CREE LED Market Leader, Continues to Impress

I've been long LED lighting manufacturer $CREE for a long time, as readers of this blog know. Today, Cree continued to impress me with its quarterly earnings release, beating estimates and generating record revenue.

They announced record revenue of $199.5 million for its second quarter of fiscal 2010, ended December 27, 2009, which is a "35 percent increase compared to revenue of $147.6 million reported for the second fiscal quarter last year and an 18 percent increase compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2010," according to a company press release.

“We continued to execute very well in Q2, as we delivered record revenue and net income,” stated Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO. “LED lighting adoption continues to gain momentum and our near term focus is on factory execution and capacity expansion. Our strong balance sheet further enhances our leadership position and supports our mission of leading the LED lighting revolution.”

Here are other highlights from the press release:

Q2 2010 Financial Metrics:

* Cash and investments increased $65.6 million from Q1 of fiscal 2010 to $954.1 million.

* Cash flow from operations was $21.5 million. Free cash flow (cash flow from operations less capital expenditures) was ($19.9) million as we spent $41.4 million on capital expenditures.


* Accounts receivable (net) increased $20.3 million from Q1 of fiscal 2010 to $113.4 million, resulting in days sales outstanding of 51, an increase of 1 day from Q1 of fiscal 2010.

* Inventory (net) increased $7.3 million from Q1 of fiscal 2010 to $93.3 million and represents 80 days of inventory, a decrease of 1 day from Q1 of fiscal 2010.


Recent Business Highlights:

* Awarded $39 million in tax credits as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support our investment to build energy efficient LED lighting

* Announced that Cree LED lamps have been selected for an initial deployment in approximately 650 Walmart stores

* Set a new standard for indoor LED lighting with the XLamp® MX-6 LED, the industry’s first lighting-class PLCC LED

* Demonstrated an A-lamp LED light bulb with the highest lumen output and efficacy reported in the industry

* Achieved industry-best reported R&D results of 186 lumens per watt from a white high-power LED

* Purchased a facility for manufacturing expansion in Huizhou, China


Business Outlook:

For its third quarter of fiscal 2010 ending March 28, 2010, Cree targets revenue in a range of $215 million to $225 million with GAAP net income of $37 million to $40 million, or $0.35 to $0.37 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income is targeted to increase quarter-over-quarter to $44 million to $47 million, or $0.41 to $0.44 per diluted share, based on an estimated 107.5 million diluted weighted average shares. Targeted non-GAAP earnings exclude expenses related to the amortization of acquired intangibles of $0.02 per diluted share, and stock-based compensation expense of $0.04 per diluted share.

Here's a link to the full press release: CREE Earnings Q2 2010
 


(Disclosure: I hold a long position in CREE. This post is for informational purposes only and is neither intended to be investment advice nor an offer, or the solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any securities.)

Clean Tech: Unlocking the New Green Economy

"How do we begin reorganizing the industrial economy?" Umair Haque asked in his Edge Economy essay "A Manifesto for the Next Industrial Revolution."

Haque answers his own question: "By using markets, networks, and communities to alter the way resources are managed: to weave a fabric of incentives for sustainable growth and authentic value creation into the economy – a new economic fabric that's meaningful to people."

I've been thinking a lot about this call to action while developing my new idea to "organize" (to use Haque's term) the green energy financing space. And I've been wrestling with the following questions (among others):

What would it take to infuse new DNA into the way green energy is financed?

Can we redraw the boundaries of value creation in the 21st century?

Can we expand the access to participation in this space?

Can we create a company that is based on the values of integrity, openness, transparency, and "a fierce embrace of what's good" (as Haque writes elsewhere)?

Can we create a company that develops incentives for people to reorganize and manage resources in a way that reduces the barriers to entry for most people?

I'm becoming obsessed by these questions and am trying to create a response to Umair's challenge.

I hope that what I'm working on with a few very smart people will help reduce or eliminate the "clear, durable, structural barriers to efficiency and productivity" in this space.

The pursuit of answers to these questions is one of the reasons I'm leaving Ashoka at the end of this month. I need to focus my time and energy on trying to explode the boundaries of value creation and unlock the new green economy.

Call me a fool, wish me luck – or come along for the ride.

