DailyFinance.comhttp://www.dailyfinance.comDailyFinance.comhttp://o.aolcdn.com/os/df/2013/img/2-dailyfinance_logo_m.pngDailyFinance.comhttp://www.dailyfinance.comen-usCopyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Following the Money: Venture Capital Flocks to Emerging Marketshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/28/following-the-money-venture-capital-flocks-to-emerging-markets/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/28/following-the-money-venture-capital-flocks-to-emerging-markets/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/28/following-the-money-venture-capital-flocks-to-emerging-markets/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Venture capital is growing more global by the day, with half of the successful investments now taking place overseas. What does this mean for VCs and entrepreneurs?The venture capital universe has grown, and the U.S. is no longer at the center of it. That was the message from investors speaking at the Global Technology Symposium on Sand Hill Road last week.

"The world is opening up," Tim Draper, founder of VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, said in a keynote speech at the Menlo Park, Calif., event. "New technologies are happening everywhere and we've got to be prepared for a new globalization of the world."

Part of the reason for VC's globalization is that U.S. has lost ground as the biggest market economy, he said. After all, the richest man in the world (Carlos Slim) is Mexican, the tallest building in the world (the Burj Khalifa) is in Dubai, and the most valuable company in the world is in China, he added. At one point last year, Petro China (PTR) had the largest market capitalization of any public company in the world, but it's currently smaller than Exxon Mobil (XOM) or Apple (AAPL).

Foreign investments now make up half of the successful VC deals -- those in which investors get a return of at least 10 times the amount they invested -- he said. Among emerging markets, DFJ has made investments in Russia, the Ukraine, India and China, for instance. "We have no idea where the next Baidu ... is going to come from," Draper said.

The Cross-Pollination of Money

However, international investments aren't just moving outward from the U.S. Investors from other countries also are investing abroad.

At the symposium, for example, Russian Venture Company made its first investment in a U.S. fund, director Yan Ryazantsev told DailyFinance. He wouldn't disclose how much RVC put into Palo Alto, Calif.-based VC firm Trident Capital, but said RVC plans to invest in two or three more such funds.

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It already has invested in two London-based funds, and its venture-capital fund Russian Venture Capital I LP invested $10 million in California solar company BrightSource Energy last year.

RVC is a government fund of funds: an institutional investor that puts money into venture funds, which in turn invest in startups. With some $1 billion under management, its goal is to boost the VC sector in Russia, and to ultimately help plug Russian companies into the global technology network, said Ryazantsev, director of RVC's investment and expertise department.

The company plans to "significantly increase" activities in the global market, he added. "If our descriptions of Russian opportunities are reasonable for VCs, then they will start to think about Russia. It's a very comfortable way to attract interest in the Russian market."

Many countries are now competing for minds, businesses and innovation, Draper said. Governments have switched "from 'buy' mode to 'sell' mode," he added. "Geographic borders will fall."

Recruiting Innovation

In some ways, investing in emerging markets is not as different from domestic investing as some might think. DFJ lost all of its money in its first three Chinese investments by backing people who claimed to have "great government connections," Draper said. The company regrouped and began focusing on the same investment criteria that had worked well in the U.S., a strategy which yielded some big successes, he said.

Still, the globalization of VC certainly has shifted the landscape for startups. Ideas that only work in one market -- or that already face strong international competition, even if there aren't yet domestic competitors -- could have a harder time getting funding. Companies need to think globally right away, Draper said.

And that means more competition in some cases, but also more opportunities for companies that might previously have started in too small a market ever to get going, Ryazantsev said. "It could be in a very small town, but it must be global from the very beginning. It must have a global vision. But today, that's much easier to do," he said, because the Internet has removed the distances between markets."

Even in just the last year, so much has changed, said Irina Mitchell, a program manager at CRDF Global , a nonprofit that promotes international collaboration in science and technology. Not only has it become more important for investors to diversify geographically to keep their portfolios competitive, but -- now that some of the largest markets are outside of the U.S. -- venture capitalists also need to be active internationally to help their portfolio companies succeed, she said.

Also, the relative risk of international investment has decreased as the risk of investing in the U.S. has increased, she added. "You almost have to be international now," she said.

Will Emerging Markets Mean Earlier Deals?

Mitchell thinks that the international deals will spur more early-stage investment. "There is a void, but we're seeing more VCs at least proclaim that they're open to earlier opportunities," she said.

Investing too early is still a big risk, though. Most of the time, when DFJ has lost money on its investments, it was betting on science projects, Draper said. "But as Moore's law progresses along, I think we will see less of that and more when we're too late." Moore's law is the trend -- initially describing integrated circuits, but now often applied to other technologies as well -- of computer power doubling every year.

