant from the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council last month and has also sub-mitted a separate planning application for an AD plant which could be posi-tioned alongside a smaller CHP.

‘Pending approval of the AD applica-tion, we will assess the economies of both our renewable power options. With either option, we intend to enter into a joint venture agreement with a technol-ogy leader in that field to develop the infrastructure at our Rotherham site,’ said Tom Shields, CEO of Sterecycle.

For more of the latest deal news, company updates and industry developments in the bioenergy sector, go to www.newenergyworldnetwork.com

60 October 2010

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to issue its inaugu-ral clean energy bond to support renewable energy projects in the Asia and Pacific.

It is expected to have four tranches, one denominated in Australian dollars and Turkish lira and two tranches in Brazilian real.

ADB said it will provide assistance to clean energy projects in an amount at least equal to the amount raised by the clean energy bond. The move follows the roll-out in April of its inaugural water bond, which ADB said is supporting its work in the water sector in Asia and the Pacific.

The issuance is targeted at Japanese retail investors and will be arranged through HSBC Securities. It will be

distributed nationwide by more than 20 securities firms.

Haruhiko Kuroda, president of ADB, said, ‘Clean energy is a crucial element in the fight against poverty in Asia and the Pacific.’

‘To put the region on a path to sustainable and inclusive economic

growth, we are committed to supporting clean energy projects in the region that avoid harming people or the environment.’

Between 2005 and 2009, ADB’s total clean energy investments exceeded $5bn. In addition, ADB is said to be targeting $2bn a year in clean energy investments by 2013, focusing on renewable energy projects such as biomass, wind and solar.

Millennium Private Equity (MPE), which is owned by Dubai Islamic Bank and United Gulf Bank, has invested in an Islamic bond issued by clean technol-ogy development company International Innovative Technologies (IIT), according to reports.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed but it is the first Islamic bond in the UK and is structured to be compliant with Shari’ah principles and provides the investor with synthetic preferred rights and dividends. IIT manufactures a range of high output mills with modular designs and bespoke processing systems.

The company is based in north-east UK and its products are used by ag-gregates, construction and recycling businesses. According to reports, Dubai-based MPE said the transaction provides a framework within which traditional investors looking for preferred returns and rights can structure the investment and still be Shari’ah compliant.

Millenium Private Equity invests in Islamic bond

Asian Development Bank issues clean energy bond

Ambiq Micro secures fundingThe University of Michigan’s Frankel Commercialization Fund has provided an initial investment to a spin-out focused on the development of next generation energy-efficient microcon-trollers aimed at extending the battery life of wireless devices Ambiq Micro.

The value of the investment has not been disclosed, but it follows a $250,000 award from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco’s co-sponsored Global Business Plan Competition for students in July.

Ambiq Micro said its technology can be used in smart credit cards, sensors that control temperature or detect motion in smart homes and buildings, and a variety of medical and mobile devices. The company was founded by pro-fessors of electrical engineering and computer science at the university’s College of Engineering Dennis Sylvester and David Blaauw, and the company’s current CEO Scott Hanson.

china offers three-year investment opportunity window, say investorsChina’s move towards a low-carbon economy is one of the key investment opportunities on the horizon for the next three years, according to Shanghai Elegant Investment manager Shi Bo.

Emerging clean technology company National Clean Fuels, which has recently entered the Chinese market and said it intends to capitalise on future growth, has supported Shi’s public support of China’s clean energy investment commitments.

Shi recommended that investors favour shares in Chinese solar compa-nies as the country’s government invests in clean energy.

‘You have to invest in sectors that the government is advocating,’ Shi said.

‘China’s shift away from energy-intensive and polluting industries to a

low-carbon economy is one of the key investment opportunities in the next three years.’

Shi oversees about $400m dollars and his fund outperformed 98 per cent of China-domiciled funds in the past year, according to Bloomberg.

Reported to be the world’s largest pol-luter, China could spend up to RMB5tn over the next decade developing cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels, the head of the National Energy Administration’s planning and development department Jiang Bing said, this July.

Dedicated to implementing profitable development partnerships to advance clean-fuel technologies, National Clean Fuels said it is poised to capitalise on the explosive growth of green technol-ogy in China.

ADB is said to be targeting $2bn a year in clean energy investments by 2013, including

energy efficiency schemes


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Electric vehicle charging station infrastructure com-pany Coulomb Technologies has secured $15m in Series C funding, which it said it will use to accelerate the development and drive sales of its ChargePoint Network.

Early-to-growth stage capital provider Harbor Pacific Capital, and Korea-based electrical compaies LS Cable and LS Industrial Systems joined the round as new investors in the company.

Returning backers includ-ed Rho Ventures, Voyager Capital, Siemens Venture Capital and the strategic investment division of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Hartford Ventures.

‘Coulomb sales have increased dramatically in 2010,’ said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies.

‘This significant growth has given us an opportu-nity to further expand our operations and superior technology of the Charge-Point Network, to meet the worldwide demand of networked infrastructure for electric vehicles.’

Coulomb was the first company to introduce networked charging stations for electric vehicles in 2008. Since 2009, it has shipped more than 850 stations to more than 200 customers.

Managing partner of return backer Rho Ventures, Mark Leschly, said, ‘[Coulomb is] quickly expanding its footprint and building a compelling, sustainable business.’

In 2010, Coulomb an-nounced strategic partner-ships with Leviton, Siemens and Aker Wade to expand the ChargePoint Network.

The venture capital arm of automaker major General Motors (GM) and Japanese electronics giant Itochu Technology Ventures have made a joint investment of $4.2m into US-based next generation lithium battery developer Sakti3 to assist it advance its manufacturing capabilities.

The companies plan to work to-gether to speed the commercialisation of Sakti3 battery cells and join previ-ous investors to back Sakti3, including Khosla Ventures and Beringea.

Sakti3 was also recently awarded a $3m grant from The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) in 2009 and has been desig-

nated as a State of Michigan Center of Energy Excellence in partnership with the University of Michigan.

‘These investments by General Motors Ventures and Itochu Technol-ogy Ventures bring us not only capital but partnerships that will speed our commercialisation efforts,’ said Dr Ann Marie Sastry, CEO of Sakti3.

‘Our product planning in the auto-motive and portables sectors will be accelerated by working with these two pre-eminent firms.’

Itochu Technology Ventures has a strong focus on energy technologies, particularly on growth markets in Asia, according to Sastry.

Coulomb raises $15m to drive EV charger network

gM, itochu back li-ion battery developer sakti3

Socowave raises €3m to develop radio technologyIreland-based developer of advanced wireless access systems for mobile communications Socowave has raised €3m in a Series A investment round to accelerate the development of radio infrastructure technology, that it claims will cut energy consumption while increasing data handling capacity.

The investment round was led by London-based venture capital firm Balderton Capital that manages $1.9bn in committed venture capital funds.

Socowave’s Active Antenna System technology allows the cellular base station to detect the direction of incom-ing signals and actively optimise the radio link using digital techniques.

The company said that its new class of base station technology increases wireless data handling capacity five-fold, while reducing the energy consumption of the overall base station system by 50 per cent through eliminat-ing inefficient base station components.

Balderton Capital partner Barry Maloney will join the Socowave board following the investment.

OSS, a UK-based recycler of waste lubricating and fuel oils that are reprocessed for use in power plants, is to be sold from its private equity owner Dunedin, according to reports.

A spokesperson was not able to confirm whether press reports stating Dunedin was putting OSS up for sale were accurate but it is believed the firm may have already received unsolicited approaches.

OSS initially focused on the collec-tion, recycling and reuse of waste oil and has expanded its range of services to cover all aspects of waste collection, recycling and reprocessing.

In July, the OSS group won the hazardous waste contract for Scania (Great Britain), a UK importer for Swedish truck, bus, coach and engine manufacturer Scania.

UK-based recycler Oss up for sale

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Energy group Opcon has reached an agreement to divest its mobility product subsidiary REAC and its offshoot Balle in order to sharpen its focus on energy and environmental technology.

Opcon sold the companies to Sweden-based company Latour Industries in September for SEK84.3m (€9.13m).

Opcon said the sale was in line with a focus on its core activities within energy and environmental technology, as its mobility products business area’s customers are primarily active within the healthcare sector.

‘We are now further refining our business so that we can focus even more sharply on energy and environmental technology. This is where our technology is already a leader and where we expect to see very significant business opportunities in future,’ said Opcon president and CEO Rolf Hasselström.

‘By concentrating on customers in the

healthcare sector and with the strategic acquisition of Balle in 2008, we have established a profitable and expanding business,’ added Tom Gustavsson, head of the engine efficiency and mobile products business at Opcon.

‘With our continued development

within energy and environmental technol-ogy, however, we are not a natural owner in the future who can exploit opportunities and develop this company in the best way. After making a comprehensive analysis of future opportunities, we are convinced that Latour Industries is the right owner who can continue to develop the business in future.’

Reported as part of Opcon, REAC and Balle had joint sales of SEK79m (€8.56m) for 2009. Opcon has activities in Sweden, China, Germany and the UK, and its shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm.

The group has two main business areas including a renewable energy division that focuses on biomass and fuel cells, as well as an energy efficiency business that concentrates on energy efficient solenoid technology, and ignition systems for com-bustion engines including ethanol, natural gas and biogas engines.

Opcon offloads its mobility subsidiaries to focus on energy

Cisco Systems to acquire smart grid tech developer Arch RockCommunication technology major Cisco Systems has said it plans to acquire Arch Rock, a privately-held developer based in San-Francisco that deals with internet protocol-based wireless network technology for smart-grid applications.

Cisco said that the acquisition of Arch Rock will enable Cisco to offer an advanced metering infrastructure, the company said.

‘Arch Rock’s wireless mesh technology enhances Cisco’s internet protocol-based, end-to-end smart-grid offerings,’ said Laura Ipsen, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s smart grid business.

‘This acquisition further positions Cisco as a strategic partner to utilities working to better manage power supply and demand, improve the security and reliability of energy delivery, and optimise operational costs.’

Arch Rock’s technology is designed to enable utilities to connect smart meters and other distributed intelligent devices over a scalable, highly secure, multi-way wireless mesh network, said Cisco. The acquisition complements the company’s recently announced strategic alliance with Itron to develop solutions that enhance smart-metering technology. Arch Rock has a team proven in the area of research-ing and developing wireless networking for smart-grid applications.

Upon the close of the acquisition, the Arch Rock team will become part of Cisco’s smart grid business.

Cisco did not disclose financial terms of the transaction, but said it is expected to close in the second half of this year.

Rolf Hasselström, president and CEO, Opcon

Car-maker Mitsubishi has confirmed that it is to build a compact electric vehicle in collaboration with auto giant Peugeot in Spain.

Despite conflicting media reports, Mitsubishi said the two car-makers intend to partner and begin production of a vehicle for the European market.

Although the company could not confirm any more details, it has been reported that production will be under-way by 2012, with output starting at a few thousand units a year and eventu-ally rising to 30,000-50,000 vehicles.

The vehicle is expected be built at Peugeot’s largest factory in Vigo, Spain and will incorporate the technology Mitsubishi developed for its i-MiEV electric car, in particular high-perform-ance electric batteries, Japanese news service Nikkei said.

Mitsubishi confirms Peugeot electric vehicle deal



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Global investment organisation Intel Capital has provided financing to smart energy software and service provider Nexant as part of a $30m round of investment to stimulate the growth of four technology companies.

Alongside the Nexant investment, Intel Capital has also committed funds to Adaptive Computing, Ciranova and Joyent.

‘A culture of investment is essential to keeping the US on the leading-edge of technology innovation and stimulating economic activity,’ said Intel Capital president Arvind Sodhani.

San Francisco-based company Nexant provides intelligent grid software and clean energy solutions that tackle both energy production and consumption.

The company said it will use the Intel Capital investment, the value of which is as yet undisclosed, to expand its IT and data centre efficiency offerings in order to target the ever-increasing level of energy consumed by data centres across the globe. The powering of data centres recently hit the headlines when Greenpeace International criticised Facebook for using electricity from coal power producer PacifiCorp at its new data centre in Oregon, urging it instead to switch to renewable energy sources.

A consortium of automotive partners including electric vehicle developer Think, Jaguar, Lotus and Nissan has been granted £9.5m by the UK government to aid research into range-extended electric vehicles (REEV). Under the REEVolu-tion programme, the consortium will de-velop components and systems that will expand and extend electric vehicle range, and directly address ‘range anxiety’, a term General Motors recently attempted to trademark that denotes concerns over the range capability of electric vehicles.

Consortium partners Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus Engineering, Nissan Motor, Think, Axeon, Evo Electric and Xtrac will also contribute £11m in matching funds, bringing the total project invest-ment up to £20m.

The investment was made by the UK Technology Strategy Board alongside the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles, as part of the next stage of its Integrated Delivery Programme for low-carbon vehicles.

french battery firm raises €120m in share capital

Auto consortium secures £9.5m to tackle EV ‘range anxiety’

Think and other automakers will contribute £11m in matching funds

ZAP close to buying stake in Jonway AutoThe Commerce Department of Zhejiang Province in China has approved US electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer ZAP’s proposed acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in Zhejiang Jonway Automobile.

ZAP said it intends to capitalise on the growing automotive and EV market in China through the proposed acquisition.

ZAP and Jonway have announced they intend to take steps to satisfy the remaining conditions required to close the transaction, including financing, foreign exchange authority approval in China and share registration.

According to the terms of the defini-tive agreements, ZAP has the right to acquire the remaining 49 per cent of Zhejiang Jonway Automobile after its valuation by the end of March 2011.

ZAP is a 16-year-old company, located in the US state of California with expertise in EV design.

Smart grid software developer Grid-2Home has completed seed financing led by early-stage investor Granite Ventures, which saw it also acquire a new CEO and board chairman.

Grid2Home said it plans to use the capital, the amount of which was not disclosed, to expand its business across the Smart Grid HAN network system and adapt its G2H-SE2 software for multiple platforms.

The company simultaneously appointed Rick Kornfeld as its president and CEO, and placed Doug Rasor as chairman of its board.

‘Granite Ventures invested in Grid-2Home because they not only have a robust product that is necessary in the emerging smart grid market, they have put together a management team with a track record of driving start-up companies to market success,’ said Sam Kingsland, managing director of Granite Ventures.

Software specialist Grid2Home secures seed funding

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The Clean Energy Trust has received a $1.05m grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to transfer research from Illinois’ universities and science laboratories into clean energy tech-nologies and viable businesses.

The newly-established non-profit company looks to connect applied scientists with entrepreneurs who have the finance and business expertise to fully develop ideas for commercial deployment.

The DOE grant will be used to initiate four separate university-based programmes including seed money, business training, awareness education and sector-specific business develop-ment support.

Founded by seven prominent business and civic leaders, the Clean Energy Trust seeks to leverage the clean technology sector’s strengths, including major companies, proven manufacturing capabilities, transpor-

tation infrastructure and intellectual resources.

Nicholas Pritzker, CEO of Hyatt Development, is the co-chair of the trust alongside founder and CEO of renewable energy development company Invenergy, Michael Polsky. Valor Equity Partners founder Antonio Gracias is treasurer of the trust.

The other founding members of the trust’s board include investment firm Henry Crown & Company’s princi-pal Paula Crown, Chicago Climate Exchange founder Richard Sandor, former Nuveen Investments CEO Tim Schwertfeger and co-founder of Arch Venture Partners, Keith Crandwell.

Located at Illinois Technology Association’s Chicago-based incubator TechNexus, the trust raised more than $1.5m after it was required to secure at least $262,500 in matching funds from non-federal partners in order to secure for the funding.

Smart meter software provider GreenPocket has completed its Series A financing round, in which Bankengruppe seed fund Rheinland Venture Capital invested alongside return backer, digital business investor Schwetje Digital.

The Cologne-based startup was conceived in 2009 by Schwetje Digital to provide software solutions for the interpretation and visualisa-tion of smart metering energy con-sumption data, when it was spun off as an independent company.

Rheinland Venture Capital led the round and although the value of the investments was not revealed, the company said that Schwetje Digital’s investment was several million euros.

Within a single year, GreenPocket has attracted many utility customers including Vattenfall, Stadtwerke München and Emscher Lippe Energie.

GreenPocket said it plans to use the new investments to realise further growth plans, focusing particularly on the advancement of its software.

greenPocket raises venture capital

clean energy Trust secures $1m to assist cleantech innovation

Yahoo! unveils federal-funded energy efficient data centreMajor search engine Yahoo! has unveiled an energy efficient data centre in Lockport in the US state of New York, which was funded by a $9.9m federal sustainability grant.

The Lockport facility will be the first to implement the company’s new green data centre Yahoo! Computing Coop (YCC) design, which was recognised by the US Department of Energy with the largest award received from its recent Green IT grant programme.

The new facility takes advantage of Lockport’s naturally cool climate to dramatically decrease its electricity use throughout the year.

Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo!, said, ‘Yahoo! is serious about sustainability and is leading efforts to address climate change. That’s why we believe in creating highly efficient data centers that minimise the impact on the environment.’

The facility combines Lockport’s cool climate with prevailing winds and hydropower supplied by US power utility New York Power Authority (NYPA) to cool the 120ft by 60ft server buildings.

The YCC design, dubbed the Yahoo! Chicken Coop, mimics the long, narrow design of a chicken coop to encourage natural air flow on a continual basis.

Less than one per cent of the building’s total energy consumption is required to cool the facility, the company said.

The Lockport data centre, which has a low power usage effectiveness of 1.08 compared with an industry average of 1.92, consumes at least 40 per cent less energy and 95 per cent less water than conventional data centres.

Canada-based Skymeter closes financing roundTransport metering technology provider Skymeter has closed a C$1.5m financing round. Established in 2002, the green driving company has previously received C$6m in invest-ment, C$4.5m of which has stemmed from private investors in the US, Europe and Singapore.

Canada-based Skymeter provides a metering service to businesses that charge drivers per use for parking, leasing, insurance and road use.

Kamal Hassan, CEO of Skymeter, said, ‘The funds will be used to support the roll-out of the first two commercial customers in Europe, one in parking, one in car sharing.’

Earlier this year, said it was looking to raise C$8m in equity during 2010.


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Ceramic Fuel Cells raises A$30m for working capital

EnErgy EFFICIEnCy: DEAL nEws

Battery Ventures affiliate agrees to buy RAE SystemAn affiliate of technology-focused investment firm Battery Ventures has agreed to acquire RAE Systems, for $1.60 per share in cash. The com-pany delivers sensor technology to the energy, environmental and government safety markets worldwide,

The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 53.8 per cent over RAE Systems’ closing share price as of 17 September and an 85.1 per cent premium over RAE Systems’ average closing share price for the previous month.

The company’s shares gained 1.28 per cent on NYSE Amex following the deal.The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of RAE Systems’ stock-holders, with no financing condition.

‘Over the years, we have built a strong reputation in the safety industry, a quality, diverse product and technol-ogy portfolio, and a dedicated, result-oriented employee base, all of which are contemplated in this transaction,’ said RAE Systems president and CEO Robert Chen.

‘After an extensive review of our strategic alternatives, the special com-mittee of our board of directors has de-termined that this transaction provides for the best value to our stockholders.’

RAE Systems said it plans to lever-age Battery Ventures’ strategy and vision to help increase its industry presence through organic growth and complementary acquisitions.