Clean Tech: UC Davis Hosts 2nd Annual Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy

The University of California at Davis (UC Davis) Center for Entrepreneurship announced today that 50 students from around the world have been selected to attend the second annual Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy in Incline Village, Nevada.

The Academy will be held July 7-11, 2008, and is being taught by experts from some of the nation's top venture capital firms, law firms, and research institutions.

The idea? To help students move their research out of the lab and into the market.

This summer's academy, according to people close to the Center, will host students from 23 universities around the world, including doctoral students, post docs, and research faculty working in a wide range of science and engineering fields.

"The diverse student body at this year's Academy will bring a fresh batch of ideas to the table, and will leave armed with the tools they need to propel their ideas forward," said Associate Professor Andy Hargadon, director, UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship.

It's kind of a "boot camp" for entrepreneurship, with sessions focusing on intellectual property, elevator pitches, development strategies, market validation, business plan presentations, and the logistics of building a team, among other topics.

Students will also get to network with and vet their concepts with other students and even pitch it to faculty members.

The Academy’s faculty includes VCs from American River Ventures, CalCEF Clean Energy Angel Fund, DFJ Frontier, MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures, Nth Power, Physic Ventures, and Sierra Angels, as well as researchers from National Instruments, San Diego Gas & Electric, and the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center.

Efficiency and sustainability guru Amory Lovins, co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, will be the keynote speaker at a networking dinner on July 9.

Clean Tech: Market Folly's How To Play Energy in the Intermediate Term

My blogging pal over at Market Folly (check out his in-depth series on Hedge Fund 13F's here) has been dipping into alternative energy stock analysis now and again, and we've swapped interesting companies to watch and some sector research.

His recent post caught my eye because he's reviewing both the recent Economist special report, which I have read, and a piece in Forbes, which I haven't. And because I'm on vacation in Alaska, I'm going to reblog his post here in hopes that my readers will find it useful:

Check out Market Folly's How to Play Energy in the Intermediate Term. And subscribe to his RSS feed for future reading.

Clean Tech: Simple Questions Require Simple Answers

Technology entrepreneur and strategy consultant Sramana Mitra asked some simple questions in a Forbes.com article last Friday:

"What would it take? What would it take for the U.S. to move to a 50% renewable energy economy by 2020? What would it take for India to become a 100% solar economy by 2050?

"The answer lies in aggressive innovation and entrepreneurship in all parts of the solar ecosystem coupled with resolute policy decisions. And please note that policy alone, without innovation and entrepreneurship, will not solve the problem.

"Take the United States. Building a 100- to 300-megawatt solar power plant costs $750 million to $1.5 billion. To really move the needle, hundreds and thousands of such plants need to pop up all over the country and funnel clean energy into power grids.

"The best outcome would be if technology obviates the need for solar subsidies. 'Eventually, it is a technology race,' says David Chen of Equilibrium Capital, a new sustainability fund and a long-term technology industry veteran. We've seen this for over 30 years in cycle after cycle, whether it is in integrated circuits or disk drives, LCDs or flat panels. Moore's Law, it is called. We will see it again in solar. But in the meantime, policy will need to intervene, and make it worthwhile for investors and entrepreneurs to play in the market.

"In India and China, a distributed power strategy would be ideal. But batteries, which store solar energy captured during the day and release it at night, are still too expensive to be used on a mass scale.

"Here's another question: What would it take to stimulate small businesses to build up solar farms and sell energy into utility grids? I suspect, again, both policy and entrepreneurship would need to go hand in hand."

Simple questions require simple answers.

But, thus far, the simple answers ellude us. What's required is, as Ms. Mitra suggests, for Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, and Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh to "sit down with entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors, and understand through candid exchanges what sort of policy is needed to unlock the enormous entrepreneurial energy that sits boiling amid the ocean of human potential."

These leaders and others would do well to heed Ms. Mitra's advice.

Clean Tech: Wind Energy ETFs Will Soon Offer Investors Opportunities to Tilt at Windmills

Tate Dwinnell at Self Investors, LLC, reported last week both PowerShares and First Trust Advisors have filed docs with the SEC to provide Wind Energy ETFs (exchange traded funds):

"The PowerShares Global Wind Energy ETF requires a minimum market cap of 200 million and will likely include some or all of the big wind players such as Vestas Wind Systems (Denmark), Clipper Steam Turbine (China), Gas Turbine Efficiency (Sweden), Gamesa Corp Technologica (Spain), Windflow Technology (New Zealand) or Wind Energy America of Eden (US).