As the pace of innovation accelerates, Draper predicts that the same amount of technological innovation that happened in the last 150 years will happen in the next 15.

Some of the advances he expects to see in the next 15 include cheaper, better water desalination technology, a near-infinite energy supply, green buildings, better batteries, self-navigating electric cars, near-thought communication and cures for heart disease, cancer and malaria.

And after that? Perhaps time travel, transporters, holodecks, a cure for death and Martian colonies, he said.


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]]>appleBrazilCarlos SlimchinacrdfdraperDraper Fisher Jurvetsonemerging marketsExxonMobilIndiaInvestingPetroChinarussiarussian venture companystartupstechtechnologytim drapertridenttrident capitalukraineVCventure capitalventure capitalistsJennifer KhoMon, 28 Mar 2011 10:00:00 ESTFannie and Freddie Narrow Earnings Losses, Request More Aidhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/24/fannie-and-freddie-narrow-their-earnings-losses-request-more-fe/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/24/fannie-and-freddie-narrow-their-earnings-losses-request-more-fe/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/02/24/fannie-and-freddie-narrow-their-earnings-losses-request-more-fe/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Home-mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both trimmed their losses in the fourth quarter of 2010. But they aren't out of the woods yet: Both also have increased their requests for new federal aid from the previous quarter.

On Thursday, Fannie Mae posted a $2.1 billion loss for the quarter, or 37 cents per share, down from a loss of $16.3 billion, or $2.87 per share, from the year-ago period. It is now asking for $2.6 billion in new federal aid, a slight increase from the $2.5 billion it requested in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Freddie Mac reported a quarterly loss of $1.7 billion, or 53 cents per share, down from a loss of $7.8 billion, or $2.39 per share, a year ago. It is seeking $500 million in new federal aid, compared with the $100 million it asked for in the third quarter.

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]]>fannie maefinancingfreddie machome buyinghome financinghome loanshome mortgagehome mortgage lenderhome mortgagesmortgagemortgage buyermortgagesreal estateJennifer KhoThu, 24 Feb 2011 20:00:00 ESTCalifornia Voters Reject Proposition to Legalize Pothttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/11/03/california-voters-reject-marijuana-legalization/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/11/03/california-voters-reject-marijuana-legalization/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/11/03/california-voters-reject-marijuana-legalization/#commentsFiled under:

Californians have rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized marijuana in the state.

Proposition 19 would have made it legal for adults of drinking age to possess up to 1 ounce of pot, as well as to grow and smoke the drug in private, and would have authorized local governments to tax its sale.

Billionaire George Soros hoped to boost the campaign a $1 million donation last week. But opponents said that the Prop 19 would stir up a hornet's nest of legal complications. Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder warned that the U.S. government would "vigorously enforce" federal drug laws even if the proposition passed.

While California, as well as some other states, already allow marijuana use for medical purposes, the proposition attracted widespread attention because it would have made the state the first to legalize pot for nonmedical, or recreational, purposes.


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]]>2010 electionscaliforniacalifornia electionselectionelection 2010electionsmarijuanamarijuana legalizationProp 19Prop 19 CaliforniaProposition 19Jennifer KhoWed, 03 Nov 2010 01:30:00 ESTHow Did Global Warming Fare on Election Day?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/11/02/how-will-global-warming-fare-on-election-day/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/11/02/how-will-global-warming-fare-on-election-day/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/11/02/how-will-global-warming-fare-on-election-day/#commentsFiled under: ,

In spite of all the concerns about the economy, Election Day seems to have turned out well for the environment. California voters have rejected a proposition to suspend the Golden State's global-warming law, which requires the state to scale back carbon emissions 25% to 1990 levels by 2020.

The "No on 23" campaign -- including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- has already started celebrating the presumed defeat, with Environmental Defense Fund's political director Wade Crowfoot calling it "overwhelming." The proposition would have frozen the state's global-warming law, which Schwarzenegger signed into law four years ago, until state unemployment dropped below 5.5% for four consecutive years.

Meanwhile, New Mexico on Tuesday passed its own measure to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, but not at the polls. The new policy, approved by the state's Environmental Improvement Board in a 4-3 vote, calls for large coal- and gas-fired power plants, as well as oil and gas operators, to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 2% per year. The measure is intended to open the door for a regional cap-and-trade system, and won't take effect unless other U.S. states and Canadian provinces follow suit, the New Mexico Environment Department says.

"We're thrilled," John Fogarty, president of carbon-reduction advocacy group New Energy Economy, said in a statement. "This regulation sends a clear signal: New Mexico is open for business in the new energy economy. It will attract new investment to the state and create good, high-paying jobs in the solar and wind energy industries."

