German automaker Volkswagen (VOW.DE) aims to roll out its first all-electric car
in 2013. Despite current television adds touting the superiority of
diesel engines to electric motors, the company said it is shooting for
1.5% of the global electric vehicle market by 2020. Chief executive
Martin Winterkorn said they will begin with a car in Volkswagen’s New
Small Family line of vehicles and extend to a much broader range within
a decade.
Toyota Motors (NYSE: TM) plans to begin mass production
of plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012, according to recent reports that
stated a goal for 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles in the first year and a
price that would be competitive with Mitsubishi Motors‘ (7211.T) all-electric vehicle. That vehicle is
available to fleet customers beginning this month for about $48,000 before government subsidies.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced its second and third loan gurantees for renewable energy companies under the Recovery Act. The DOE has offered $16 million to Nordic Windpower to support the expansion of its assembly plant in Pocatello, Idaho, and $43 million to Beacon Power
(Nasdaq: BCON) to support the construction of its 20-megawatt (MW)
flywheel energy storage plant in Stephentown, New York. The first loan
guarantee was given to rooftop solar company Solyndra back in March.
Solyndra also made news this week signing yet another long-term sales contract
with a European solar integrator. Solyndra said it now has a
contractual backlog of more than $2 billion. This latest contract with
Germany’s Umwelt-Sonne-Energie GmbH (USE) is worth up to $238
million. In May, Solyndra signed similar-sized contracts with Germany’s
EBITSCHenergietechnik and SunConnex B.V., based in Amsterdam.
GE (NYSE: GE) has been awarded $2 million in Federal stimulus funding
from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to build a smart microgrid
demonstration project
at Twentynine Palms Base in California, which is the
largest Marine Corps base. GE said the system will manage on-site power
generation and storage, including solar energy, and will interact with
the regional grid more efficienty. The U.S. military used 3.8 billion
kilowatt-hours of electricity last year and is trying to reduce that
figure and increase reliability for critical defense systems. This
demonstration project could prove as a model for installations.
DuPont (NYSE: DD) announced plans with the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) for a $9 million solar research program. The collaboration will work to commercialize an ultra-thin protective film
for thin-film photovoltaic modules. Thin-film modules are more
susceptible to moisture damage than conventional photovoltaic cells
made with glass.
Scottsdale, Arizona-based ECOtality, Inc. (OTCBB: ETLY) signed
a letter of intent to form a joint venture with Shenzhen Goch
Investment, Ltd. The companies intend to establish manufacturing and distribution
operations for electric vehicle (EV) charging systems in China.
ECOtality has exclusive rights to the patented Minit-Charger
technologies, which the company says can fast-charge an electric vehicle in 10-15
minutes.
San Francisco-based utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
has commissioned the American subsidiary of Germany’s Solon
SE (SOO1.DE) to build a 2-MW photovoltaic power plant
in California. Solon will produce the solar modules at its
manufacturing facility in Tucson, Arizona. The pilot plant is the first
in a five-year program in which
PG&E expects to develop and own 250 MW of solar power. The company
also has signed numerous power purchase agreements this year with
utility-scale solar thermal developers.
Mecasolar, a company that makes photovoltaic solar mounting and tracking systems, announced plans to open a new production plant
in San
Francisco. The company expects to reach full production capacity in
1Q10, making enough mounts to support roughly 200 MW of solar panels
for large-scale installations.
Toda America, Inc., a unit of Japan’s Toda Kogyo Corp. (TDAKF.PK), announced plans to build a U.S.-based
manufacturing plant
to support lithium-ion battery cell production. The plans are
contingent on the company winning a a
Department of Energy grant expected in late July. The company did not
announce a location for the plant. But a press release noted an ongoing
relationship with battery maker Johnson Controls-Saft,
which has announced plans for a battery assembly plant in Holland,
Michigan. Toda Kogyo is involved in the advanced chemistry needed to
produce the materials within lithium-ion battery cells.
Investment firm World Energy Research announced an agreement to finance the development
of Blue Energy Canada‘s first 200-megawatts (MW) of commercial tidal power at a
projected cost of roughly half a billion dollars. BusinessWeek Magazine recently
ranked Blue Energy’s Davis Tidal Turbine number one among 20
technologies that will be important over the next decade. The companies
did not announce a development timeline.
Control4, a company developing Internet Protocol-based systems for home energy management, announced it has secured $17.3
million in equity financing. The venture arm of retailer Best Buy
(NYSE: BBY)
participated in the round, suggesting a future outlet for the
technology. Control4 said its Home Area Networks (HAN) would not only
allow customers to view real-time energy usage, but also would
integrate with home entertainment systems.
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