"The First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy ETF will be made up of 2/3 pure plays and 1/3 of companies with a portion of their sales from wind and include companies of all sizes. Countries with the most installed capacity of wind power include Germany, US, Spain, India and China with China leading the growth by tripling its capacity in 2007 over 2006. Some expect China to be the leader in wind power generation in just a few years.

"Currently, the best way to play wind with a diversified strategy is through the Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF (GEX) which lists Vestas Wind Systems (Denmark) as it's largest holding at just under 13% of the fund."

This is good news for investors looking for a way to ride the wind wave. Currently, large-scale wind is one of the most viable alternative energy solutions and is on a par with new coal generation capacity in terms of costs.

Clean Tech: KPMG, AlwaysOn and Vator.tv Launches Online Competition

Readers of The Green Skeptic know how much we like online competitions. Here's an innovative approach from KPMG's venture unit, AlwaysOn, and Vator.tv

They are looking for game-changing players in the clean tech industry. Check out the intro video:




As with all the Vator.tv/AlwaysOn winners, the founder or executive of the winning business plan will be invited to present at the AlwaysOn Going Green in September 2008.

At the event, the winner will have the opportunity to give a six-minute CEO pitch to an audience of AlwaysOn investors and attendees. They will also be featured in AO’s quarterly print "blogozine" and on the Vator.tv and AlwaysOn websites.

KPMG is a global network of professional firms who operate in 145 countries and have more than 123,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. KMPG's purpose is to turn knowledge into value for the benefit of their clients.

Book Review: Power of the People: America's New Electricity Choices by Carol Sue Tombari

Imported oil, dirty coal, energy inefficiencies and waste, and truncated investment in alternative energy development have landed us in a quandary. Where do we turn for the power we need to run our wired and wireless economy and our increasingly mobile culture?

Carol Sue Tombari, former director of the State of Texas's energy efficiency and renewable energy programs and currently on staff at the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, describes some answers in her new book, Power of the People: America's New Electricity Choices.

Tombari provides a concise and cogent overview of how we got in this mess and a primer for how we can get out of it. Essentially, Tombari argues that we need a combination of vigorous policy agendas and massive investments in what we've called on this blog "The New Green Economy."

We are "sleepwalking toward disaster," argues the author, but she tempers her cynicism with equal doses of optimism and faith -- faith that we have the know-how and ingenuity to get us out of this mess.

If only we would wake up and change where we're going and what we're doing.

"I'm not talking about an overnight energy revolution, Tombari concludes. "Really, it's more like an evolution, incorporating both twentieth- and twenty-first-century technologies as we transition to the completely different, carbon-constrained reality in the coming years."

For anyone who wants a quick study of the path we've been on, as well as the good, the bad, and the balance of those choices, and the potential for alternatives, Power of the People is required reading.

"Renewable energy and energy efficiency can be expected to develop a larger presence in the marketplace," writes Tombari, "especially as the cost of twentieth-century fuels continues to go up and the capital costs of renewables continue to go down."

But our energy "needs remain humongous and continue to grow," Tombari argues. "Energy efficiency in particular will gain significantly greater market share because of its no-regrets nature and the fact that it doesn't require the investment of materials needed by utility-scale technologies."

While "we will continue to rely heavily on central station power plants, especially in the near- and mid-term," according to Tombari, "we as individuals, as neighbors, as citizens of our towns and states, can lead our government...Our roots as a nation are in the grass. We know how to do this."

Her optimism is infectious. Power of the People is a must-read for anyone concerned about the future of our nation and our planet.

Clean Tech: Gary Kremen's Latest Hot Match, Solar

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Clean Tech: Kleiner Perkins raising a $400M-plus 'green growth' fund, says Venture Beat

Venture Beat reports that "Kleiner Perkins, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm that backed Google in its early days, is planning to raise a 'Green Growth' fund of more than $400 million, to invest in later-stage cleantech companies, according to PeHub.

"The move is a sign of the maturation and realities of the green technology industry. Many environment-related projects, including solar thermal, electric cars and bio-fuel manufacturing, require huge amounts of capital. Kleiner had earlier raised $200 million to invest in early-stage green companies, but it doesn’t have enough money to invest large chucks of cash in more mature companies as they move to manufacturing stage.

