Renewables With the recent revival of one of Boston’s Hall of Fame financiers, I checked into the SEC’s FAQ for the following: “What is a Ponzi scheme? A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. Ponzi scheme organizers often solicit …
Venture Capital – Chasing the Wrong Bus?? US Venture Capital funding of cleantech fell 55%, YoY, in Q3. However, the ‘efficiency’ segment grew 6% in the same period on 21% more deals. Reasons for these divergent trends abound, but include (a) the mis-fit of the VC model concepts that do not exploit Moore’s Law, …
inevitable collapse or cyclical victims? Solar fundamentals continue to deteriorate, despite increasing project economics. Module prices are about 20% lower than a year ago, and ahead of forecasts that they slip below $1/watt (module) by early 2012. However, for the first time in memory, price elasticity is not helping the sector. As expected, first …
“Can’t Anyone Here Play this Game?” Although most of the stocks are well below their IPO price, bankers claim that the industrial biotech boom (over fifty venture-funded private companies) continues, with several more filings in process. As a whole, the technology offers the prospect of energy and specialty chemicals from renewable resources, but the route …
Masdar’s Green Theme (and Thumb) Continues to Fade to (Carbon) Black The Government of Abu Dhabi, along with it’s most visible sovereign wealth fund, has promoted an environmental agenda for the last five years, promising a Zero Emissions City, a solar PV industry, numerous carbon capture projects, and a 7% renewable energy target for …
Will the last guy out of Tempe (First Solar HQ) turn out the lights? For followers of First Solar, once a 15 bagger from the IPO, last night’s press release marked a sad, but inevitable, transition from startup to ‘corporate’ — former CFO and Project President Jens Meyerhoff will leave the company next month. …
It’s B-a-a-a-a-ck! Quietly, since the 2009 meltdown (orders down 25%, including 50%+ in the US), interest in wind power has recovered quite nicely — no 50% higher than the mid ’09 trough, and 15% over pre-recession highs. Leadership mix has shifted, with two Chinese ‘home grown’ vendors in the Global Top Five (end of …
Renewables – Silent Spring for Solar The investment community has almost never gotten it right on solar demand — forecasting woe in every out year since 2008 — until now, when the threat of a mid-year reset of the German subsidy program, combined with the just-passed demand-stabilization (read ‘regulated’) installation rate in Italy, has taken …
Renewables – Is the “End Game” next for Solar and Wind companies???? One doesn’t have to survey too many sell side analysts (or their traders/sales folks) to conclude that the Renewable Energy Sector is a Giant Hedge Fund Hotel. A former Loomis Hedge Fund manager devotes nearly all his time to the group. He’s not …
Ethanol is a Growth Chemical, but not from Corn I never thought I’d see the day – untaxed moonshine is worth as much as the drinkable stuff. But a few anecdotes: Brazil, the largest ethanol consumerism the world, with the lowest cost process, is short, and getting shorter. High sugar prices are forcing ethanol economics …