California regulators also released a cap-and-trade proposal Tuesday. But the plan - along with many other state measures to reduce global warming -- would likely have gone nowhere if voters had approved Proposition 23.

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]]>californiacap and tradecarbon cap and tradecarbon emissionselection 2010global warmingnew mexicoprop 23proposition 23Jennifer KhoTue, 02 Nov 2010 23:00:00 ESTCan Mortgage Investors Force Banks to Buy Back Bad Loans?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/10/28/can-mortgage-investors-force-banks-to-buy-back-bad-loans/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/10/28/can-mortgage-investors-force-banks-to-buy-back-bad-loans/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/10/28/can-mortgage-investors-force-banks-to-buy-back-bad-loans/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

More mortgage investors may soon join the fight to force banks to buy back bad loans, according to a Reuters story Thursday morning. According to the article, which cites an anonymous source, more than 50 large mortgage investors -- including Paulson, MetLife, Prudential and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, met with securities attorneys David Grais and Talcott Franklin on Wednesday.

The news comes after another group of investors last week sent Bank of America (BAC) a letter suggesting that a mortgage-based securities lawsuit may be on the way. Those investors bought securities related to Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America. And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has requested billions in additional loan buybacks -- $18 billion from Bank of America alone -- after forcing banks to take back more than $4 billion in bad loans last year.

Banks' mistakes in foreclosure paperwork has fueled the effort to recoup mortgage-investors' losses from what they say were misrepresented loans. Meanwhile, banks are, understandably, reluctant to pay.


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]]>loan buy backloan buybacksmortgagemortgage backed securitiesmortgage defaultsmortgagesput backsputbacksJennifer KhoThu, 28 Oct 2010 04:00:00 ESTMasdar Gives Up Plans to Produce All of Its Own Powerhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/10/10/masdar-delays-setbacks-carbon-neutral-green-energy/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/10/10/masdar-delays-setbacks-carbon-neutral-green-energy/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/10/10/masdar-delays-setbacks-carbon-neutral-green-energy/#commentsFiled under: ,

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, got worldwide attention in 2006 with its plans to build a $22 billion green city that would be self-contained and 100% carbon neutral. The city, called Masdar, was intended to showcase innovative clean-energy technologies and help launch the country - a big player in the oil and gas industry - into leadership in green energy as well. But the plans have changed.

The city no longer plans to produce all of its own power or to emit zero carbon, Abu Dhabi Future Energy - the government-run company, better known also as Masdar, which is planning the city - told Emirates 24/7 and other publications Sunday. The company also has pushed back the city's expected completion date: It now plans to finish up no earlier than 2020, four years late, and possibly not until 2025.

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The news comes after Masdar in May announced it had "removed" the chief executive and chief operating officer of its solar subsidiary, Masdar PV. The city had planned to produce most of its power via large solar parks and had set up Masdar PV to make those panels.

Masdar PV then signed up to buy 210 megawatts worth of turnkey thin-film solar factories from Applied Materials, and - after some initial setbacks -- began producing panels from its first factory a year ago. (Rainer Gegenwart, former CEO of Masdar PV, told me last year that starting up had been more difficult than expected, but that Masdar PV was ready to start delivering panels to Abu Dhabi by the end of 2009.)

After news of Gegenwart's ouster, as well as several other Applied Materials's customers filing for bankruptcy, Applied Materials in June cancelled its turnkey thin-film solar line all together -- although it's still supplying individual pieces of thin-film solar manufacturing equipment.

While Masdar no longer plans to produce all of its own energy in the city, it still plans to develop clean-energy sources. The company told The Associated Press that it's exploring geothermal energy and solar-thermal cooling, and will now also consider buying renewable power from other locations.

The National newspaper reported that Masdar was considering importing some of its renewable energy back in March, when Masdat also announced layoffs amid financial troubles. The new plan will cut the cost of the project by up to 15%, Masdar claims.


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]]>abu dhabiclean energyCleantechCleanTechnologyenergygeothermalgeothermal energygeothermal powergreen energyGreenTechGreenTechnologymasdarMasdar citymasdar pvMasdarCitysolarsolar energysolar farmsolar farmssolar powersolar thermalsolar-poweredJennifer KhoSun, 10 Oct 2010 13:30:00 ESTBuzz Kill: California Freezes Solar Incentiveshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/07/15/california-temporarily-suspends-incentives-for-some-solar-projec/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/07/15/california-temporarily-suspends-incentives-for-some-solar-projec/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/07/15/california-temporarily-suspends-incentives-for-some-solar-projec/#commentsFiled under: ,

California has put some of its solar incentives on hold temporarily while it rejiggers part of its program.Talk about bad timing. Just days before the start of Intersolar North America, a large solar-industry conference in San Francisco, the state of California temporarily suspended part of its popular solar incentive.