"According to the report, which we have yet to confirm, the firm may do select public investments, carveouts and spinouts.

"Kleiner has won considerable stature in the clean technology investing area, since hiring former Vice President Al Gore as a partner last year. Gore, a proponent of stronger measures to clean up the environment, won the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts. Apparently, Gore is among those leading the firm’s effort to raise the new fund."

According to PE Hub:

Al Gore is among those pitching it to [Kleiner’s] limited partners. During a recent LP meeting in New York, KP’s John Doerr reminded attendees that the firm had invested in the first commercial web browser just 14 years ago, which prompted Gore to caution Doerr against claiming credit for creating the Internet.

Doerr is expected to be involved in the project, but KP is also hiring a dedicated team with more experience in late-stage finance.

"They recently hired a team from the Goldman Sachs Special Situations Group that did the initial deals behind First Solar and Horizon Wind," says Anup Gupta, a partner with the Virgin Green Fund. "It was like a five-person team, [but] two left for Hudson Capital."

Is this an indication that Clean Tech and Green Tech is here to stay? We hope so. Bring on the New Green Economy.

Green is Good, baby.

Social Entrepreneurs: Van Jones on Colbert Report (Forgot to Post)

"When I was a kid they promised me a jet-pack," Stephen Colbert says. "Where's my jet-pack?" He's being his usual acerbic self, poking fun at his guest, Van Jones of Green for All.

I meant to post this earlier in the month, but it somehow got lost. I'm a big fan of Van Jones and his take on the "green economy." I also like the way he promotes clean and green jobs in the US as a pathway out of poverty.

His interview with Colbert keeps Van on his toes, but the point still gets across. Watch it here:



Bottom line: We need to move from a pollution economy to a solution economy.

Go Van go!

Innovation: "Green Pathways Out of Poverty," Jones Tells Aspen Environment Forum

The Green Skeptic likes to talk about the New Green Economy. For a long time, I've been nattering on about how America needs to get its act together and seize the opportunity of the a new, greener economy. We snooze; we lose.

China, India, even old rivals Japan and Germany, are poised to take the lead in every major part of clean tech and alternative energy development.

What's at stake? Plenty. Only a multibillion, some say, multitrillion dollar business opportunity.

But at the Aspen Environment Forum last Saturday, Van Jones and Majora Carter reminded us what else is at stake -- and what seizing this opportunity could mean for America.

It could mean, to paraphrase Van Jones, founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, moving from an economy of pollution and incarceration to one of solutions and green jobs.

Jones, along with Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, called on the crowd -- and are calling on the rest of America too -- to help them launch "Green for All," a kind of green job corps for those currently left on the margins.

"FDR had the Civilian Conservation Corps, with young people going all over America to enhance and build parks," Jones told the crowd in Aspen. "JFK had the Peace Corps, and Clinton had AmeriCorps. It's time we had a Green Job Corps."

The green-collar job sector is growing in the United States and could include more than 14 million workers by 2017 industry, according to some analysts.

The American Solar Energy Society says there are there are potentially 8.5 million U.S. jobs that can be considered "green." That figure could grow by 5 million in the next 10 years, Jerome Ringo of the Apollo Alliance told Steven Greenhouse of The New York Times in an article last week.

Green-collar jobs include "Ph.D.'s and Ph.-do's," said Jones. "We need people who are highly educated at the theoretical level and we need people who are highly educated at the level of skilled labor."

At least 28 US states have chartered mandates pushing for renewable energy to be 10 to 25 percent of their energy portfolio over the next few decades.

"The development of a green economy creates a broad new set of opportunities," Lois Quam, managing director for alternative investments at Piper Jaffray, told the Times.

"When I first started looking at this area," Quam said. "Many people commented on how this will be as big as the Internet. But this is so much bigger than the Internet. The only comparable example we can find is the Industrial Revolution. It will affect every business and every industry."

Jones calls such jobs "green pathways out of poverty."

"Right now we don't have the infrastructure to train a sufficient number of green-collar workers," Jones told the Times. "If we are going to weatherize buildings, they have to be weatherized here. If you put up solar panels, you can't ship a building to Asia and have them put the solar panels on and ship it back. These jobs have to be done in the United States."

