It’s been a busy two weeks in the Cleantech industry, with two sginificant trends emerging.
We may be seeing the beginning of a consolidation
in the industry, as larger companies with cash supplies move to absorb
companies that are unable to borrow funds for operating or project
development.
Acquisitions we’ve seen in the last two weeks include:
— Veolia Environment (NYSE: VE) purchasing Seattle-based wind developer Ridgeline Energy for $72 million.
— Hudson Clean Energy Partners acquired Helium Energy S.L.U., a renewable energy development company in Madrid, Spain.
— Smart grid company GridPoint, Inc. raised $120 million to finance its acquisition stratedgy, which includes the purchase of Seattle-based V2Green for an undisclosed amount.
— PetroTech Holdings Corp announced the recent acquisition of Florida-based PetroAlgae, LLC, a company that makes biofuel feedstocks and other products from algae.
Continued expansion of cleantech venture capital is the second
trend, confirmed by a report this week showing that venture investments
in the industry set a new record of $2.6 billion in 3Q08.
Venture funding announced in the last two weeks includes:
— Ausra, Inc., a provider of large-scale solar thermal energy systems for utility electricity generation raised $60.6 million.
— Solar Power Partners, Inc., a solar energy services provider, announced it has closed nearly $100 million of equity and debt financing.
— Pentadyne Power Corporation, a developer of flywheel energy storage systems, closed a financing round totaling $22 million.
— GreenVolts, a company in the field of concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) technology, has secured $30 million in Series B funding from Oak Investment Partners.
— The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $2 million to Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTT; OPT.L) for the continued development of a wave power project in Reedsport, Oregon.
In Other Investment News…
A subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) bought a 10% stake in BYD Company Limited, a Chinese developer and manufacturer of electric vehicles and batteries.
Berkshire Hathaway also purchased $3 billion in preferred stock, as GE (NYSE: GE) priced an offering of 547.8 million shares to improve the company’s liquidity.
Schott Solar AG announced a price range of €14.50 to €19.50 per share for its initial public offering.
Deepwater Wind has been chosen to construct a wind energy project off the shores of Rhode Island at an expected cost of $1 billion.
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) announced three initiatives designed to triple its share of the U.S. solar market in 2009.
BP Solar, a division of BP (NYSE: BP) announced that it has suspended plans
for a $97 million expansion in Frederick, Maryland, due to intense
global competition. The plant would have been the largest for solar
panel production in the U.S.
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