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Uncruel Beauty

By Ruth La Ferla, January 11, 2007 HADASS KANTOROWICZ is on the fence. “I eat less meat than I used to,” said Ms. Kantorowicz, a self-described tantric healer who stopped in last week at Organic Avenue, a vegan general store in downtown Manhattan. “I’m definitely a lot more conscious than I used to be.” While she appreciates the virtues of a meat-free diet, she stops short of embracing a vegan way of life, one that would ask her to forsake a croc-embossed bag or patent leather pumps. “And I’m not ready to wear hemp,” she confided. But a proliferation of vegan-friendly fashions and stores that ban animal products outright from their shelves may tempt her to change her tune. If she has yet to adopt the zero-tolerance approach advocated by the most militant vegetarians, she typifies the customer that many vegan marketers are now courting. National chains like Whole Foods; boutiques like MooShoes, a New York outlet for imitation-leather wallets, belts and bags; online stores like Pangea; and eco-minded labels like Moral Fiber, Real Fake, Novacas (no cows) and Matt & Nat are encouraging shoppers, even those merely flirting with a “cruelty free” diet, to embrace its precepts not just […]

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SunPower Closes PowerLight Acquisition

SunPower Corporation has announced the closing of its acquisition of PowerLight Corporation. The PowerLight acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to SunPower’s non-GAAP earnings. SunPower intends to file a registration statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to register the shares of SunPower’s common stock issued in connection with the acquisition for resale by PowerLight shareholders. As specified in the merger agreement, the total consideration for the acquisition is $265 million plus stock-based employee retention amounts totaling $67.5 million which vest over two to four years. The aggregate consideration consists of approximately $130.0 million in cash and $202.5 million in stock and is expected to result in a tax-free merger for PowerLight’s shareholders. The stock portion of the purchase consideration is subject to final determination for accounting purposes and is likely to be higher than the amounts specified above based on the Company’s recent stock price. “With the acquisition of PowerLight, SunPower seeks to offer our investors accelerated revenue growth and market diversification as we deliver faster solar system innovation to our customers,” said Tom Werner, SunPower CEO. “Together, we plan to reduce the installed cost of a solar system by half over the next five years. […]

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United Solar Ovonic Supplies PV Laminates to TurtleEnergy LLC

United Solar Ovonic has supplied 700 kW of photovoltaic (PV) laminates to TurtleEnergy LLC for installation by American Energy Technologies, Inc. on a 350,000-sq.-ft. building leased by East Coast Warehouse & Distribution from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. American Energy Technologies was chosen to manage all aspects of the installation from the design phase through the commissioning of the system. “The unique design issues of the lightweight building structure dictated a correspondingly lightweight solution, making the UNI-SOLAR® product the logical choice for this system,” said Richard King, President of American Energy Technologies. “Our design team pointed out the risk of possible reflective flash from a large glass panel array due to the proximity of the Newark Liberty International Airport glide path. We advised the client that our design parameters favored the nonreflective, pebbled surface of United Solar Ovonic’s panels for the installation.” American Energy Technologies installed over 5,140 UNI-SOLAR “peel and stick” PV laminates on the galvalume standing seam metal roof for the 700 kW system. Its client, East Coast Warehouse, is one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s premier warehousing, storage, fulfillment and distribution companies serving both domestic and international markets. The system will generate over 800,000 […]

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Pacific Ethanol Signs $325M Credit Commitment

Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEIX) has signed a commitment letter providing for up to $325 million of senior secured credit. The loan facility will include up to $300 million in a senior secured construction and term debt facility, which will be used to recapitalize the Company’s Madera California ethanol plant, to provide take-out financing on the completion of the Company’s Boardman Oregon ethanol plant, and to provide both construction and term financing for three additional ethanol plants that the Company has under development. In addition, the loan will include a working capital and letter of credit facility of up to $25 million. The commitment letter represents a fully-underwritten commitment from WestLB AG, New York Branch, the joint lead arranger, sole book manager and administrative agent, and Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd., the joint lead arranger and syndication agent. The closing of the loan facility, which is subject to final documentation and a number of contingencies, is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2007. CEO Neil Koehler observed that, “This facility will give Pacific Ethanol full financing to exceed the first phase of our growth plan, which has been to attain annual production capacity of 220 million gallons per year […]

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