Read the Times article: Green Jobs

Check out the "Green For All" presentation from the Aspen Environment Forum 2008: (Clip 1) with Majora Carter, Van Jones. Watch video.
(Clip 2) Watch video.
(Clip 3) Watch video.

Clean Tech: Solar Stocks On the Rebound?

Himanshu Pandya over at Seeking Alpha sheds some light on last week's seeming rebound in solar stocks:

"Solar stocks capped a fantastic week with every solar stock except one (WFR) clocking a double digit gain. This seems like the best week solar stocks have had this year but are still far off from where they started in 2008.

"The biggies, First Solar (FSLR), Suntech Power (STP) and Sunpower (SPWR), all made impressive comebacks. I am kicking myself for not buying Suntech Power (STP) when it was in the 30's. I was closely watching it and was hoping to enter Suntech in the high 20’s. Well, before I knew it Suntech goes from 30 to 40 in a week.

"The question is have the Solar Stocks turned a corner here? I don’t have the answer. Do you? Do you see this as an opportunity for a short-term short, or are you planning to go Long?"

The full post, including a larger, interactive version of the graph, is here: SOLAR

(Disclosure: I hold long positions in both FSLR and CSUN. This post is for informational purposes only and is neither intended to be investment advice nor an offer, or the solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any securities.)

Innovation: Printing Green from Blogs and Docs

Fred Wilson pointed me to this new widget I've just added to my blog (see bottom of right sidebar) that will help you print or email pages from The Green Skeptic in a way that will save paper. Of course, not printing it at all will save even more.

As Fred described it in his post today: "It's called the ECO-SAFE merit badge. But I call it my blog printing widget. From it, you can email this page, email a pdf of this page, or download a pdf of this page. It's goal is to reduce the amount of paper that is wasted printing blogs."

Find out more at: ECO-SAFE.com

For the past few months I've also been beta-testing a program called GreenPrint World that allows you to reduce the number of pages you print when printing documents. It scans the pages before sending them to your printer and highlights extraneous pages or pages with very little print suggesting you may want to remove them from the print job. It also creates PDFs with one click.

The extra step is a bit annoying when trying to print that document on the fly between meetings, but I've already saved 103 pages or $10.40 since installing the program. And having a few extra clicks to make before printing has definitely made me more conscious of what I am printing.

(I do wish GreenPrint World allowed you to reduce the size of the document with one click like you can in Microsoft Word's "Print Preview" function. That would help save that widow on the last page so she doesn't take up an entire sheet of paper!)

Find out more about GreenPrint World and download the latest version of the program at: printgreener.com

Clean Tech: Clean Edge Releases Clean Energy Trends 2008

The guys at Clean Edge, a leading research and publishing firm in the clean tech space, have released their 2008 Clean Energy Trends report. They scan the sector for trends and point to "select companies to watch" within those trends.

Joel Makower, Ron Pernick, and Clint Wilder (Pernick and WIlder are authors of last year's Clean Tech Revolution) offer a quick assessment of global clean-energy markets, which they say "are expanding rapidly, with revenues in four benchmark sectors — biofuels, wind power, solar photovoltaics, and fuel cells — up 40 percent from $55 billion in 2006 to $77.3 billion in 2007."

The four sectors are projected to more than triple over the next decade, growing to $254.5 billion by 2017, according to their findings.

One surprising note, in my view, is that the authors don't spend much time on the rapid expansion of solar (especially thin film and thermal) over the past year or point to its rocky start in '08. Maybe that would be stating the obvious.

The full report can be downloaded at: Clean Energy Trends 2008.

Highlights include:

Global production and wholesale pricing of biofuels reached $25.4 billion in 2007 and is projected to hit $81.1 billion by 2017. The global biofuels market last year consisted of more than 13 billion gallons of ethanol and more than 2 billion gallons of biodiesel production worldwide.

Wind power is expected to expand from $30.1 billion in 2007 to $83.4 billion in 2017. Last year's global wind power installations reached a record 20,000 megawatts (MW), equivalent in size to 20 conventional fossil-fuel power plants.

Solar photovoltaics (including modules, system components, and installation), which totaled $20.3 billion last year, will more than triple to $74 billion by 2017. Annual installations in 2007 were just shy of 3,000 MW worldwide.

New global investments in energy technologies — including venture capital (VC), project finance, public markets, and research and development — have expanded by 60 percent from $92.6 billion in 2006 to $148.4 billion in 2007, according to research firm and Clean Energy Trends content provider New Energy Finance.