Not only did the ruling come -- somewhat embarrassingly -- right as the industry was celebrating its success in the Golden State, the largest solar market in the U.S., but it also came during the industry's busiest season for installations. Adding to the pain, the decision puts large installations on hold at a time when installers are racing to take advantage of federal Treasury grants, which expire at the end of this year.

Industry on Fire, Now on Hold

"The industry's just been on fire, so this is really unfortunate timing," says Adam Browning, executive director of solar advocacy group Vote Solar. "The [California Solar Initiative] has been going gangbusters, and the summer is a wonderful selling season as electricity prices peak, people pay attention and a lot of solar gets sold. And right now is when people should be getting business done in order to take advantage of the Treasury grants."

The grants have played a key role in boosting U.S. solar installations during the recession by defraying the cost of projects with cash instead of with potentially hard-to-use tax credits. To be eligible, developers are required to break ground on projects before the year ends. And uncertainty about California incentives are likely to put customer decisions and installations on hold, reducing the number of projects California project developers will be able to break ground on before the deadline.

The freeze affects new applications for projects that are 30 kilowatts and larger, as well as nonprofit and government projects. In its July 9 ruling, the California Public Utilities Commission said it's considering modifying the incentives for those projects to make sure it can "maximize the effectiveness" of its remaining budget.

In other words, because the program's attracted so much participation, the CPUC may lower its rates to get the most bang for the buck -- and to make sure it doesn't run out of money before meeting its goal of installing 1.75 gigawatts of solar power capacity in the state. In a sweetener for the industry, the program is also considering adding $20 million in incentives by shifting it away from the program-administration budget.

Under the Radar

The decision got little attention, at least partly because the commission also released its annual program assessment for the California Solar Initiative on the same day. The assessment didn't mention the suspension, instead emphasizing the program's success.

And the program has indeed been popular. The state has received 300 megawatts of new project applications since January, a record number in any six-month period since the program launched in 2007. That's in spite of the fact that the incentives have fallen -- as originally planned -- from $2.50 per watt when the program began to as low as 65 cents per watt last week.

For one thing, prices of solar-power systems also have declined, from about $10.04 per watt in January of 2007 to $8.49 per watt now, according to the assessment, which adjusted those prices for inflation. In addition, federal and local incentive programs have also stepped in to make solar more attractive.

But like other incentive programs, most notably feed-in tariffs in Germany and in Spain, the California Solar Initiative could be considered a victim of its own success. To be fair, the California incentive hasn't boosted the market anywhere near the dizzying heights of the German or Spanish programs, and also built in incentive reductions that would kick in automatically when enough projects applied. Still, like those programs, the California program has been more popular than expected -- and that means it's also running out of money more quickly than planned.

Other Ironies

Adjustments are needed for several reasons, including economic changes, new financing models and lower prices for solar panels. One key factor is actually new and improved technology, says Kelly Desy, manager of government relations and public policy for solar manufacturer SolFocus.

More-efficient solar projects now produce more electricity for their size, meaning that a project with the capacity to produce up to 1 megawatt of power today can probably deliver more electricity than a project with the same capacity a few years ago. Because the state pays larger projects for the kilowatt-hours they produce, it's paying more money for less nameplate capacity than it originally reckoned on getting, even though it's getting more actual electricity. And the state goal was set in terms of capacity, not kilowatt-hours. So the CPUC calculated that it will run out of budget before it reaches its megawatt goals, unless it makes some changes, Desy says.

While some solar installers, developers and customers were stunned by the sudden freeze, Browning says the commission had little choice but to suspend the program without warning. "If they announced incentives were going to be changed, there would have been a gold rush to get applications in before that happened, and it would have defeated the purpose of the change," he says.

Adjusting Incorrect Assumptions

"It's not a decision the CPUC made lightly; nobody's particularly happy about it," Browning says. "But any time you begin a new program, you make assumptions about how it's going to work, and it's proper to adjust those if the assumptions prove to be inaccurate." He hopes the program will be reinstated at a CPUC meeting in early September, probably the earliest point at which it could happen.

In the meantime, the freeze is definitely putting projects on hold, stalling some projects of up to 1 megawatt. "Everything's slowing down," Desy says, adding that the CSI is an integral part of these larger projects' financing and customer decisions. "Now that no decisions are being made and everything's kind of in limbo, those projects are in jeopardy." Developers worry that some customers will simply change their minds if the projects can't be completed this summer.

