Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Investors Flock to Renewable Energy and Efficiency Technologies

Investors Flock to Renewable Energy and Efficiency Technologies
Climate Change Worries, High Oil Prices and Government Help Top Factors Fueling Hot Renewable Energy Investment Climate

Investors Flock to Renewable Energy and Efficiency Technologies; Transactions Leap to Record $100 Billion in 2006, Says UNEP Study;Renewables Shed Fringe Image; American, European Markets DominateBut 9% of Global Investments are in China, 21% in Developing Countries

Paris, 20 June 2007 - Climate change worries coupled with high oil prices and increasing government support top a set of drivers fueling soaring rates of investment in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, according to a trend analysis from the UN Environment Programme.
The report says investment capital flowing into renewable energy climbed from $80 billion in 2005 to a record $100 billion in 2006. As well, the renewable energy sector's growth "although still volatile ... is showing no sign of abating."
The report offers a host of reasons behind and insights into the world's newest gold rush, which saw investors pour $71 billion into companies and new sector opportunities in 2006, a 43% jump from 2005 (and up 158% over the last two years. The trend continues in 2007 with experts predicting investments of $85 billion this year).
In addition to the $71 billion, about $30 billion entered the sector in 2006 via mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and asset refinancing. This buy-out activity, rewarding the sector's pioneers, implies deeper, more liquid markets and is helping the sector shed its niche image, according to the report.
While renewable sources today produce about 2% of the world's energy, they now account for about 18% of world investment in power generation, with wind generation at the investment forefront. Solar and bio-fuel energy technologies grew even more quickly than wind, but from a smaller base.
Renewables now compete head-on with coal and gas in terms of new installed generating capacity and the portion of world energy produced from renewable sources is sure to rise substantially as the tens of billions of new investment dollars bear fruit.
Says UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner: "One of the new and fundamental messages of this report is that renewable energies are no longer subject to the vagaries of rising and falling oil prices—they are becoming generating systems of choice for increasing numbers of power companies, communities and countries irrespective of the costs of fossil fuels.
"The other key message is that this is no longer an industry solely dominated by developed country industries. Close to 10 per cent of investments are in China with around a fifth in total in the developing world. We will need many sustained steps towards the de-carbonizing of the global economy. It is clear that in respect to renewables those steps are getting underway."
Says Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Climate Change: "As governments prepare to launch begin a new round of post-2012 climate change-related negotiations later this year, the report clearly shows that, amid much discussion about the 'technologies of tomorrow,' the finance sector believes the existing technologies of today can and will 'decarbonize' the energy mix provided the right policies and incentives are in place at the international level."
The report represents "a strategic tool for understanding the energy sector's development in both OECD and developing countries," says Michael Liebreich, CEO of New Energy Finance Ltd, a leading provider of research and analysis on the clean energy and carbon markets, which prepared the report for UNEP's Paris-based Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative.
The report attributes the sector's boom to a range of global concerns - climate change, increasing energy demand and energy security foremost among them.
It credits as well the November 2006 U.S. mid-term elections, which confirmed renewable energy as "a mainstream issue," moving it up the political agenda.
Also spurring the sector's growth has been the persistently high price of oil - averaging more than $60 a barrel in 2006 (although one report conclusion is that the sector is becoming more independent of the price of oil).
"Growing consumer awareness of renewable energy and energy efficiency - and their longer term potential for cheaper energy, and not just greener energy - has become another fundamental driver," it says. "Most importantly governments and politicians are introducing legislation and support mechanisms to enable the sector's development."
Among the report's other key points and conclusions:
Renewable energy and efficiency markets are growing more global and enjoying easier access to capital markets; Capital is coming from the venture investment community, the stock markets and internal refinancings, signaling the sector's a shift to a more mainstream status; Risk and uncertainly can be reduced through diversification across technologies and geography; Energy efficiency is a significant but largely invisible market, attracting increasing attention as investors realize its important role in meeting rising energy demand; Capital investors are now more closely aligned with industry proponents in their views of expected growth.Wind, solar, biofuels attract greatest investment dollarsRenewable energy sectors attracting the highest investment levels are wind, solar and biofuels, "reflecting technology maturity, policy incentives and investor appetite," according to the report, adding that the NEX index (www.tsx.com/en/nex/) of clean energy stocks increased 64% in the 15 months to April.
Stock market investments in technology development, commercialization and manufacturing firms leapt 141% in 2006 compared with 2005, while venture capital and private equity investments jumped 167%. Financings of energy generation assets and capacity grew at "a more sedate 22.9%," the analysis says.
