3p Contributor: Andrew Burger
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Report: Solyndra had Limited Impact on VC Solar Investments
2011 was a difficult year for the US solar industry, but venture capital activity in the sector did more than hold its own. Oversupply, a precipitous price drop and high-profile bankruptcies notwithstanding, venture capital (VC) investments in the US solar sector set a record in 2011, with 182 different VC firms participating in 111 transactions. Conditions might well get worse before they get better, however, according to Mercom Capital Group’s “2011 Solar Funding and M&A” report.
2011 VC investment in the solar sector also rose in terms of dollar amount, with VC firms investing $1.9 billion in 2011, up from $1.7 billion in 2010 and $1.4 billion in 2009. “The United States was the top venture capital investment destination in the world, with $1.5 billion in venture capital investment in 84 deals. All VC investments in other countries combined to $340 million in 24 deals,” according to Mercom’s in-depth report.
Strong finish to 2011
VC activity continued strong despite the Solyndra ‘scandal’ and subsequent bankruptcies. VCs invested more than $700 million in over 40 solar industry deals since Solyndra announced its bankruptcy filing in August last year. The year closed out strong, with VCs investing more than $511 million spanning 29 deals.
VC Cleantech Investments Down 4.5% in 2011
The number of US venture capital (VC) investments in cleantech companies didn’t increase in 2011, but they didn’t decline either. They did decline 4.5% by dollar amount invested, however, reflecting the difficult economic and market conditions that prevailed, particularly during the latter half of 2011, according to an Ernst & Young report based on data from Dow Jones VentureSource.
Total VC cleantech investment amounted to $4.9 billion in 2011, according to Ernst & Young. There were 70 financing rounds in the fourth quarter of 2011, in which a some $940.5 million of capital was raised.
Though down year-to-year, 2011′s totals are best viewed from a longer term perspective, Ernst & Young LLP Americas Cleantech director Jay Spencer commented. Looking back another year and comparing 2011′s total amount invested to that in 2009 shows that the amount of VC capital invested in cleantech companies was 29% greater in 2011 than the $3.8 billion raised in 2009.
Renewable Energy Mergers and Acquisitions Surge 40% in 2011
Merger and acquisition activity in the renewable energy sector surged 40% in 2011, reaching a record-high $53.5 billion, according to global consultancy PwC, which has been producing an annual review of renewable energy M&A for four years now. Large, billion-dollar deals dominated “as solar, wind and energy efficiency deals overtook hydropower as the driver for big deal values for the first time,” PwC noted.
M&A activity in the solar energy market was particularly “hot,” accounting for 1 in every 3 transactions last year, with overall M&A transaction values in the solar sector jumping 56% to $15.8 billion in 2011, from $10.2 billion in 2010. Falling solar photovoltaic (PV) panel prices have made solar power more economic, with prices in some markets having fallen to the point of grid-parity, PwC noted.
Chinese Solar Panel Exports Spike as Obama Announces New Trade Enforcement Unit
Trade tensions with China are rising, and the solar and renewable energy industry is at the forefront. In his State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday night, President Obama announced the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit to investigate illegal trade practices and subsidy programs by countries, such as China, a fellow World Trade Organization (WTO) member. “I will not stand by when our competitors don’t play by the rules,” the President stated.
On Wednesday, the Coalition of American Solar Manufacturers (CASM), released statistics on Chinese exports of solar panels and modules to the U.S. for 2011, further evidence that Chinese manufacturers are engaging in illegal dumping and the Chinese government is engaging in illegal international trade subsidies.
Based on US Customs and Border Protection Service data, CASM estimates that Chinese exports have increased 110 percent since July, 2011. Year-to-date through November, 2011, they’ve increased 346 percent by quantity and 138 percent by value.
EU on Track to Exceed 2020 Carbon Emissions Targets
Having reduced CO2 emissions by 17% as compared to 1990 levels, the European Union (EU) is well on its way to reaching its legally binding, 20% by 2020 CO2 emissions reduction target. Being so close nearly a decade ahead of schedule raises the possibility of the EU raising the 2020 emissions reduction bar to 30%, a topic that’s likely to once again become a high-profile topic of discussion and debate among EU parliamentary representatives.
