09/30/2008 06:49 AM

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: October 16, 2008

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According to Greentech Media, Inc., the venture capital boom for clean energy continued to grow in the third quarter of 2008. Greentech Media's figures roughly agree with Ernst & Young for the first half of the year, with an estimated $2.3 billion in venture capital investments, but Greentech Media's figures for the third quarter show a record investment of $2.8 billion.

The company notes that most of the investments ($1.5 billion) went toward solar energy, with innovative thin-film solar firms such as SoloPower and AVA Solar receiving more than $100 million each in venture capital. Other technologies that attracted high amounts of venture capital include energy efficiency, smart grids, geothermal energy, automotive technologies, biofuels, and wind power. See the Greentech Media press release (PDF 121 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

Given the amount of investment taking place, it makes sense that the American Council on Renewable Energy maintains a directory of financing sources for renewable energy and energy efficiency companies and projects in the United States. The Renewable Energy Finance and Investment Network (REFIN) is a listing of both financing sources and professional experts, including venture capital firms, commercial banks, private equity firms, government agencies, and foundations, as well as law and consultant firms. First released in 2004, the REFIN directory will be updated this month and quarterly thereafter. See the REFIN directory.

New Jersey to Develop a 345-Megawatt Offshore Wind Power Project

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) announced on October 3 that it has selected Garden State Offshore Energy (GSOE) - a joint venture of PSEG Renewable Generation and Deepwater Wind -to develop a 345.6 MW wind project off the coast of New Jersey. The BPU awarded a $4 million grant to GSOE, of which $400,000 will be paid upfront to conduct studies and to prepare the permit applications for the $1 billion facility.

It will consist of 96 wind turbines located 16-20 miles off the shore of Atlantic City and will barely be visible from the shore. According to the BPU, construction could begin in 2010 at the earliest, while PSEG hopes to start generating power in 2012, achieving full commercial operation in 2013. See the press releases from the New Jersey BPU (PDF 25 KB) and GSOE (PDF 200 KB) and the GSOE Web site.

A report prepared for the BPU in September by Global Insight examined the potential costs and benefits of a wind facility located off the shore of New Jersey and concluded that the facility would provide more than 1% of the state's electricity needs. A facility located far from shore, as the GSOE project will be, is expected to have minimal impacts on tourism, property values, and fisheries, with the greatest fisheries impacts occurring during construction.

The study also found that an offshore wind facility could improve the state's image. Encouraged by the new project and the study, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine announced his plan to triple the state's goal for offshore wind power, aiming for 3,000 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2020. See the Global Insight study (PDF 1.1 MB) and the governor's press release.

World's First Wave Energy Project Goes Commercial

The world's first commercial wave energy facility has begun operations in Portugal, after Babcock & Brown, Energias de Portugal, Efacec, and Pelamis Wave Power inaugurated the facility in late September. Located about 3 miles off the coast, the facility consists of three Pelamis Wave Energy Convertors, which each consist of four large semi-submerged cylinders connected to each other by hinged joints and moored to the ocean floor.

As waves pass, the hinges bend, driving hydraulic rams that pump high-pressure oil through hydraulic motors to generate power. Each Pelamis device can generate 750 kilowatts of power, so the current facility can produce 2.25 megawatts. Future plans call for the addition of another 25 devices, bringing the total capacity of the facility to 21 megawatts. See the press release from Pelamis Wave Power.

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