‘Looking ahead, we will continue to execute on our strategy to be a leading innovator through the advancement of intelligent, connected, wireless gas and radiation detection solutions,’ said Chen.

The RAE Systems board of directors has unanimously approved the agreement and recommended that the company’s stockholders also approve the transaction.

The company will now file a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), before holding a subsequent shareholder meet-ing following the SEC review.

The transition will see the RAE Systems board of directors acquire part-ners Jesse Feldman and Morgan Jones of Battery Ventures.

Battery has raised $4bn since incep-tion, and we are currently investing BV VIII, a $750m fund. The firm has offices in Boston, Silicon Valley and Israel and its current portfolio includes ccompanies such as Brightree, Conso-na, ExactTarget, GreenBytes, Opscode and Vero Software.

wood group acquires stake in renewable specialist sgurrEnergyCleantech Invest’s portfolio com-pany Pure Klimaschutz has received a CHF1.3m (£0.77m) capital injection following its recent IPO on Berne eXchange (BX), the stock exchange based in Switzerland.

The capital increase, in which Berne and Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed venture capital fund Cleantech Invest also participated, was 30 per cent higher than expected and sees several investors become shareholders of the business.

According to sources familiar with

the situation, the company is looking to raise a further CHF10m (£5.91m) as a future target.

Pure Klimaschutz, which went public in November at BX, aims to use the capital to continue financing innova-tive carbon offset projects in South East Asia and South Africa. As a second generation carbon player, the company concentrates on specifically targeted greenhouse gas reduction sectors such as wastewater treatment, energy efficiency and waste heat recycling.

Technology developer Ceramic Fuel Cells has raised A$30.1m (£18.2m) through a rights issue and an overseas offer, which it said will be used to pro-vide additional working capital ahead of commercialisation.

Ceramic Fuel Cells conducted a rights issue with qualifying participants within Australia and New Zealand, and an overseas offer to qualifying partici-pants outside of these countries.

‘The funds will be used to give them a comfortable buffer for working capi-tal,’ a spokesperson for Ceramic Fuel Cells said.

The spokesperson said that the com-pany is developing a product that is being geared up to commercialisation and which has a 12 month time-to-market time frame.

About 44 per cent of the rights issue shares were subscribed for by share-holders and the company will issue more than 51 million fully paid ordi-nary shares at the issue price of 18.25 cents to raise an additional A$9.3m.

Of the overseas offer shares, about 98 per cent were subscribed by share-holders. In addition, it will issue more than 19 million fully paid ordinary shares at the issue price of £0.10 to raise a further £2m.

The latest fundraising is on the back of a £10m private placement, in which the company attracted investment from institutional investors and a subscrip-tion by a UK cornerstone investor.

The spokesperson was unable to provide further details of the specifics of these institutional investors, but said the most recent money raised was, ‘in line with expectations’.

The primary markets for Ceramic Fuel Cells, which is developing fully integrated power and heating products, are Australia, New Zealand and the UK, but it is also working with energy companies such as GDF Suez in France and EWE in Germany.

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Toyoto Motor is set to manu-facture a hybrid version of its Yaris vehicle from April 2011, according to reports.

The company will produce the hybrid vehicle in its French manufacturing facility and market it in Europe, the Japan Economist said.

Toyota earlier announced its intention to make hybrid options of all its product lines available by 2020.

Toyota Motor also announced in September its plan to provide energy-saving fuel cell cogeneration systems along-side partner automobile parts manufacturer Aisin Seiki.

It is jointly developing these systems with Osaka Gas, Kyocera and Aisin for the New Energy and Industrial Tech-nology Development Organization’s Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Verification project. Toyota and Aisin

provided equipment for the 2009 project test programme, which the company said ‘confirmed the exceptional performance of solid-oxide fuel cell cogen-eration systems as energy-saving devices’.

Toyota said that the 2010 fuel cell models have

overcome the technological development issues identified in earlier test programmes to achieve greater energy savings and carbon dioxide reductions.

The systems feature higher load efficiency of the power-generating unit during low output and greater hot water tank capacity than previous models, resulting in more effective use of waste heat, Toyota said.

ge smart grid connects Turkey to european grid

Toyota tipped to roll-out hybrid Yaris

Turkey will connect to the European electrical grid this month using General Electric’s (GE) smart grid technology, which will allow the country’s rich renewable resources to come online, the company has revealed.

The Turkish Electricity Transmission Company will now be able to buy and sell power in the European electric-ity market, and the connection is also expected to strengthen the reliability and availability of energy throughout the rest of Europe. The connection also presents opportunities for expanded energy and economic opportunities in the country, a statement said.

A report issued in 2009 by the Ministry of Energy said that the terri-tory serviced by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) is one of the highest demand regions for energy in the world. The report said, ‘The energy policies of ENTSO-E countries are driving a single market model through the synchronisation of more networks, thus increasing the reliability of the supply of electricity.’

Nissan to form green alliance with Chinese automakersFollowing China’s announcement of standards to regulate and spur the mar-ket for electric vehicles, Nissan Motor is rumoured to be willing to form a green car alliance with Chinese car makers.

The news comes hot on the heels of Nissan’s recent agreement to build an electric vehicle infrastructure in Jordan in the Middle East, under the Zero Emission Mobility partnership.

President of Nissan China Investment Yasuaki Hashimoto said that developing electric vehicles is a joint effort, accord-ing to Reuters. He reportedly said that

the company is open to all options regarding a potential green vehicle alliance.

The company is tipped to be forming a green vehicle alliance with at least 16 Chinese auto companies.

Nissan vice president Tsunehiko Nakagawa said that the company’s plans to promote its Leaf electric vehicle in the Chinese city of Wuhan, for which it recently formed an agree-ment with the municipal government of the city, will be a priority over the next year.

Toyota plans to provide energy-saving fuel-cell co-generation systems alongside Asin Seiki

African Alternative Technologies pursues energy storage developmentSouth Africa-based renewable energy company African Alternative Technologies (AATec) said it plans to develop electricity storage systems in disused mineshafts throughout the country.

AATec is a utility-scale developer operating throughout the Southern African development community and has a business model that encourages local economic development by facilitating community ownership. This is aimed at exploiting local natural resources to provide food and energy security, as well as economic growth.

The Cape Town-based company plans to pursue this business strategy after it has tackled the acid mine drainage problem prevalent in the region.


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California utilities come closer to meeting state renewables targetsCalifornia’s three major utility companies supplied 15.4 per cent of their custom-ers’ electricity from renewable sources in 2009, up from 13 per cent in 2008, but still short of end of 2010’s 20 per cent target, the state’s most recent Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) said.

California’s RPS targets, which were set in 2002, call for 20 per cent of each utility’s energy to come from renewa-bles by 2010.

The latest data from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) suggest that at least one of California’s major utilities, Southern California Edison (SCE), may be close to that target by the end of the year. SCE produced 17.4 per cent of its energy from renewables in 2009.

Pacific Gas and Electric produced 14.4 per cent of its electricity from RPS-eligible sources last year, while San Diego Gas and Electric managed only 10.5 per cent. Together, the three utility giants supply two-thirds of

California’s electricity.The utilities must pay a penalty of

five cents for each KWh they fall short of the target, up to a maximum of $25m per year.

California’s timetable for renewable energy is one of the most ambitious of the 31 US states that have binding RPS policies.

IA recent study by energy consul-tancy IHS found the RPS would be crucial to determining where and when renewable projects are developed in the US. With conventional energy prices

currently falling, RPS will account for 70 per cent of RPS capacity added over the next five years, the study said.

IHS supports a federal RPS for the US, and bills to create one have been posted in both the Senate and House of Representatives. However, they have run into opposition from utility companies and do not seem likely to pass soon.

Bill Gates, among others, has argued that these standards are not the most cost effective way of supporting the renewable industry.

California’ legislature recently de-bated a plan to set a new RPS of 33 per cent by 2020.

But lawmakers failed to pass the bill before the end of the legislative session of 31 August, in part due to arguments about the eligibility of renewable energy generated outside the state.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will still try to pass the legisla-tion before he leaves office in January.

QueueMed rebrands for move into eVs

Dutch medical services company QueueMed International has changed its name to Go Electric International in preparation for its strategic move into the electric vehicle (EV) sector.

A spokesperson for the company said, ‘While the company will continue to address opportunities in large-scale development projects in the renewable energy sector, our principle focus going forward will be to develop global partners to participate with us in exploiting proprietary technologies in the rapidly expanding electrically powered transportation business.’

The company also said it plans to serve as a strategic conduit for invest-ment capital seeking high-growth ‘sustainable energy’ opportunities.

Xtreme Power system enables solar grid connection in HawaiiUS-based energy storage system manufacturer Xtreme Power has teamed up with project developer Castle & Cooke to implement an energy storage system on its Lana’i Island La Ola solar farm, which it said is currently the largest photovoltaic (PV) energy farm in Hawaii.

Xtreme Power’s Dynamic Power Resource, which controls the rate of change in renewable energy output caused by variations in weather, is expected to be installed at the La Ola solar farm next May.

Since coming online in December 2008, the La Ola solar farm has been limited to delivering only 600KW into the Maui Electric Company (MECO) grid.

With the addition of the new system to mitigate the output variability, MECO will enable La Ola to operate at its full capacity of 1.2MW, which will provide approxi-mately ten per cent of the island’s electricity needs.

‘Throughout the life of this project, we have searched for the best way to over-come the performance issues inherent to all solar energy installations and to yield the maximum energy output,’ said Harry Saunders, president of Castle & Cooke.

‘The Dynamic Power Resource offers an unparalleled technology solution to address those needs and cost-effectively provide more clean energy to the people of Lana’i.’

At full capacity, Xtreme Power said that La Ola is expected to generate three million KWh of electricity per year.

California Governor Schwarzennegger

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Tesla Motors’ all-electric Roadster, currently the only highway-capable electric vehicle on the market, has secured approval under the Japanese government’s Clean Energy Cash Rebate programme, aimed at accelerating the adoption of electric and plug-in vehicles.

The Tesla Roadster is the only qualified import vehicle and the second road car to qualify under the Japanese rebate programme, following the plug-in electric Toyota Prius.

Under the rebate initiative, Roadster buyers are eligible to receive a cash rebate of up to ¥3.24m ($38,000).

Tesla has delivered more than 1,200 Roadsters to the US, Europe and Asia, and entered the Japanese market in May.

Tesla Roadster secures its approval under Japanese rebate programme

Think enters Finnish electric vehicle marketScandinavian electric vehicle (EV) maker Think has entered the Finnish market by establishing new dealerships in Helsinki and Espoo.

The automaker said it will make its first deliveries to the country through a new dealership based in Helsinki with green energy delivery company A2B.

Think said it plans to establish further full-service dealerships in the coming months in Finnish cities, including Turku, Tampere, Lahti, Jyväskylä and Oulu.

Meanwhile, European production of the Think City vehicle is continuing in Finland with manufacturing partner

Valmet Automotive, which makes deliveries across Europe in selected key electric vehicle markets. This broad-ening of the Think reach follows the company’s recently-announced plans to establish a US production facility in 2011 in Elkhart County in the US state of Indiana, and its partnership with Itochu to develop further operations in Asia.

Valmet Automotive President Ilpo Korhonen said, ‘Since we entered into collaboration with Think in 2009, there has been very high level of interest from customers, both business and private, wanting to buy the Think City.

electric vehicles adoption will crashthe grid, Toronto Hydro warnsThe energy chief of demand-response power utility Toronto Hydro, Anthony Haines, has warned if ten per cent of households in its service territory within Canada adopted electric vehicles, it would crash the electricity grid, according to reports.

The company said electric cars consume around triple the amount of energy that is usually used in the average home, with the extra charging load at peak after-work hours, news service the star.com reported.

The assertion has been disputed by power companies in Detroit and Los Angeles.A report by Electric Power Research Institute and Natural Resources Defence

Council in 2007 said electricity demand would rise ten per cent if a third of all miles driven in the US were powered by the electric grid. Haines suggested that an energy timer to manage demand and conserve energy could be used to tackle this problem.

Under the rebate initiative, Tesla Roaster buyers are eligible to receive a cash rebate of up to ¥3.24m ($34,000)

HSBC has forecast that the global low-carbon market will treble by 2020, with the electric vehicle market set to experience unparalleled growth in the next ten years.

In its Sizing the Economy report, the bank predicts the electric vehicle market will hit $473bn by 2020, which represents a 20-fold magnification of its current status. The report breathes fresh optimism into the renewable energy tar-get debate following stalled climate talks, widespread cuts in solar feed-in tariffs, dithering renewable energy policies and continuing fossil fuels subsidies.

The bank’s findings signify that a low-carbon economy will be driven by a growing population, increasing scarcity of energy resources and an expansion of emerging economies. The HSBC report said, ‘A new climate is starting to emerge, driven much by resource scarcity and in-dustrial innovation as by the raw realities of global warming.’

HSBC predicts that yearly capital investment in the low-carbon sector will treble over the next ten years to around $1.5tn. The bank forecasts that the Chinese cleantech market will leapfrog the US, as also indicated elsewhere by economic barometers such as Ernst and Young’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices.

HsBc predicts unrivalled electric market boom


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The World Economic Forum (WEF)has called for more targeted regulatory incentives for smart grid technologies, which it predicts will be a key enabler of a worldwide low-carbon economy.

‘Utilities are struggling to create the business case for smart grids as regula-tory incentives often fail to provide the right incentives and reflect the low-carbon agenda,’ warns Espen Mehlum, head of the electricity industry division of the World Economic Forum.

‘With an estimated $150bn lost in a year in the US due to power cuts, smart grids can deliver a more reliable system with flexibility to utilise the full capacity of renewable energy.’

Although global governments are increasingly viewing smart grid as a strategic infrastructure investment,

a report co-authored by the World Economic Forum shows that poorly planned and executed pilots can set back the adoption of smart grids and negatively impact public perception.

Over the past year, China spent $7.3bn on smart grid developments, while the US has directed $ 4.5bn of its fiscal stimulus package towards smart grid activities, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of smart grid pilots being implemented.

The World Economic Forum estimates there are currently around 90 pilot smart grid projects being con-ducted around the world, but highlights that a lack of effective incentives and poor planning can hamper efforts to commercialise these technologies towards widespread adoption.

wef identifies smart grid as key for greener economy

Infinity launches world’s first IP Bank in China

Private equity fund pioneer Infinity Group has launched the first Intellectual Property (IP) Bank worldwide in Tianjin, China to fund the commerciali-sation of IP and proven technologies in the clean energy sector.

The bank will also look to finance technologies in the semiconductor, water, agriculture and other industry fields.

In September, IP Bank invested $5.2m to become a controlling shareholder of publicly-traded technology incubator chain Maayan Ventures.

Launched alongside Infinity’s China-based partner SIP, the IP Bank will enable ownership and licensing of intellectual property and proven technol-

ogy in partnership with entrepreneurs and Chinese companies.Owning the rights for the intellectual property and proven technologies

originating from around the world, the IP Bank will finance part of the initial commercialisation with a combination of US and Chinese currency and provide management, legal structuring and marketing support.

Infinity Group partner Amir Gal-Or said, ‘IDB and Infinity, with the support of SIP, have developed a novel business model for the international private equity/venture capital industry to capitalise on China’s rapidly increasing stream of IP imports.’

General Motors (GM) and manufac-turing conglomerate ABB Group will collaborate on a pilot project to re-use the batteries from GM’s Chevrolet Volt hybrid electric vehicle, with the aim of using them to store renewable energy.

The two companies said in a memo-randum of understanding that they would work together to determine how the Volt’s 16kWh lithium-ion batter-ies can be used to provide stationary electric grid storage systems once the batteries have fulfilled their useful life in the vehicles.

GM says the Volt’s battery will have significant capacity to store electrical energy, even after it is no longer suit-able for use in vehicles.

‘Future smart grids will incorporate a larger proportion of renewable energy sources and will need to supply a vast e-mobility infrastructure, both of which require a wide range of energy storage solutions,’ said Bazmi Husain, head of ABB’s smart grids initiative.

GM, ABB Group look to re-use batteries from Chevy Volt

Amir Gal-OR, Infinity Group partner

china tops e&y globalrenewables leagueChina has climbed ahead of the US as the most attractive location in which to invest in renewable energy projects, according to Ernst & Young (E&Y), hav-ing entered its league table in just 2004.

In its latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices, E&Y said China had surpassed the US as it fell two points on the indices after a federal Renewable Energy Standard was not enacted this year.

In its last index, China had tied first with the US, but E&Y said construc-tion of new renewable energy facilities in the US is expected to slow fur-ther following the December 2010 expiration of a crucial deadline in the Treasury grant programme. In addi-tion, there has been no assurance of its renewal; generating investor uncer-tainty about the continuation of an effective incentive mechanism.

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Honda debuts hydrogen Clarity fuel cell car in UK

Honda’s hydrogen full cell car the FCX Clarity has made its debut on UK roads, in the first of a series of test drives.

Honda, which is already leasing the FCX Clarity in the US and Japan, said it has brought the vehicle to the UK to educate policy-makers on the potential of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

UK Business Secretary Vince Cable was one of the first to drive the fuel cell electric vehicle.

‘The government is keen to encourage all forms of low carbon vehicle technol-ogy such as hydrogen fuel cells, hybrids or significantly more efficient conven-

tional vehicles,’ Cable said.Although there are no plans for the

commercial introduction of the FCX Clarity in the UK, Honda will carry out a roadshow to raise awareness of the technology in the political and industry sectors.

Dave Hodgetts, managing director of Honda (UK), said, ‘The FCX Clarity is a real world production vehicle that emits no harmful exhaust gasses, offers a range of around 270 miles, a short refuelling time, and the practicality and perform-ance of a conventional saloon. It could revolutionise the future of motoring.’

‘Too early’ to raise Japan’s carbon tax, says energy utilityThe president of Japan-based power utility Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), Masataka Shimizu, said it is too soon to raise the country’s carbon tax and indicated it would have to pass on the costs to customers if an increase was brought in by the government, accord-ing to reports.

‘It is not wise to jump on an easy solution,’ Shimizu said, adding that consumers must ‘share the cost’.Unveiling Tepco’s business plan for the next decade, entitled ‘2020 Vi-sion: Medium to Long-term Growth Declaration,’ Shimuzu also said the company, Japan’s largest utility pro-vider, would diversify away from oil and coal by increasing its acquisitions of liquefied natural gas, nuclear power and renewable energy sources, as well as expanding overseas operations.

Largest lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility unveiledAdvanced battery developer A123 Systems has opened the largest lithium-ion automotive battery production facility in North America.

Its plant in the Livonia area of Michigan is expected to expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities by up to 600MWh per year and forms part of its plan to expand its manufacturing capabilities by up to 760MWh annually by the end of 2011. The opening of the factory comes about a year after A123 was awarded a $249m federal grant to help it ramp-up production in the US to meet increasing demand for its products.

‘The opening of our Livonia facility is a significant milestone,’ said David Vieau, president and CEO of A123 Systems.

‘Bringing this factory online in just over a year is a testament to our technology innovation and strategic plan to ramp-up manufacturing, but it also speaks to the ma-turity of the market – without significant customer demand for our products today, a capacity expansion of this magnitude would not be possible.’