The projected cost of accomplishing the feat would be considerably less than originally thought, according to the contents of a draft European Commission (EC) analysis and document reported by Reuters.
In addition, reaching the 30% CO2 reduction target could have beneficial effects on the finances of weaker and still developing EU member countries, depending on the amounts and allocation of EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) credits, the EC analysis contends.
India Emerges as Solar Energy Hotspot
India emerged as a solar energy market hotspot in 2011, as the Indian government set a goal of scaling up solar power generation from 20,000-megawatts (MW) to 20,000-MW by 2020. Government support to achieve the ambitious target is attracting private sector investment from a host of domestic, as well as some foreign, solar energy industry participants, the latest one being Talma Chemical Industries.
Part of the Bhanshali family group of companies, Talma Chemical Industries is diversifying into solar energy with the launch of Visual Percept Solar Projects, according to an Economic Times of India report. Through Visual Percept, Talma plans to invest Rs 1,700 crore (~USD 37 million) in solar energy projects with capacity totaling 100-MW.
Private Sector Leveraging Indian Government’s National Solar Plan
California Renewable Energy Off to a Good Start in 2012 with Five Big Projects
Renewable energy is getting off to a good start in California this new year despite being buffeted by supply-demand imbalances, rising trade friction and uncertainty over federal support for clean energy and technology. As NPD-Solarbuzz reports, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved five renewable energy contracts so far this month, which will result in the production of some 1,088-megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable power and forecasts 2,927 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electrical energy.
The contracts move California’s utilities that much closer to meeting the state’s Renewable Power Standard (RPS) – to rely on renewable resources to provide 33 percent of the Golden State’s electricity by 2020. Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison provide some 68 percent of the state’s retail electricity sales. RPS-approved renewable energy sources met 17 percent of their electricity demand as of year-end 2010, according to their August 2011 RPS Compliance Filings.
Beneficial Insectary Commissions GreenVolts Turnkey Concentrated Solar Photovoltaic System
Having recently sealed a strategic partnership and venture capital equity investment with Swiss multinational power industry leader ABB, Fremont, California’s GreenVolts announced the commissioning a 288-kilowatt (kW) turnkey concentrated solar photovoltaic (CPV) system at family-owned Beneficial Insectary’s factory in Redding, California.
GreenVolts in December publicly unveiled what it bills as the solar industry’s first fully-integrated, turnkey CPV system on the market, at the same time announcing an international sales and distribution agreement with, and $20 million equity investment from ABB.
Solar and Sustainable Agriculture
Public-Private Partnership Boosts Clean Energy in Nicaragua
Nicaragua has added 36-megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable electricity to its national electricity grid. Reno, Nevada’s Ram Power announced on Dec. 22 that it successfully synchronized electricity generation for its Phase I expansion at the San Jacinto-Tizate geothermal energy field. The new
capacity augments 10-MW of clean electricity from previously installed back-pressure units.
Owned by Polaris Energy Nicaragua, San Jacinto-Tizate’s 46-MW of clean electrical power (DEL electricity) is sold on through to national grid operator ENATREL through long-term power purchase agreements with Nicaraguan power distributors Disnorte-Dissur, subsidiaries of Spain’s Gas Natural Fenosa.
Harnessing Power from Nicaragua’s Volcanoes
An Oregon Model for Sustainable Cities (and It Ain’t Portland)
Building a model sustainable city or town is no simple or easy task. It requires broad civic support, bold, enlightened local government leadership and public-private partnerships. A key to success is the ability to craft and effectively implement an all-encompassing, integrated policy and decision-making framework for managing and maintaining municipal infrastructure, including energy, water, waste management and transpiration systems.
The city of Gresham, Oregon has made great strides in this regard. Working strategically in public-private partnership with Veolia Water NA, it’s saving about $20,000 a month operating its wastewater treatment plant by using a co-generation system that supplies 55-65 percent of the plant’s electrical power, as well as heat and hot water for the plant and its offices. A solar PV power array supplies another 8-9 percent of its electricity needs.