In the U.S., venture capitalists invested $2.7 billion in the clean-energy sector, representing almost 10 percent of total VC activity.

Clean Energy Trends 2008 also outlines five trends poised to make an impact on the markets this year. They describe:

-How small start-ups are powering markets for electric vehicles;
-Sustainable cities are being designed and built from the ground up;
-Overseas players are powering the U.S. wind market boom;
-Geothermal energy is experience a global renaissance as a clean- energy resource;
-New technologies are helping oceangoing ships take a cleaner tack. (Kite sails, anyone?)

"Clean energy has moved from the margins to the mainstream and the proof is in these numbers," said Clean Edge co-founder and principal Ron Pernick. "Amid last year's plummeting housing prices, rising foreclosure rates, and record high oil prices, clean energy continued to provide a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish economy."

Clean Tech: Sen. Finance Committee Adds Renewable Energy Tax Credits to Stimulus Bill

Last Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee included measures to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for renewable energy through the end of the 2009 in its version of an economic stimulus package originally proposed by President Bush.

Under the Committee's bill, wind companies would receive a tax credit, currently 2 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, for each new wind turbine that goes into operation through 2009.

The tax credit, which also would apply to electricity from solar, geothermal and other sources as well as energy-efficiency rebates, would cost approximately US$5.5 billion. The measures were introduced to the committee by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).

"Renewable energy production depends on investment," Grassley said. "Investors need certainty. They won't put their money out for a wind energy facility unless there's a reasonable expectation that tax incentives will continue into the future. For energy needs and for economic growth, we need to continue renewable energy provisions without interruption."

The bill would also extend for one year a credit, equal to 30 percent of qualifying expenditures, for the purchase for qualified photovoltaic (PV) property and solar water heating property used exclusively for purposes other than heating swimming pools and hot tubs.

The proposal extends the energy-efficient existing homes credit, extends the tax credit for the production of energy efficient appliances for two years, extends a credit to holders of clean renewable energy bonds, includes a deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings, a credit for the construction of new energy-efficient homes and a credit for residential energy efficient property.

It is being reported that the Finance Committee's version of the stimulus package bill may face opposition in the Senate and from the White House.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) applauded the Finance Committee bill. According to AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher, the bill will be a benefit to wind industry.

"The extension of the production tax credit (PTC) is urgently needed to protect tens of thousands of U.S. manufacturing and construction jobs and create tens of thousands more, and to keep investment flowing into one of the fastest-growing and brightest sectors of our economy: renewable electricity," Swisher said.

"We urge the full U.S. Senate to move quickly to adopt the Finance Committee stimulus package that includes the PTC extension," Swisher continued. "Rapid action is pivotal if wind, solar and other renewable energy industries are to continue to grow, attract large-scale manufacturing investment and create jobs for Americans across the country."

Update: A vote in the Senate on the package has been delayed until next week. The Senate will wait until after the Super Tuesday primaries as Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) are all currently campaining in thier bids for the presidency. -- from Renewable Energy Access

Clean Tech: Bush US$2bn to Stimulate Clean Tech Development in...China and India?

"Let us create a new international clean technology fund, which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources," President Bush said in his final State of the Union address Monday night.

The fund essentially represents a commitment of US$2 billion over three years. Add this to the US$18 billion Bush has already put together over the last seven years, mainly for R&D, and you begin to think momentum is building.

But the latest commitment pales in comparison to the US$10 billion clean technology pledged by Japan in Davos yesterday and US$15 billion from the Abu Dhabi emirate last week. And the Bush $2bn is intended to stimulate clean tech development in...China and India.

The Bush pledge is either arm-twisting or noble gesture, take your pick; but it seems to me we're stimulating the wrong economies here.

We wanted to hear from President Bush that it's time for the US to take the lead in clean technologies, to build our energy security, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and jumpstart the new green economy.

This on the heals of news from Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, which told their global clients that China is launching a grenade into the camp of the global wind turbine industry with a low-cost option that may just rule the day. Apparently, they got wind of the World Wind Energy Council's (GWEC) claim that China will leap to the top of the list of wind turbine producers as early as 2009.

"For my members now, one of the big issues is to prepare for the onslaught of relatively inexpensive Chinese turbines onto the world market," Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the GWEC, said, adding that no Chinese companies were exporting at present.

