[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
Consolidation to hit solar in 2010: BP Solar
Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:07am EST
By Laura Isensee
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More consolidation could hit the solar power industry in 2010, as tough competition and falling prices whittle away companies that are sitting on high cost assets and loaded with debt, the chief executive of BP Solar told Reuters on Thursday.
BP Solar, a unit of BP Plc, and other solar companies are seeing demand for the renewable energy systems pick up after a dismal year of difficult financing and a tumble in panel prices, but panel prices will continue to drop.
"For some people there will be momentum. For others, they will struggle to meet the cost reductions and the price reductions," BP Solar CEO Reyad Fezzani told Reuters in an interview.
Fezzani said BP Solar did its own version of consolidation, shuttering more expensive factories, such as phasing out module assembly at its plant in Frederick, Maryland.
BP Solar has been in the industry for nearly 40 years and has about 1 gigawatt of installed or sold capacity for solar power systems.
"My expectation is that we will see more of the expensive end of the cost curve be whittled down and cut back," Fezzani said.
The executive said that BP Solar is not looking to acquire any companies that may be for sale as "we think they're the ones that should shut."
DEMAND GROWING
Next year looks bright for BP Solar, with "very robust sales" for the first quarter of 2010, said Fezzani, who expects Italy to be the company's top growth market next year.
Overall, BP Solar is gearing up to grow 40 to 50 percent next year, Fezzani said.
Fezzani said that government incentives in Italy, China and India are expected to spur growth. Depending on how fast China and India ramp up, supply shortages could return.
"We still have a very immature supply chain in this industry. There are going to be stresses and strains particularly as we're up to levels of growth and capacity that we have not seen before," Fezzani said.
The executive expects panel prices, which have plummeted as much as 50 percent over the last year, to return to a more normal rate of decline.
BP Solar could cut solar power panel costs faster than previously estimated.
The company has targeted a 25 percent cut in panel costs by the end of 2010, and it could make those reductions a quarter or two earlier than its target date, Fezzani said.
"I think we're progressing very well on that path," he said.
The company set that goal to make the renewable energy systems more competitive with traditional electricity.
CUSTOMER BASE
BP Solar sees the bulk of its business -- about 60 percent -- in Germany, the world's largest market.
The U.S. market makes up less than 10 percent of BP Solar's sales, but the company would like to grow that to 30 or 40 percent.
BP Solar, which sells in the residential, commercial and utility markets, has landed deals in the United States with major retailer Wal-Mart and package delivery company FedEx Corp.
Fezzani said that the company is working to arrange financing for its 37-megawatt project with the Long Island Power Authority and plans to start construction in the second half of 2010.
It is working with the U.S. Department of Energy's loan program, but Fezzani did not say how much it was seeking.
(Reporting by Laura Isensee; editing by Carol Bishopric)
[Green Business]
Kyoto carbon scheme needs Americans: Sindicatum CEO
Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:24am EST
By Michael Szabo
LONDON (Reuters) - An injection of U.S. talent into the $6.5 billion market in carbon offsets would help clear bureaucratic bottlenecks, making way for increased investment in clean energy, the CEO of a $310 million environmental fund said.
Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), an emissions trading scheme governed by the Kyoto Protocol climate change pact, companies can invest in low-carbon projects in emerging countries. In return they receive offsets that can be used toward greenhouse gas targets or sold for profit.
But long delays in approving projects and issuing offsets have forced many investors to the sidelines in the past year.
The U.S. decided not to ratify Kyoto in 2001 so its participation in the CDM has been minimal, even though the first emissions trading schemes were engineered by Americans.
"You basically have a global regulatory system staffed without the world's most talented human resource pool, and it's a big problem," Assaad Razzouk, head of Sindicatum Carbon Capital, said this week.
"What the CDM needs is 20,000 products of the U.S. education system ... You've got Europeans regulating a cap-and-trade system which was essentially invented by Americans."
Razzouk said the United States, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China, is not represented according to its size as an emitter and as a global economic and regulatory force.
"The transfer of knowledge capital did not occur, and as a result the U.S. is not represented in this market according to their weight," Razzouk added. "We will have a system that works much better when they are involved."
Through a fund of $310 million, London-based Sindicatum has developed an investment portfolio of 20 projects, 80 percent of which are in Asia and the remainder in the United States.
The projects, some of which are CDM registered, capture greenhouse gases emitted by coal mines, landfills and livestock.
The fund profits both through offset sales as well as by selling power generated by the projects. It is now 85-90 percent committed, prompting Razzouk to consider Sindicatum's next step.
He told Reuters it is considering four options: start a second fund, raise private equity capital, publicly list in the U.S. and/or Singapore, or simply continue reinvesting revenues.
