A new investment company will try to solve one of the most difficult challenges for energy startups: getting to scale.
Called Broadscale Group, the New York-based company will create a network of corporate investors in the power and utilities industry who are seeking out new energy technologies.
The idea is to make it more efficient for corporate investors to evaluate outside firms and to give smaller companies access to the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution expertise of established businesses.
The first corporate investors involved are General Electric, Duke Energy, and National Grid. Private equity companies Pegasus Capital Advisors will invest in deals identified by Broadscale. Pegasus invests in companies that seek to make more efficient use of natural resources.
Broadscale developed this model because the current situation isn’t good enough, says founder Andrew Shapiro. Clean-technology startups often flounder as they transition the company from product development to large-scale commercialization, often referred to as the "Valley of Death."
Energy, materials, and related fields are very unlike IT and Internet investing because clean technologies often require large amounts of capital to manufacture goods, they face powerful incumbents, and need to deal with complex regulations.
The scaling up situation hasn’t been helped by some venture capitalists moving out the field, making it tougher for small companies to find funding. At the same time, larger companies are becoming more active investors, partners, and potential customers.
LED lighting company Bridgelux, for example, partnered with Toshiba which will manufacture its LEDs. A123 Systems, which needed a financial lifeline, sold a controlling share to China’s Wanxiang, which should give A123 Systems access to the Chinese market.
“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. It’s a lot easier to marry the entrepreneurial drive of a (small) creative company with the scale, heft, and balance sheet of a big one,” Shapiro says.
He intends to add more power industry companies to his investment syndicate. Over time, his hope is to expand to other industries, such as buildings and real estate, using the same model.
India's largest passenger car exporter has been awarded the prestigious Green Award 2011-12 for sustainable and efficient manufacturing processes used by the company. HMIL has taken up a number of projects that are deemed healthy for systematic growth in the market as also for the environment on the whole.
Practices taken up by the company have resulted in lowered levels of pollution and dependence on government water supplies. The HMIL plant has a reverse osmosis project which helps to harvest and recycle water. The water tanks in the factory are capable of holding about 2.75 kilo liters of water.
Apart from being self sufficient in terms of water needs, the factory has also employed solar power sources, LED lights and the installation of auto switch of switches for most of its appliances and equipment. The Green Award is given to those companies who make it a point to care and safeguard the environment on a daily basis through use of renewable sources of energy.
Hyundai Motor India Limited, the country's largest passenger car exporter and the second largest car manufacturer, has been awarded the prestigious 'Green Award' in the large industries category (North Zone) for the year 2011-12 by the Tamil Nadu Government.
HMIL was felicitated for its sustainable water and energy efficient manufacturing practices. HMI has undertaken several initiatives which have reduced environmental pollution and dependence on government sources for water.
The HMIL factory is a zero discharge plant where the used water is recycled by two Reverse Osmosis plants installed inside the factory to facilitate water reuse. HMIL's 4 rain water harvesting ponds have a total capacity of 2.75 lakh kilo litres, thereby helping the factory to be fairly self-sufficient in its water requirements. HMIL has also adopted several energy conservation measures like solar water heater for canteens, Solar light pipe for office lighting, LED lights for streets, Automatic Switch off for many equipments including air conditioners, etc. and its target is to reduce energy consumption by 3-4 % annually.
The prestigious award, announced by the Government of Tamil Nadu, aims to recognize the initiatives taken by the industry in safeguarding the environment and encourages corporates to become more environmentally responsible.
The Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Selvi J. Jayalalithaa gave away the award to Mr. R. Sethuraman, Director-Finance & Corporate Affairs, at a function held in the State Secretariat today.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. R. Sethuraman, Director-Finance & Corporate Affairs,Hyundai Motor India Limited, said, "It is indeed an honour to be recognized by the Government of Tamil Nadu for our efforts in environmental sustenance. HMIL has taken its responsibilities very seriously and encourages all stakeholders associated with it to practice environmentally sustainable practices; our initiatives have saved the company over rupees two crores in water bills".
