NASDAQ and SustainableBusiness.com launched the Green Economy Indexes (Nasdaq: QGREEN) this week.
The family of green indexes covers all the world's green stocks with a market cap of $50 million or higher. The index acts as a benchmark for green stock performance of stocks in
the following sectors: advanced materials; biofuels; energy efficiency;
green building; healthy living; natural resources; pollution mitigation;
recycling; renewable energy generation; transportation and water.
Japan's Sharp Corporation (6753.T) will acquire San Francisco-based solar developer Recurrent Energy for $305 million. Recurrent Energy has established itself as a leading project
developer over the last two years and currently has
project pipeline equivalent to roughly 2-gigawatts (GW) in the U.S. and abroad. The move by Sharp follows a trend that has developed over the last two
years with large solar panel manufacturers acquiring or building project
development divisions to help create demand for their products. Recurrent Energy will retain its name and executive team, and their projects will likely employ thin-film solar panels made by Sharp in its massive new Japanese facility opened in last March.
Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) has signed an agreement to acquire
CPower, an energy management and demand response provider with
approximately 850 megawatts (MW) of demand response capacity in North America. Financial terms were not disclosed. CPower, headquartered in New York, N.Y., designs and manages programs
that allow its utility and public sector customers to reduce
electricity demand during peak demand periods. The demand response (DR) industry is expected to grow from $1.4 billion in 2010 to $8.2 billion
in 2020, and this acquisition will expand Constellation Energy’s total demand response capacity to 1,500 MW.
NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) announced an agreement
to acquire Austin, Texas-based Green Mountain Energy Company for $350 million in cash. Founded in 1997, Green Mountain is the longest serving green
power marketer in the U.S. and a leading retail provider of
cleaner energy and carbon offsets. NRG plans to use Green Mountain's retail franchise to derive additional value from its
portfolio of renewable power assets. NRG said it will fund the transaction with cash on hand, and it is expected to close by mid-November.
GE (NYSE: GE) and Better Place announced a technology and financing
partnership to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicle
infrastructure. The agreement is a huge boost for Better Place, which has grand ambitions for creating charging infrastructures around the world.
The partnership includes collaboration in four areas: charging technology, battery financing, fleet electrification, and consumer awareness. Under the Better Place model, the ownership of the car and battery is
separated; allowing EV drivers to avoid the heavy up-front cost of the
battery. GE and Better Place are developing a pilot program for financing up to 10,000 batteries in Israel and Denmark, which are the first two markets being developed by Better Place. GE's charging station, called the WattStation, will also be compatible within the Better Place charging network.
Coda Automotive, a California-based company that is importing electric vehicles
(EV) from China, announced that the vehicles will go on sale
for $44,900 before federal and state incentives. Buyers will be eligible for the $7,500 federal consumer tax credit and a $5,000 cash rebate from California--making the final price $32,400.
That's cheaper than GM's Chevrolet Volt, which currently does not qualify for the California rebate. But the Coda is a good bit more expensive than Nissan's Leaf, which will sell for just under $33,000 before incentives. The Coda vehicle will go on sale in December of this year and will be available only in California through 2011, after which the company intends to extend sales into the Northwest and other major U.S. markets.
Pattern Energy Group is planning to build a transmission line to carry
wind power from Texas to population centers in the Southeast, and as far
away as Atlanta, Georgia, according to a Reuters report. Texas is the No. 1 state for wind power production but development of
new wind farms is slowing down nationwide due to economic factors and a
lack of federal support for renewable energy. But Pattern Energy believes an outlet for sending wind energy east could
help Texas achieve its goal of doubling wind power capacity to 18,000
MW by 2013. The 'Souther Cross' transmission line is expected to cost more than $1
billion to build. It would consist of high-voltage, direct current transmission
from east Texas to northeastern Mississippi, where three alternating
current lines would then disperse the power to 10 states in the South.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has formed a
partnership with China's BYD Ltd. Corp. (BYDDF.PK) to develop a utility-scale battery project for renewable energy storage. BYD Company emerged from relative obscurity when Warren Buffet's
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) spent $231 million for a 10% stake in
September 2008.
BYD is the world's largest producer
of rechargeable batteries and a major car manufacturer in China. In May,
the company announced it will locate its North American headquarters in Los Angeles and begin selling small, all-electric hatchbacks in 2011. In August, the California Legislature passed AB 2514. The
landmark legislation requires the use of energy storage technologies
by electric utilities. The Energy-Storage Portfolio-Target for
publicly-owned utilities will be set in 2013.
