Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO)took another bold step into the smart grid industry last week, acquiring Arch Rock Corporation, a developer of Internet Protocol-based
wireless network technology for smart-grid applications. The move comes just days after Cisco formed an alliance with smart meter company Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Arch Rock’s technology is designed to enable utilities to connect smart
meters and other distributed intelligent devices over a scalable,
multi-way wireless mesh network. Based in San Francisco, Arch Rock brings an experienced team
to Cisco that is expected to accelerate the company’s efforts to develop an open standards-based software system for smart
grid operations.
JDSU (NASDAQ: JDSU) announced that it is entering the solar
industry as a supplier of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) cells. The company is already an established supplier of optical products for communications equipment, and it is expected to make a big splash in the CPV
sector, which has a limited number of cell suppliers. Cost has been a
primary factor holding back the development of concentrator photovoltaic technology, but a large
manufacturer like JDSU, with significant experience in mass production,
could help to bring those costs down. JDSU said its CPV cells use optics to capture concentrated sunlight
at 500 to 1,000 times its original power, allowing for conversion
efficiencies approaching 40%. CPV is just beginning to be
incorporated into utility-scale solar projects. Last month,
Cogentrix Energy LLC, announced plans to build a 30-megawatts (MW) power plant
in Colorado, using concentrator PV panels made by Amonix. The plant is
the largest of its type planned for construction. And CPV company
Solaria recently signed a five-year supply agreement with enXco.
Chinese solar power company Trony Solar plans to take another shot at an initial public offering (IPO), according to reports. Last December, the company cancelled a planned offering on the NYSE. This time Trony solar aims to raise about $200 million on the Hong Kong exchange. The publication FinanceAsia
notes that most Chinese solar companies are listed in the U.S., and it
remains to be seen whether the company can attract significant interest
in Hong Kong, where the market is dominated by banking, property and
conglomerates. Trony makes amorphous-silicon (a-Si) thin-film solar panels, a
technology that has struggled to compete in recent years. This summer
Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) gave up on selling its SunFab production line for a-Si, leaving Oerlikon Solar as the largest player in the technology.
Spanish Wind Turbine maker Gamesa (GAM.MC) signed another major supply
deal with Spanish renewable energy developer Iberdrola Renovables
(IBR.MC). Gamesa will supply 129 2-megawatts (MW) wind turbines for nine
wind farms Iberdrola plans to develop in Brazil. The supply agreement marks Gamesa’s first project in Brazil. However, it is not the first time they have worked with Iberdrola, the two companies are currently collaborating on wind farms in Honduras and New York as well.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced a partial guarantee for a $98.5 million loan for the Blue Mountain geothermal project
in northwestern Nevada being developed by Nevada Geothermal Power Company (NGP.V). Output from the 50-MW project has already been sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement to the Nevada Power Company (NYSE: NVE). The loan guarantee was issued under the Financial Institution
Partnership Program (FIPP), which covers up to 80% of the project cost if the project owner defaults on a loan from a commercial bank. To date, the DOE has issued or offered loan guarantees to support 14 clean energy projects.
Infinite Power Solutions, Inc. (IPS)–a company developing thin-film
batteries for electronics–announced that it has raised $20 million in
series C financing. The new capital will be used to expand the company’s manufacturing
capacity, accelerate the build out of its global sales channels and
further support research and development of its THINERGY® solid-state
rechargeable energy storage devices.
Founded in 2001, Infinite Power is based in Littleton, Colorado. The company’s energy
storage products
displace coin cells, supercapacitors, and other micro-batteries in a
variety of applications. Earlier investors in the company included Texas Instruments and In-Q-Tel. And Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management joined the latest round of funding.
Coulomb Technologies, a company developing electric vehicle (EV)
charging station infrastructure, announced that it has secured $15
million in Series C funding. In 2008, Coulomb was the first U.S. company to introduce networked
charging stations for electric vehicles. The system is designed to allow owners of plug-in vehicles to charge them when they are away from home. Drivers can open a ChargePoint account to pay for the electricity used. Coulomb has strategic partnerships with Leviton and Siemens (NYSE: SI), and the company says it has shipped
more than 850 stations to more than 200 customers around the world.
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