Oil Giant Total to buy 60% of SunPower for $1.38 Billion
Total SA, Europe's third-biggest oil producer, agreed to buy as much as 60 percent of SunPower Corp. for $1.38 billion, taking advantage of increased global interest in renewable energy. SunPower, the second-largest U.S. solar panel maker, described the acquisition price of $23.25 a share as a "friendly tender offer" in a statement. SunPower surged 40 percent to $22.53 yesterday after the close of regular trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The deal for San Jose, California-based SunPower may lead to more solar industry acquisitions as U.S. and European suppliers seek help competing against rival suppliers in Asia, said Kevin Landis, portfolio manager at Sivest Group Inc. "This is exactly what SunPower needed to compete with the Chinese manufacturers that are getting so much support from their government," Landis said in an interview. "It also allows SunPower to double down on the technology improvements they'll need to compete in the long run." Sivest, also based in San Jose, held about 17,000 shares of SunPower at the start of the year. The takeover may trigger similar acquisitions by oil companies that consider renewable-energy manufacturers a way to improve their clean-energy credentials and may profit when surging crude prices reduce demand for fossil fuels, said John Hardy, an analyst at Gleacher & Co. in New York.
MIT Researchers Unveil Transparent Solar Cell
It has been the dream and pursuit of many a business and research endeavor, but only varied success has been achieved to create a truly transparent solar photovoltaic cell. Leave it to the brainiacs at MIT to find the solution. Yes, the research and technology hub has done it again, marking a landslide achievement in the world of energy technology with the creation of a clear solar pv cell. Researchers Vladimir Bulovic and Richard Lunt have published their findings in Applied Physics Letters. The duo has apparently created a transparent solar cell with a maximum efficiency (sunlight to electricity) of 1.7 percent. The cell operates within the near-infrared spectrum. However, the cell is still only about 55 percent transparent, similar to tinted sunglasses.T he transparent cell is actually quite unique in its design when compared to tradition cells. Bulovic and Lunt's transparent cell is comprised of organic molecules that harness infrared light while allowing visible light to pass through. The photovoltaic compound is actually coated onto a pane of standard window glass. The researchers are in the prototype phase of this technology, but believe it could potentially be painted onto existing windows to create a low-cost easy-to-install photovoltaic option for both commercial and home solar installations.
The ESD (Engineering Society of Detroit) Ride and Drive of the Chevy Volt
GM invited members of the Engineering Society of Detroit out to the Proving Gounds in Milford for test drives. There were 11 Volts and they paired us up for a test drive out into Milford and down to Lake Kensington and out on to I 96 for a few miles and then circled back to the Proving grounds. Everyone was excited by their drive and we were told that virtually every one on the development team had their order in on the new vehicle. It is being built in the Hamtramck/Detroit Cadillac Plant that Coleman Young fought for and the lithium ion Battery Packs are being built in a new Brownstown plant nearby.
Introduction to JOINT IMPLEMENTATION - JI
The basic principles of Joint Implementation are defined in Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol. Project participants from two (or more) Annex 1 Parties may jointly implement an emissions-reducing project in the territory of an Annex 1 Party, and count the resulting emission reduction units towards meeting the Kyoto target of the other involved Annex 1 Party/ies.
Careers in the Clean-Tech Industry
The NY Times reports that the federal government is pouring $500 million into training for green jobs, and the sector devoted to energy efficiency is estimated to grow as much as fourfold in the next decade, to some 1.3 million people, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Reading the fine print of BrightSource's $250 million IPO
BrightSource Energy, the California solar power plant builder backed by Google, Morgan Stanley and Silicon Valley venture capitalists, filed for a $250 million initial public offering on Friday. The Earth Day S-1 filing marks first big market test of investors' appetite for a capital-intensive solar technology that has yet to be deployed commercially. It comes as utilities have been turning to increasingly cost-competitive photovoltaic farms to meet their renewable energy mandates.
BrightSource was founded in 2004 by American-Israeli pioneer Arnold Goldman, whose Luz International built nine solar thermal power plants in the Mojave Desert in the 1980s and 1990s. The company has attracted blue-chip investors, including French energy giant Alstom, as well as a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee that is financing the bulk of Ivanpah's construction costs. NRG Solar, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, is investing up to $300 million in Ivanpah and Google last week invested $168 million in the project. In its filing, BrightSource, which has signed deals to supply utilities Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison with 2,600 megawatts of electricity, disclosed that it controls 110,000 acres in California and the Southwest. That land has a capacity to generate 11,000 megawatts - enough solar electricity to supply nearly 15 million homes at peak output. The cost of maintaining leases on those lands stands at $12.9 million, according to the filing, and BrightSource, which has lost a cumulative $177.3 million since its founding, has total debt and contractual obligations totaling $1.8 billion. Despite its impressive pipeline of projects and prominent investors, BrightSource acknowledged in the filing that its viability turns on the completion and operation of Ivanpah, which will deploy 170,000 heliostats around three towers.
U.S. offers loan aid for world's biggest solar plant
The U.S. Department of Energy is offering $2.1 billion in conditional loan guarantees to support what will be the world's biggest solar power plant, the government's largest commitment to date for to solar energy. The aid will support construction of the first two units of Solar Trust of America LLC's 1,000 megawatt solar thermal Blythe Solar Power Project, the DOE said on Monday. Solar Trust of America is a joint venture between German companies Solar Millennium AG and Ferrostaal AG. "For the first time in mankind's history, a solar power facility will be built at a scale and output capacity equal to the very largest coal-fired and nuclear power plants operating in the world today," Solar Trust of America Chief Executive Uwe Schmidt said on a conference call with reporters. The first two units of the project near Blythe, California are capable of producing 484 MW of electricity using solar thermal trough technology. The project will create over 1,000 construction jobs, 80 operations jobs, and will avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those generated by about 123,000 vehicles. Solar Millennium's technology makes electricity by using trough-shaped mirrors to heat a fluid that generates steam that turns a turbine. The Blythe project's total pricetag is estimated at north of $6 billion, with the first phase costing about $2.8 billion. The announcement came a week after the federal program to support clean energy technologies escaped the axe in the final U.S. budget agreement for the current fiscal year.