Asset financing of new generation capacity, the largest single source of renewable energy investment, accounted for nearly 40% of the $70.9 billion invested in 2006, a reflection of the sector's coming of
age, the report says. The trend continues in 2007. Most asset financing deals were in the relatively mature wind sector, with biofuels (which experienced a surge of interest in 2006) in second place.
Venture capital and private equity investors in 2006, meanwhile, poured $2.3 billion into biofuels, $1.4 billion into solar and $1.3 billion in wind, much of it to increase manufacturing capacity.
Around 40% of the capital invested in solar went towards new technology development. In biofuels, the proportion was about 20%, reflecting a surging corn-based ethanol industry in the U.S., as well as research into second generation biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol.
Renewable energy investment is almost evenly split geographically between United States and Europe. U.S. companies receive more technology and private investment (with high profile investment interest shown in biofuels during 2006 by entrepreneurs such as Vinod Khosla, Bill Gates and Richard Branson). Europe's publicly quoted companies attracted the most public stock market investment dollars: $5.7 billion compared to $3.5 billion in the U.S.
The pattern reflects the earlier arrival of enthusiasm for renewable energy in Europe and its ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, unlike the US and Australia. As well, government support is particularly strong in some European countries.
The European markets' relative maturity also helps explain its dominance of merger and acquisition activity in 2006, with deals worth more than $20 billion in 2006 compared with $8.8 billion in the U.S., many of the corporate acquisitions being made by investors from developing countries, notably India.
Comparing the renewable energy and dotcom booms, the report says the former is "underpinned by real demand and growing regulatory support (which the dotcom boom did not enjoy), considerable tangible asset backing, and increasing revenues."
Strongest growth of all worldwide has been in venture capital and private equity investment, totaling $7.1 billion in 2006, up 163% from 2005. Investment via public markets increased 140% to $10.3
billion, with initial public offerings (IPOs) of renewable energy companies particularly strong in the second and final quarters of 2006.
Most energy efficiency investment has been in early-stage funding. Venture capital and private equity investment rose 54% between 2005 and 2006 to $1.1 billion. Some merger and acquisition activity also occurred in the energy efficiency industry, notably the Australian Bayard group's $705 million acquisition of US smart-metering company Cellnet in December.
Among other insights:
Investment in sustainable energy is still mostly in OECD countries, with the US and EU together accounting for more than 70% in 2006. However, investment in developing countries is growing quickly: 21% of the global total in 2006 occurred in developing countries, compared with 15% in 2004; A healthy 9% of global investment occurred in China, helped by significant asset financing activity in wind and biomass as well as the waste sectors. Investments in China came from across the spectrum, from venture capital through to public markets, "reflecting the country's increasingly prominent position in renewable energy"; India lagged a little behind China but was the largest buyer of companies abroad in 2006, most of them in the more established European markets; Latin America took 5% of global investment, most of which financed Brazilian bio-ethanol plants; Sub-Saharan Africa notably lagged behind other regions; Global government and corporate research and development spending rose 25% to $16.3 billion; Investments in small-scale projects rose 33% from an estimated $7 billion in 2005 to $9.3 billion in 2006.Small-scale projects attract growing interest, driven partly by opportunities in developing countries, which stand to benefit most from small-scale installations (e.g. solar roof panels and micro turbines).
"The finance community has been investing at levels that imply expected disruptive change is now inevitable in the energy sector," says Eric Usher, Head of the Energy Finance Unit at UNEP's Paris-based Division of Technology Industry and Economics. "This report puts full stop to the idea of renewable energy being a fringe interest of environmentalists. It is now a mainstream commercial interest to investors and bankers alike."
"This is a powerful signal of the arrival of an alternative future for today's fossil fuel-dominated energy markets," he adds. "Signals move markets and the signal in these investment numbers is that the sustainable energy markets are becoming more liquid, more globalized and more mainstream."
This is full-scale industrial development, he added, not just a tweaking of the energy system. Growth is underpinned by a widening array of clean energy and climate policies at the federal, state and municipal levels.
With respect to the energy efficiency sector, the investment trends are harder to identify but the impacts of improving energy efficiency can be valued economically, notes Virginia Sonntag-O'Brien of UNEP's Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative (SEFI). Investments in supply side and demand side efficiency have been helping decrease global energy intensity, which on average has been dropping 1% to 1.5% per year.
Since 1990, energy efficiency has met one-half of all new demand for worldwide energy services. These savings - 3 billion tonnes of oil equivalent - have a value of $6 trillion if an average oil price of $27 is assumed. The challenge is to accelerate energy intensity improvement to levels of 2% or above, which compounded to 2030 would mean a 61% improvement from today.
Says Mohamed El-Ashry, Chair of the Renewable Energy Global Policy Network REN21: "The findings in this report are adding to the mounting evidence that renewable energy is going to play a far greater role in the energy mix than many expected."