Moscow administration is looking into new ways of illuminating its citizens' lives. Moskovskiy Komsomolets reports that by the end of this year the city will have 4400 courtyards with improved lighting- 8000 more will come next year. These numbers include only traditional wired lamps running off the general power grid, but the Russian capital is also exploring alternative energy sources.
For instance, the city recently held an auction for creating a project that would substitute regular streetlamps with LED lights powered by solar energy accumulated throughout the day. While this particular auction ended in fiasco due to only one participant, the daily suggests this is not the end for greener energy in Moscow. The article tries to get to the root of the problem and it appears that necessity is the mother of invention.
European nations are faced with expensive power provided by either imported fossil fuels or domestic alternative energy; governments often nudge businesses towards the greener choice by providing financial stimuli. Russia, on the other hand, is an exporter of fossil fuels and has access to cheap energy - it's simply easier to use what we have; using solar energy on a small scale is almost 25,000 times as expensive as paying standard power grid prices due to lack of demand. Where there's a will, there's a way, the article concludes - Moscow Fuel and Energy Department is launching another experiment with a proposal to install solar panels on 16,000 buildings owned by the city.
Moscow Foreign Economic Relationship Department is going multi-media. Izvestia reports that Moscow plans to launch an electronic magazine with video, animation and even 3D graphics. It will be freely accessible from iPhones, iPads and Android devices; a cross-platform PDF version will also be provided.
The cherry on top - Russian, German and English languages. All this is supposed to attract foreign businesses by providing colorful insight into the world of small and medium investments. Developing apps and producing two issues will cost 5 million rubles; interested parties will be able to look at the fruit of the Department's efforts as early as this October and expect monthly publications.
The article explains that currently the majority of foreign investors come from direct invitations by Russian businesses; expos and presentations the Moscow administration hosts abroad also bring in foreign companies. However, there is no single digital platform that would serve the needs of a foreign investor - and this magazine promises to become one. Experts point out that while publicity and outreach projects should not be underrated, administrative barriers remain one of the primary issues deterring foreign businesses.
Russia is finally a member of the WTO. With all the hype behind, Russians are now questioning whether it was all worth it, Novye Izvestia writes. For starters, good news - according to the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center, 70% of Russians are aware the country is now a WTO member. Other answers are not as optimistic. Only 40% of respondents know what WTO means.
It could be said that the survey showed correlation between financial stability of respondents, their proximity to business hubs and knowledge on the subject of the WTO accession. Another research conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation yielded similar results - most Russians don't really know much about the WTO. Leading expert of research holding Romir Igor Berezin believes it's not surprising - this event has no effect on the average consumer in the near future and even economic experts cannot give a straight answer on what accession will bring. Despite lack of knowledge about the organization, most Russians do not expect positive changes.
Mellow Digital Innovations, the country's first integrated LED (light-emitting diode) company, is making Thailand its product innovation and testing center.
The company, which expects its domestic sales to reach 200 million baht this year out of a market worth some B300mn, hopes to expand into 50 overseas markets next year.
It also plans to invest next year with a view to cashing in on the single market under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) from 2015.
The company is in the business of manufacturing and selling huge digital LED display screens known as "intelligent screens" for stadia and concert-hall use both at home and abroad, managing director Sukrit Apinatapu said yesterday.
"We are the first Thai company undertaking an integrated business under the concept of 'total LED' with an emphasis on LED technology management, which means product development to fulfill customers' needs, including counseling and after-sales service. Our business is divided into two segments: sale and rent.
Our main customers will be private enterprises such as Hello Bangkok, M Star, Future Park Rangsit, Buriram FC United, GMM Media and BEC Tero, and government bodies such as Srinakharinwirot University," he said.
Large-scale LED-screen use started to become popular in Thailand two years ago, when nearly all the products sold were imported from China.
With continuous expansion prospects, Mellow Digital's growth rate has been impressive, with 3,000 square meters of screen sales over two years, he added.
Given the good feedback it received, the company then turned to upstream business, from rental to manufacturing, with a B100mn investment on 5,000 square meters in the Chinese city of Shenzhen under the name SZMellow LED.
The Chinese operation is its manufacturing base and worldwide distribution center, including for business in Thailand. Sukrit said the company had chosen Shenzhen as its production base as it is a leading center for LED-screen innovation.
