It was an interesting week in investor news, despite little of note from the solar industry.
Denmark-based Vestas Wind Systems (VWS.CO) and the City of Portland, Oregon are close to sealing a deal
that will consolidate the wind turbine makers North American
headquarters in the Pacific Northwest. The city has offered $12.5
million in cash incentives and Vestas said it hopes to break ground on
a new 500,000 square feet headquarters by the end of 2009. Mayor-elect
Sam Adams said confirming the deal will be one of his top priorities
when he takes office in January.
The Tennessee Valley Authority released a request for proposals
to supply up to 2,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation from renewable
and clean energy sources by June 1, 2011. The first 1000 MW is sought
for delivery by June 2009. The TVA is the nation’s largest public power
provider.
Swedish company Chemrec AB completed a $20 million funding
round to support the commercialization of a technology that allows
paper mills to function in a secondary role as biorefiners. Chemrec’s
technology could enable pulp and paper mills to open up a whole new
revenue stream by refining a by-product, called black liquor into
biofuel.
A similarly exciting process is being touted by the Mantra Venture Group
(OTCBB: MVTG, FSE: 5MV), which says it has developed technology to
reduce the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from steel production, while
simultaneously reducing costs. The Group says it can convert CO2 into
formic acid, which can then replace hydrochloric acid in the ‘pickling’
procress of making steel. The industry currently spends $1.5 billion on
hydrochoric acid, and formic acid would be less environmentally toxic,
according to venture group.
Infinite Power Solutions, Inc. (IPS), a developer of
solid-state, rechargeable thin-film batteries, announced the completion
of its Series B round of financing-raising $13 million
in new capital to ramp up to volume production. The company will begin
shipments this month of the flexible batteries, which are expected to
have a wide range of uses in everything from active RFIDs to medical
devices.
Washington D.C.-based GreenSmith Energy Management Systems, Inc. unveiled a massive battery system
designed to reduce peak load on power plants. GreenSmith joins other
U.S. battery makers, like Altairnano and A123Systems, who want to
provide enormous power storage to utility companies so that electricity
can be stored from traditional and renewable energy sources and
provided to the grid during times of peak demand.
And finally, our top solar story of the week, Southern California Edison (SCE) announced the completion of the first of 150 proposed rooftop solar installations in Southern California. First Solar, Inc.
(Nasdaq: FSLR) installed the 2-MW system and has been contracted to
build SCE’s next planned system as well. SCE wants to install 250 MW of
rooftop solar capacity in the next five years.
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