The company said it will focus on manufacturing prismatic cells and systems at the new Livonia facility, which is designed to enable the complete production process. The facility will house research and development, manufacturing opera-tions, cell fabrication, module fabrication and the final assembly of complete battery packs ready for vehicle integration.

Pulse, Sierra in energy management tool joint ventureEnergy management company Pulse Energy has collaborated with Sierra Wireless to deliver cellular deploy-ments to enable the efficient monitor-ing and management of energy usage.

Sierra Wireless provides a broad portfolio of mobile computing and ma-chine-to-machine products including mobile broadband modems, embed-ded wireless modules and intelligent gateways and routers.

The combined solution developed by the companies consists of an Air-Link intelligent gateway connected to the pulse connector, which transmits metering data over a cellular carrier network to Pulse Energy for bench-marking and analysis.

Through integrating Sierra Wireless’ AirLink intelligent gateway technol-ogy with Pulse Connector technology, Pulse Energy has created an interface where energy management solutions can be deployed, cutting the need to run new data cabling or install ad-ditional IT infrastructure.

Honda already leases the FCX Clarity in the US and Japan

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The ‘elephant in the smart grid room’ is using an ageing analogue distribu-tion system to try and achieve digital quality transmission signal, which is critical to energy management, Ohio-based smart grid company Exacter has warned.

John Lauletta, president of smart grid company Exacter, said, ‘While a lot of the smart grid’s sizzle has to do with intelligent meters and home communication, ultimately the suc-cess and failure of smart grid lies on reliable data transmission from the consumer to the utility and vice versa.

‘Tomorrow’s smart grid is today’s aging distribution system.’

While governments are working to

standardise specific smart grid tech-nologies and best practices for system components, the company has warned the quality of the data transmission network must be the foundation of a smart grid system.

Exacter has developed and patented technology with the ability to locate issues on the overhead distribution network that are creating problems that other technologies cannot locate.

‘An arcing lightning arrester will not prevent power delivery, but it will interrupt data transmission,’ said Lauletta.

Since 2007, Exacter has surveyed overhead lines for more than 120 utilities.

A collaborative effort is needed be-tween utilities, technology providers and government to set standards for the smart grid industry to push the sector forward, an industry expert has said.

Michael Anderson, senior vice president at smart grid company Echelon, said the consumer commu-nity alongside energy providers and government bodies need to set clear aims behind the adoption of energy management technology.

‘Then the communities can come together and write legislation to set standards aligned with those objec-tives,’ Anderson said.

He added that there needs to be more education with consumers about funda-mental supply and demand issues, and a move from looking at pure metering solutions to those that provide intel-ligent distributed control.

While the technology is improv-ing all the time, he said, this must be accompanied by market mandates and improved consumer awareness.

‘I think the technology is there,’ he

said. ‘It will continue to evolve, based on what the consumer needs are as long as we create standards that govern the use of that technology so we don’t get standalone projects.’

Echelon has developed a cus-tomer base throughout Europe and has worked with Italy’s major utility Enel in rolling out its smart energy technol-ogy to more than 30 million homes.

In August, it also announced that US power supplier Duke Energy became the first customer of its Edge Control Node 7000 series running the Echelon Control System software platform.

Ageing analogue systems may cause smart grids to fail

Collaboration needed to set smart grid standards

Beacon Power to develop flywheel energy storageUS-based advanced energy storage systems company Beacon Power will develop critical components for an advanced ‘flying ring’ flywheel energy storage system over a two-year period that will integrate renewable energy.

The goal of the development will be to store four times the energy as its current fourth generation Smart Energy 25 flywheel system at one-eighth of the cost per KWh.If the flywheel system is carried through to commercial produc-tion, Beacon said it would be suitable for a variety of new applications.

Seven global smart grid associa-tions have launched an international organisation to promote best practice and accelerate the deployment of smart grid technology around the world.

The founding members of the Global Smart Grid Federation (GSGF) include board chairman and company presidents of smart grid policy and advocacy organisations such as GridWise Alliance in the US, India Smart Grid Forum and Japan Smart Community Alliance.

Korean Smart Grid Association, Smart Grid Australia, SmartGridIre-land and SmartGrid Canada are also founders of the federation.

Guido Bartels, GridWise Alliance chairman and the new chairman of GSGF, said, ‘GSGF will facilitate within the international community an unparalleled level of communication and collaboration that will advance the smart grid across the globe.’

Smart grid groups join forces on tech deployment

Michael Anderson, Echelon

For more of the latest deal news, company updates and industry developments in the energy efficiency sector, go to www.newenergyworldnetwork.com

The £42m South West Regional Development Agency’s (RDA) marine energy testing hub has reached another crucial milestone in its development, after technical issues delayed the project in August.

The Wave Hub electrical socket that will connect potential wave energy devices in order to test electrical output has been laid on the ocean bed and the entire system is due to undergo tests in the coming months. The Wave Hub has been positioned ten miles off the coast of Cornwall, at a depth of around 55 metres.

The cables were put in place by the Nordica sea vessel, which first set off carrying the Wave Hub from the point of its manufacture in Hartlepool docks in north-east England in late July.

In September, the 90-tonne sea cable was installed, which links the hub to a substation at nearby Hayle Towans beach.

Technical issues hampered the project

last month, when the cable lost buoyancy on two attempts. To combat this, the cable-laying contractor CTC Marine de-vised a method of installing the cable that involved using pillow floats and buoys.

The operation restarted in the last week of August following modifications to the Nordica at the Falmouth shipyard on the south coast of Cornwall.

Guy Lavender, South West RDA’s Wave Hub general manager, said, ‘This was a critical milestone for Wave Hub and a great relief to see the cable brought safely ashore, but it’s just the first stage of the deployment operation.’

The 20MW Wave Hub is slated to be the largest test site for wave energy technology, to which wave power devices can be connected and their performance evaluated.

As part of its sustainable strategic framework, power company ESB International has entered into an agreement to assist tidal energy company Marine Current Turbines (MCT) in developing the initial phase of a 100MW project off the Antrim coast in Northern Ireland.

ESB is already managing power from MCT’s 1.2MW SeaGen turbine, which has been operating in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough since April 2008, selling its power to local customers via its retail electricity supply business and ESB Independent Energy. The companies said they are now looking to secure a lease agreement from The Crown Estate’s forthcoming Marine Leasing Round in Northern Ireland, which if secured will mean they are on track to bring the 100MW project into effect by 2018.

ESB has formed a €22bn investment programme that lasts up until 2020, aiming to halve its carbon emissions within 12 years and attain a carbon net-zero position by 2035.

The governments of Papua New Guinea and Queensland have signed an agreement with PNG Energy Developments and Origin Energy to support the proposed development of a joint venture hydroelectricity project that is expected to bring a number of

opportunities to both regions.The project being evaluated by a joint

venture between the companies is antic-ipated to provide low-carbon baseload electricity to both Papua New Guinea and neighbouring Australia’s national electricity market for the first time.

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Hydro brings baseload renewable power to Papua New Guinea and Queensland

World’s largest wave energy device completes critical cable milestone

Nautricity secures CoEMat licenceGlasgow-based tidal energy technology developer Nautricity has completed its first equity investment funding round. First Tech, an Aberdeen-based technol-ogy and offshore engineering investment company, made a significant equity investment in the company in the multi-million pound round, the full value of which was not disclosed.

First Tech also provided the company with a facility to make further funding available, in order to match grant awards and project development funding in the near future. Nautricity has also secured an exclusive global licence to the CoRMaT second generation tidal turbine system technology from the University of Strathclyde, which is now a share-holder in the company.

The CoRMaT system was invented by a team at the University of Strathclyde’s Energy Systems Research Unit (ESRU), after it built a cross-discipline team of scientists to address the challenges posed by the economic generation of electric-ity in the marine tidal environment.

Wave Hub’s technical issue has been sorted out

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Wastewater company Insituform Technologies has been awarded a $5.9m wastewater pipeline contract from the city of Calgary in the Canadian province of Alberta.

The contract calls for Insituform to rehabilitate the city’s existing wastewater pipelines, completing around 90,000 feet for each year of the contract.

Insituform is expected to use its proprietary air inversion steam cure installation method on the project, which it claims reduces energy and wa-ter usage by approximately 95 per cent.

Calgary city awarded the project on

the basis of price and qualifications, after receiving proposals from prime contractors that it previously identi-fied. The contract lasts for one year, after which the city has the option to renew it for an additional two years.

‘Insituform has successfully completed both wastewater and drinking water projects in Calgary since the mid-1980s. This latest project will allow us to strengthen our relationship with Calgary, as well as improve its underground infrastructure with minimal disruption to the community,’ said Ken Foster, president of Insituform Technologies.

Insituform secures $5.9m contract for Canadian wastewater pipeline

SNM Global has launched the first seven small and micro hydroelectricity development projects from its recent technology acquisitions in preparation for commercialisation and international distribution through a network of global partners.

The company recently announced the start of its patent and intellectual property audit to assess and protect its growing intellectual property portfolio and secure necessary filings and patent protections as a foundation for the further development and commercialisation of its assets.

It said it is preparing several technologies for commercialisation and inter-national distribution including a floating turbine, a hybrid vertical axis turbine, a small hydro spiral wave turbine, a hydro turbine with adjustable blades, an oscillating crank turbine and a reversible watermill, in addition to complemen-tary turbines.

The company said the technologies and development projects that it has acquired will be integrated into its second MicroTechnology Transfer programme and MicroEquity Partner programme. It said it expects the technologies will be introduced into its distribution network for emerging market introduction.

SNM Global leverages market value on hydro acquisitions

Voltea raises €3.6m to commercialise water desalinationUnilever-backed advanced water desalina-tion start-up Voltea has completed a €3.6m financing round to support the commercial roll-out of its breakthrough capacitive deionisation technology.

The round was led by Rabo Ventures and included existing investor Pentair. Voltea. The company said the new technology is the result of a decade of government and commercial research and development, aimed towards combat-ing what is currently an inefficient and environmentally-unfriendly process.

Existing technologies employed to remove salts, minerals and toxic metals from water typically consume large amounts of energy and chemicals, and often produce large volumes of wastewater, said Voltea.

For more of the latest deal news, company updates and project developments in the water, marine and hydro sector, go to www.newenergyworldnetwork.com

Insituform claims its proprietary air inversion system can reduce energy and water usage by 95 per cent

Biowater targets North americaTonsberg, Norway-based biological water and wastewater treatment company Biowater Technology has opened a US office in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

The company, which has worked in the field since 2007, is run by specialists in the field of biological fixed film processes for water and wastewater treatment.

Terje Andersen, CEO of Biowater, said, ‘We are happy to be in North America because it gives us the best pos-sible base to continue the development of new and exciting technologies that will save energy and increase the need for water reuse in a very cost-effective way.’

Biowater’s products include CFAS combined fixed film activated sludge and CFIC continuous flow intermittent cleaning.


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geOthermal news

USG Nevada, a subsidiary of project developer US Geothermal, has closed financing for its geothermal project in San Emidio through a project loan agreement with engineering specialist Science Applications International (SAI).

Under the terms of the deal, SCI will provide a loan and an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for phase 1 of the San Emidio project in north-west Nevada.

All work under the EPC contract will be carried out by SAI’s design-build

subsidiary, The Benham Companies. Daniel Kunz, president and CEO of

US Geothermal, said closing the fully-financed, turnkey EPC arrangement signals the start of construction at San Emidio, which the company is building alongside another plant in the US state of Oregon.

‘Considering our ongoing develop-ment work at Neal Hot Springs in Oregon, constructing two key projects at the same time is the result of a lot of hard work and is a significant achieve-ment for the company,’ Kunz said.

Sierra Geothermal’s shareholders have approved a takeover of the company by US renewable energy business Ram Power, which is now set to acquire all of Canada-based Sierra’s issued and outstanding shares, once approval is obtained from the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Sierra will now be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ram Power, which will contin-ue to focus on acquiring, exploring, developing and operating geothermal proper-ties through its subsidiaries. The company said all current holders of Sierra options, warrants and unit warrants are now entitled to receive Ram Power securities on the exercise of those Sierra instruments.

Sierra’s common shares were delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange at the close of the market on 1 September.The Ram Power shares received by the former shareholders of Sierra will now be traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Ram Power is a renewable energy company based in Nevada, which has stakes in geothermal projects in the US, Canada and Latin America.

Sierra is located in Vancouver and has control of more than a 120,000-acre portfolio of geothermal properties in Nevada, California and British Columbia.

US Geothermal secures loan for San Emidio plant

ram Power’s takeover of sierra secures shareholder approval

A consortium of power companies including India’s largest integrated private power company Tata Power, Origin Energy and Supraco Indonesia has become the successful bidder for the Sorik Marapi geothermal project in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

The consortium has formed special purpose vehicle PT Sorik Marapi Geothermal Power to develop the project, which it expects to be commercially operable in June 2015.

Tata Power and Origin Energy both dominate the group with 47.5 per cent stakes, with Supraco Indonesia taking a five per cent share in the venture.

The Sorik Marapi project is esti-mated to support the development of approximately 240MW of geothermal generation capacity. The consortium said it will undertake a detailed exploration programme over the next 18 months.

Tata Power managing director Prasad Menon said, ‘Tata Power is happy that its efforts to explore new avenues in the renewable space is moving on a steady path and in the right direction.’

Tata Power has a ‘strong mission’ to achieve at least a quarter of its generation portfolio through renewable sources of energy by 2017, geothermal energy being one of the prime renewable growth engines.

‘The Sorik Marapi exploration is tes-tament to our faith in the untapped poten-tial of geothermal energy,’ said Menon.

Origin Energy’s executive director of finance and strategy Karen Moses said, ‘This joint venture is reflective of our belief that geothermal can provide large-scale renewable base load energy.’

Indonesia is situated on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ and is expected to have approximately 27GW of potential con-ventional geothermal resources, which is considered to be the largest in the world. Indonesia currently has 1,196MW of geothermal generation in operation.

Tata Power has nearly 3GW of hydro, thermal, solar and wind energy in operation, with an additional 5.5GW in construction.

tata consortium wins Indonesia geothermal bid

The close of financing signals the beginning of construction for the San Emidio project


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Nevada Geothermal Power said it hopes to raise up to C$10m ($9.4m) through a private placement in which it will sell 20 million of its shares at C$0.50 ($0.47) each, after recording heavy losses earlier in the year.

In its quarterly financial statement this March, the Vancouver-based company recorded a net loss of more than $5.6m. It also incurred a net loss in excess of $14.3m in the nine months leading up to the release of the statement, marking a vast increase on the $3.7m shortfall the company incurred for the nine month period recorded one year previously.

In addition to working capital, the company said it will use the proceeds of the offering to fund the further develop-ment of its Blue Mountain Faulkner 1 geothermal power plant, as well as financing the development of its other existing projects.

This June, the US Department of Energy made a conditional commit-ment to provide a partial guarantee for a

$98.5m John Hancock Financial Services loan to Nevada Geothermal for the Blue Mountain project in Nevada.

The purchase of each share will enti-tle the buyer to purchase an additional common share in the company for C$0.70 ($0.66) through a transferable share purchase warrant.

In July, the Geothermal Energy Association published findings indicat-

ing that the US state of Nevada is on track to become the world’s top geother-mal energy producer.

Nevada Geothermal looks to raise $9.4m through share placement

Mustang Geothermal has completed the acquisition of three geothermal leases for a total of 9,800 acres located in the US state of Nevada from Minera Cerro El Diablo and Dakota Resource Holdings.

The company was formerly known as uranium mining project developer Urex Energy, which moved into geothermal energy and changed its name towards the end of July. As a part of an ongoing reorganisation of the company’s business activity, Mustang said the decision to di-versify into the geothermal energy field is aligned with its long-term strategy to add shareholder value.

The geothermal lease purchase agree-ments additionally provide for Mustang to exchange 14 million shares of its common stock as stipulated in the agree-ments signed at the end of August.

NGP will use the proceeds of the offering to fund further developments of its Blue Mountain plant

geOthermal news

Canada-based Enbridge is to make its entrance into the geothermal industry with a 20 per cent interest in the 35MW Neal Hot Springs geothermal power plant, which is under construction in the US state of Oregon.

Enbridge will invest up to $23.8m for a fifth of the plant’s shareholding, with Idaho-based US Geothermal holding the remaining 80 per cent.

The plant is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2012 and will de-liver electricity to the Idaho Power grid under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

‘Enbridge is already heavily involved in renewable and alternative energy projects through our interests in 810MW of wind, solar, waste heat recovery and fuel cell projects,’ said Patrick Daniel, president and CEO.

‘This investment will be our initial entry into geothermal energy, which we think has an important role to play in North America’s shift toward a greener energy production mix.’

In June, US Geothermal was offered a $102.2m conditional loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy for the Neal Hot Springs plant. It is the first geothermal project to be offered a conditional guarantee under the DOE’s Title XVII programme, which was created by the 2005 Energy Policy Act to support the development of clean energy technology.

The Neal Hot Springs facility will consist of three modular power plants using Organic Rankine Cycle technology provided by TAS Energy.

enbridge acquires interest in neal hot springs project

Mustang Geothermal acquires three geothermal leases

For more of the latest deal news, company updates and project developments in the geothermal sector, go to www.newenergyworldnetwork.com

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US-registered investment man-ager Galtere has launched the Galtere Global Agribusiness Fund, targeting $1bn in private equity capital to invest in agribus-iness food and fuel opportunities in Australia, Brazil and Uruguay.

The fund’s objective is to make direct investments in industrial-scale commodity production facilities across the three regions, with the intention of holding assets for seven years before exiting through a trade sale or initial public offering.

In addition, the strategy will take advantage of a favourable supply and de-mand dynamic for agricultural commodi-ties as sources of food and fuel, it said. The United Nations has predicted that the global population will be 7.7 billion by 2020, while arable land is expected to decrease by 100 million hectares in the same time. The resulting increase in the value of production facilities for soft commodities will allow the strategy to

maximise the returns from its invest-ments, said Galtere.

Galtere managing partner Renee Haugerud said, ‘In the aftermath of the recession, we found ourselves in a new investment landscape; one that we feel is extremely favourable to com-modities investors.

‘We see demand for commodities growing constantly. Increasing popula-tions, falling arable land space and the demand for wheat-based biofuels to meet carbon reduction targets are all

central drivers of this demand. We believe this will put further upward pressure on the price of commodities and increase the value of our projects consist-ently over our seven year investment horizon.’

The strategy is led by port-folio manager Renatto Barbieri who previously head-

ed the development of Deutsche Bank Global Markets’ natural

resource private equity business.‘I believe the geography, supply and

demand conditions, and resources of the countries we have targeted present a wealth of attractive agricultural projects, and we have already begun to invest in projects that offer excellent long term growth potential,’ said Barbieri.

‘The current global and financial conditions make it an ideal time to be launching this strategy, and we are excited at what we can achieve for our investors.’

The CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund has closed its first fund with just under $11m in committed capital from institutional and individual investors.

The fund was set up as an independent entity in 2008 by the California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF), a $30m non-profit venture capital fund formed in 2004 to accelerate the development of clean technologies.

Its launch was intended to address a perceived funding gap between initial founder investment and venture capital for early-stage clean energy companies. Investors include the PCG fund of funds and CalCEF itself.