"The two that have big export plans starting in 2009 and 2010 are Gold Wind, which has really been the market leader (in China) and Sinovel," Sawyer said.

Meanwhile, the US economic stimulus package that passed the House of Representatives today does not include an extension of tax incentives for alternative energy development here at home. It still has a shot on the Senate floor, where US Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) spoke in support of the extension last Thursday.

"They [the incentives] have the desirable benefit of getting immediate short-term results," said Cantwell, "that is -- significant economic activity and new jobs in 2008. And they also result in long term benefits. This is the ideal type of stimulus expenditure for us to make.

"Extension of these clean energy tax incentives provide just the short term stimulus that people and businesses immediately need. And it demonstrates the type of foresighted leadership that the American taxpayers expect."

So, where is our leadership for the new green economy, Mr. Bush? China? India? Abu Dhabi? How does that stimulate our economy? How does that contribute to our energy security?

Clean Tech: Small-scale Wind Power May Be Closer to Home

Venture Beat reported this morning about Marquiss Wind Power, which is trying to popularize a roof-top turbine suitable for use by ordinary businesses. This is good news for wind fans (no pun intended; well, maybe...) who want to see wind power brought closer to home:

"The company’s 'ducted' wind turbine looks a bit like a 19 foot tall box fan. Despite its clunky appearance, it’s capable of re-orienting itself according to the direction of air flow, while the ducting is intended to increase wind speed as it approaches the blades.

"At the moment, two models are sold — one intended for areas with wind speeds of 6-10 mph, and another for higher average speeds. The turbines are intended for buildings between one and three stories tall.

"Marquiss received the $1.3 million funding from Velocity Venture Capital, which led, and Strategis Early Ventures. The funding was the Folsom, Calif. company’s first."

Innovation: Bug Labs' Open-Source Modular Gadget, Endless Possibilities

Silicon Alley Insider reports today that Bug Labs is now open for business, taking orders for its new open-source modular unit on its Web store, albeit without the WiFi unit.

Bug Labs was the darling of CES and featured on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, where founder Peter Semmelhack got to meet with bloggers on the bus and pitch their product.

It's a cool product, known as the "Bug," a build-your-own mobile gadget platform.

"The Bug," according to Silicon Alley Insider, "is basically a Lego kit for mobile coders: Mix-and-match up to four modules like LCD screens, GPS, a digital camera, etc., and write whatever software you want. A base unit costs $299; an all-in starter kit with motion sensor, GPS, LCD touchscreen, and 2-megapixel digital camera costs $549.

"The company is initially targeting hobbyists and prototypers -- both tiny markets. But Bug Labs also hopes some industries might figure out how to use the Bug as a basis for commercial devices -- and help provide backers Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital a return on their investment."

I've been interested in the Bug since last fall when I first learned about it from Brad Burnham at USV. As he described it to me I envisioned all sorts of cool uses for it in the field -- for conservation, microfinance, and global climate change monitoring.

Imagine being able to build a device on the go for whatever need you had:

Want to map sacred sites and conservation lands in Outer Mongolia? Snap on the GPS unit, take pictures and positioning, and upload data about what's found on the site.

Doing due diligence on a small MFI? Use the Bug's wireless function to tap into your records back in the office.

Think sea level is rising on your remote Pacific island and need to track changes over time for adaptation models? I bet you can do that with Bug.

The only thing missing is a remote sensing module that can gauge temperature changes, barometric pressure, soil types and temps, and other indicators. But that may come with demand or a really good hacker.

Anyway, I'm excited about the possibilities here. If and when the price comes down, this gadget could have all sorts of applications in the field.

I'll be meeting with founder Peter Semmelhack in a couple of weeks and will try to explore this line of thinking further.

Clean Tech: Venture Funding for Clean Tech Up in '07

Venture Beat reports that "Cleantech funding almost doubled [in Q4'07] over the previous year, reaching $468.7 million in the quarter — apparently a record quarter. Major deals included EverPower Renewables, which raised $55 million for wind-power farms and Serious Materials, which drew $50 million for green building materials."

Read the full report: VC funding

And the Cleantech Group LLC reports that 2007 venture investment in alternative energy markets in North America and Europe was $5.18 billion, compared with $3.6 billion the previous year: Cleantech.