Razzouk said a decision will be made in the new year, at which point the company will relocate its headquarters to Singapore and move its European office to Cyprus.
"We've got to take a long-term view. We have no footprint in Europe, most of our projects are in Asia and more than 80 percent of our investors are U.S. institutions," he added.
COPENHAGEN
A U.N.-sponsored climate summit in Copenhagen next month is expected to address CDM reform by attempting to streamline processes, which could result in shorter delays.
It was hoped that the talks would agree a successor to Kyoto, which expires in 2012, but there is a growing consensus that only a political agreement will be reached in the Danish capital, postponing a full treaty until 2010 at the earliest.
Razzouk said expectations of a deal at the Copenhagen meeting had always been unrealistic.
"I don't know what people were smoking. I think expectations were wrongly raised for politicians to save us, and I think people should know better," Razzouk said.
"There are 190 governments trying to negotiate a single treaty. My bet is they'll agree at midnight on December 31, 2012."
Razzouk said Copenhagen was irrelevant to his company, and that it would benefit from a number of possible outcomes.
"Unlike many other companies, we're not sitting being anxious about what happens in Copenhagen. I don't care what happens and we can't afford to build a business that cares." To read the full interview transcript or for more news and analysis on the global carbon markets, login to here
(Editing by Anthony Barker)
[Green Business]
Trony Solar raises IPO target to $241.5 million
Fri Nov 20, 2009 6:19pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese thin film solar company Trony Solar Holdings Company Limited raised the amount of its initial public offering on Friday, adding to the buzz around the many U.S.-based publicly traded solar companies.
The firm said in a regulatory filing that it would raise as much as $241.5 million in its IPO, up from the $200 million it filed for last month.
The Shenzhen-based company said it plans to sell 15 million American depositary shares while shareholders sell an additional 4.5 million shares. It said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission it expects the shares to price between $9 and $11.
JPMorgan Special Situations (Mauritius) Limited and Intel Capital Corp, which currently own a combined 5.69 percent of the company, are selling all of their shares.
The firm reported revenue of 254.6 million yuan ($37.1 million) in the three months ended September 30, up 44.8 percent from a year ago, and net profit of 72.5 million yuan, up 61.5 percent from a year ago.
Trony Solar plans to debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "TRO."
Lead underwriters for the deal are J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse. The underwriters may purchase an additional 2.925 million shares.
(Reporting by Clare Baldwin, editing by Matthew Lewis)
[Green Business]
Consolidation to hit solar in 2010: BP Solar
Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:07am EST
By Laura Isensee
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More consolidation could hit the solar power industry in 2010, as tough competition and falling prices whittle away companies that are sitting on high cost assets and loaded with debt, the chief executive of BP Solar told Reuters on Thursday.
BP Solar, a unit of BP Plc, and other solar companies are seeing demand for the renewable energy systems pick up after a dismal year of difficult financing and a tumble in panel prices, but panel prices will continue to drop.
"For some people there will be momentum. For others, they will struggle to meet the cost reductions and the price reductions," BP Solar CEO Reyad Fezzani told Reuters in an interview.
Fezzani said BP Solar did its own version of consolidation, shuttering more expensive factories, such as phasing out module assembly at its plant in Frederick, Maryland.
BP Solar has been in the industry for nearly 40 years and has about 1 gigawatt of installed or sold capacity for solar power systems.
"My expectation is that we will see more of the expensive end of the cost curve be whittled down and cut back," Fezzani said.
The executive said that BP Solar is not looking to acquire any companies that may be for sale as "we think they're the ones that should shut."
DEMAND GROWING
Next year looks bright for BP Solar, with "very robust sales" for the first quarter of 2010, said Fezzani, who expects Italy to be the company's top growth market next year.
Overall, BP Solar is gearing up to grow 40 to 50 percent next year, Fezzani said.
Fezzani said that government incentives in Italy, China and India are expected to spur growth. Depending on how fast China and India ramp up, supply shortages could return.
"We still have a very immature supply chain in this industry. There are going to be stresses and strains particularly as we're up to levels of growth and capacity that we have not seen before," Fezzani said.
The executive expects panel prices, which have plummeted as much as 50 percent over the last year, to return to a more normal rate of decline.
BP Solar could cut solar power panel costs faster than previously estimated.
The company has targeted a 25 percent cut in panel costs by the end of 2010, and it could make those reductions a quarter or two earlier than its target date, Fezzani said.
"I think we're progressing very well on that path," he said.
The company set that goal to make the renewable energy systems more competitive with traditional electricity.
CUSTOMER BASE
BP Solar sees the bulk of its business -- about 60 percent -- in Germany, the world's largest market.
The U.S. market makes up less than 10 percent of BP Solar's sales, but the company would like to grow that to 30 or 40 percent.