‘Taking the shape of a hybrid fund, our approach is a cross between a direct angel model and venture firm where visibility, collaboration and resource sharing are spread among all partners,’ said Susan Preston, general partner of the CalCEF Angel Fund.‘This successful close in the midst of a difficult fundraising climate is a testament to the promise of this fund model.’

It is focused on early-stage, capital-efficient clean energy technologies, and provides strategic guidance including market and regulatory intelligence to the four start-ups in its investment portfolio, along with up to $500,000 in capital per round. The fund’s portfolio companies include Alphabet Energy, a startup com-mercialising a low-cost waste heat recovery technology developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and REEL Solar, which has developed a low-cost electro-deposition process for manufacturing solar cells.

CalCeF holds final close on $11m for inaugural clean energy fund

Galtere launches agribusiness fund for Southern Hemisphere

AIM-listed Low Carbon Accelerator expects NAV riseLow Carbon Accelerator (LCA), an AIM-listed venture capital fund focused on the low-carbon sector, said it expects to announce a 15 to 20 per cent rise in its net asset value at the end of October, due to strong sales figures from its UK-based portfolio company Proven Energy.

‘Proven’s high growth this year has led to a significant increase in the company’s valuation and on the back of this, we expect to be able to announce in October an increase in LCA’s net asset value per share of between £0.07 and £0.12,’ said Steve Mahon, CIO of the fund’s invest-ment manager Low Carbon Investors.

Proven Energy has seen its sales in-crease by 200 per cent year-on-year since the introduction of the UK feed-in tariffs (FITs) in April.

Galtere’s fund will take advantage of a favourable supply and demand dynamic for food and fuel


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Italian asset management firm Kairos International Sicav has launched the Kairos Ambiente Fund, which will be solely dedicated to the environment and managed by a team led by Federico Trabucco with technical advisory from Ambienta.

The flexible fund has no limitations on geographical allocation and invests in the environmental sector as a whole, including renewable energy, water and waste manage-ment, and bio-construction, as well as a number of energy efficiency areas such as LED lighting and smart grids.

Trabucco will manage the fund along with the Kairos team of analysts focused on utilities, industry and renewables, while seeking technical advise from Ambienta.

Kairos, Ambienta launch environment-focused fund

The UK government is to launch its £1m Deep Geothermal Energy Fund that will offer financing to UK companies seeking to gener-ate energy from deep heat underground. The fund will be open to applications until 29 October and will be aimed at helping com-panies carry out exploratory work needed to find viable sites for geothermal technology.

The fund will be administered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said deep geothermal energy is a ‘real hot spot’ in the search for low-carbon technologies.

‘Geothermal power from the south-west alone could provide up to two per cent of the UK’s electricity needs. Offering this funding will give UK-based innovators a chance to get their projects off the ground and into our energy mix.’

UK government backs geothermal with £1m fund

VantagePoint launches China cleantech fundUS venture capital firm VantagePoint Venture Partners has announced the initial closing and launch of a $100m fund aimed at what it de-scribes as the burgeoning cleantech and financial services sectors in China’s Bohai Rim region.

The Tianjin VantagePoint Hi-Tech China FIVCE Fund will be managed in conjunction with the Tianjin Hi-Tech Holding Group and Tianjin Binhai Development Investment Holding Co, and will focus on investment opportunities in the city of Tianjin and surrounding areas.

VantagePoint has already committed more than $1bn to the cleantech sec-tor and over the past eight years, has invested in areas such as LED lighting, smart grid, waste-to-energy and the electrification of transport.

Alan Salzman, CEO and managing partner of VantagePoint, said China is one of the key places where the global cleantech future is being defined.

‘The country is a world leader in terms of investment in clean energy, and the Tianjin-Bohai Rim region is at the heart of this cleantech revolution,’ he said.

‘The Tianjin VantagePoint Hi-Ttech China FIVCE Fund will be a platform to support that drive and will help build world-class Chinese enterprises that can contribute to economic growth, and earn national and global recognition.’

VantagePoint first established a stronghold in China in 2007 through the opening of an office in Beijing.

Brookfield closes $2.7bn infrastructure fundProperty, power and infrastructure-focused private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management has closed its latest infrastructure fund on $2.7bn. The firm said that as well as the more traditional areas of infra-structure, it will also look to tarket opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

Focusing on assets in North and South America, Brookfield Americas Infrastructure Fund closed on almost double its original target of $1.5bn, with the firm committing 25 per cent of total committed capital.

Investors in the fund included sovereign wealth funds and pension plans from North America, Europe and the Middle East.

The fund’s strategy will see it investing in long-life assets in the utilities, renewable power, transpor-

tation and energy sectors, targeting assets that are expected to require relatively minimal maintenance capital expenditures.

‘We are excited about the oppor-tunity to manage the fund and invest alongside our partners at a time when high quality infrastructure opportu-nities are available on an attractive risk-adjusted basis,’ said Sam Pollock, senior managing partner and CEO of Brookfield’s Infrastructure group.

Leo van den Thillart, head of Brookfield’s Private Funds Group said, ‘We are delighted to have a group of the world’s leading inves-tors join us in the establishment of this fund.

Since 2001, Brookfield has estab-lished a series of private funds and investment programmes with total capital commitments of $22bn.

Alan Salzman, Vantage Point

For the latest news on public and private equity fund activity, as well as updates and information on new investors in the green sector, go to www.newenergyworldnetwork.com

78 October 2010

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LISTED COMPANY RESULTS

Renewable energy plant manufacturer FuelCell Energy (FCE) cut its net loss by 12 per cent to $13.8m or $0.15 per basic share in the recent third quarter of 2010 from $15.7m or $0.21 during the same period last year.

Higher product mar-gins drove the improve-ment, the company said, which was partially offset by increased research and development, and selling expenses of $0.5m. Its revenues dipped slightly year-on-year, but remained above the previous quarter at $18.9m, compared to the $23m it generated during the same period last year.

This decline was mirrored by a decrease in sales from $16.2m last year to $18.7m in this year’s third quarter.

The company recorded a total product sales and service backlog at the end of July of $79.8m, compared to $104.8m midway through 2009.

FCE also said it has received another three orders worth $13.1m since the end of July, which it will add to the backlog in the fourth quarter of 2010.

FCE’s margins for product sales and revenues improved over the previous year’s third quarter by $3.7m, which it said reflected the positive impact of the company’s strategy and success with product cost reductions and tech-nology enhancements.

Another improvement was that its costs were lowered in comparison to its revenues in the third quarter, when compared with the second quarter and

the third quarter of last year.The company reaped just over half the research and develop-ment contract revenue that it generated during the third quarter last year, at $2.7m against $4.3m last year. Its re-search and development backlog was down from

$15.3m last year to $7.4m at the end of this July.

FCE said the reduction in contract revenue reflected decreased activity under its solid oxide fuel cell develop-ment contract with the US Department of Energy (DOE). It is awaiting a deci-sion from the DOE on a proposal for participating in the third phase of this programme, by the end of the year.

Net loss to common shareholders for the nine months finishing at the end of July was $45.9m or $0.52 per basic, and diluted share compared to $56.3m or $0.80 per basic and diluted share for the comparable nine months a year previously.

FuelCell Energy reduces net loss despite year-on-year revenue drop

GT Solar sees share price fall on its stock offeringGT Solar saw its shares fall sharply in early September, in one of the biggest drops witnessed in daily trading on NASDAQ, after announcing a secondary offering of ten million shares by its holding company.

Alongside the offering, it will sell up to 15 million additional shares to UBS Securities in advance of an offering of exchangeable notes. UBS Securities and Credit Suisse are underwriting the sales.

The sale is likely to dilute existing shareholders’ stakes, it was reported. The company’s share price had been rising steadily for two months after it reported strong first quarter profits, to reach $8.78 at the close of trading on 3 September, but it opened sharply down at $8.29 on the next trading day on 7 September and closed at $7.76.

GT Solar manufactures equipment used in the production of solar cells. In July, it acquired Crystal Systems, a manufacturer of sapphire components used in LED lighting for $24m, plus $5.4m in shares, as well as a potential additional $21m cash earn-out based on its financial and technical performance in the period up to 31 March 2012.

FCE is currently expecting a decision from the US DOE regarding funding for the third phase of its fuel cell development programme

Diversified renewable energy company GreenHunter Energy’s operational net loss for the second quarter of the year was $1.5m, representing a loss of $0.07 per common share, which is $4m greater than the $1.1m in operational loss that it incurred during the equiva-lent period of last year.

For the first half of the year, the com-pany reported a net loss of $7m, equal to a loss of $0.31 per common share, again greater than the $4.3m net loss or $0.20 loss per share that it recorded for the first half of 2009.

The company’s management said it has focused on three key initiatives since the beginning of the year, including the financing of the company’s 18MW Mesquite Lake plant in California.

GreenHunter slips deeper into loss


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Superconductor technology developer Zenergy said it expects further improve-ments in the latter half of the year after its gross profit margin rose to €34,000 during the first half of 2010 compared to €29,000 for the first six months of 2009.

The AIM-listed company said it expects to fare even better in the second half of the year, with an order backlog of more than €3.6m, compared with the €799,000 backlog it had midway through 2009.

Zenergy chairman John Poulter and CEO Dr Jens Mueller also revealed that the company is aiming to complete its proprietary 2G wire development by the end of the year.

Zenergy generated revenues of €645,000 during the first half, which was more than three times higher than the €214,000 revenues it recorded for the equivalent period of 2009.

Its operating loss, however, mounted to more than €5.3m for the first six months of the year compared to €4.5m for the comparable period of last year on the back of upfront capital costs.

Zenergy said as it is still in its early stages, it invested heavily in equipping its industrial machines, incurring expenses for research and development activities relating to its magnetic billet heater, fault current limiter and superconducting coils and magnets.

To combat this, Zenergy issued a share placing in January 2010 in which it raised £20.04m, in order to offset around £19.2m in net expenses. In May, the company raised a further £9.5m through the issue of 7.9 million new ordinary shares at £1.20 per share.

Marine energy company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) recorded a net loss of $6.27m for the second quarter, an increase from the loss of $2.05m it posted for the same period of 2009 despite increasing its revenues.

The marine energy company, which has made a net loss in each of the last five years, saw its revenue grow by five per cent to $1.4m for the quarter ending 31 July, compared to $1.3m for the equivalent period the year before.

During the quarter, OPT was awarded a £1.5m grant from the South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) for the development of its 500KW PowerBuoy wave power system. OTS was also the first company to commit to participate at the SWRDA’s Wave Hub in Cornwall.

OPT is also nearing completion of its first PB150 PowerBuoy, with the system expected to be ready for ocean

trials off the coast of Scotland by the end of this calendar year.

OPT, founded in 1994, seeks to find commercial applications for wave power technology, currently in its experimental stages. The company has developed large floating buoys anchored to the sea bed, branded PowerBuoys, which generate electric-

ity as they oscillate in the waves.OPT has deployed PowerBuoys of

the coast of Hawaii and New Jersey in the US, and has begun constructing a 1.39MW wave farm off the northern coast of Spain.

OPT carried out an IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2003 and its US IPO on NASDAQ in 2007.

Zenergy forecasts upswing after gross margin increase

OPT post increases revenue, but net loss for Q2

OPT is near completion of its first PB150 PowerBuoy off the coast of Scotland

Solar Millennium’s consolidated sales for the eight months prior to the end of June dipped to €37.1m in comparison to the €48.5m it generated during the period last year, causing it to cut its full-year EBIT target by up to one-third.

Its EBIT crashed to a loss of €26.7m, far below the €20.9m it recorded last year and as a result, the German com-pany said it will cut its original EBIT target for the year – which was €45m – by €15m to €30m. On the basis of an audit concluded by Deloitte in June, Solar Millennium’s sales for solar ther-mal power last year were retroactively increased to €48.5 from €42.4m, and its EBIT was raised to €20.9m from €5.9m.

Although the interim results fall short of the previous year’s figures, Solar Millennium said it has reached a number of important milestones during the current fiscal year, with the approval process for its US projects on schedule.

Solar Millennium reduces earnings target as sales drop

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80 October 2010

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Long-term focus for Modern Water on commercialisation

Water technology provider Modern Water generated little revenue during the first half of 2010, as it engaged in a programme to commercialise its systems, which address the scarcity of fresh water and the treatment of wastewater.

Despite being left with no prof-its, generating only about £1,000 in revenue and incurring gross losses of more than £2m during the period, the company maintained a strong debt-free balance sheet with £21.2m in cash and increased its shareholding in electrochemical water treatment

systems company AguaCure. The company’s loss per share for

the six-month period rose only slightly above last year’s loss per share at £3.44 compared to £3.42, meaning the company could still reduce its yearly losses if its spending and profits im-prove in the second half of the year.

During the period, the company reached several commercial mile-stones, commissioning a cooling tower proving plant in Oman, while also extending a desalination plant trial in the country, as well as extending its UK reach with trials at Bristol Water.

Amiad revenues buoyed by Arkal acquisition as profits tumbleAmiad, a global supplier of water filtration systems, saw its revenues for the first half of 2010 buoyed by the acquisition of Arkal Filtration Systems on otherwise falling profits, as a result of curtailed investment in water infra-structure brought on by the continuing global economic downturn.

While Amiad’s revenues increase to $37.9m compared to $36.8m in the first half of 2009 is largely due to the incorporation of revenues from the Arkal acquisition over the last two months, the company’s revenues in the US and Eastern Europe dropped 40 per cent.

Its operating profit for the first half of this year was less than half the result it achieved during the same period in 2009, at $2.1m compared to $5.1m. Likewise, its profit before tax was cut to less than a fifth of what the company secured last year, to $1.1m against $5.7m.

Major strategic post-merger expan-sion into Latin America was a high-light of the period, which saw a growth in emerging geographical sales, which kept the company’s gross margin at 45 per cent, just a slight decline on 47 per cent last year.

During the period, Amiad also estab-lished a subsidiary, Amiad Andina, in Chile to enhance the sale and market-ing of its products and solutions in Chile, Peru and Argentina.

It also acquired the entire issued capital of Arkal Filtration Systems Cooperative Agricultural Society from its existing shareholders Kibbutz Beit Zera, including its affiliated corpora-tions, and Bermad Industries Cooperative Agricultural Society.

The company’s balance sheet at the end of the six-month period on 30 June remained strong at $11.2m, above the $8.6m it was left with midway through 2009. Its earnings per share, however, took a greater share of the brunt, drop-ping to $0.04 from $0.19 in the same period of last year.

Universal Bioenergy sees record sales of $14m in Q2California-based alternative power company Universal Bioenergy (UB) reported record sales of $13.96m for the second quarter ending 30 June, despite the com-pany not recording revenues in the prior two to three years.

The company, which has a business model based on aggressive mergers and acquisitions of companies in the solar, biofuels, wind, synthetic fuels and other expanding energy sectors, said its net loss was reduced by 26.71 per cent, to a loss $460,213 for the period from $627,966 in the same period of 2009.

It attributes this net loss to its corporate restructuring, product financing costs and one time charges for the acquisition of NDR Energy Group.

‘Our current management, in its pursuit to build a strong, stable company, generated sales of $13.96m, and added significant value to the company,’ said Universal’s senior vice president, Solomon Ali. ‘This is especially significant, since the company produced no revenues in the prior two to three years.

‘We believe we will continue the trend to increase our revenues, reduce our losses, and then move our company toward solid profitability.’

Modern Water’s programme looks at the treatment of freshwater among other things


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DuPont expects $1bn solar sales in 2010

Electronics and materials major DuPont said it expected to reach annual revenues of $1bn from sales into the photovoltaic (PV) market in 2010, a year ahead of its target.

David Miller, president of DuPont electronics and communications, said growth has been supported by new market-driven innovations that improve solar module efficiency and performance, bringing down the costs of solar in line with other forms of energy.

‘Our broad portfolio of offerings spans crystalline silicon cells and modules as well as thin-film modules, putting us in an ideal position to capitalise on market growth in both segments of the PV industry,’ he said.

The PV industry has been experiencing explosive growth in 2010 as demand for high-performance and lower-cost products continue to increase.

E.ON sees vast growth in renewables profit Energy utility E.ON said it will grow operat-ing profit from its renewables unit by more than two-thirds in 2010, according to reports.

Frank Mastiaux, CEO of E.ON Climate and Renewables told Reuters he expects its adjusted EBIT to amount to almost €250m, equal to a 70 per cent increase on 2009 figures.

In addition, the power group has also been included in the new Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI).

The index, which is published by the Carbon Disclosure Project, assesses the information provided by the 500 largest global companies about their efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Klaus-Dieter Maubach, board member of E.ON, said, ‘This listing in the new Carbon Performance Leadership Index illustrates the extent to which E.ON is putting climate pro-tection at the centre of its business activities.’

E.ON has the goal of halving its carbon emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels and will invest €8bn in renewable energies by 2012 alone.

Listing of India’s Oriental Green Power undersubscribedIndia-based renewable energy major Oriental Green Power (OGP), has run into difficulty during its initial public offering (IPO) on the Bombay Stock Exchange, selling just five per cent of its shares in the first three days of trading.

OGP was looking to sell 167 mil-lion shares to raise bid to raise INR9bn ($198,000) before the IPO ends, but received just nine million bids at the time of going to press.

The company operates 153MW of wind capacity and 41MW of biomass plants in India, which it said is more than any other developer.

DuPont’s growth has been supported by market-driven innovations

For more insight into the results and activity of the green sector’s publicly-listed companies, go to www.newenergyworldnetwork.com

UQM Technologies said it expects to receive $2.1m in reimbursements for testing costs after the removal of a contingency in a federal assistance award it previously received, which will help boost its profits.

The company now qualifies to have certain product qualification and testing costs incurred since last August as well as costs that it expects to be incurred over the remaining term of the award reimbursed.

As a result, the company said it expects to report profitable operations for both the second fiscal quarter and the six month period ending at the close of September. UQM said it will bill and record reimbursements of costs incurred after July as these are incurred.

UQM expects $2.1m in reimbursements

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PEOPLE NEWS

The CFO energy company Nuon, Doede Vierstra, has been appointed to the same position at Germany-based thin-film solar module manufacturer Odersun and takes a place on its management board.

Prior to Nuon, which is a subsidiary of Vattenfall Group, Vierstra served as CFO of listed organic food companies Royal Wessanen and Royal Friesland Foods.

He also served as a member of Nuon’s board and as a member of the executive board at Royal Wessanen.

‘Vierstra is a great addition to our management team as the company enters the market and continues its growth,’ said Dr Hein van der Zeeuw, CEO of Odersun.

Vierstra succeeds Peter van Bommel, who decided to leave the company since joining in early 2009, to take a position in his home country, the Netherlands.

Odersun is backed by an international group of investors, including Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures and Virgin Green Fund.

Chinese company Advanced Technology & Materials, PCG Clean Energy & Technology Fund, AGF Private Equity and Austria-based firm Valor also back the company.

Former Nuon CFO Vierstra heads finance at Odersun

Alvarez spearheads expansion in China for US-based STRUS-based solar encapsulants provider Specialised Technology Resources (STR) has appointed Bernardo Alvarez as direc-tor of business development for its China division to spearhead the company’s expansion in China.