Friday, June 15, 2007

“Shrewd Speculators” Provide Commentary on Investment Opportunities in Solar IPO’s and the Solar Chinese Markets

InvestorIdeas.com Investor Podcast “Shrewd Speculators” Provide Commentary on Investment Opportunities in Solar IPO’s and the Solar Chinese Markets
Tapping into the Long Term Potential of Solar Stocks

POINT ROBERTS, Wash., Delta B.C., June 15, 2007 - www.InvestorIdeas.com, a leading global investor and industry research resource portal specialized in sector investing news, stock directories and research links, presents the Shrewd Speculators; Market and Sector Commentary with Kevin Sylla and Eric Axel. In this segment the Shrewd Speculators take a look at the recent flurry of solar IPO’s, specifically new Chinese solar entries to the market.

As solar stocks experience volatility, the Shrewd Speculators discuss solar companies including Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE), SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR), Suntech Power Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP) and others.

Kevin Sylla discusses how the market and investors had to absorb the supply of multiple new entries into the market within a short period of time and as a result investors have not fully digested the potential. He feels investors may want to see the market mature as technologies improve.

As Eric Axel comments, “The demand for solar power is extremely robust … but there may be too many investment vehicles to choose from for retail investors”. He went on to say- “I think this is the right sector to be in, but investors have to pick and choose and be patient.”
To listen to the full Investor Podcast, as well as previous discussions by our Shrewd Speculators, please visit:
www.investorideas.com/Podcasts/sspodcast.xml

The audience is invited to submit questions to the Shrewd Speculators for response in future podcasts. Please email all questions to: speculators@investorideas.com
InvestorIdeas.com Audio Investor Portal: http://www.investorideas.com/audio_stocks/
InvestorIdeas.com renewable energy portal, RenewableEnergyStocks.com, provides a valuable resource for investors and alternative energy public companies and industry participants. RenewableEnergyStocks.com® features industry and stock news, exclusive articles and financial columnists, audio interviews and Podcasts, investor conferences, Blogs, and a directory of stocks in the sector.
The RenewableEnergyStocks.com portal currently features a directory with info and links on Alternative Energy Funds, Biogas and Ethanol Stocks, Energy Efficiency Stocks, Flywheel Stocks, Fuel Cell Stocks, Geothermal Stocks, Hydrogen Production, Micro Turbine Stocks, Solar Stocks, Green Transportation, Wind Power and Wind Energy Stocks.
For the full list of Renewable Energy and Green Stocks Click Here http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/Companies/RenewableEnergy/Stock_List.asp
Additional references to recent IPO’s are available in the most recent column of Renewable and Solar Energy Perspectives with J. Peter Lynch at:
The Solar IPO Wave Continues to Grow by Peter Lynch http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/PL/news/053107.asp

About Our Green Investor Portals:
www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com ®, www.FuelCellCarNews.com ®, www.EnvironmentStocks.com and www.GreentechInvestor.com are global investor and industry research portals in the renewable energy and Greentech sectors within InvestorIdeas.com. RenewableEnergyStocks.com provides a variety of renewable and clean energy content including the Clean Energy News Blog, Renewable Energy Blog, articles by solar expert, J. Peter Lynch, and a regular ‘green’ column: ‘The New Power Fund,’ by Samuel F. Jones, President of All Season Financial Advisors.

About InvestorIdeas.com:
InvestorIdeas.com® - www.InvestorIdeas.com is a leading global investor and industry research resource portal specialized in sector investing news, stock directories and research covering over thirty industry sectors and global markets.