BP Solar, which sells in the residential, commercial and utility markets, has landed deals in the United States with major retailer Wal-Mart and package delivery company FedEx Corp.
Fezzani said that the company is working to arrange financing for its 37-megawatt project with the Long Island Power Authority and plans to start construction in the second half of 2010.
It is working with the U.S. Department of Energy's loan program, but Fezzani did not say how much it was seeking.
(Reporting by Laura Isensee; editing by Carol Bishopric)
[Green Business]
Kyoto carbon scheme needs Americans: Sindicatum CEO
Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:24am EST
By Michael Szabo
LONDON (Reuters) - An injection of U.S. talent into the $6.5 billion market in carbon offsets would help clear bureaucratic bottlenecks, making way for increased investment in clean energy, the CEO of a $310 million environmental fund said.
Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), an emissions trading scheme governed by the Kyoto Protocol climate change pact, companies can invest in low-carbon projects in emerging countries. In return they receive offsets that can be used toward greenhouse gas targets or sold for profit.
But long delays in approving projects and issuing offsets have forced many investors to the sidelines in the past year.
The U.S. decided not to ratify Kyoto in 2001 so its participation in the CDM has been minimal, even though the first emissions trading schemes were engineered by Americans.
"You basically have a global regulatory system staffed without the world's most talented human resource pool, and it's a big problem," Assaad Razzouk, head of Sindicatum Carbon Capital, said this week.
"What the CDM needs is 20,000 products of the U.S. education system ... You've got Europeans regulating a cap-and-trade system which was essentially invented by Americans."
Razzouk said the United States, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China, is not represented according to its size as an emitter and as a global economic and regulatory force.
"The transfer of knowledge capital did not occur, and as a result the U.S. is not represented in this market according to their weight," Razzouk added. "We will have a system that works much better when they are involved."
Through a fund of $310 million, London-based Sindicatum has developed an investment portfolio of 20 projects, 80 percent of which are in Asia and the remainder in the United States.
The projects, some of which are CDM registered, capture greenhouse gases emitted by coal mines, landfills and livestock.
The fund profits both through offset sales as well as by selling power generated by the projects. It is now 85-90 percent committed, prompting Razzouk to consider Sindicatum's next step.
He told Reuters it is considering four options: start a second fund, raise private equity capital, publicly list in the U.S. and/or Singapore, or simply continue reinvesting revenues.
Razzouk said a decision will be made in the new year, at which point the company will relocate its headquarters to Singapore and move its European office to Cyprus.
"We've got to take a long-term view. We have no footprint in Europe, most of our projects are in Asia and more than 80 percent of our investors are U.S. institutions," he added.
COPENHAGEN
A U.N.-sponsored climate summit in Copenhagen next month is expected to address CDM reform by attempting to streamline processes, which could result in shorter delays.
It was hoped that the talks would agree a successor to Kyoto, which expires in 2012, but there is a growing consensus that only a political agreement will be reached in the Danish capital, postponing a full treaty until 2010 at the earliest.
Razzouk said expectations of a deal at the Copenhagen meeting had always been unrealistic.
"I don't know what people were smoking. I think expectations were wrongly raised for politicians to save us, and I think people should know better," Razzouk said.
"There are 190 governments trying to negotiate a single treaty. My bet is they'll agree at midnight on December 31, 2012."
Razzouk said Copenhagen was irrelevant to his company, and that it would benefit from a number of possible outcomes.
"Unlike many other companies, we're not sitting being anxious about what happens in Copenhagen. I don't care what happens and we can't afford to build a business that cares." To read the full interview transcript or for more news and analysis on the global carbon markets, login to here
(Editing by Anthony Barker)
[Green Business]
Trony Solar raises IPO target to $241.5 million
Fri Nov 20, 2009 6:19pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chinese thin film solar company Trony Solar Holdings Company Limited raised the amount of its initial public offering on Friday, adding to the buzz around the many U.S.-based publicly traded solar companies.
The firm said in a regulatory filing that it would raise as much as $241.5 million in its IPO, up from the $200 million it filed for last month.
The Shenzhen-based company said it plans to sell 15 million American depositary shares while shareholders sell an additional 4.5 million shares. It said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission it expects the shares to price between $9 and $11.
JPMorgan Special Situations (Mauritius) Limited and Intel Capital Corp, which currently own a combined 5.69 percent of the company, are selling all of their shares.
The firm reported revenue of 254.6 million yuan ($37.1 million) in the three months ended September 30, up 44.8 percent from a year ago, and net profit of 72.5 million yuan, up 61.5 percent from a year ago.
Trony Solar plans to debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "TRO."
Lead underwriters for the deal are J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse. The underwriters may purchase an additional 2.925 million shares.
(Reporting by Clare Baldwin, editing by Matthew Lewis)
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