Alvarez previously served as general manager of Spanish division STR España after it was formed in 2002. He was also formerly employed as plant manager of multinational company Rioglass and man-aged projects at engineering consulting firm Ingemas, which specialises in the design and construction of turnkey energy production facilities.

‘Bernardo brings a wealth of experi-ence and knowledge to his new post,’ said STR Solar president Robert Yorgensen.

‘He has been absolutely instrumental in building STR España from a greenfield in

2002 to STR’s largest and most successful single business location today. The excep-tional metrics of our encapsulant factory in Spain are a testament to his manage-ment skill. Bernardo’s team is ready to take the reins, allowing him to develop new business opportunities and execute our strategy in China.’

Alvarez is expected to relocate to China by the end of 2010 and will continue to serve STR España as a senior adviser in order to manage a smooth transition to the new leadership, the company said.

Dennis Jilot, STR’s chairman, president and CEO, said, ‘With this appointment, we are taking a critical step to support our growing customer base in China.’

The company said it intends to make more specific announcements regarding its plans for China by the end of the year.

Ascent Solar sees chairman retire from boardThe chairman and founder of thin-film solar module developer Ascent Solar Technologies, Dr Mohan Misra, will retire from the company’s board of directors this December.

Misra, who has decided to step-down due to his commitments to family and for other personal reasons, will be replaced by the company’s current director Dr Amit Kumar.

In his entrepreneurial career, Kumar has built technology enterprises from start-up to public listing, and worked for venture capital firm Oak Invest-ment Partners and Acacia Research.

He also recently headed-up NASDAQ-listed biotechnology company CombiMatrix.

Kumar said, ‘I look forward to working with the team as we enter the commercial phase of our development.

‘Our challenge is large-scale manu-facturing and we have assembled a tremendous team to take us into that phase and into commercialisation.’

Former Shell Solar head Willemsen moves to Scheuten

Germany-based Odersun manufactures thin-film solar modules

Dutch manufacturer of solar panels and systems Scheuten Solar has named Hans Willemsen as its new CEO as Frans van den Heuvel has stepped down from the role.

Willemsen was responsible for Shell Solar between 2004 and 2007 and has been active as vice president of Shell Clean Coal Energy in Asia until recently.

He was responsible for establishing Scheuten Solar as a division of the Scheuten Group in 2000, along with Scheuten Glas.

Scheuten Solar, which is based in Venlo in the Netherlands, manufactures glass and solar energy systems and achieved a turnover of €407m in 2009.


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PEOPLE NEWS

Sustainable energy business ENER-G has appointed Peter Southby as group finance director in preparation for its next strategic phase of expansion.

ENER-G increased its turnover by almost a third in 2010 to £124.8m for the fiscal year, compared to £97m the previous year.

The company, which employs 760 staff worldwide in the design, manu-facture and supply of renewable energy technologies, said it is poised to raise the bar still higher this financial year.

In his new position, Southby will be responsible for laying the financial

foundations of the company and its planned growth in the coming years, by identifying areas for development and implementing standardised systems and controls that will support further expansion.

Prior to this appointment, he was group finance director at UK hazardous waste services specialist Augean from 2006.

Southby also previously held roles as group financial controller at White Young Green consultancy and senior finance manager at Leeds United Football Club.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) micro-inverter developer Enecsys has signal-ed its intention to usher in a new phase of growth with the appointment of the founder of what became Danfoss Solar Inverters, Henrik Raunkjaer, as its new company CEO and board member.

Raunkjaer, whose career in the electronics industry has spanned 24 years, will replace the interim CEO Mossadiq Umedaly, who will concurrently resume his role as executive chairman.

Umedaly said, ‘We are confident in [Raunkjaer’s] ability to lead and grow Enecsys into a world leading solar inverter business delivering quality micro-inverter products and services based on our proprietary technology.’

He has eight years of working in the solar inverter

business under his belt, ini-tially as founder and CEO of Powerlynx and subsequently as managing director of Danfoss Solar Inverters after Danish company Danfoss acquired the business.

ENER-G appoints Peter Southby as finance director

Enecsys targets growth under Danfoss founder San Francisco-based green energy

remodelling service provider Recurve has appointed a new CEO in the form of soft-ware industry veteran Andy Leventhal, who earlier this year sold his carbon information start-up Planet Metrics.

Leventhal joins Recurve at crucial time in the company’s growth as it expects to soon roll-out its software suite for home performance contractors across the US, having begun beta testing in April.

Recurve’s software enables contractors to more easily manage home energy auditing and retrofitting projects, which can assist them meet state and federal standards.

In June, the company attracted $8m in additional financing to meet growing demand as the home performance industry outpaces software solutions available at present.

‘We’re thrilled to add a CEO with [Leventhal’s] calibre to grow Recurve to the next level.

Leventhal named CEO of Recurve

Peter Southby, group finance director, ENER-G

Rzepczynski to head FourWinds Funds GroupNatural resources and commodi-ties alternative investment manager FourWinds Capital Management has appointed Mark Rzepczynski as CEO of its Commodities Funds Group and chairman of the investment committee for its liquid investment strategies.

Rzepczynski will now be responsible for managing the liquid investment strategies for FourWinds, which in-clude the Zephyr Commodity Fund, the Zephyr Liquid Commodities Fund as well as the soon to be launched Ceres Agriculture II Fund.

In his new role, he will also develop new alternative investment products for the firm, it said.

FourWinds CEO Kimberly Tara said, ‘[Rzepczynski’s] wealth of alternative investment fund and traditional invest-ment management experience will be an asset as we grow the firm to meet the needs of investors for diversifica-tion and new sources of return.’

Henrik Raunkjaer

84 October 2010

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The World Bank has appointed University of California energy professor Daniel Kammen as the organisation’s chief technical specialist to provide strategic leadership on renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Due to take up this position in October, Kammen’s appointment comes amid unprec-edented demand from developing countries for World Bank support, in their efforts to address development and climate change as interlinked challenges.

The bank said it has been called on to support an estimated one-and-a-half billion peo-ple who remain without access to clean, reliable and affordable modern energy services.

Kammen is the founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Labora-tory, co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment and director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center.

He has founded or is on the board of over ten companies and serves the state of California and the US federal government in expert and advisory capacities.

‘Kammen will be joining the bank in this critical role at this critical time,’ said Inger Andersen, World Bank vice president for sustainable development.

The bank said the position was created to provide strategic leadership on the policy, technical and operational fronts.

Glen Minyard, the founder of solar consultants Minyard Solar Electric, will steer India’s first grid-connected solar power plant developer Azure Power’s push towards global commercialisation as its new vice president of design and engineering.

Minyard will be responsi-ble for the off-grid business of the company, as well as the continued development of its solar engineering practice.

He has 30 years of experience in the design and project management of large-scale commercial photovoltaic

(PV), wind and hybrid electrical power systems. During his career he has

supervised the design, manu-facture and project manage-ment of over 5,000 complete systems for the industry across the world.

Azure Power CEO Inderpreet Wadhwa said, ‘Solar energy is a new sector in India and requires experienced strategic push.

‘[Minyard] is someone who has been a part of the global solar power movement from its inception and brings aboard rich knowledge in setting up successful PV power plants across the globe.’

UK biofuel supplier Greenergy Inter-national has appointed the former chief executive of support services company VT Group, Paul Lester, as its new CEO.

Lester is due to take up the role in October, replacing current CEO Andrew Owens, who will become the company’s

chairman and be responsible for business development.

Greenergy is the UK’s ninth-largest privately-owned company according to the Sunday Times Deloitte Top Track 100, with turnover growing from £60m in 2001 to £2.8bn in 2010.

The company supplies around 7.9 billion litres of fuel each year to super-markets and oil, transport and logistics companies. Before joining VT Group, which was recently acquired by Babcock International Group, Lester served as group managing director at Balfour Beatty.

Minyard to oversees engineering at Azure

Former VT Group CEO Lester joins Greenergy

PEOPLE NEWS

China-based Suntech Power has promoted Vincenzo Quintani, former country head for Italy, to head of sales for Southern Europe.

Quintani joined the company in September 2009 from Energy Conversion Devices Group subsidiary Uni-Solar, a manufacturer of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) panels.

Previously, he worked for the research centre T3lab that was founded by Confindustria, the Italian Industrialists’ Association.

A graduate in electronic engineering from La Sapienza University in Rome, Quintani also holds an MBA from the CUOA Foundation in Vicenza, Italy.

‘My appointment underscores Sun-tech’s commitment to providing its part-ners co-ordinated international support in a European market that Suntech entered in 2002, and which as a whole in 2009 raised $1.7bn for the company – approxi-mately 75 per cent of global revenues,’ said Quintani.

‘I strongly believe that Southern Europe is a natural market for the photovoltaics industry, thanks to its irradiance characteristics and the advantages that this particular geographic area can draw from this widely available energy source.’

NYSE-listed Suntech is a major player in the production of crystalline silicon solar panels and made a net profit of $85m during 2009.

Suntech’s high-profile solar installa-tions include the ‘Bird’s Nest’ Stadium in Beijing, Masdar City in Dubai, and the China Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

Suntech appoints head of sales for Southern Europe

Inderpreet Wadhwa, Azure Power

Kammer to spearhead renewable power policies


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Solar thermal power plant developer BrightSource Energy has appointed John Bryson as chairman of the company’s board of directors.

Bryson is former chairman, president and CEO of Edison Inter-national, and brings more than 25 years experience in energy genera-tion, transmission and infrastructure investment to the role.

He will take up the position fol-lowing the departure of Arnold Gold-man, who will serve as chairman emeritus of the board of directors and

continue to lead key strategic initia-tives, the company said.

John Woolard, president and CEO of BrightSource Energy, said, ‘John has been at the forefront of environmental and energy issues throughout his career, and has a truly global perspective on electric system operations and energy project development.’

Bryson began his career by co-founding the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy organisation and served as chairman of the California State Water Resource Control Board.

PEOPLE NEWS

BrightSource Energy appoints Bryson as chairman of board

Nevada-based geothermal company Ram Power, which acquired Canadian develop-er Sierra Geothermal Power in September, has appointed former CFO and treasurer of Homeland Renewable Energy John O’Neill as its vice president and CFO.

Replacing former CFO Paul Zavesov, who will transition to a senior business development role, O’Neill’s appointment will further the company’s efforts to be the foremost renewable energy company.

Most recently, O’Neill provided strategic corporate financial guidance at EGB Consulting, after serving as CFO and treasurer of biomass specialist Homeland Renewable Energy.

BrightSource has more than 2.6 GW of solar thermal power under contract

Ram Power hires energy consultant John O’Neill as CFO

HS Orka appoints new chairman following takeoverIcelandic geothermal company HS Orka has appointed Asgeir Margeirsson as chairman of its newly-elected board of directors.

A special committee appointed by the Icelandic government to review Magma Energy’s acquisition of a 98.53 per cent stake in Icelandic geothermal company HS Orka has concluded that Magma acted in full compliance with domestic law.

Magma Energy acquired further shares in the Icelandic company from Geysir Green Energy in September through its subsidiary Magma Energy Sweden, but the Icelandic government had launched an investigation questioning the legality of the acquisition due to the level of foreign investment.

Magma had threatened to walk away from the deal after the questioning was launched.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufacturer Fisker Automotive has acquired two high-profile board members, including automotive specialist Dr Hans-Joachim Schöpf and former Deloitte vice chairman, Barry Huff.

Having served on the boards of Ballard Power Systems, Vancouver and Fisker Karma assembler Valmet Automotive, Schöpf has an automo-tive career spanning 38 years that includes some of the most senior positions in the German automotive industry. The former executive vice president at Mercedes Benz and Mercedes Car Group board member has also held positions with Chrysler, Mitsubishi and McLaren.

Fisker said Schöpf’s experience overseeing the development and im-plementation of automotive technolo-gies such as electronic stability control,

and common rail injection gasoline and diesel engines.

Vice chairman of Deloitte from 1995 to 2008, Huff brings four decades of international financial experience to the company’s board. This includes acting as Deloitte’s lead client service partner and advisory partner to General Motors.

For all the promotions, people moves and management updates in the global green sector, go to www.newenergyworldnetwork.com

Schöpf has held positions with Chrysler, Mitsubishi and McLarem

Former Deloitte and Mercedes specialists join Fisker board

Deal Radar provides coverage of prospective transactions that are of interest to our readership base of 5,000 investment and business professionals across the world.

We publish stories on the growth and fi nancing plans of dynamic private companies, prospective IPOs and established listed companies. We also cover announcements and plans for new and proposed projects.

Our key criterion for publication is that the story is likely to be of high interest to our readers. Our aim is to provide the global clean energy sector’s community of investors, innovators and deal-makers with insights on the future direction of the industry and with exclusive details about deals on the horizon.

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Let the right people know.

The Deal Radar section of Envirotech & Clean Energy Investor covers the growth and fi nancing plans of dynamic companies and highlights prospective deals to prospective investors, business partners and customers amongst our readership base. Companies, projects and pipeline transactions that get coverage in this section gain valuable exposure across the global clean energy and technology community.

If you know of a company, project or deal that merits the attention of the industry’s leading and most active organisations and individuals, please contact Chris Hardman at:

Is your business an exciting growth story?

Email: [email protected]: +44 (0)20 7845 7576

United Kingdom Bioenergy ART Environmental Groupwww.art-environmental.com

Funding Opportunity: £28.5m ($44.8m)

Funding Type: Equity Investment

Timescale: 6 months

Previous Funding: Undisclosed

Company Profi le: Incorporated in 1991, UK-based Advanced Recycling Technologies (ART) Group develops waste-to-fuel solutions. The company’s management team has a signifi cant track record of developing waste management facilities, going back to the UK’s fi rst commercially successful refi ned refuse derived fuel plants in Eastbourne in the late 1980s. The team brings expertise from previous roles in engineering, fi nancial analysis, construction and venture capital. Cargill, an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products, acquired a 25 per cent stake in ART in 2007.

Funding Opportunity: ART is planning to raise £27m in project fi nance over the next six months. A signifi cant proportion of this will be provided by the existing investor Cargill. The company is targeting profi tability within two years, generating a project IRR of more than 30 per cent over 15 years, in addition to exit proceeds. ART also said it plans to raise a further £1.5m in equity investment to process its project pipeline.

Technology: ART’s technology converts mixed, solid and non-hazardous waste streams into refi ned high biomass content fuel by utilising an advanced mechanical, biological and heat treatment process that it claims is more carbon-effi cient, cost-effective and produces higher qualities of output than competing technologies. The process yields dry pellets with a high biomass and low chemical contaminant content, which can generate energy using proven combustion processes, according to the company. To date, the pellets have been successfully used as a substitute for coal in both industrial boilers and commercial power plants. The company will initially target commercial and industrial waste markets, although its Biocentres also have the capability to handle municipal solid waste.

Business Plan: ART plans to develop, design, build, own and operate a network of waste-to-biomass fuel production facilities. It will use £27m of new funds for the development and commissioning of a two-line biomass fuel production facility in Birmingham, UK, capable of processing approximately 250,000 tonnes of waste and generating waste-disposal revenues of over £18m annually. The company has already secured heads of terms for 200,000 tonnes per annum. Heads of terms have also been agreed with Cargill to market and trade the refi ned biomass fuel. The plant will take 15 months to procure, construct and commission, and will have a useful lifespan of over 20 years. Additional revenues will be generated through the sale of an estimated 100,000 tonnes of biomass annually. The project site is under option to ART, with full planning permission granted and plant design fi nalised. The company will use the additional £1.5m to process its pipeline of development opportunities in London and Bristol, both of which have full planning consent. It plans to exit within seven years.

Contact: Tom Jarman, Executive Chairman Email: [email protected]


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United Kingdom Energy Efficiency Moixa Technologywww.moixaenergy.com

Funding Opportunity: £5.5m ($8.6m)


Timescale:6-12 months

Previous Funding: £1.5m

Company Profi le: Established in 2010, London-based Moixa Technology designs and develops energy management solutions, with a particular focus on reducing wasted energy within devices connected to the grid through AC/DC adaptors. The company raised £170,000 of investment in March this year, alongside grants totalling £870,000 from the UK Technology Strategy Board (UKTSB) and £500,000 from Eurostars. Moixa is also involved in several collaborative R&D projects, through which it will develop and trial its technology. Moixa has established a broad network of partner companies – including producers in China – and is already generating revenues from early clients in the energy and supermarket sectors, according to CEO Simon Daniel.

Funding Opportunity: Moixa aims to raise a total of £5.5m over the next 12 months. This will comprise an initial round of £500,000 immediately and a further £3.5m-£5m in mid-2011. It aims to generate sales in excess of £100m within fi ve years.

Technology: Moixa has developed a range of home energy solutions that incorporate smart energy monitoring, microgenera-tion/storage and effi cient power supply via smart DC Hubs and DC micronets, which can reuse household wiring to power lights or provide smart DC sockets for appliances. The system encompasses smart energy management and enables users to control home energy uses, such as heating and air conditioning, remotely. According to Daniel, Moixa’s technologies can be retrofi tted to existing urban buildings, and should provide a payback within three to fi ve years (although this may be quicker with regulatory support). To date, Moixa has invested around £350,000 to undertake the initial R&D and also established IP protection.

Business Plan: Moixa plans to use the initial tranche of funding to support the trial and commercialisation of its Home Working System. This process will initially involve conducting trials within 50 homes. The company hopes to generate initial revenues through B2B sales of the system, and will use the Series A round to develop a system designed fordomestic applications. This process will focus on price reduction, and Moixa is currently working to establish fi nancial instruments that will enable the purchase of its systems without a large down payment. The company will also attempt to establish an installer network and sell its technologies online, as well as through supermarkets and energy retailers. As it expands, Moixa may seek further funding, or may partner with an established energy retailer. Source: Interview with management

Contact: Simon Daniel, CEO Email: [email protected]

eUSA Solar Hullspeed Energy

www.hullspeedenergy.com

Funding Opportunity: $40m


Timescale: 6 months

Company Profi le: Founded in October 2009, New-York based Hullspeed Energy Development and Finance is a global developer of energy projects, including independ-ent power projects (IPP) and proof-of-technology demonstration projects. The company’s CTO previously oversaw the development of the only independent power project operat-ing in Tunisia. Hullspeed is currently in talks with the UNDP and the Clinton Foundation regarding construction of a utility-scale SUT demonstration plant, according to CEO Lincoln Bleveans. The company has been self-funded to date.

Funding Opportunity: Hullspeed is planning to raise a total of $42m in equity investment, comprising an initial round of $5m-$7m over the next six months, followed by a second round of $35m within two years. The company said that it offers prospective investors an opportunity to access IPP opportunities with a relatively low level of capital commitment.