Disclaimer: www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp. Our sites do not make recommendations, but offer information portals to research news, articles, stock lists and recent research. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. We attempt to research thoroughly, but we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of information presented. All information relating to featured companies is sourced from public documents and/ or the company and is not the opinion of our web sites. The site is compensated by featured companies, news submissions and online advertising.
Podcast Disclaimer-All opinions expressed by the "Shrewd Speculators Podcast", with Kevin Sylla and Eric Axel are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Investorideas.com or its affiliates.

For more information contact:
Dawn Van Zant: 800-665-0411 - dvanzant@investorideas.com
Ann Marie Fleming: 866-725-2554 - afleming@investorideas.com
Source: InvestorIdeas.com

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Electric Vehicle Manufacturer ZAP, (OTCBB: ZAP) Showcases New Wall Street Mantra

Electric Vehicle Manufacturer ZAP, (OTCBB: ZAAP) Showcases New Wall Street Mantra
“Green is Good” in New Online Green Ads

RenewableEnergystocks.com Green Ad Online Advertising Option for Environmentally Friendly Companies

POINT ROBERTS, WA and DELTA, BC – JUNE 14, 2007 http://www.investorideas.com/, and its global
investor and industry Greentech portals including RenewableEnergyStocks.com, showcase featured public company, electric transportation pioneer ZAP (OTC BB: ZAAP) in new Green Ads branding a new Wall Street Mantra “Green is Good.” The new Green ads reflect the global shift in the financial industry that created a cult-like following to movie character Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is Good” speech in the 80s.

As Corporate America goes green, from Disney’s recent environmentally friendly changes at its theme park to Advertising Age magazine naming top “Eco-marketers” at its first Green Conference in New York City, it appears that this time the shift to eco-friendly business is not just a trend or merely a PR campaign, but a real and dramatic change in global corporate ethics.

Green and environmental companies like ZAP (See right side bar of RenewableEnergyStocks.com for ZAP Green Ad) are gaining consumer confidence and interest as the growing green and ethical consumerism trends are fuelled by high gas prices going into the summer driving season.

ZAP, gaining recognition in the marketplace, has also recently received substantial media coverage for its current line of affordable electric cars, priced in the $10,000 range. Next in line for the electric car manufacturer, ZAP is also working with Lotus Engineering to create the ZAP-X performance cars with an advanced battery system to enable the car to travel up to 350 miles between charges.

The new green ads are formatted in the color green, have a text link with “Green Ad” above the ad and the phrase “Green is Good” embedded into the bottom of the ad in green text. Public and private companies can easily be identified in the marketplace as a green or environmental brand to the growing number of ethical and green investors and consumers.

Featured Green Portal Sponsor:
About ZAP
ZAP (OTC BB: ZAAP) has been a leader in advanced transportation technologies since 1994, delivering over 90,000 vehicles to consumers in more than 75 countries. At the forefront of fuel-efficient transportation with new technologies including energy-efficient gas systems, hydrogen, electric, fuel cell, ethanol, hybrid and other innovative power systems, ZAP is developing a high-performance crossover SUV electric car concept called ZAP-X, engineered by Lotus Engineering. The Company recently launched a new portable energy technology that manages power for mobile electronics, like cell phones and laptops. For more product, dealer and investor information, visit http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/CO/ZAAP/Default.asp or
http://www.zapworld.com/

ZAP is a featured Company on RenewableEnergyStocks.com, TechSectorStocks.com and EnvironmentStocks.com and compensates the portals as disclosed in disclaimer below.

About Our Green Investor Portals within the InvestorIdeas.com Content Umbrella:

http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/ ®, http://www.fuelcellcarnews.com/ ®, http://www.environmentstocks.com/, http://www.water-stocks.com/ and http://www.greentechinvestor.com/ are global investor and industry research portals in the renewable energy, water and greentech sectors.
RenewableEnergyStocks.com also includes one of the most comprehensive free renewable energy stock lists in the investment industry. /Stock_List.asp

InvestorIdeas.com Disclaimer: www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp. Our sites do not make recommendations, but offer information portals to research news, articles, stock lists and recent research. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. We attempt to research thoroughly, but we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of information presented. All Information relating to featured companies is sourced from public documents and/ or the company and is not the opinion of our web sites. These sites are currently compensated by its "featured companies." ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) pays Two thousand five hundred per month equivalent in shares for one year commencing Nov 2006, discounted as a courtesy to previous sponsorship of the InvestorIdeas Greentech contest.

