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Environmental Power Opens Biogas Facility

Environmental Power Corporation (AMEX: EPG) has completed construction of its Huckabay Ridge facility in Stephenville, Texas, the largest biogas plant to date in North America. It will produce methane-rich biogas from manure and other agricultural waste. The facility is expected to produce approximately 635,000 MMBtu of gas per year – the equivalent of more than 4.6 million gallons of heating oil. In addition to energy production, Huckabay Ridge is also expected to generate carbon credits, per protocols being established with the Chicago Climate Exchange. The Huckabay Ridge facility, owned by its subsidiary Microgy, Inc., conditions biogas to natural gas standards and distributes RNG® via a commercial pipeline. RNG® is Microgy’s branded, renewable natural gas. Said Rich Kessel, President and CEO of Environmental Power, “The understanding we have gained in completing work at Huckabay Ridge is invaluable in advancing our large-scale facilities under development in Texas, California and other markets in North America. Our experience in financing the facility, generating biogas and purifying it to pipeline quality standards puts us in a strong position to quickly execute the balance of the projects in our pipeline.” Pacific Gas & Electric will begin receiving deliveries of biogas from Huckabay Ridge on October 1, […]

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Deli Solar Changes Company Name

Deli Solar (USA), Inc. (OBB: DLSL), a seller and distributor of solar water heaters, renewable energy solutions, and space heating devices in China, has changed its name to China Solar & Clean Energy Solutions, Inc. to better align its corporate and service brand identities. Its trading symbol will change to CSOL from DLSL. “Our new name, China Solar & Clean Energy Solutions, Inc., complements our business strategy of becoming a fully integrated clean technology and renewable energy solutions provider for business, industrial and residential customers throughout the PRC,” commented Mr. Deli Du, president and CEO. “While we have witnessed strong organic growth within our core solar water heater business, we continue to make further progress with our acquisition strategy. On July 1, 2007, we closed the acquisition of Tianjin Huaneng Energy Equipment Company, which manufactures energy efficient boilers, maintains strong distribution channels in Northern China and also provides waste heat recovery technology to recycle energy and improve efficiency for larger industrial customers. Meanwhile, we are actively pursuing other acquisition targets which will complement our Clean Technology Energy product portfolio and open up new market opportunities in China,” Mr. Du concluded. China Solar & Clean Energy Solutions, Inc. operates through its […]

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Automakers Face Reality: Ask for Energy Bill This Year With Higher Fuel Economy

Well, well, well, even Goliath eventually caves in. After 25 years of stonewalling, automakers are embracing the inevitable. The Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM), a trade association of 14 foreign automakers including Toyota, Honda and Nissan, sent a letter to House and Senate leaders calling on Congress to enact energy legislation this year that increases fuel economy standards. The Association said that given the length of product development cycles typical of the industry, legislation that quickly and clearly defines new regulatory goals will create the least disruption for consumers as new generation, higher efficiency vehicles are designed, engineered and brought to market. Finalizing legislation this year will also help address climate change concerns and lessen U.S. reliance on petroleum. Michael Stanton, AIAM President and CEO said, “AIAM member companies are technology leaders and are committed to producing cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles. We will continue to work closely with Members of Congress in the weeks ahead on legislation that provides auto manufacturers with sufficient lead-time to meet new, tougher standards. Our members lead the industry in building and selling fuel-efficient vehicles and we believe Congress should make clear that now is the time to set our sights on a more […]

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IBM Launches Energy Efficiency Certificate Program

To help clients benchmark and improve the efficiency of their IT operations and reduce their environmental impact, IBM (NYSE:IBM) announced the first corporate-led initiative to enable clients to earn energy efficiency certificates for reducing the energy needed to run their data centers. The certificates earned — based on energy use reduction verified by a third-party — provide a way for businesses to attain a certified measurement of their energy use reduction, a key, emerging business metric. The certificates can be traded for cash on the growing energy efficiency certificate market or otherwise retained to demonstrate reductions in energy use and associated CO2 emissions. Neuwing Energy Ventures, a leading verifier of energy efficiency projects and marketer of energy efficiency certificates, will document and verify the energy savings a client achieves. Said Rich Lechner, IBM’s Vice President of IT Optimization, “A key ingredient for clients to effectively become more environmentally aware and efficient is measuring where they are. Using this process, clients can gain an understanding of the business and environmental value in reducing data center energy consumption.” Data centers can consume as much as 15 times more energy per square foot than a typical office building and, in some cases, may […]

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Itron Reports 3Q Loss

Itron Inc., a leader in demand side energy management, saw shares drop when it reported a loss and projected lower 2007 results than analysts expected. Itron reported a $3.4 million (11 cents per share) third quarter loss because of lower North American sales and expenses related to acquisitions. During the same period in 2006, Itron reported $9.2 million (35 cents per share) in income. In February, Itron announced it would acquire Actaris Metering Systems of Europe for over $1 billion, which helped revenue more than double ($434 million from $164.7 million last year). But revenue from sales in North America dropped 7% to $153 million. Itron’s year end forecasts disappointed analysts, coming in at $2.65-$2.75 per share instead of the expected $2.92 per share. Itron, which has been a strong leader in the space, saw shares fall 17.9% to $82.95 in morning trading. Sales of its automatic meter reader devices have slowed because utilities are looking at switching to advanced metering infrastructure technology. Itron will likely invest in R&D to upgrade its product line. Analysts that cover the Itron are split between “Buy” and “Neutral” ratings.

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Maxwell Reports Q3 Financial Results

Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL) reported lower net losses for the third quarter ending September 30, 2007. Net loss was $2.6 million ($0.13 per share) on revenue of $14.2 million compared to $5.4 million, ($0.31 per share) on revenue of $14.0 million for Q306. BOOSTCAP® ultracapacitor revenue increased 28% from $3.9 million in Q207 to $5.0 million in Q307, and the ongoing transition to lower cost offshore ultracapacitor assembly contributed to an increase in gross margins from 20% in Q207 to 24% in Q307. The company expects sales growth and gross margins to continue improving in Q4. CEO David Schramm said, “The primary near-term revenue drivers for our BOOSTCAP products continue to be wind turbine pitch systems, industrial applications, including automated utility meters and power quality and backup power for telecommunications, and heavy transportation, including hybrid and electric buses and trucks and electric rail vehicles.” “Longer term, we continue to believe that automotive applications — both in managing increasing demands on the electrical system and in various hybrid vehicle configurations — represent the largest market opportunity for ultracapacitors, and we continue to devote significant energy and resources to collaborative development programs with automakers and Tier 1 automotive suppliers.” Other significant […]

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