That said, while the adjusted incentive rates remain uncertain, they're likely to fall within a predictable range, so installers should still be able to line up sales based on a spread of possible incentives, Browning says. As he put it: "They will be able to make the foundation of sales, but not to consummate the sales." Of course, if the suspension lasts too long, cash flow will become a problem for some installers focused mainly on larger projects or governmental or nonprofit projects. But if it ends quickly, Browning says, "it's a problem, but by no means an apocalypse."

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]]>californiaincentivessolarutilitiesJennifer KhoThu, 15 Jul 2010 10:00:00 ESTBiz Brief: Spirit Airlines Strikes a Deal to Put Flights Back on Runwayhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/06/16/spirit-airlines-strike-deal-pilots/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/06/16/spirit-airlines-strike-deal-pilots/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/06/16/spirit-airlines-strike-deal-pilots/#commentsFiled under:

Don't give up on those Spirit Airlines tickets just yet. Canceled flights have stranded or rerouted thousands of passengers this week, but Spirit Airlines pilots plan to head back to the skies Friday after striking a deal to end a five-day walkout Wednesday, the Associated Press reports.

The deal doesn't officially end the pay dispute. Contract details are still being hammered out and a full contract will have to be ratified by union members, according to the Air Line Pilots Association. Andy Nelson, vice chairman of the union, told the Associated Press that pilots will technically remain on strike until a back-to-work agreement is completed.

The strike, which began Saturday, marks the first at a passenger airline since the Northwest Airlines strike in 2005.

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]]>airlinestravelJennifer KhoWed, 16 Jun 2010 19:00:00 ESTBiz Brief: Estimates of BP Oil Spill Size Keep Getting Worsehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/06/15/bp-oil-spill-estimate/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/06/15/bp-oil-spill-estimate/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/06/15/bp-oil-spill-estimate/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Just how big is that BP (BP) oil spill anyway? The safe answer seems to be that it's worse than most people thought. As scientists collect more information about the leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the estimates keep rising, with the latest calculation Tuesday estimating a gush of 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil per day.

The current worst-case estimate equals an Exxon Valdez-sized spill about every four days, The New York Times points out. The calculation, from a government panel of scientists, is a far cry from the initial projection of 1,000 barrels a day, which grew to 5,000 barrels a day by the end of April, then to between 12,000 to 25,000 barrels per day in May. (Other estimates soared as high as 70,000 barrels.) Just last week, the panel again raised the flow-rate estimate to 25,000 to 30,000 barrels a day, while others projected as much as 50,000 barrels per day.

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]]>BPEnergygulf oil spilloiloil spillJennifer KhoTue, 15 Jun 2010 19:30:00 ESTOil Spill's Impact: Bad for the Environment, Good for Clean Energy?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/05/oil-spills-impact-bad-for-the-environment-good-for-clean-ener/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/05/oil-spills-impact-bad-for-the-environment-good-for-clean-ener/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/05/oil-spills-impact-bad-for-the-environment-good-for-clean-ener/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Gulf oil spillBP's (BP) Deepwater Horizon rig continues to leak 5,000 barrels -- or 210,000 gallons -- of oil into the Gulf of Mexico per day, threatening the area's fragile ecosystem and many wildlife species, including some that are already endangered, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We're dealing with a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster," President Obama said Sunday.

But though the environmental impact may be devastating, the environment could benefit in at least one way: The worst-case scenario for deep-sea oil drilling makes renewable alternatives look that much better by comparison. The blogosphere is already buzzing with jokes about massive wind spills and solar spills, pointing out that with these sources, "the worst thing that happens is you stop producing electricity, not destroy entire ecosystems," says Adam Browning, executive director of solar-advocacy group Vote Solar.

A Watershed Moment?

As Ron Pernick, principal of research firm Clean Edge, puts it, the spill "has the potential to be a watershed moment" that could end up changing the way oil and other fossil fuels are developed and paving the way for cleaner energy.

While the story is still unfolding and the full extent of the damage remains unclear, the spill already has exposed some of the vulnerabilities of our reliance on oil, including ever-fluctuating prices based on accidents, military actions and many other variables, Pernick says.

"The volatility of fossil fuels is exactly what makes it untenable for our long-term energy supply -- we're one disaster away from pretty significant disruptions in pricing," he says.

Galvanizing Political Will

Awareness about the hazards of oil could, in turn, boost political support for renewables, Browning says. For example, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is considering calling a special legislative session to discuss renewable energy and other topics after the legislature ended its regular session Friday without approving a bill that would enable utilities to buy more renewable energy.

