The top story this week is that the South Korean government decided to move ahead with an $8.2 billion offshore wind farm in the Yellow Sea. Plans for the wind farm have been scaled down from an initial proposal
released in September. However, it will still be a massive project with a
three-phase capacity of 2,500 megawatts (MW). Funding for the project will be part of the $36 billion Korea has
committed to developing renewable energy over the next five years. The Korean government said it expects the project to benefit domestic firms by allowing them to build experience in the field and gain access to new technology. Korea’s two wind turbine makers Hyundai Heavy Industries (HYHZF.PK) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering will certainly benefit from the project, which is expected to begin construction next year. And shipbuilders Samsung Heavy Industries and STX Heavy Industries may profit as well.
The European Union is also planning a large investment in an effort to keep it’s cleantech companies competitive with China and the U.S. The EU is preparing to give the equivalent of $5.6 billion to projects for renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS). The funding will take the form of 300 million carbon allowances. The EU issued a request for proposals for the first tranche of awards, consisting of 200 million carbon allowances. Each allowance is currently worth about EUR 15 on Europe’s carbon market. Major power generators like Germany’s E.ON (EOAN.HM) and France’s Alstom (ALO.PA) are likely to be big winners.
Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest glass and construction material
manufacturers, is making an $80 million equity investment in Sage
Electrochromics, a company that makes electronically tintable "dynamic
glass."
Saint-Goabain
said the investment aims at bringing the so-called electrochromic glass into mass production for major building projects around the world. Saint-Gobain will contribute its own intellectual property to the partnership and sage will manufacture the glass for both companies’ product lines at its facilities in Faribault, Minn. Sage already broke ground on a new manufacturing facility this month that will cost around $135 million. The company received a $72 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy earlier this year. The DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab has stated that SageGlass
has the potential to reduce building heating and air conditioning
equipment size by up to 25%.
Bio-technology company Amyris, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMRS) has entered into a collaboration and joint
development agreement with Firmenich, the largest privately-owned
fragrance and flavor company, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland. This is the first agreement for Amyris in the fragrance and flavor
industry and it provides the company an opportunity to add higher-value ingredients to
it’s product portfolio, which until now has been directed towards the production of biodiesel fuel. Under the agreement, Firmenich
will fund technical development at Amyris to produce a sustainable,
cost-effective source of a "key ingredient" for the fragrance and flavor
market. Amyris will manufacture and supply the product, and the
two companies will share in the revenue.
Amyris debuted on the Nasdaq in September at $16 per share. Currently the company is trading just above $19.
Syntroleum Corporation (Nasdaq: SYNM) and Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN)
announced the start of operations at a plant that is converting animal
fats and greases into renewable fuels. Dynamic Fuels LLC is a 50/50 joint venture of Syntroleum and
Tyson. Production at the Dynamic Fuels plant began in early October and
the volume being produced is an astounding 2,500 barrels per day and growing. (That’s a lot of chicken grease.) The facility, which is located in Geismar, Louisiana, is also capable of making specialty distillate products that can be used in
a variety of applications such as dry cleaning, ink cartridges and
drilling fluids. The companies said they are actively pursuing those
markets.
Cogenra Solar, a California startup developing hybrid photovoltaic (PV)
and hot-water solar systems, unveiled its first commercial installation
at the Sonoma Wine Company in Graton, California. Fifteen modules at the winery heat water to 165°F with a solar thermal element, while PV cells produce 272 kilowatts of power. The hot water is used to wash wine tanks and barrels and the power is also used on site. Cogenra owns the system and sells the output to the winery in what is thought to be the industry’s first Heat and Power
Purchase Agreement (HPPA). Khosla Ventures is an investor in the company, and Vinod Khosla was on hand for the unveiling of the system, as well as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Shares of Enel Green Power (EGPW.MI) fell on their debut at the end of last week. The initial public offering was one of the most anticipated of the year in the cleantech
sector. EGP’s parent company, Spanish power company Enel (ENEL.MI), had already
cut the share price to EUR 1.6, to lure institutional investors. Enel raised about EUR 2.5 billion to put towards debt by selling roughly a third of the company, but those institutional investors were sorely disappointed when shares promptly fell 4% and have remained at that level. To add insult to injury, as EGP’s stocks floundered, share prices for Coal India soared 40% in Mumbai.
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