Technology: Hullspeed is planning to develop new energy technologies over the long-term, but will primarily use established technologies within its initial developments. Hullspeed plans to work with partner companies to develop new technologies, and is currently developing projects utilising concentrated solar power, integrated solar combined-cycle and solar updraft tower technology. Hullspeed is also working with Schlaich Bergermann und Partner, a leading German civil engineering fi rm to develop a number of solar chimney projects, and is also considering constructing a SUT demonstration project in Africa. Initial target markets for project developments will be within selected countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Business Plan: Hullspeed employs a proactive rather than reactive approach to development opportunities, and plans to use the fi rst tranche of funding to further develop a number of solar projects that it has identifi ed. The second round of funding will enable the company to take two of these projects to completion. Following the second round, Hullspeed believes that it can become a self-funded IPP developer. In the long term, the company will seek further equity to fund project develop-ments that it will own and run. Source: Interview with management

Contact: Lincoln Bleveans, CEO Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 203 979 5864

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Canada Water Blue Energy Canadawww.bluenergy.com

Funding Opportunity: C$5m ($4.9m)


Timescale: 6 months

Company Profi le: Blue Energy Canada (BEC) is commercialising its proprietary Tidal Bridge technology to produce large scale, predictable and sustainable power. To date, BEC has been funded by angel investors. The company has a JV agreement with World Energy Research (WER) to fund a three-phase project in Scotland designed to scale-up its Tidal Bridge Technology from 1MW to 200MW. Through another JV with Mavi Innovations, BEC is also accelerating towards commercialisation of a small scale 50KW turbine, which it plans to deploy in 2011.

Funding Opportunity: Blue Energy is planning to raise C$5m in equity investment over the next six months.

Technology: Blue Energy’s Tidal Bridge technology incorporates mature technologies and novel design with a standardised and modular approach to construction. These are designed to produce clean energy and provide infrastructure and transporta-tion solutions across waterways. Thin shell marine caissons containing turbine blades will form the base for road/railway bridges, communication lines or water/gas pipes. Generators and electronic components will be housed above the high water line in an atmosphere controlled powerhouse, which enables the company to provide low cost maintenance and easy access for replacement of rotor components. Tidal Bridges range in capacity from 500MW to several thousand megawatts.

Business Plan: BEC plans to use new funds to continue R&D and process its pipeline of projects in India, Chile, Indonesia, Philippines, New Zealand, Iceland and Alaska. The company will pursue business development opportuni-ties, and form strategic alliance partnerships to catalyse power purchase agreements (PPA). According to the com-pany’s projection, its commercial projects in Scotland will generate approximate outputs of between 50,000MWh and 2,000,000 MWh annually. It is estimated that larger projects will provide a ROI within seven to ten years (depending on construction costs and locally available support mechanisms), while PPAs will be negotiated for 20 to 30 years. Source: Interview with management

Contact: Martin Burger, CEO and Founder Email: [email protected]

USA Solar Copernicus Energy Groupwww.copernicusenergy.com

Funding Opportunity: $1m-$5m


Timescale: 6 months

Company Profi le: Established in 2007, Arizona-based Copernicus Energy is a renewable energy systems integrator focused primarily on photovoltaic solar and small wind turbine sales and installations. The management team brings experience from previous roles within construction, project development, military affairs, computer information technol-ogy, sales and marketing in start-up environments. To date, the company has established vendor partnerships with global companies such as Suniva, Centro Solar, Eurotron, J.v.G. Thoma and VS Products. Copernicus has a signed order book of approximately $15.5m in sales over the past 12 months, and has been self-funded to date, according to CEO Robby Richards.

Funding Opportunity: Copernicus Energy is planning to raise a minimum of $1m via the sale of preferred stock to accred-ited or other suitable investors. The securities are offered at 12 per cent annual interest and are fully secured by accounts receivable and work in progress. The preferred stock will be convertible to common stock at a ratio of ten to one.

Technology: Copernicus has established itself as a renewable energy project developer and sales organisation using ‘off the shelf’ products from third-party suppliers, but intends to transition towards a vertically integrated company using next generation photovoltaic solar products. Copernicus is in the process of developing a high effi ciency PV module product using metal wrap through back contact solar cells. The company claims that it will be one of the only module producers in the world with a high volume back contact-based PV module line, and anticipates accepting delivery of its module line and factory start-up before 2011.

Business Plan: Copernicus Energy said it intends to use the majority of new funds to increase working capital reserves and implement current renewable energy projects by purchasing additional solar and wind turbine equipment. In addition, funds will be used to transition the company to a vertically integrated manufacturer and project developer. The company has fully executed agreements in force to purchase a solar module manufacturing ‘turn key’ line, according to CEO Richards. Copernicus also plans to complete a public listing of the company’s securities on the Canadian National Stock Exchange by the end of 2010. An offering prospectus and a listing application has been completed by the company and negotiations have begun with suitable professional advisers to complete the fi ling of the public offering. Source: Interview with management

Contact: Robby Richards, CEO Email: [email protected]

Copernicus Energy


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Canada WindClean Energy Technologieswww. cleanenergytechnologies.com

Funding Opportunity: C$7m ($6m)

Funding Type: Debt/ Equity Investment

Timescale:6 months

Previous Funding: Undisclosed

Company Profile: Founded in 2007, Calgary, Canada-based Clean Energy Technolo-gies (CET) designs, manufactures, distributes and installs renewable energy products for OEMs and community wind developers. The company is currently working in an exclusive partnership with South Korea-based Tae Chang New Energy Technology, under which Tae Chang operates as the R&D arm, while CET undertakes activities relating to engineering and technical support, sales and marketing and technology commercialisa-tion. CET has an existing revenue stream, with customers including US military contrac-tors and OEM wind turbine manufacturers in Europe and North America, according to CTO Tom Bowker. The company has been self-funded to date, while its management team brings experience from previous roles in business and technology development, as well as in engineering, finance and real estate.

Funding Opportunity: CET plans to raise a total of $7m in equity investment/debt over the next three months, of which $3m has already been put into place through a development grant from the Korean Development bank. The company ex-pects to generate revenues of $5m by the end of 2011, and envisages reaching break-even point in 2013. CET also plans to seek an additional funding round within the next three years as it develops its wind farm network.

Technology: Under the partnership agreement, Clean Energy markets, manufactures and distributes the Axial Flux Permanent Magnet (AFPM) wind generator, as well as wind turbines, in North America and Western Europe. The AFPM generator was developed by Tae Chang as a by-product of work it carried out in developing technologies for military applications. The AFPM design provides a broader spectral efficiency than Radial Flux Permanent Magnet designs, assuring greater and more reliable power output, according to the company. CET’s generators range from 5KW to 1MW and are in operation throughout the world. Wind turbines with outputs up to 10KW are already operating. A 50KW prototype is ready for installation in South Korea, while the company is well advanced in the development of its 500KW turbine, designed for the community wind mar-ket, and scheduled for launch in Q1 2013. The technology is protected in the US, Canada and the EU by several patents.

Business Plan: CET said it plans to use new funds to enhance its sales and marketing team in order to sell to its exist-ing customer base, as well as to process new targets. It will also hire new technical/engineering staff to focus on customer support, as well as commence work on community wind farm projects. Approximately $300,000 will cover the purchase of the equipment required to initiate development. This funding will also be used to develop CET’s project pipeline, take new renewable energy technologies through final development and commercialisation and improve IP protection of the generator design. The company will also offer design and construction services to clients, and plans to commission 500MW of wind power using small capacity turbines by 2020. CET has partnered with wind farm developer 3Ci Energie of Montreal, Canada as a first step to achieving this target, and plans to exit through an IPO within five years. Source: Interview with management

Contact:Tom Bowker, CTO Email: [email protected] Water Applied Technologieswww.atecom.ru

Funding Opportunity: £17m ($26.7m)


Timescale: 6 months

Company Profile: Established in 1991, Moscow, Russia-based Applied Technologies (APT) was established to research, develop and design new technologies. The company is currently focusing on wave-energy and hydrogen-production technologies. To date, APT has received funding from the Russian Federal Agency of Science and Innovation, UNESCO and the European Commission, according to CEO Alexander Temeev.

Funding Opportunity: APT is planning to raise a total of £17m over the next five years. This will comprise an initial round of £2m within two years, followed by a second round of £15m over the following three years. The company estimates that the project will provide an ROI within two years.

Technology: APT is currently developing the Float Wave Electric Power Station (FWEPS) to convert wave energy to electricity. The design exhibits high power ouput and operational performance and is capable of operation within varying lengths and intensities of wave conditions, said the company. The device is also designed to enable continual rotation of the in-built generator. The technology can be deployed as a single module for output of up to 50KW, as well as in multi-module installations in grid form. APT will also develop larger modules with outputs of 10-50KW.

Business Plan: APT plans to use the first round of funding to construct a full-scale 10KW pilot model of its wave energy device. The second round will be used to construct a multi-module pilot plant, with an output of no less than 2MW. Source: Interview with management

Contact: Alexander Temeev, CEO Email: [email protected]

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Canada Energy Efficiency HPB Realty Developerswww.hpbenterprise.com

Funding Opportunity: C$2.4m ($2.3m)


Timescale: 6 months

Company Profile: Incorporated in 2008, Ontario, Canada-based HPB Realty develops environmentally-friendly real estate solutions. HPB is currently running pilot projects in London, Ontario designed to combine solar and hydrogen power sources within domestic contexts. The company’s preliminary costs have been covered by its affiliate HPB Power, which focuses on the integration of solar, wind and hydrogen-based energy technologies within real estate applications. The management team brings experience from previous roles within renewable-energy-related start-ups, hydrogen systems research, corporate finance and the construction industry.

Funding Opportunity: HPB is planning to raise C$2.4m over the next six months. The company will seek further major equity investment within two years, and is already in talks with investors, according to CEO Braden Klumpp.

Technology: HPB is currently working with partners including Proton Energy to develop an integrated renewable energy supply-system for domestic settings. This will be used to construct high performance homes that utilise a ‘zero energy system’, where renewable solar and wind energy sources equal or exceed the requirements of each building.When environmental conditions are sub-optimal, these buildings will utilise a proprietary hydrogen-based system, which incorpo-rates electrolysis of water, to store and generate electricity and heat. The inclusion of on-site wastewater treatment, storm water collection systems and recycling aims to create a zero-waste environment.

Business Plan: HPB plans to use new funds for the construction, monitoring and ongoing testing of one demonstration home, a process that should take one year to complete. The company will also continue to develop its integrated energy and water management system. The company currently holds an option over a 26 acres site on the shore of Lake Huron, accord-ing to CEO Klumpp, and so the pilot project will be eligible to benefit from feed-in tariffs recently established by the Ontario Power Authority. This will significantly reduce operation and maintenance costs, according to the company. HPB’s model is based on capitalising on such savings and income generation to leverage extra funds to pay the premiums associated with its high-performance, renewable-energy-fuelled homes. The company estimates that homeowners will be able to repay the prin-cipal loan sum within an average of eight years. The initial focus will be in Ontario, but the company is working with PCL Construction – the largest construction company in Canada – which will act as project manager for the initial project. HPB plans to work with PCL to replicate these domestic developments throughout North America, and may also seek to licence its technology. It plans to undertake an IPO within 18 months. Source: Interview with management

Contact: Braden Klumpp, CEO Email: [email protected]

USA Energy Efficiency One Green Worldwww.one-green-world.com

Funding Opportunity: $7m


Timescale: 6 months

Company Profile: One Green World (OGW) was formed in 2007 to focus on the testing, marketing, manufacturing, licensing and promoting of advanced surface coatings for the purpose of sanitising, deodorising, and maintaining cleanliness in a broad array of applications and in many diverse industries.

Funding Opportunity: OGW is planning to raise $7m in equity investment over the next 12 months.

Technology: OGW has developed specialised formulations and proprietary processes for better water-soluble form of Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and has patents pending to protect these efforts. Based on these activities and other licensing arrangements, OGW has created a coating system called PureLife that includes a TiO2-based photocatalytic coating (i.e. activated by light) and an EPA-approved biocide that, when applied to surfaces using OGW’s proprietary methods, creates ‘self-cleaning’ surfaces, according to the company. Such surfaces prevent and eliminate mould, airborne mould spores and strong organic based odours, as well as purify and deodorise the air and surrounding environment with a single application. This reduces chemical waste, maintenance costs and environmental impact.

Business Plan: The initial years of the company have been spent researching and developing specialised product formula-tions, procuring patents, trademarks and other intellectual properties, and putting together much of the infrastructure required to roll out products to targets markets. OGW said it plans to focus any new capital investment on markets that have the least barriers to entry, as well as areas such as hospitals and health facilities. Source: Interview with management

Contact: Adam Zax, President/CEO Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 949 289 4428


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Raise your pro� le at our Innovator GalleryPromote your company at Europe’s pre-eminent investor-focused event focused on cleantech, renewable energy, environmental technology and sustainability.

The Innovator Gallery at the Envirotech and Clean Energy Investor Summit off ers exciting and innovative companies valuable exposure to over 500 industry-leaders, providing unmissable business, investment and partnership opportunities.

For more information, see www.EnvirotechInvestorSummit.com, orcontact [email protected] or phone +44 (0)20 7845 7576

United Kingdom Water DelAgua Waterwww.delagua.org

Funding Opportunity: £6m ($9.4m)


Timescale: 6 months

Previous Funding: £750,000

Company Profi le: Founded in 2006 as a spin-out from the University of Surrey, UK-based DelAgua Water develops water purifi cation and testing technologies for developing world applications. The management team brings experience from previous roles within private equity, the water industry and start-up development. Since 1985, DelAgua has manufactured and distributed the Oxfam-DelAgua portable water testing kit, developed by the University of Surrey in collaboration with Oxfam, to over 130 countries. This is currently used by more than 1,000 organisations, including leading aid agencies. In addi-tion to distributing its own kits and consumables, the company also offers a distribution service for other manufacturers’ products. In August 2010, following an introduction by Four Elements Capital, a London-based cleantech specialist investment bank, DelAgua signed an agreement with Halosource, under which the US-based company will develop an emergency response point-of-use drinking water device using disinfection technology combined with proprietary pre-treatment biopolymers. In return for providing develop-ment funding, DelAgua will be granted exclusive rights to distribute and sell this product. DelAgua has generated a steady revenue stream, which has increased each year, since its transfer from the University of Surrey into private management, according to the CEO James Beaumont.

Funding Opportunity: DelAgua is planning to raise £6m in equity investment over the next six months. The company estimates that it will be able to capture between two and 20 per cent of the water testing market between 2013 and 2016, generating estimated revenues of over £45m in 2013. Debt fi nancing may be sought to develop the company’s manufactur-ing capabilities.

Technology: DelAgua is currently developing a second generation of its water-testing kit. The ‘Quick-Test’ is designed to be capable of performing almost all microbiological tests in less than an hour, doing so more accurately and at a fraction of the cost of other tests, according to the company. It will also be capable of rapidly differentiating between live and dead cells, specifying exact types of bacteria and providing an exact count of the live cells within a given sample. This procedure will comprise both a hardware component and a disposable element (to be replaced after each test), ensuring a continued revenue stream throughout the product’s lifetime. This technology will be applicable with the food, pharmaceutical and medical industries, among others.

Business Plan: DelAgua plans to use new funds to complete the design and development of the Quick-Test. A proof of con-cept study has been successfully undertaken and following ten months of technology optimisation, DelAgua will then work to engineer the technology for commercialisation and distribution. A fi rst prototype should be completed in 2011 and mass production is expected to be possible in 2012. The company has undertaken discussions with a leading global life science organisation, which has offered to act as a distributor, and has also received a letter of intent from Oxfam to purchase and distribute the technology for use in over 130 countries. On accreditation of the Quick-Test, DelAgua will seek to increase its marketing activities and sales force, and will concentrate initially on selling to UK-based organisations. The company will also seek to add key management personnel by 2012. In the long-term, the company may also look to leverage its contacts, established distribution channels and development and engineering expertise to establish a focused technology develop-ment business. This would initially work with both start-ups and established technology companies to engineer and develop proven technologies for developing market applications, but ultimately may enter into R&D activities. DelAgua is in talks with several universities to develop technology spin-outs, according to CEO Beaumont, and envisages a number of possible exits – most likely of which will be through a trade sale. Source: Interview with management

Contact: James Beaumont, CEO Email: [email protected]

A round-up of deals publically announced in the past month from around the world, including venture capital investments, private equity transactions, flotations, refinancing, rights issues, mergers, acquisitions, project financings and major contracts.

ASIA

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China Energy Efficiency China Recycling Energy (CREG) www.creg-cn.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: RMB200m ($29m)Investor: China Cinda Assets Management

China Recycling Energy (CREG), which provides technology to produce energy from waste, has secured funding through a strategic co-operative agreement with state-owned financial institution China Cinda Assets Management. Cinda will provide CREG with up to RMB200m ($29m) in convertible notes and trust loans to fund the fourth and fifth phases of CREG’s power recycling projects to recycle waste heat from Erdos Metallurgy’s refinery plants a under a joint venture it holds with Xi’an TCH. Source: Company announcement

China Solar JA Solarwww.jasolar.com

Deal Type: DebtTotal Amount: RMB30bn ($4.4bn) Debt Provider: China Development Bank

State-owned China Development Bank has agreed to provide RMB30bn ($4.4bn) to China-based solar cell manufacturer JA Solar, through a combination of credit facilities and financing to support the company’s long-term growth and corporate development plans. JA Solar saw its shares rise eight per cent after it announced a steep order backlog of 500MW, due for delivery in 2011. The agreement provides a broad framework in which China Development Bank and JA Solar will collaborate on mutual opportunities to facilitate JA Solar’s strategic growth plans. Source: Company announcement

China Solar CNPV Solar Powerwww.cnpv-power.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: UndisclosedBuyer: Linyi Juhuang New Energy Technology Development

China-based CNPV Solar Power has entered into a contract to supply bespoke high-performance solar modules with a total peak capacity of 20MW to Linyi Juhuang New Energy Technology Development under a rolling contract that lasts until 2012. The contract calls for CNPV to deliver a small 1MWp load of photovoltaic (PV) modules, before delivering a larger load of solar modules with a total capacity of 19MWp throughout 2011 and 2012. Source: Company announcement

India Energy Efficiency North Delhi Power (NDPL) www.ndplonline.com

Deal Type: Joint VentureTotal Amount: UndisclosedPartner: Solena-ABSi India Private’s (SAIP)

North Delhi Power (NDPL) will distribute energy from Solena-ABSi India Private’s (SAIP) plasma gasification bioenergy technology under a newly-formed agreement between the two companies. The businesses have formed a memorandum of understanding, under which SAIP will produce up to 40MW of renewable power that will be fed into NDPL’s distribution network in the north and north-west of Delhi, India’s second-largest city.

Source: Company announcement

China Bioenergy Mian Yang Jin Xin

Deal Type: Partial AcquisitionTotal Amount: RMB17.7m ($2.6m)Acquirer: Gushan

Biodiesel manufacturer Gushan Environmental Energy is set to acquire a 67 per cent stake in fellow China-based company Mian Yang Jin Xin, which specialises in copper recycling. Gushan paid RMB17.7m ($2.6m) to two individuals, Chen Lian and Liu Hanjiu, for their stakes in Jin Xin. Gushan will also make a loan to Jin Xin of RMB30m ($4.5 million), quadrupling is current registered capital of RMB10m. Source: Company announcement

India Wind Veer Energy and Infrastructurewww.veerenergy.com

Deal Type: Share IssueTotal Amount: INR20.7m ($4.48m)Investor: Undisclosed

India-based wind farm developer Veer Energy and Infrastructure has raised further capital in a share issue to support a 200MW project. Veer Energy, which is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, successfully raised INR20.7m ($4.48m) through an institutional placement. Source: Company announcement


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Japan Solar JGCwww.jgc.co.jp

Deal Type: Joint VentureTotal Amount: UndisclosedPartner: Abengoa Solar

Engineering group JGC has become the first Japanese company to invest in concentrating solar power, forming a partnership with Abengoa Solar to jointly own two 50MW concentrating solar power plants in El Carpio in Córdoba, Spain. Abengoa Solar will retain a 74 per cent controlling stake in the project and operate both facilities following the deal. The two plants represent an investment of more than €500m and the first concentrating solar power plant investment by a Japanese company. A majority of the investment, €350m, was raised through a project finance loan, which was concluded with four international commercial banks, SMBC, HSBC, Mizuho and BNP Paribas this August. Source: Company announcement

ASIA (Continued)

France Solar JIT Solairewww.jit-solaire.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: €3m ($4.01m)Investor: AXA Private Equity

AXA Private Equity has made a €3m investment into France-based photovoltaic solar energy company JIT Solaire. Located in the Poitou-Charentes and Rhône-Alpes regions, the solar group installs turnkey electricity-generating solar power systems for individuals, companies and local authorities. The funds will provide the JIT Solaire with the resources it needs to maintain its growth and accelerate the development of its business of installing solar panels and running power plants.