As to Mellow Digital's business plan, Sukrit said: "Since we own the factory, we can make products that meet customers' requirements and we use a no-stock-raw-material supply strategy in our production to prevent obsolescence, as the IT only has a shelf life of six to seven months. This is our competitive edge.
"Meanwhile, the company will use Thailand as its innovation center for product testing and development for all Thai and overseas customers. The [domestic] sales target this year [for LED screens] is about B200mn, out of a market of B300mn."
The company will also form business alliances by appointing at least one dealer in each province and holding business opportunity seminars. It expects to have dealers in all regions by the end of the year, with operations already in place in Chiang Mai in the North, Udon Thani and Si Sa Ket in the Northeast, Chon Buri and Trat in the East and Phuket in the South.
"For the overseas market, we export to the UK, Italy, Brazil, the US, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Indonesia, Lebanon and India. In order to build up market knowledge, we recently participated in the 'Shanghai International LED Industrial Technology Expo & Forum'. We have targeted our [overseas] sales this year at B1bn out of a B100bn overall market. Next year, we plan to expand our business into another 50 countries around the world," he said.
"In order to reach our target, we have an investment plan of about Bt100 million for product and human-resources development in order to get ready for all AEC challenges in 2015," Sukrit said.
A suspended Cliffside Park police officer accused of altering his license plates, installing emergency lights in his car without authorization, and failing to show a vehicle inspection sticker appeared at the Bergen County Courthouse on Thursday.
Jon Lemkin denied altering the plates and said outside the courtroom he was set up by at least one member of the police department for being friends with another man who’s currently suing a captain on the force.
“I was framed by a fellow officer – by a captain,” Lemkin said, referring to Capt. Michael Russo.
Russo’s attorney, Albert Wunsch, denied his client orchestrated the charges against the suspended officer.
An investigation into Lemkin began on Sept. 16, 2011, when Russo and Capt. Richard Gaito – under the direction of police Chief Donald Keane – went to the officer’s home to deliver a letter regarding his work status, the captains testified. Lemkin had been on disability leave due to a hand injury.
It was during that visit, they said, that they saw and became suspicious of a black Ford Crown Victoria parked nearby with emergency lights and tinted windows that looked like an unmarked police car. After running the license plates and learning that they weren’t registered, the officers noticed that two of the characters had been altered, they said. But traces of the original characters were still visible, and when the officers ran the plates again, they came back as belonging to Lemkin, they said.
“Capt. Russo was merely an individual escorting another captain to deliver a letter that dealt with [Lemkin’s] employment,” Wunsch said. “Capt. Russo did not push to have these charges put forward. He did not sign these complaints against this officer. He did nothing whatsoever.”
Questioned by Cliffside Park investigators later that day, Lemkin admitted to having emergency lights installed but not to altering the plates and said he had his vehicle resemble an unmarked cop car to deter criminal activity in his neighborhood, Gaito said. Officers aren’t allowed emergency lights in their vehicles without proper authorization, Gaito said.
Lemkin faces two criminal charges of altering or tampering with public records – in this case, the license plates – and three motor vehicle charges for altering or concealing a license plate; having emergency lights and failure to show a vehicle inspection sticker, according to state prosecutor Andrew Samson.
Lemkin, who said he worked as a part-time officer in Cliffside Park for five years before graduating from the Police Academy in June 2010, said during a break Thursday that he’s been suspended without pay since September 2011.
Carchietta, a former borough resident, was summoned to police headquarters in August 2008 on a domestic violence charge that his wife later withdrew, according to a lawsuit he filed against Russo in 2010. Carchietta claimed the police captain harassed and threatened him while having an affair with his wife.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the suit. Carchietta then filed a complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office.
In the suit, Carchietta alleged that Russo once told Lemkin he planned to have a convicted felon kill Carchietta. Lemkin has also admitted to recording conversations with Russo and said he advised Carchietta to take his concerns to the police chief.
Russo testified that he was disappointed at one point upon hearing that Lemkin was talking about him and police matters with Carchietta, but that after the two had a meeting with the borough administrator, he was able to put aside the issues.