Ford names Top 25 EV ready cities in the US
From New York City to Seattle, Wash., Ford this week named 25 U.S. cities that are paving the way for an influx of electric vehicles. By the end of 2012 there will be more than 20 plug-in vehicles on the market, said Mike Tinskey, manager of vehicle electrification and infrastructure for Ford. And major metropolitan areas and utility companies are working together to provide an infrastructure for public charging stations. "Over the next 12 months we will see at least 18,000 new charge stations in U.S. cities," Tinskey said. "People will start seeing charge stations in some pretty familiar places," he said. The Ford Focus EV will be available by the end of 2011, and many more electric vehicles makes from other automakers will be available over the next two years. Ford has complied the list to not only recognize which cities are getting EV-ready, but also to encourage other cities to start preparing, Tinskey said.
While the list of cities is diverse, it's not surprising that most of the cities flank the coasts while others dot the middle of the map. Honolulu is included, but Tinskey said pretty much the whole island of Oahu is getting EV-ready. The greater San Francisco Bay Area, not surprisingly, is also a larger geographical area that made it to the map. According to Tinskey, it's up to city governments to streamline the permit process for the installation of EV charging stations. And it's up to local utility companies to offer incentives for off-peak charging. "A lot of decisions need to be made, like what the signage should look like, and whether or not local businesses can charge for the electricity, or just for the parking spot," Tinskey said. "It ends up being an equal pull from the city and the local electric company. Then add a company like Ford, and it becomes the three-legged stool."
Google Invests $168 million in BrightSource Energy's Mojave Solar Plant
Google is no stranger to renewable energy investment, but now the Internet behemoth has its eyes set on bigger fish. BrightSource Energy's proposed solar thermal plant in the Mojave Desert will be one of the largest solar energy projects in the United States and will double the solar thermal installed capacity in the U.S. Google has made a $168 million equity investment in the project, along with NRG Energy's $300 million investment and $1.6 billion in loans from the U.S. federal government.
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System will be constructed in California's Mojave Desert. The project will provide 2,600 MW of grid electricity, powering 140,000 homes. The facility uses thermal solar energy as opposed to photovoltaic panels. Thousand's of reflective mirrors will superheat fluids to drive a steam turbine. The Ivanpah plant will recycle the steam back into water to reduce water consumption by 95 percent compared to similar facilities.
Renewable Energy Home Design
My premise is that we need a new Model for Housing, as the older homes will not hold their value by today's Renewable Energy standards, and the next generation buyers will quickly be drawn to a more energy efficient model. These new buyers are also looking for different designs than older homes typically offer for their lifestyle choices.
Plug-In Electric Vehicle Infrastructures USA 2011
One of the key takeaways from the event was that a lot of consumer education is required to continue the momentum of early adopters and to help cross over to a more mainstream market mid-century. EV ownership will require increased awareness about energy, not power, a new vehicle power train, batteries and conversion from miles per gallon to miles per kWt hour.
India Renewable Energy Market Trends Analysis and Forecasts
India Renewable Power Market Trends 2001 to 2020
Oregon's Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Comes Along - But Slowly
Currently, the biggest limitation for drivers thinking about making the transition to EVs is the need for a reliable network of charging facilities to increase the range of these vehicles and to alleviate any fear of "running out of juice." Surveys indicate that ease and accessibility of charging rank at the top of potential buyers' concerns about electric vehicles.
MORE THAN 3,700 ATTEND PV AMERICA 2011 IN PHILADELPHIA, UP 23% FROM 2009 SHOW
Philadelphia - April 12, 2011 — The second PV America conference and expo which concluded here on April 5 attracted more than 3,700 industry attendees (up 23% from 2009) affirming that the mid-Atlantic region is a national powerhouse in solar energy. More than 200 exhibitors (25% increase from 2009) who occupied about 70,000 gross square feet of space showcased the latest products and technologies driving the growth of the photovoltaic industry. Further evidence of the growth in the region: more than 700 consumers walked the exhibit floor during Public Day.
In remarks delivered during the opening day general session, Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) announced that "the region is now the largest market for PV in the United States and in 2010, the area from Washington DC to Boston installed more solar than all of California." He added that "the solar industry experienced a robust 139 percent growth in New Jersey and Pennsylvania had installed enough capacity last year to power 9,000 homes. Finally, he noted "that a recent report by SEIA and GTM Research projects demand for more than 3 gigawatts of new PV in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region by 2015, enough solar to power more than half a million homes."
The 2012 Olympic games in London are to be the most sustainable ever, but will miss initial renewable energy goals
The 2012 Olympics are gearing up for glory in London, and will be one of the most sustainable Olympics ever. The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012—the watchdog group monitoring the London Olympics' sustainability initiative—says the games are already on track to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 percent.
However, the watchdog group has also officially stated that the initial goal of 20 percent energy from renewable sources is being lessened to only nine percent. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) abandoned plans for wind turbines in Olympic park after design changes and safety regulations were implemented. Nonetheless, the ODA has claimed it will find other ways to reduce the games' carbon footprint.
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