Turnkey Concentrated Solar Photovoltaic Power System Now Available for Commercial Use
Fremont, California’s GreenVolts on Wednesday unveiled the solar power market’s first completely integrated, turnkey concentrated solar photovoltaic (CPV) system. Aimed at commercial and industrial businesses and power utilities, the GreenVolts’ system comes complete with CPV modules, trackers, inverters and energy management software. The integrated design dramatically improves overall system performance, simplifies project engineering and installation, and reduces costs at all stages of the system’s life cycle, according to a news release.
“Our complete system approach changes the entire solar experience,” touted GreenVolts’ president and CEO David Gudmundson. “With GreenVolts, customers get simplicity, elegance, and precision in a utility-scale solar system that delivers higher performance and richer energy management than anything else in the world.”
GreenVolts also announced the signing of an international sales and distribution agreement with multinational engineering and power equipment giant ABB. ABB is also taking an equity stake in GreenVolts, all of which prompted the Fremont, California-based start-up to raise its profile.
Turnkey CPV: High Peformance, Ease and Simplicity
Last Minute Save: Durban Platform Sets Path to 2020 Emissions Reduction Treaty
The following post originally appeared on Global Warming is Real. It is reposted here with permission of the publisher.
The last minute climate change action agreements that came out of the UNFCCC’S COP 17 in Durban this past weekend appear to have something for everyone to object to, a sign, as it’s said, of a healthy compromise. China and India don’t really like the fact that as two of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, they’ll be bound by definitive, legally binding emissions reductions targets. Japan, Russia and China withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, the second phase of which is nonetheless now on track to begin in 2013. Climate scientists and environmental groups were quick to criticize negotiators’ inability to agree on adopting stronger emissions reductions targets, and to agree on making them legally binding sooner rather than later.
Yet the international movement to address climate change and global warming, which began in Rio in 1992, held together and moved forward in the end. It took a a herculean effort, however, with the European Union delegation, led by Connie Hedegaard, and host South Africa, led by Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, as the central players. A final agreement, dubbed the “Durban Platform,” was reached at 3 a.m. Sunday, when “US envoy Todd Stern helped broker a deal” that hinged on three critical words that had Hedegaard and Indian environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan battling back and forth since midnight, according to an Energy & Environment report.
Agreement on Emissions Reduction Appears Near as COP 17 Draws to a Close
A developer of brand name mono- and polycrystalline silicon solar cells and modules, Hong Kong’s Upsolar has a small team of sales and marketing personnel at the UNFCCC’s COP 17 conference in Durban. Triple Pundit spoke with Noemie Bourdin, an Upsolar marketing executive based in Paris, about her experience in Durban, a potential global agreement on reducing CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions, and the mood among conference delegates and attendees as the UN climate change conference wraps up.
As a sponsor of Responding to Climate Change’s (RTCC) real-time COP 17 reporting service, (here’s a recent interview they conducted with Mass Goote, lead Dutch negotiator), the UNFCCC allocated three passes to Upsolar. As private sector attendees, the Upsolar team could not attend the plenary or negotiating sessions for government UN delegates to the conference, though they did have free access to the conference exhibition and side events, at which a tremendous diversity of organizations large and small, public and private could be found.
Speaking in the early afternoon Durban time, Bourdin said she sensed a lot more optimism among the delegates negotiating a potential carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions reduction treaty on Thursday and into Friday morning. Talks to extend or develop a successor to the Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gas emissions reduction treaty had stretched out until 4 am Friday and were expected to continue through Saturday morning.
News from Durban: Humans Primarily Responsible for Global Warming; Good News on Forest Conservation
The following post originally appeared on Global Warming is Real. It is reposted here with permission of the publisher.
Activity at the UNFCCC COP 17 climate talks in Durban is heating up this week as high-level government delegations, including government leaders, are scheduled to arrive in the South African coastal Indian Ocean city. Sustaining agriculture, fisheries, forests and the world’s oceans in the face of global warming and climate change, along with how to finance conservation efforts, figure prominently in discussions, in parallel with the headline issue of negotiating an extension of or successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
On the scientific research front, at least 74 percent of the observed rise in global temperature over the past 60 years is almost certainly due to human activity, according to a research paper published online on Dec. 4 by two Swiss climate scientists in Nature Geoscience. Natural climate variability “is extremely unlikely to have contributed more than about one-quarter of the temperature rise observed in the past 60 years,” Scientific American quotes the research paper.
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