Two stories about algae-based fuel caught our attention over the last two weeks.
San Francisco-based Solazyme raised $45.4 million in series C financing for the development of biodiesel from algae. The company plans to break ground on a commercial-scale plant within two years and expects to be producing millions of gallons of fuel by the end of 2011.
Arizona State University announced a collaboration aimed at commercializing a technology developed by its faculty to make kerosene-based jet fuel from algae. The collaboration brings together Heliae Development LLC and Science Foundation Arizon to develop, produce and sell the fuel.
Two stories continued the attention being given to geothermal technology in recent weeks.
AltaRock Energy Inc., which recently received funding from Google.org, finalized agreements with Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) allowing the company to explore the potential for developing geothermal projects on 667,000 acres owned by Weyerhaeuser in the Pacific Northwest.
Raser Technologies, Inc. (NYSE Arca: RZ), which will soon begin operations at its first geothermal plant in Utah, has been chosen to develop an estimated 110 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power in West Java, Indonesia. The nation has set a goal to double its current 838 MW of geothermal power by 2010.
In solar news, Renewable Energy Corporation ASA (REC) (REC.OL) selected Bécancour, Quebec as the site for a new silicon plant. Total investment in the plant is expected to exceed $1.2 billion.
California-based Nanosolar announced that it completed $300 million in equity financing last spring, bringing its total funding to just below half a billion dollars. The company said the new funds have allowed it to accelerate production expansion at its factories in San Jose, California and Berlin, Germany.
Solibro GmbH, an associate company of Q-cells (QCE.DE), has started shipments to customers of its copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar modules. The company broke ground on its German plant a year ago and has plans to increase its capacity from 30 MW to 90 MW by 4Q09.
AVA Solar, a thin-film photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer located in Fort Collins, Colorado, completed its second equity round of financing for $104 million. The funds will be used to complete AVA Solar’s first production facility in Longmont, Colorado, which will have the capacity to produce 200 megawatts (MW) of PV modules annually.
And finally, Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC, announced the anticipated listing of the PowerShares Global Progressive Transportation Portfolio on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The exchange traded fund will be based on the Wilder NASDAQ OMX® Global Energy Efficient Transport Index, which includes global companies involved in four areas of focus: alternative vehicles; rail and subway systems; sea, land, aire and intermodal; and transport innovation.
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