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Nissan to Sell Electric Cars

Nissan Motor Co. (7201.T) says it plans to begin selling subcompact electric cars in about three years. The company says it will power the cars with internally-developed lithium-ion batteries. Japan’s number-two automaker also said it will introduce hybrids by 2010. It’s also speeding up development of diesel cars with French partner Renault SA (RENA.PA), which are growing in popularity around the world. Nissan will also develop bioethanol cars, provide Renault with fuel cell and hybrid car technologies.

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Maxwell Files Shelf Registration

Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL) has filed a universal shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell up to $125 million of equity or debt securities in one or more offerings in the future. The shelf registration statement is intended to give Maxwell the flexibility to sell its securities if and when market conditions and circumstances warrant, to provide funding for growth or other strategic initiatives and for general corporate purposes. Maxwell is a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative, cost-effective energy storage and power delivery solutions. Its BOOSTCAP® ultracapacitor cells and multi-cell modules and POWERCACHE® backup power systems provide and reliable power solutions for applications in consumer and industrial electronics, transportation and telecommunications.

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Nuclear Deal Blocks Green Energy

The Ontario government’s contract with Bruce Power to restart units at the Bruce A nuclear generating station will limit the amount of wind power that can connect in the region, and expose the province to significant penalties if additional needed transmission is not built in time, says Greenpeace Canada. “The documents we obtained indicate that additional nuclear capacity will use almost all the existing transmission capacity, and wind power in the Bruce region will be capped at 1000 MW,” says Greenpeace’s Shawn-Patrick Stensil. According to documents acquired by Greenpeace under Freedom of Information legislation and reported in today’s Toronto Star, the McGuinty government’s decision to sign a $4 billion contract with Bruce Power to restart ageing nuclear reactors may cost Ontarians billions of dollars in penalty charges. These costs will come into effect if the government is unable to build transmission lines from the Bruce station to Toronto for the increased electricity generation. In order to build additional transmission lines in time, the McGuinty government will need to bypass community consultations and environmental approvals. Said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, Energy Campaigner with Greenpeace Canada, “The McGuinty government knowingly signed a deal with Bruce Power that will block the development of the wind […]

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Q-Cells Enters Thin-Film Solar

Germany based Q-Cells AG (QCE.F), the world’s second-largest solar cell manufacturer, announced its entry into thin-film solar through an partnership with Sweden’s Solibro AB. Q-Cells will hold a 67.5% share in the newly formed Solibro GmbH, which will commercialize the copper indium gallium di-selenide (CIGS) thin-film technology developed by Solibro AB. The first factory will be built in Thalheim, Germany with an annual production capacity of 25 to 30 MWp. Q-Cells AG will initially pay Solibro AB ¬4 million for its 67.5% share and ¬20 million against the achievement of technical milestones, and has committed ¬60 million for the first factory. Solibro AB is a spin-off from the renowned CIGS research group at the University of Uppsala’s Angstrom Solar Center. The technology has been developed with the support from the Swedish Energy Agency. Shareholders of Solibro AB are the Swedish pension fund Sjatte AP-Fonden (45%), the Norwegian investment firm Energy Future Invest (30%), the four founders of the company (12.5%), Vattenfall (6%), ABB (3%), Uppsala University (1.5%) and Innovationsbron i Uppsala AB (1.5%). Ownership of the technology developed by Solibro AB, for which three patent applications have been filed, and all related assets will be transferred to Solibro GmbH. The […]

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