"We've been working in Florida a long time to try to get them to move on it, and now the governor is looking at opening a special session to get them to look at renewable issues," Browning says.

The coincidental timing of several big wind announcements juxtaposed with news of the spill hasn't been lost on industry spectators either. A plan to install the first offshore wind farm in the U.S., Cape Wind on the Nantucket Sound, got the go-ahead from federal regulators last week. And Google (GOOG) on Monday announced it has invested $38.8 million in two wind farm projects in North Dakota.

Industry insiders have been hoping that large corporations would help close the renewable-energy project financing gap that has stretched in the recession, and the deal -- which marks the search giant's first direct investment in a utility renewable-energy project -- could indicate that might start to happen.

Shifting the Politics

Meanwhile, many have speculated that Obama's proposal to expand offshore drilling as part of the federal energy bill might get junked as a result of the spill, but that could have some unintended effects on clean energy as well. If the offshore drilling proposal, meant to help attract otherwise unlikely votes, has become politically impossible, the energy bill -- and with it, some key provisions supporting clean energy -- may have a slimmer chance of passing.

Some of the provisions on the table include a federal renewable electricity standard, which would require utilities to get 25% of their power from renewable sources by 2025; measures to improve transmission and make it easier for renewable projects to connect to the grid; a carbon cap-and-trade program, which would limit the amount of carbon that companies could emit and set up an auction system for these emitters to buy and sell extra carbon credits; and extensions for several important clean-energy incentives.

Many of the clean-energy incentive extensions could still materialize as riders on other bills, but the electricity standard would be hard to enact separately -- and the cap-and-trade program seems the least likely to occur even if the bill does pass, says Ed Feo, a partner at law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. Both the offshore-drilling proposals and the energy bill as a whole would seem to be in trouble after the spill, he adds.

Refocusing on Energy Costs

But there were already big question marks around whether an energy bill would pass in any case, and offshore drilling would have watered down the bill, Pernick says. The spill could end up refocusing the conversation on an energy bill that's really about clean energy, and that could be a good thing, Browning says. "It's too early to assess how this is going to impact federal legislators."

In any case, most of the support for renewables comes from states, rather than the federal government, and Browning is already seeing signs that the spill could spur state activity. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday withdrew his support for additional offshore oil drilling to help fund state parks, and Florida Gov. Christ also said the idea of drilling off the coast of Florida is dead for now and called for renewed commitment to clean energy.

It's important to note that while many are calling for renewables as an alternative to offshore drilling, oil is mostly used for transportation, while solar and wind power, like natural gas, mostly generate electricity. (Florida, which gets more of its electricity from oil than any other state, is one exception to the rule.) But oil and gas prices usually rise and fall together, roughly speaking, and higher fossil-fuel electricity prices make it easier for renewable sources to compete, Feo says.

In the End, Consumers Still Pay

In general, rising fossil fuel prices are good for renewable energy, as they tend to boost share prices and make alternatives more cost-competitive. Gasoline prices have been climbing since the Gulf leak, although some analysts say the reason is more likely a psychological effect than an actual supply issue. If the spill leads to restrictions on new sources of oil and gas, such as a ban on offshore drilling, that could more significantly constrain the amount of oil and gas available and continue to boost energy prices, Feo says.

In addition, even if BP pays all of the cost of the cleanup, as promised, the billions of dollars will end up translating into higher prices somewhere, Feo adds. "I think the reality will be that the cost of this will be borne by BP, but some amount will inevitably be borne by taxpayers -- not just the [direct] cost, but also the economic impact, of a very large spill."

Of course, all of these potential advantages for clean energy amount to a thin silver lining for a big, black slick. The environmental damage is enormous, and industry insiders emphasize that they certainly don't want the spill to get worse.

"I don't wish the disaster to grow in magnitude, but it's possible that it will, and it would have a huge impact if it continues to proceed as it looks like it could," Pernick says, referencing other disasters like the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. "It has the potential to be a symbolic turning point."

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]]>BPCleantechgulf oil spilloilrenewable energyJennifer KhoWed, 05 May 2010 07:00:00 ESTEarth Day 2010: Five Technologies That Could Help Save the Planethttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/04/22/earth-day-2010-five-environmental-technologies-that-could-help-save-the-plane/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/04/22/earth-day-2010-five-environmental-technologies-that-could-help-save-the-plane/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/04/22/earth-day-2010-five-environmental-technologies-that-could-help-save-the-plane/#commentsFiled under: , ,

At the Copenhagen summit last summer, the G8 countries set a goal to dramatically limit global warming -- a feat that would require the world to cut its carbon emissions by at least 50% from 1990 levels, a study by the Potsdam Institute for ClimateImpact Research found. Other studies call for even bigger emissions cuts.

