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Efficiency Resource Standards — The Next Big Bang for Energy Policy

An Energy Efficiency Resource Standard (EERS) could save as much energy as improving U.S. vehicles’ fuel economy to 40 mpg, according to a report issued today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The report, Energy Efficiency Resource Standards: Experience and Recommendations, profiles energy efficiency resource standard policies in ten states and four European countries, and concludes that implementation of similar policies at the federal or state level could reduce nationwide energy use by nearly 5% in 2020 and save consumers and businesses about $170 billion from efficiency measures implemented over the 2007-2020 period. “An EERS is perhaps the single most effective energy efficiency policy the federal government could adopt today,” said ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel, lead author of the report. “To put these energy savings in perspective, they are about triple the energy efficiency savings of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that was signed into law last summer.” An Energy Efficiency Resource Standard, according to the report, consists of electric and/or gas energy savings targets for utilities, with flexibility to achieve the target through a market-based trading system. EERS targets are achieved through end-user energy-saving improvements, aided and documented by utilities or other program operators. […]

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GE, US DoE to Partner on Offshore Wind Turbine Project

GE (NYSE: GE) has entered into a $27 million partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to design a next-generation offshore wind turbine. The power rating of the turbine will be optimized for minimal cost of energy but is expected to be between 5 and 7 Megawatts, making it one of the most powerful wind turbines in the world. The partnership will also help expand the nation’s wind energy potential. The research will be conducted at GE’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, NY. Wind Energy is a key component of GE’s ecomagination initiative. Ecomagination represents the company’s commitment to aggressively drive and bring to market new technologies that help its customers address their most pressing energy and environmental challenges. Under ecomagination, GE has pledged to more than double its level of investment in the development of cleaner technologies from $700 million to $1.5 billion over the next five years. “Wind is the fastest growing sector of the energy market, and GE has become one of the world’s leading wind turbine suppliers,” said Jim Lyons, Chief Engineer for Electrical Systems at GE’s Research Center and leader of Advanced Technology for GE’s Wind Energy Business. “Wind energy is a major component […]

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Plug Power Selects Two New Distribution Partners

Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG), has entered into agreements with LOGANEnergy Corp. and Pacific Telepoint Inc. to distribute the Company’s GenCore product line to customers in the United States and South Korea, respectively. These new distributors will be targeting customers in the telecom, utility and public sectors, where the need for reliable, extended-run backup power is critical. LOGANEnergy plans to target their existing customer base of government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of State and the Federal Aviation Administration. Pacific Telepoint intends to distribute Plug Power’s GenCore systems to various South Korean telecommunications, industrial and utility companies. “In keeping with our 2006 milestone of expanding our network of channel and strategic partners, I am pleased to announce the addition of LOGANEnergy and Pacific Telepoint to the family of GenCore distributors,” said Mark Sperry, Chief Marketing Officer of Plug Power. “Both LOGANEnergy and Pacific Telepoint have made purchase commitments and have already sold and installed GenCore systems with key end user accounts in their respective territories.” The GenCore product line includes backup power products for the telecommunication, uninterruptible power supply and electric utility markets. The hydrogen-fueled GenCore 5-kilowatt backup fuel cell system is available in seven […]

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SunPower IPO Companies Agree to Partial Release

SunPower’s joint bookrunners for Initial Public Offering (IPO) in November of 2005, Credit Suisse Group and Lehman Brothers, Inc., have agreed to a partial release of outstanding common shares from lock-up restrictions for eligible employees beginning March 10, 2006, through end-of-day March 17, 2006, when the Company’s insider trading black-out period begins. The release of the lock-up period then resumes on April 21, 2006, the day after SunPower announces its first quarter earnings. SunPower’s 16b executive officers and Cypress Semiconductor Corp. remain subject to the original IPO lock-up restrictions. With release of this lock-up, SunPower estimates that approximately 260,000 shares will be made available for trading. As of December 31, 2005, approximately 9.1 million shares of class A common stock were issued and outstanding. SunPower’s shares began trading on the Nasdaq National Market on November 17, 2005. Website: [sorry this link is no longer available]     

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Energy Conversion Devices Raises $324 Million

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) (NASDAQ:ENER) has completed its public offering of 7,000,000 shares of common stock, including 6,616,928 shares sold by the Company and 383,072 shares sold by certain directors and officers. The Company received gross proceeds of approximately $324.2 million, before underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses payable by the Company, from the sale of the 6,616,928 shares of common stock. The Company did not receive any proceeds from the sale of the 383,072 shares sold by certain directors and officers in connection with this offering, other than the aggregate option exercise price of approximately $5.1 million relating to such shares. The Company intends to use in the near term approximately $150 million of the net proceeds from this offering to expand the solar module production capacity of its wholly owned subsidiary, United Solar Ovonic, through the construction of a third manufacturing facility with an annual capacity of at least 50 megawatts. The Company intends to use the balance of the net proceeds from this offering for future capacity expansion of its thin-film solar cell business and for other general corporate purposes. UBS Investment Bank acted as sole book-running manager for the offering. Cowen & Company, First […]

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