France Energy Efficiency Alstom www.alstom.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: €200m ($267.6m)Buyer: Scottish Power Renewables

Power systems developer Alstom has secured an order worth more than €200m from Scottish Power Renewables (SPR) – a subsidiary of Spanish energy group Iberdrola Renovables – to build a 217MW extension to the Whitelee wind farm in Scotland by May 2012. Alstom will install, commission, operate and maintain 69 of its most powerful offering, the ECO 100 wind turbine, and six of its lower-output ECO 74 wind turbines, under the new contract. Source: Company announcement

Denmark Wind SSP Technologywww.ssptech.com

Deal Type: Joint VentureTotal Amount: UndisclosedPartner: American Blade Components

Denmark-based turbine blade manufacturer SSP Technology has established a joint venture with US materials company Energy Composites called American Blade Components, which will supply wind turbine blades to the US market. The joint venture company will be based in the city of Wisconsin Rapids, in close proximity to the Great Lake and Midwest wind turbine market. The two companies will retain separate specialties, while combining expertise towards a joint offering. Source: Company announcement

EUROPE

Deal Type: Partial AcquisitionTotal Amount: DKK400m ($72m) Acquirer: PensionDanmark, DongSeller: E.ON

Power utility E.ON is to sell its 20 per cent stake in the Nysted wind farm, offshore Denmark, to Dong Energy, which will in turn offload a 50 per cent interest in the project to pension fund PensionDanmark.PensionDanmark will buy a 30 per cent stake from Dong for DKK400m (€53.72) while Dong will acquire E.ON’s 20 per cent share and then sell it on to PensionDanmark for DKK400m. As a result of the transaction, Dong and PensionDanmark will each own 50 per cent in the project.


E.ON www.eon.comEnergy EfficiencyGermany

Denmark Wind Vestaswww.vestas.com

Deal Type: Partial Acquisition Total Amount: UndisclosedAcquirer: BlackRock

UK-based asset management firm BlackRock has become a major investor in Denmark-based wind turbine manufacturer Vestas after increasing its stake in the company in September to above the five per cent threshold. BlackRock’s holding in the company rose from over 10.14 million shares to nearly 10.24 million. Source: Company announcement

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EUROPE (Continued)

Ireland Wind Gortahile Wind Farm

Deal Type: Acquisition Total Amount: UndisclosedAcquirer: BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners

Gortahile Windfarm, which owns and operates a 20MW project in County Laois Ireland, has been acquired by the fund managed by BNP Paribas Clean Energy Partners as a cornerstone investment to its Ireland portfolio.The Gortahile Windfarm recently began commercial operation and is expected to produce about 70GWh of electricity per year.


Ireland Energy Efficiency Socowave www.socowave.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: €3m ($4.01m)Investor: Balderton Capital

Socowave, an Ireland-based developer of advanced wireless access systems for mobile communications, has raised €3m in a Series A investment round to accelerate the development of radio infrastructure technology that will cut energy consumption while increasing data handling capacity. The investment round was led by London-based venture capital firm Balderton Capital that manages $1.9bn in committed venture capital funds. Socowave’s Active Antenna System technology allows the cellular base station to detect the direction of incoming signals and actively optimise the radio link using digital techniques. Source: Company announcement

Iceland Geothermal HS Orka www.hsorka.is

Deal Type: Acquisition Total Amount: €47.3m ($63.3m)Acquirer: Magma Energy SwedenSeller: Geysir Green Energy

Magma Energy Sweden, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Magma Geothermal, has closed the final portion of a previously announced agreement to acquire further shares of Iceland-based geothermal company HS Orka, resulting in it now holding a 98.53 per cent interest. Magma Sweden said it acquired an additional 14.32 per cent of HS Orka’s outstanding shares from Geysir Green Energy, by assuming a bond with the municipality of Reykjanesbaer with a principal value of ISK6.3bn (€47.3m) repayable in 2016 with interest rated at 3.5 per cent per annum. Source: Company announcement

Germany Solar Q-Cellswww.q-cells.com

Deal Type: Joint VentureTotal Amount: UndisclosedPartner: ATS Automation Tooling Systems

Solar module provider Q-Cells has established a joint venture with two manufacturing companies to develop large-scale renewable energy projects in the Canadian province of Ontario, the company confirmed. Q-Cells and manufacturing solution provider ATS Automation Tooling Systems will each hold a 50 per cent stake in the venture and will together use solar modules developed by integrated photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer and module developer Photowatt Ontario. The joint venture project development company is Ontario Solar PV Fields. Source: Company announcement

Germany Solar Concentrix Solarwww.concentrix-solar.de

Deal Type: Joint Venture Total Amount: UndisclosedPartner: Transgreen Initiative

Concentrator photovoltaic system supplier Concentrix Solar has joined the Transgreen Initiative geared towards stimulating the development of a Trans-Mediterranean transmission network. The network was recently created within the context of the Mediterranean Solar Plan and calls for a cross-border transmission network to respond to expected needs for electricity exchange between the regions. Source: Company announcement

Germany Energy Efficiency nkt Cables www.nktcables.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: €35m ($46.8m)Buyer: RWE Innogy

RWE Innogy has awarded a €35m contract to cable company nkt cables to manufacture and deliver 83km of offshore cable to be used in the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm in Wales. The contract calls for nkt cables to produce four 132KV high-voltage offshore cables for RWE Innogy at its newly built cable plant in Cologne from late 2011 to mid-2012. Munich-based municipal utility company Stadtwerke München and Siemens are also involved in the development of the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm, which is RWE Innogy’s third offshore wind farm off the coast of North Wales. Source: Company announcement


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Sweden Wind Blaiken Wind Farm

Deal Type: Partial AcquisitionTotal Amount: €400m ($535.2m)Acquirer: Fortum

Nordic-focused energy company Fortum has acquired a 40 per cent stake in the Blaiken wind farm, one of the largest onshore projects under development in Europe, the remaining 60 per cent of which is held by Swedish energy company Skellefteå Kraft. The new joint venture Blaiken Vind aims to construct the 250MW wind farm in the Blaiken region in northern Sweden by 2015. Fortum will invest around €160m in the project whereas Skellefteå Kraft, which has planned the project since 2005, will contribute around €240m of the total €400m project costs. Source: Company announcement

Sweden Energy Efficiency Opcon www.opcon.se

Deal Type: Acquisition Total Amount: SEK84.3m ($12.3m)Acquirer: Latour Industries

Energy group Opcon has reached an agreement to divest its mobility product subsidiary REAC and its offshoot Balle in order to sharpen its focus on energy and environmental technology. Opcon sold the companies to Sweden-based company Latour Industries yesterday for SEK84.3m (€9.13m). The sale was in line with a focus on its core activities within energy and environmental technology as its mobility products business area’s customers are primarily active within the healthcare sector. Source: Company announcement

Norway Energy Efficiency Thinkwww.thinkev.com

Deal Type: GrantTotal Amount: £9.5m ($14.9m)Grant Provider: UK governmentGrant receivers: Think, Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus, Nissan

A consortium of automotive partners including electric vehicle developers Think, Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus and Nissan have been granted £9.5m by the UK government to aid research into range-extended electric vehicles (REEV). Under the REEVolution programme, the consortium will develop components and sys-tems that will expand and extend electric vehicle range, and directly address ‘range anxiety’, a term General Motors recently attempted to trademark that denotes concerns over the range capability of electric vehicles.Consortium partners Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus Engineering, Nissan Motor, Think, Axeon, Evo Electric and Xtrac will also contribute £11m in matching funds, bringing the total project investment up to £20m. Source: Company announcement

EUROPE (Continued)

Norway Energy Efficiency ReVolt Technologywww.revolttechnology.com

Deal Type: DebtTotal Amount: $6.8mDebt Provider: Authorities in Oregon and Portland

Rechargeable battery developer for electric vehicles ReVolt Technology has secured a $6.8m loan and tax credit package from authorities in Oregon and Portland in the US. The package includes support from the Oregon Department of Energy’s Small Scale Energy Loan Program (SELP), which is intended to promote energy conservation and renewable energy resource development. Source: Company announcement

Spain Energy Efficiency Acciona Infrastructurewww.acciona-infraestructuras.com

Deal Type: Joint VentureTotal Amount: $30mPartner: Tetra Tech

Acciona Infrastructures and environmental engineering company Tetra Tech have been awarded a $30m contract to provide turn-key construction services for the 45MW Lamèque wind power project in New Brunswick, Canada. The joint venture between the two companies will provide construction management services for access roads, foundations, turbine transportation and erection, electrical collection systems, and substation facilities. The farm will consist of 30 1.5MW Acciona wind turbines spread over 3,100 acres. Source: Company announcement

Spain Wind Gamesawww.gamesacorp.com

Deal Type: Partial AcquisitionTotal Amount: UndisclosedInvestor: Ikea

Retailing giant Ikea has acquired six German wind farms from Spain-based turbine manufacturer and project developer Gamesa for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will see Ikea take control of wind projects in four different locations with an installed capacity of 45.05MW. Source: Company announcement

United Kingdom Energy Efficiency International Innovative Technologies (IIT) www.iituk.com

Deal Type: Bond Issue Total Amount: UndisclosedBuyer: Millennium Private Equity (MPE)

Millennium Private Equity (MPE), which is owned by Dubai Islamic Bank and United Gulf Bank, has invested in an Islamic bond issued by clean technology development company International Innovative Technologies (IIT), according to reports. The value of the deal has not been disclosed, but it is the fi rst Islamic bond in the UK and is structured to be compliant with Shari’ah principles and provides the investor with synthetic preffered rights and dividends. UK-based, IIT manufactures a range of high output mills with modular designs and bespoke processing systems. Source: Company announcement

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United Kingdom Wind Renewable Energy Holdings www.reh-plc.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: €39.8m ($53.2m)Investor: Allianz Renewable Energy Management

Renewable Energy Holdings has entered into an agreement to sell its interests in two wind projects to Allianz Renewable Energy Management in order to raise capital to develop its other portfolio projects. The company has committed to sell the Windpark Kesfeld Heckhuscheid and Windpark Kir wind projects based in Germany for a total consideration of around €39.8m, with a deferred consideration of up to €2m. Source: Company announcement

EUROPE (Continued)

United Kingdom Water Volteawww.voltea.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: €3.6m ($4.8m)Investor: Rabo Ventures, Pentair

Unilever-backed advanced water desalination start-up Voltea, based in London, has completed a €3.6m fi nancing round to support the commercial roll-out of its breakthrough capacitive deionisation (CapDI) technology. The round was led by Rabo Ventures and included existing investor Pentair. Source: Company announcement

United Kingdom Water Nautricitywww.nautricity.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: UndisclosedInvestor: First Tech

Scotland-based developer of innovative tidal energy technology Nautricity has completed its fi rst equity investment funding round. Aberdeen-based technology and offshore engineering investment company First Tech made a signifi cant equity investment in the company in the multi-million pound round, the full value of which was not disclosed. First Tech also provided the company with a facility to make fur-ther funding available, in order to match grant awards and project development funding in the near future. Source: Company announcement

United Kingdom Solar Eight19

Deal Type: GrantTotal Amount: £4.5m ($7.06m)Grant Providers: Carbon Trust, Rhodia

A University of Cambridge solar energy spin-out fostered by the Carbon Trust and Cambridge Enterprise, Eight19, has secured £4.5m from the Carbon Trust and international specialty chemicals company Rhodia to propel it towards commercialisation. Eight19 focuses on the low-cost potential of solar cells made with semiconducting plastics, also known as organic photovoltaics. The technology is built on Cavendish Laboratory’s capability to develop techniques for fabricating large-scale plastic electronic devices fl exible materials using roll-to-roll processes. Source: Company announcement

United Kingdom Energy Efficiency SgurrEnergywww.sgurrenergy.com

Deal Type: Partial AcquisitionTotal Amount: UndisclosedAcquirer: Wood Group

International energy services company Wood Group has acquired a stake in UK-based renewable energy services consultancy SgurrEnergy. SgurrEnergy provides a range of consultancy, engineering and measure-ment services to the developers and funders of wind farms and other renewable energy projects. Following the deal, SgurrEnergy will join the Wood Group Kenny business unit and work on a number of projects with J P Kenny’s offshore renewable energy group, which is currently designing and managing the Wave Hub project for the South West Regional Development Agency in Cornwall. Source: Company announcement

United Kingdom Solar BP Solarwww.bp.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: $47mBuyer: Verve Energy

BP Solar has been contracted to build Australia’s largest ever grid-connected solar power installation, a 10MW photovoltaic (PV) array in Geraldton, Western Australia, with the state energy corporation Verve En-ergy. The project is valued at more than $AUS50m ($47m) with BP Solar carrying out the engineering and construction activity, and the operation and maintenance of the plant once constructed. Work will begin in early 2011 and should be complete before the end of the year. Source: Company announcement


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LATIN AMERICA Argentina Wind IMPSA

www.impsa.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: $730mBuyer: ANEEL

Argentina-based renewable energy company IMPSA has sold more than $730m worth of wind turbines to a selection of Brazilian buyers through its subsidiary Wind Power Energia, according to reports. The 450MW of wind turbines were sold to companies that secured contracts in a tender led by Brazilian electricity regulator ANEEL. Source: Company announcement

NORTH AMERICA

Canada Energy Efficiency Enmaxwww.enmax.com

Deal Type: Acquisition Total Amount: C$114.9m ($109.6m)Acquirer: Fort Chicago Energy Partner

Energy infrastructure operator Fort Chicago Energy Partners has entered into agreements to acquire Canadian energy company Enmax’s portfolio of river run hydroelectric facilities and development projects in British Columbia, Canada for C$114.9m ($109.6m). The payment includes working capital at the close of the deal, in addition to project debt of around $12m. The acquired assets include 33MW of generation capacity between the three hydro projects that all have power purchase agreements with energy utility BC Hydro, as well as the rights to additional development projects. Source: Company announcement

Canada Energy Efficiency Hydro Onewww.hydroone.com

Deal Type: Bond Sale Total Amount: C$500m ($480m)Buyer: UndisclosedManagers: Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Canadian hydroelectricity company Hydro One has raised C$500m ($480m) from selling debt bonds.The company has sold CAN$250m worth of medium-term notes due to mature in 2015 due to yield 2.95 per cent, and an equal amount of longer-term notes due to mature in 2046 to yield 4.9 per cent. The investment divisions of Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce led the management of the sale. Source: Company announcement

Canada Energy Efficiency Avante Security www.avantesecurity.com

Deal Type: Joint VentureTotal Amount: UndisclosedPartner: Calico Energy Services

Avante Security and Calico Energy Services have partnered for an energy management demonstration project in which they will deploy combined smart energy systems to a selection of households in Ontario, Canada. The systems will incorporate Avante’s Smartboxx energy manager and Calico’s Energy Intelligence Suite technology to more than 130 households across Ontario. Source: Company announcement

Canada Energy Efficiency Skymeterwww.skymetercorp.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: C$1.5m ($1.45m)Investor: Undisclosed

Transport metering technology provider Skymeter has closed a C$1.5m fi nancing round. Canada-based Skymeter provides a metering service to businesses that charge drivers per use for parking, leasing, insurance and road use. sSource: Company announcement

Brazil Energy Efficiency Omega Energiawww.omegaenergia.com.br

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: BRL$350m ($201m)Investors: Warburg Pincus, Tarpon Investimentos

Global private equity fi rm Warburg Pincus has led an investment of BRL$350m ($201m) in Brazilian energy company Omega Energia, which is in the business of buying small hydro power plants. Warburg entered into an investment agreement with Omega in conjunction with asset manager Tarpon Investimentos, the current controlling shareholder of the company. Source: Company announcement

Canada Energy Efficiency Atrion Internationalwww.atrionintl.com

Deal Type: AcquisitionTotal Amount: $80mAcquirer: IHS

Information company IHS has acquired two environmental health and safety information companies, Atrion International and Syntex Management Systems, for a combined price of $80m. IHS believe the acquisitions enhance its existing capabilities in the environmental health, safety and sustainability arena by expanding its existing compliance, stewardship and crisis management applications. Source: Company announcement

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NORTH AMERICA (Continued)

Canada Wind Finavera Renewableswww.finavera.com

Deal Type: Joint VentureTotal Amount: UndisclosedPartners: Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) Renewables, Coillte

Canadian developer Finavera Renewables has signed a co-development agreement with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) Renewables and Ireland state-owned renewables company Coillte, to jointly develop the 105MW Cloosh Valley wind project in the County Galway region of Ireland. It will retain its ten per cent equity interest in the project following the deal with Coillte, which has been a development partner on the project since 2009 and owns the site. Source: Company announcement

Canada Solar Sustainable Energy Technologieswww.sustainableenergy.com

Deal Type: Partial AcquisitionTotal Amount: $500,000Acquirer: Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures

Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures has acquired a significant stake and additional warrants to purchase shares in next generation solar inverter manufacturer Sustainable Energy Technologies for gross proceeds of $500,000, as part of a deal announced earlier in the month. With the acquisition of 50,000 first preferred shares and 5.16 million additional warrants, European independent private equity firm Doughty Hanson now holds all of Sustainable Energy’s series nine shares. Source: Company announcement

Canada Wind Cartier Wind Energy

Deal Type: GrantTotal Amount: $63mGrant Provider: Government of Canada

Wind energy in the Canadian province of Quebec received a boost today thanks to a substantial investment of up to C$65m ($63m) by the government of Canada. The investment will be made over a period of ten years to assist the development of two wind farms in the Gaspé region. It will be made through the ecoEN-ERGY for Renewable Power programme and help to support the Carleton and L’Anse-à-Valleau wind farms, which are owned by Cartier Wind Energy. Source: Company announcement

United States Bioenergy ARES

Deal Type: AcquisitionTotal Amount: UndisclosedAcquirer: Renewable Energy Group (REG)

Renewable Energy Group (REG) is set to acquire biodiesel assets in New Mexico from engineering specialist ARES in an all common stock transaction, that will also see it gain an additional $8m investment from ARES.The asset REG is to acquire the 15 million gallon per year facility which is based in Clovis in New Mexico. Source: Company announcement

