The newly formed investment arm of General Motors announced its first funding agreement this week with Bright Automotive. General Motors Ventures did not say how much money will be given to Bright Automotive. But the two companies will form a strategic agreement, and GM will take a minority stake in the company, which is located in Indiana. Bright Automotive was launched from Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in
January 2008 with the goal of building plug-in hybrid vehicles for commercial and government fleets. The vehicle they designed is called the IDEA, and it is designed to travel 40 miles on battery power before switching to hybrid mode. The vehicle, which is essentially a small van, will be in direct competition with Ford‘s (NYSE: F) all-electric Transit Connect fleet vehicle. Bright didn’t say when the IDEA will go on sale, but development of a production program is scheduled to begin in 3Q10.
GE (NYSE: GE) has acquired Energy Control Systems
from SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC).
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The company will remain in Montreal, Canada and retain its staff. The company’s software works to improve the efficiency of electricity delivery in the power grid. It can automatically reroute power, when outages occur and dispatch repair crews. Energy Control Systems says its software can also simplify the integration of renewable power sources.
South Korea’s Hanwha Chemical Corporation (009830.KS) has agreed to purchase a 49% stake in Chinese solar company Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: SOLF). Hanwha will purchase approximately US$78 million worth of shares directly from Solarfun, and the rest will be purchased from the investment group Good Energies and a company owned by Solarfun’s Chairman. Good Energies wil no longer own a share in the vertically integrated solar manufacturer. Hanwha chemical is an affiliate of the Hanwha Group, which is one of Korea’s 10 largest conglomerates. The company has just recently entered the solar market, and aims to make Solarfun its flagship solar company.
Solar equipment maker GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR) has acquired Crystal Systems, Inc.–a company that
manufactures sapphire substrates used in the production of LEDs. The acquisition price was $24 million in cash, 5.4 million shares of GT Solar common stock and a $21 million cash earn-out, based on certain financial and technical targets. Industry analysts project that the LED market could grow up to a 40%
compound annual growth rate over the next several years driven by
increased sales of products such as flat panel televisions and
commercial and residential lighting. GT Solar CEO Tom Gutierrez said the company will capitalize on opportunities in equipment sales, LEDs, and high tech specialty markets that require low cost crystalline substrates.
Soladigm, a manufacturer of dynamically tintable windows, announced
plans to locate its first full-scale manufacturing operation in Olive
Branch, Mississippi. The company makes so-called electrochromic windows, which can change from clear to tinted on demand with the application of an electric current. The windows can be automated to keep heat and light from entering a building, or they can be adjusted to user preferences. The factory represents a $130 million capital investment and the state is pitching in about $40 million in incentives to lure the company from its home in Milpitas, California.
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) announced that it will supply solar panels for a 44-megawatts (MW) solar power plant to be built on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. Solartron Public is developing the project, which will be one of the largest in the country. Thailand is a fast-growing market for solar power development. The government has set a goal of producing 20% of its power from renewable sources by 2022. Last month, Sharp Corporation signed its first development agreement for a 73-MW power plant in the country.
Wind turbine company Gamesa (GAM.MC) announced that it will rely
on in-house resources to develop near- and mid-term strategy for the
offshore wind market. The company ended negotiations with German firm Bard, which is a pioneer in the engineering of offshore turbines. Gamesa is already a recognizable global brand for its land-based turbines, but the company is moving to take advantage of the European offshore market, which is expected to grow by leaps and bounds later this decade. Gamesa said it is currently developing two familes of offshore turbines to be launched in 2013 and 2015.
Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTT; OPT.L) has signed a
Settlement Agreement (SA) with 11 federal and state agencies and three
non-governmental stakeholders clearing an important hurdle in its path to developing the first U.S. utility-scale
wave power project off the coast of Oregon. The agreement was reached after extensive technical, policy, and legal discussions regarding appropriate
prevention and mitigation efforts for the marine environment. The wave farm will employ 10 of Ocean Power’s PowerBuoy, and will have a power capacity of 1.5 MW. The company now awaits final approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and additional funding.
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