For more information contact:

Dawn Van Zant 800.665.0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com

Ann-Marie Fleming 866.725.2554
Email: afleming@investorideas.com

Source: InvestorIdeas.com, ZAP

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

First Solar, Inc. reaches 52 week high

First Solar hit 52 week highs today - trading up over $2.18 today at $73.25 as energy bills are discussed

First Solar, Inc. (NasdaqGM:FSLR - ) manufactures solar modules with an advanced thin film semiconductor process that significantly lowers solar electricity costs. By enabling clean renewable electricity at affordable prices, First Solar provides an economic alternative to peak conventional electricity and the related fossil fuel dependence, greenhouse gas emissions, and peak time grid constraints.

for a complete list of solar stocks and renewable energy stocks -
http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/Companies/RenewableEnergy/stock_list.asp

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

(FCEL) FuelCell Energy Technical Indicator

(FCEL) FuelCell Energy, Inc. Bullish 50/200-day MA Crossover 5 Jun 2007
For the technical traders who look for stock chart indicators - here is a renewable energy stock to watch based on the 50/200 day breakout .

On June 4th the company issued the following update -

excerpt :
FuelCell Energy Reports Second Quarter 2007 Results and Latest AccomplishmentsMonday June 4, 2007
* Product sales and revenues increased 37 percent over the prior year
* Lower commercial product cost ratio driven by cost out initiatives
* Year to date orders of 10.9 MW including 3rd quarter order for
5.1 MW from POSCO Power
* Connecticut Clean Energy Fund selected 68 MW of projects
incorporating FuelCell Energy's ultra-clean power plants
* Capital position strengthened as Company raised $94.4 million to
fund growth


For those of you not familiar with their business model- from their press release -
FuelCell Energy is the world leader in the development and production of stationary fuel cells for commercial, industrial, municipal and utility customers. FuelCell Energy's secure, ultra-clean and high efficiency DFC(r) fuel cells are generating power at over 60 installations worldwide. The company's power plants have generated more than 150 million kWh of power using a variety of fuels including renewable wastewater gas, biogas from beer, onion, and milk processing as well as natural gas and other hydrocarbon fuels. FuelCell Energy has partnerships with major power plant developers, trading companies and power companies around the world. The company also receives substantial funding from the US Department of Energy and other government agencies for the development of leading edge technologies such as hybrid fuel cell/turbine generators and solid oxide fuel cells. For more information please visit our website at http://www.fuelcellenergy.com.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Green is Good

Wall Street has a new mantra changing Gordon Gekko's words that started a cult -like following "Greed is Good" to new eco friendly words "Green is Good" from Corporate leaders like Yahoo!- Yahoo for Good.

The new website -Yahoo! Green -(Nasdaq: YHOO) offers environmental tips to save money, stop pollution, and help fight global warming. http://green.yahoo.com/

Yahoo! is encouraging users to take action and reduce their CO2 emissions.

With major companies and world financial leaders making strides to create a green future we created a new ad format for companies to show their green mantra - Green is Good!

Companies in the sector can share their green philosophy and gain brand awareness with Green Ads. The Green Ads target the growing number of ethical and green investors and consumers and create instant visual identification as a green company with the phrase "Green is Good " attatched to the bottom of the ad ! To see an example- http://investorideas.com/Advertise/

or - on our Green Investor Portals:
http://www.renewableenergystocks.com/®, http://www.fuelcellcarnews.com/®, http://www.environmentstocks.com/ and http://www.greentechinvestor.com/.global investor and industry research portals that look at the renewable energy and Greentech sectors.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Solar IPO Listed today- LDK Solar

LDK Solar Co., Ltd., (NYSE:LDK) a manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers, announced today that its initial public offering of 17,384,000 American Depository Shares ("ADSs") . The shares were priced at US $27.00 per ADS.

LDK Solar Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer of multicrystalline solar wafers, which are the principal raw material used to produce solar cells. LDK sells multicrystalline wafers globally to manufacturers of photovoltaic products, including solar cells and solar modules. In addition, the company provides wafer processing services to monocrystalline and multicrystalline solar cell and module manufacturers. LDK's headquarters and manufacturing facilities are located in Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Xinyu City, Jiangxi province in the People's Republic of China. The company's office in the United States is located in Sunnyvale, California.

To read more about pending and new IPO's - read our columnist J Peter Lynch and his article on our site yesterday-The Solar IPO Wave Continues to Grow

http://www.investorideas.com/PL/news/053107.asp