India, Netherlands Make Ethanol Blend Mandatory

India and the Netherlands announced that ethanol-blended gasoline will become mandatory. India will require 10% ethanol blends, the Netherlands will require 2% blends. Legislation will be published by the Dutch government next week, introducing compulsory blending of biofuels with diesel and gas starting the first of the year. The requirement will rise to 5.75% in 2010 to meet European Union targets. At the same time, the government will eliminate tax breaks for biofuels. India announced mandatory 10% blends startingin June, 2007. 5% blends, currently used in three states, will spread to rest of the country by Nov. 15. India, the world’s second largest sugarcane producer, expects a bumper crop next year. India also plans to replace about 5% of its 40 million ton annual diesel consumption with jatropha biodiesel within five years.

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Whole Foods Prepares a British Beachhead

After three consecutive years of double-digit growth, Whole Foods Markets now is projecting that its same-store sales growth will slow to just 6% to 8% in fiscal 2007. So the natural-foods retailer is eagerly looking forward to the opening of its first store in Britain next spring. Located in the heart of London’s upscale Kensington neighborhood, the 80,000-square-foot outlet will mark the first step in a long-awaited British invasion by the Austin (Tex.)-based company. Whole Foods (NASDAQ:WFMI – News) took its first small step into Britain just over two years ago, when it acquired a chain of natural food stores called Fresh & Wild, with six shops scattered from Notting Hill, London, to Bristol in the West. Now, for the first time, the company will introduce its own brand name to Britain with the flagship Kensington store. Bryan Roberts, global retail research manager at Planet Retail, a London-based retail consultancy, says the store is dedicated to creating a shopping destination and “showcasing what Whole Foods can do.” The timing is auspicious. Back home in the U.S. Whole Foods is big business, earning profits last year of $203.8 million last year on sales of $5.6 billion. But it’s facing stiffer competition […]

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Canadian Solar IPO Raises $115.5M

Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: CSIQ), which is incorporated in Canada, but headquartered in China, raised $115.5 million in an IPO Wednesday with shares priced at the top of the forecast range. The 7.7 million share offering represents 28% of the company’s shares and sold for $15 per share. The company sold 6.3 million shares. Canadian Solar has an initial market capitalization of about $409 million. The solar module manufacturer will plans to use the proceeds to buy silicon and solar cells, to expand manufacturing and for general corporate purposes. According to the IPO prospectus, ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. holds 8.9% and HSBC Holdings Plc. holds 17.1%.

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Environmental Power Closes Private Placement, Bond Offering

Environmental Power Corporation (Amex: EPG) has closed a $60 million tax-exempt bond financing through the Gulf Coast Industrial Development Authority, as well as the previously announced $15 million private placement of shares of its Series A 9% cumulative convertible preferred stock and common stock warrants. The bonds were issued at par and will pay a coupon of 7%. The proceeds of the bond offering will provide debt financing for four proposed renewable natural gas facilities in Texas being developed by Microgy, Inc. These facilities, when completed, will produce over 2.5 billion cubic feet annually of pipeline quality renewable gas. Environmental Power issued in a private placement shares of its Series A 9% cumulative convertible preferred stock, convertible into shares of Environmental Power’s common stock and warrants to purchase shares of common stock, for an aggregate purchase price of $15 million. The proceeds of the private placement will be used to provide the remaining funds required to construct the Texas facilities, and for general corporate purposes. Said Rich Kessel, President and CEO, “The bond financing represents a very attractive method of funding construction for our renewable gas facilities, and we believe that this can be used as a template for the […]

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Carmanah Reports Q3 Results

Carmanah Technologies Corp. (TSX: CMH) announced third quarter results and results for the three nine months ended September 30, 2006. The company achieved a record 44% increase in revenue for the quarter, rising to $17.5 million, and a 95% increase in year-to-date revenue to $46 million. Carmanah also reported record orders booked for the quarter and an order backlog of over $6 million. Net earnings rose dramatically from $222,470 in Q3 2005 to $336,500 for the third quarter. Carmanah manufactures solar-powered LED lighting, solar power systems & equipment and LED illuminated signage. Website: [sorry this link is no longer available]     

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Fuel Cell Company Viaspace Gets $23.8M Financing

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Chevron VP Goes Under Oath in $6 Billion Rainforest Lawsuit

Chevron Executive Ricardo Reis Veiga is under investigation in Ecuador on fraud charges for his role in a botched environmental clean-up, and is scheduled to be put under oath today by Ecuador’s government as part of a multi-billon dollar civil case in U.S. federal court to determine who pays for what experts believe is the world’s worst oil-related contamination. Vice President Reis Veiga will be questioned about his role in covering up an environmental disaster 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill. The U.S. the Securities and Exchange Commission is probing whether the company failed to disclose its Ecuador liability, estimated at $6 billion, to shareholders. Representatives of 30,000 rainforest residents are releasing a detailed 17-page report today outlining his possibly illegal behavior in Ecuador’s rainforest. In a civil trial in Ecuador brought by the residents, Chevron has admitted that it dumped 18 billion gallons of toxic waste directly into Ecuador’s Amazon region from 1964 to 1992. At the same time in the U.S., the company was treating its toxic waste and re-injecting it into deep wells. Ecuador’s residents claim Chevron’s practices and subsequent cover-up have forced two indigenous groups to the brink of extinction and caused thousands to […]

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