But how does the world go about achieving such a lofty goal? On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the stream of new and innovative ways to curb carbon emissions and (hopefully) curb global warming seems never-ending these days, making it all the more difficult to figure out which environmental technologies will truly help to save the planet.

DailyFinance spoke with several environmental and clean technology experts to find out which methods they think will have the biggest impact on carbon emissions. Of course, these technologies alone won't be enough. "There's no single Holy Grail; there's no silver bullet. It's going to take many different technologies, used in thousands of creative ways, to save the planet," says Ron Pernick, principal at research firm Clean Edge.

That said, here are five of the most promising environmental technologies that could help save the planet:

Solar Power
Commercial solar power has been around since the 1970s, but it's only just now starting to become affordable enough to make a real impact on energy use. After a years-long supply shortage, prices have plunged in the last two years. Solar production boomed after manufacturers scrambled to add capacity during the shortage, and that led to a huge boost in supply right when the growth in solar installations began slowing thanks to the recession and slashed government subsidies.

The double whammy of the excess supply and slower growth has bought the price of solar to a total cost of less than 18 cents per kilowatt-hour in sunny climates, according to Photon Consulting. That compares to retail electricity prices that last year ranged from an average of 6.08 cents per kilowatt-hour in Wyoming to 21.21 cents per kilowatt-hour in Hawaii.

"The way the price is coming down is so extraordinary that if it keeps on this pace, solar will be a cheaper way of producing power than conventional fuels in five to 10 years," says Ethan Zindler, head of U.S. research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The Pew Center on Global Climate Change estimates the installation of between 200 and 400 gigawatts of new solar capacity by 2020, bringing solar up to 1.5% to 3% of total electricity output and reducing carbon emissions from electricity by 0.3% to 0.6%.

Adam Krop, vice president for equity research at Ardour Capital Investments, is still skeptical of solar's potential to catch up to fossil fuels, however. He estimates solar will likely only make up about 1% of the total global electricity generating capacity for the foreseeable future -- and that's an aggressive target. In the U.S., solar electricity accounts for only 0.01% of the total, he says, but could grow to 0.5% by 2020. That would mean rapid growth, but not enough to dramatically slash carbon emissions.

Still, Robert Wilder, CEO of WilderShares, which manages several clean-energy indexes, says while solar is not likely to exceed 4% to 5% of the world's energy supply in the next 20 years, it's got plenty of potential in the longer term. "In 50 to 100 years, I'd say, hands down, solar's the Big Kahuna," he says. "[Sunlight] is free and abundant, and could provide much more electricity than we need."

Wind Power
Wind power is the cheapest and the most widespread renewable energy today, providing about 1% of U.S. electricity. If wind generated 20% of the country's electricity by 2030, it would eliminate some 25% of the expected carbon-dioxide emissions, the Department of Energy says. And it's already cost-competitive with natural gas in many regions.

In the U.S., wind power costs between 6 and 13 cents per kilowatt-hour, including tax incentives, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change estimates. (Rather than selling directly to end customers, like most solar projects, wind projects usually deliver wholesale power to the grid. In 2007, the latest year for which averages are available, U.S. wholesale electricity sold for between 4.86 cents per kilowatt-hour and 7.10 cents per kilowatt-hour.)

David Jones, editor of the Platts Renewable Energy Report, thinks wind power has the potential to significantly lower carbon emissions, especially as more offshore wind projects are completed. Wind is more abundant and more consistent offshore, allowing project developers to use bigger turbines and produce electricity at lower cost, he says.

However, while wind is the most economically competitive renewable energy source today, the price for wind turbines haven't fallen much in the last five years, thanks -- in large part -- to high steel prices, Zindler says. Because wind-turbine prices haven't shown the kind of downward trend that solar prices have seen, solar may be the safer bet, he says.

Grid Storage
The sun doesn't always shine, the wind doesn't always blow and neither of those events can be controlled by the utility companies. And that's a major -- and growing -- challenge as these renewable energies become a larger part of the energy mix.

Currently, utilities need to back up large amounts of wind power with carbon-emitting coal- or natural-gas power plants when the wind isn't strong enough to meet the electricity demand. Some companies are hoping to solve this problem with batteries and other technologies that can store huge amounts of energy for the grid.

"If you can store renewable power like that, then the main argument against renewables like solar and wind goes out the window," Jones says. Making solar and wind power dispatchable with such storage would triple the value of that power, says Maurice Gunderson, a partner at venture-capital firm CMEA Capital.