Canada Energy Efficiency SunOptawww.sunopta.com

Deal Type: Partial Acquisition Total Amount: $51m Acquirer: Mascoma

The announcement that a division of Canada-based SunOpta has been sold to Mascoma for $51m shows biofuel assets continue to demonstrate value to the developers within this technology bracket. Mascoma’s interest in TSX-listed SunOpta stems from developing the acquired division’s expertise in the metamorphosis of wood chips, crops and organic solid waste to ethanol. Further demonstrating the underlying value of the asset class, SunOpta will retain an 18 per cent stake in the division, selling 73 per cent to Mascoma, and the balance being held by SunOpta Bio Process. Source: Company announcement

Canada Solar Carmanah Technologieswww.carmanah.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: $1.1mBuyer: US Coast Guard

Energy efficiency company Carmanah Technologies has received orders totalling more than $1.1m in recent weeks from the US Coast Guard for its solar LED marine lanterns as part of the organisation’s seasonal stock-up. The orders call for the company to deliver more than 2,500of its M700 series solar LED marine lanterns over the next few weeks to Coast Guard stations in 25 US states along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Mississippi, the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes regions. Source: Company announcement

United States Bioenergy Enviva www.envivapellets.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: UndisclosedBuyer: Electrabel

Biomass producer Enviva has signed a long-term wood pellet supply contract with GDF Suez group subsidiary Electrabel. Under the contract, Enviva, a subsidiary of Intrinergy with bases in the US and Eu-rope, will supply 480,000 metric tonnes of wood pellets annually to Electrabel’s biomass power generating facilities in Belgium. Source: Company announcement


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United States Energy Efficiency Ambiq Microwww.ambiqmicro.com

Deal Type: Project FinanceTotal Amount: UndisclosedInvestor: The University of Michigan’s Frankel Commercialization Fund

The University of Michigan’s Frankel Commercialization Fund has provided an initial investment to a spin-out focused on the development of next generation energy-efficient microcontrollers aimed at extending the battery life of wireless devices Ambiq Micro. The value of the investment has not been disclosed but it follows a $250,000 award from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco’s co-sponsored Global Business Plan Competition for students in July. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency Clean Energy Trust

Deal Type: GrantTotal Amount: $1.05mGrant Provider: US Department of Energy

The Clean Energy Trust has received a $1.05m grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to transfer research from Illinois’ universities and science laboratories into clean energy technologies and viable businesses. The newly-established non-profit company looks to connect applied scientists with entrepreneurs who have the finance and business expertise to develop ideas for commercial deployment. The DOE grant will be used to initiate four separate university-based programmes, including seed money, business training, awareness education and sector-specific business development support. Source: Company announcement

United States Geothermal US Geothermalwww.usgeothermal.com

Deal Type: Partial AcquisitionTotal Amount: $23.8mAcquirer: Enbridge

Canada-based Enbridge is to make its entrance into the geothermal industry with a 20 per cent interest in the 35MW Neal Hot Springs geothermal power plant, which is under construction in the US state of Oregon.Enbridge will invest up to $23.8m for a fifth of the plant’s shareholding, with Idaho-based US Geothermal owning the remaining 80 per cent. The plant is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2012 and will deliver electricity to the Idaho Power grid under a 25-year power purchase agreement. Source: Company announcement

United States Geothermal Sierrawww.sierrageopower.com

Deal Type: AcquisitionTotal Amount: UndisclosedAcquirer: Ram Power

Nevada-based geothermal company Ram Power has completed the takeover of Vancouver-based developer Sierra Geothermal Power, following September’s approval of the transaction by Sierra stakeholders. Ram Power has now acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Sierra in exchange for shares of Ram Power. The arrangement also received final approval from the Supreme Court of British Columbia late last week and as a result, Sierra is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ram Power. Source: Company announcement

United States Bioenergy SG Biofuelswww.sgfuel.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: $9.4mInvestors: Flint Hills Resources, Life Technologies

Bioenergy crop company SG Biofuels has completed a $9.4m Series A financing round in which privately-held company Flint Hills Resources and biotechnology tools company Life Technologies joined existing investors. The financing follows SG Biofuels and Life Technologies’ recent announcement that they have completed the sequence of the Jatropha genome and will support the company’s efforts to advance jatropha as a high-yielding, low cost feedstock for diesel, jet fuel and petrochemicals. Source: Company announcement

United States Bioenergy Cool Planet Biofuelswww.coolplanetbiofuels.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: $3m Investor: Undisclosed

California-based developer Cool Planet Biofuels raised $3m in a recent round of funding. The company has also rented 50,000 square feet of additional space to develop gasoline from biofuel, in a process that creates no carbon footprint. Source: News Report

United States Energy Efficiency Agri-Energy

Deal Type: Partial AcquisitionTotal Amount: UndisclosedAcquirer: Gevo

Privately-held renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company Gevo, based in Colorado, has closed its acquisition of Agri-Energy’s ethanol production facility in Minnesota, US, which it plans to refit for the production of renewable isobutanol. The plant in Luverne is expected to provide 18 million gallons per year of production capacity for chemicals and fuels customers. Source: Company announcement

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United States Energy Efficiency Lumenergiwww.lumenergi.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: $12.7mInvestor: Braemar Energy Ventures, Townsend Venture Capital, Low Carbon Accelerator, Noventi Ventures

California-based, energy efficient lighting developer Lumenergi has raised $12.7m in Series B funding in a round led by Braemar Energy Ventures and joined by Townsend Venture Capital in addition to return backers Low Carbon Accelerator and Noventi Ventures. The financing will facilitate its expansion into large-scale commercial and industrial buildings in energy intensive regions and expand its marketing capabilities. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency Insituform Technologies www.insituform.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: $5.9mBuyer: City of Calgary

Wastewater company Insituform Technologies has been awarded a $5.9m wastewater pipeline contract from the city of Calgary in the Canadian province of Alberta. The contract calls for Insituform to rehabilitate the city’s existing wastewater pipelines, completing around 90,000 feet for each year of the contract. The contract lasts for one year, after which the city has the option to renew it for an additional two years. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency Green Mountain Energywww.greenmountainenergy.com

Deal Type: AcquisitionTotal Amount: $350mAcquirer: NRG Energy

US-based power generation company NRG Energy has reached a definitive agreement to acquire retail renewable energy provider Green Mountain Energy for $350m in cash. The deal will see Green Mountain’s green retail franchise aligned with NRG’s portfolio of renewable power assets. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency GreenFire Energywww.greenfireenergy.com

Deal Type: GrantTotal Amount: $2mGrant Provider: US Department of Energy – Geothermal Technologies Program

Renewable energy company GreenFire Energy has received a $2m grant from the US Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Program to evaluate the potential for low-temperature carbon dioxide (CO2)-based geothermal power production technologies. GreenFire is the first company to receive funding to use CO2 as geothermal fluid instead of water. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency General Motorswww.gm.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: $4.2mInvestor: Itochu Technology Ventures

The venture capital arm of automaker major General Motors (GM) and Japanese electronics giant Itochu Technology Ventures have made a joint investment of $4.2m into US-based next generation lithium battery developer Sakti3 to assist it advance its manufacturing capabilities. The companies plan to work together to speed the commercialisation of Sakti3 battery cells and join previous investors to back Sakti3, including Khosla Ventures and Beringea. Source: Company announcement

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: $15mInvestors: Harbor Pacific Capital, LS Cable, LS Industrial systems, Rho Ventures Voyager Capital, Siemens Venture Capital, Hartford Ventures

Electric vehicle charging station infrastructure company Coulomb Technologies has secured $15m in Series C funding, which it said it will use to accelerate the development and drive sales of its Charge-Point Network. Early-to-growth stage capital provider Harbor Pacific Capital, Korea-based electrical company LS Cable and LS Industrial Systems joined the round as new investors in the company. Returning backers included Rho Ventures, Voyager Capital, Siemens Venture Capital and the strategic investment division of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Hartford Ventures. Source: Company announcement

Coulomb Technologieswww.coulombtech.comEnergy EfficiencyUnited States

United States Energy Efficiency Grid2Homeww.grid2home.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: UndisclosedInvestor: Granite Ventures

California-based, smart grid software developer Grid2Home has completed seed financing led by early-stage investor Granite Ventures, which saw it also acquire a new CEO and board chairman. Its software, tools and reference applications enable two-way data communication across a range of devices including smart meters, smart household appliances and electric vehicles.



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United States Energy Efficiency Pennsylvania State Unviersitywww.psu.edu

Deal Type: GrantTotal Amount: $122m Grant Provider: US Department of Energy

A team led by Pennsylvania State University has been granted a funding package from the US Depart-ment of Energy of up to $122m that will be awarded over the next five years to help it establish an Energy Innovation Hub. Located at the Philadelphia Navy Yard Clean Energy campus, the hub is designed to bring together researchers and two US National Laboratories with the private sector in an effort to develop energy-efficient building designs Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency NextErawww.nexteraenergyresources.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: $350mInvestor: Credit Suisse Securities

Renewable energy project developer NextEra has sold $350m in equity units to the US arm of Credit Suisse Securities. It has also granted Credit Suisse an option to purchase an additional $52.5m of equity units to cover over-allotments. Each equity unit will consist of a contract to purchase NextEra Energy common stock in the future and five per cent undivided beneficial ownership interest in an FPL Group Capital debenture, due in 2015. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency RAE Systemswww.raesystems.com

Deal Type: AcquisitionTotal Amount: UndisclosedAcquirer: Battery Ventures

An affiliate of technology-focused investment firm Battery Ventures has agreed to acquire RAE Systems, which delivers sensor technology to the energy, environmental and government safety markets worldwide, for $1.60 per share in cash. The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 53.8 per cent over RAE Systems’ closing share price on 17 September and an 85.1 per cent premium over RAE Systems’ average closing share price for the previous month. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency Ciranovawww.ciranova.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: $30mInvestor: Intel Capital

Global investment organisation Intel Capital has provided financing to smart energy software and service provider Nexant as part of a $30m round of investment to stimulate the growth of four technology companies. Alongside the Nexant investment, Intel Capital has also committed investments to Adaptive Computing, Ciranova and Joyent. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency Nexantwww.nexant.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: $43mInvestor: Oak Investment Partners, Intel Capital, Telesoft, Beacon

Clean energy consultant Nexant has raised $43m from multi-stage venture capital firm Oak Investment Partners and Intel Capital, alongside existing backers TeleSoft and Beacon, to fund its global growth and expansion. Nexant’s software focuses on next-generation electricity grid operations and energy markets. Its various applications address energy management, demand response and distributed generation. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency McNeil Technologieswww.mcneiltech.com

Deal Type: AcquisitionTotal Amount: UndisclosedAcquirer: Aecom TechnologySeller: Veritas Capital

Environment and energy-focused technology support service provider Aecom Technology has acquired government national security and intelligence services firm McNeil Technologies from private equity firm Veritas Capital and certain management shareholders. A major facet of the deal is that McNeil will gain $355m in cash through the transaction Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency Mallinckrodt Bakerwww.mallbaker.com

Deal Type: AcquisitionTotal Amount: $280mAcquirer: New Mountain Capital Seller: Covidien

New Mountain Capital has acquired Mallinckrodt Baker, a company that manufactures high-purity chemicals used in the energy and environmental sectors, from Covidien for about $280m through an affiliate. Based in the US state of New Jersey, Mallinckrodt Baker manufactures and markets high-purity chemicals and related products under two brand names, JTBaker and Mallinckrodt Laboratory Chemicals. Source: Company announcement

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United States Solar CEWA Technologieswww.cewatechnologies.com

Deal Type: Project FinanceTotal Amount: $207,800 Investor: Ben Franklin Technology Pertners of Northern Pennsylvannia

State-funded economic development organisation Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northern Pennsylvania has made three separate investments into local solar projects as part of a wider round of investment into regional innovation. It awarded CEWA Technologies $146,000 in return for help withindesigning and constructing a point-concentrated solar power dish prototype. SolarPA received a $50,000 investment to complete proof-of-concept research for a proprietary coating which enhances photovoltaic (PV) effects and improves the efficiency of solar cells. The organisation also invested $11,800 into L&H Sign Company to help it assess the technical and economic feasibility of a proposed rooftop PV array. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency ZBB Energy www.zbbenergy.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: UndisclosedBuyer: University of Wisconsin

ZBB Energy, a developer of intelligent renewable energy power platforms, has been awarded a competitive bid contract from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, to supply its energy lab with advanced energy power and storage systems in order to conduct studies to enhance the efficacy of wind turbines. Researchers at the university’s College of Engineering and Applied Science will use the technology to conduct renewable energy studies for the Wisconsin Energy Research Consortium (WERC). Source: Company announcement

United States Solar AEG Power Solutions www.aegps.com

Deal Type: ContractTotal Amount: UndisclosedBuyer: Undisclosed

AEG Power Solutions has been awarded a contract to supply 260MW of equipment to 13 photovoltaic (PV) utility-scale plants in Eastern Europe over the course of 2011. As of this December, AEG will provide complete electrical systems to the plants, which each have a capacity of 20MW. Power electronics product provider AEG Power Solutions – which is wholly-owned by 3W Power Holdings – will design and supply its TKS-C product, which contains a solar inverter, monitoring and supervising equipment, a transformer and medium voltage switchgear. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency Yahoo!www.yahoo.com

Deal Type: GrantTotal Amount: $9.9mGrant Provider: Department of Energy

Major search engine Yahoo! has unveiled an energy efficient data centre in Lockport in the US state of New York, which was funded by a $9.9m federal sustainability grant. The Lockport facility will be the first to implement the company’s new green data centre Yahoo! Computing Coop (YCC) design, which was recognised by the Department of Energy with the largest award received from its recent Green IT grant programme. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency Xtreme Powerwww.xtremepowerinc.com

Deal Type: Joint VentureTotal Amount: UndisclosedPartner: Castle & Cooke

US-based energy storage system manufacturer Xtreme Power has teamed up with project developer Castle & Cooke to implement an energy storage system on its Lana’i Island La Ola solar farm, which it said is currently the largest photovoltaic (PV) energy farm in Hawaii. Xtreme Power’s Dynamic Power Resource, which controls the rate of change in renewable energy output caused by variations in weather, is expected to be installed at the La Ola solar farm next May. Source: Company announcement

United States Energy Efficiency TierPointwww.tierpoint.com

Deal Type: DebtTotal Amount: $8.2mDebt Providers: Bank of America, Evergreen Business Capital, Small Business Administration

Data services provider TierPoint has secured $8.2m in debt financing from Bank of America, Evergreen Business Capital and the Small Business Administration, in addition to an internal cash infusion, which it will use to build an environmentally-friendly data centre using green technologies that are currently deployed in its other centres. Bank of America Merril Lynch provided the company with $4.1m, while Evergreen Business Capital put $3.1m forward with the Small Business Administration and TierPoint contributing $1m. Source: Company announcement


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United States Wind Pattern Energy www.patternenergy.com

Deal Type: Joint Venture Total Amount: UndisclosedPartner: MetLife

Financial services provider MetLife has made an equity partnership investment in Pattern Energy’s Gulf Wind project in the US state of Texas. The investment follows on from $800m in corporate equity that Pattern Energy has secured. Source: Company announcement

United States Water Hydrovoltswww.hydrovolts.com

Deal Type: Project Finance Total Amount: $250,000Investor: DLZ

US-based civil engineering business DLZ, which is developing several hydropower projects in India, has made a $250,000 investment into small-scale hydropower company Hydrovolts to fund the development of a 25KW prototype hydrokinetic canal turbine. DLZ has also obtained a power purchase agreement and rel-evant permits to develop a 10MW hydrokinetic power project on the 14km Chilla Canal in northern India. Source: Company announcement

United States Solar SunPowerus.sunpowercorp.com

Deal Type: Grant Total Amount: $1.8mGrant Provider: California Solar Initiative Research, Development, Deployment and Demonstration (CSO RD&D)

California-based solar cell manufacturer SunPower has been awarded about $1.8m in a state grant to enable the company to further its research into photovoltaic (PV) energy storage. The grant has been awarded from the California Solar Initiative Research, Development, Deployment and Demonstration Program and is intended to enable SunPower to research energy storage for large commercial applications.Source: Company announcement

United States Solar Solaria www.solaria.com

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: $65mInvestors: Western Technologies, Adams Street Partners, Cycas, CMEA Capital, DBL Investors, Sigma Partners, NGEN Partners, Mitsui Ventures, Savitr Capital

In its latest round of Series D financing, global solar module manufacturer Solaria surpassed its target by $20m, raising $65m including a $10m growth loan facility provided by US venture debt firm Western Technologies (WTI). Private equity firm Adams Street Partners and venture capital group Cycad also joined the round, which was led by CMEA Capital and DBL Investors, and follows a May 2010 close that included Sigma Partners, NGEN Partners, Mitsui Ventures and Savitr Capital. The newly-raised funds will be used to increase availability of its patented modules in the face of steep demand. Source: Company announcement

United States Solar Recurrent Energywww.recurrentenergy.com

Deal Type: Acquisition Total Amount: $305mAcquirer: Sharp

Global electronics giant Sharp is to acquire solar project developer and Hudson Clean Energy Partners portfolio company Recurrent Energy for $305m in cash. A second shareholder of the Recurrent, which has a 23GW product pipeline, was venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures. The acquisition is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Source: Company announcement


United States Solar White Oak Solar Energywww.whiteoaksolar.com

Deal Type: Project FinanceTotal Amount: UndisclosedInvestor: UndisclosedArranger: Union Bank

LS Power subsidiary White Oak Solar Energy has finalised project financing arranged by Union Bank for its proposed 10MW Dover SUN Park in the US state of Delaware, which will be the first utility-scale solar plant in the region. The project is due to start commercial operation late next year, with the installation of equipment due to begin in January. Source: Company announcement

OCEANIA

Australia Energy Efficiency Ceramic Fuel Cellswww.cfcl.com.au

Deal Type: Equity InvestmentTotal Amount: A$30.1m ($28.7m)Investor: Undisclosed

Technology developer Ceramic Fuel Cells has raised A$30.1m through a rights issue and an overseas offer, which will be used to provide working capital ahead of commercialisation. About 44 per cent of the rights issue shares were subscribed for by shareholders and the company will issue more than 51 million fully paid ordinary shares at the issue price of 18.25 cents to raise an additional A$9.3m. In addition, it will issue more than 19 million fully paid ordinary shares at the issue price of £0.10 to raise a further £2m. Source: Company announcement

In association with:

ADNEC, 19-21 January 2009

EVENTA

Supported by:O� cial broadcaster:Platinum sponsors:

Find us on

The next stop on the tour of World Future Energy events is London. The European Future Energy Forum will be staged at ExCeL London in October 2010 and will be the fi rst major showcase of the new UK Government’s renewable energy policy. Held in association with Masdar and UKTI, the Forum will provide a global leadership platform for energy ministers, heads of state and international renewable energy manufacturers, investors and service providers to debate the policy, fi nancing and infrastructure required to ensure energy security and sustainability throughout Europe.

Comprising a high-level conference, round table debates, an international exhibition and a plethora of interactive features, international pavilions and networking opportunities, EFEF 2010 will be a valuable trip out of the o� ce for any professional working within the renewable energy or clean technology markets.

View the full programme at www.EuropeanFutureEnergyForum.comMeet the leaders, make a di� erence

Over 300 companies have now registered employees to attend. Join them by registering your place today at www.EuropeanFutureEnergyForum.com

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