The problem is that given the large amount of storage required, these technologies are currently too expensive and don't have long-enough lifespans to make sense for utilities. The technology isn't here yet, and Gunderson says he doesn't expect a viable solution for another 10 to 15 years.

Energy-Efficient Buildings
Reducing the amount of energy consumers and businesses use offers the quickest and cheapest ways to cut carbon emissions, according to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. in July estimated the U.S. could cut its energy consumption from homes, businesses and factories by 23% with things like better insulation, as well as more energy-efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems, home appliances, office equipment and industrial processes. That would eliminate 1.1 gigatons of greenhouse-gas emissions annually and generate a net savings of $680 billion.

Globally, energy-efficiency measures -- including transportation -- could deliver up to half of the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions required to meet to G8 goal, according to another McKinsey report. With buildings accounting for nearly 40% of U.S. emissions, it's clear that energy-efficiency technologies will play a key role.

In fact, energy efficiency was one of the top clean tech venture investment categories in the first quarter, accounting for the largest number of deals, especially in lighting, according to the Cleantech Group. Unlike the construction of new power plants, which are capital intensive and take a long time to sell and build, lighting investments tend to cost less -- and some investors think it'll be easier to convince customers to change a light bulb than an energy source.

Lighting technologies, such as light-emitting diodes, are easily adoptable and because of that will likely have a bigger impact than more ambitious technologies in the near term, says David Berkowitz, a general partner at venture-capital firm Ventures West. "I'm seeing a whole bunch of innovation in that area," he says. "I think we''re going to see, in the next 10 years, some significant adoption of LED lighting technologies."

Lighting comprises 19% of all of the electricity used worldwide, so more efficient lighting technologies could take a good-sized bite out of carbon emissions. But it will take a whole raft of energy-efficiency technologies to reach the G8 goal. Heating and cooling systems offer another big opportunity to cut carbon. Space heating and cooling, as well as water heating, together account for 55.2% of energy consumption in homes and 34.1% of energy use in commercial buildings.

The large potential doesn't mean it'll be easy to become more energy efficient, however. "I wouldn't underestimate the fact that we have huge amounts of energy to gain by saving energy, but I think the low-hanging fruit for energy efficiency has already been grabbed," Jones says.

Nuclear Power
No list of carbon-reduction technologies would be complete without nuclear power, say Chris Gadomski, lead nuclear analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Power. Unlike solar and wind power, nuclear power can generate steady amounts of electricity all the time. Also, nuclear-generated electricity is baseload power that could potentially replace dirty coal, which answers for 20% of the world's carbon emissions and 27% of U.S. emissions.

While it's a controversial choice, nuclear power emits no carbon and supplies far more electricity than solar or wind power - about 15% of the world's electricity, as well as 45% of the world's carbon-free electricity. "There's no comprehensive solution to addressing emissions without nuclear power," Gadomski says. "You'd be missing the world's largest source of carbon-free energy."

The Obama administration supports more nuclear power in the U.S. and big investors like Microsoft (MSFT) Chairman Bill Gates are also backing the technology. Gadomski expects global nuclear capacity will more than double by 2030, with most of that growth coming from China and India.

But make no mistake: Plenty of experts, including many environmentalists, remain highly skeptical. First of all, there's the huge upfront cost of building a nuclear plant and the related financing issues. Estimates have reached $4 billion to $6 billion per gigawatt of capacity, which would make a new plant an expensive proposition for risk-averse utilities, Gadomski says. And disposing of nuclear waste and countering safety concerns continue to pose real challenges.

Still, CMEA's Gunderson calls cheap nuclear power one of three big breakthroughs needed to solve the climate-change crisis. (The other two are grid-scale energy storage and nuclear fusion, explained below.) Researchers and entrepreneurs hope to improve nuke power's prospects with new technologies that could cut costs, improve safety and reduce nuclear waste.

One of the most promising - but farthest off - of these technologies is nuclear fusion, which combines atoms instead of splitting them, producing far more power and far less radioactive waste. "If we get fusion to work, we don't need solar or other renewable generation," Gunderson says. "But it requires fundamental breakthrough and it's a harder challenge than humankind has ever taken on. It makes Apollo look like a weekend project."


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]]>carbon emissionsEarth Day 2010EnergyenvironmentgreenJennifer KhoThu, 22 Apr 2010 12:15:00 ESTCleantech Investment Revs Up, But Where Are the Exits?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/31/cleantech-investment-revs-up-but-where-are-the-exits/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/31/cleantech-investment-revs-up-but-where-are-the-exits/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/31/cleantech-investment-revs-up-but-where-are-the-exits/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Fisker Automotive, developer of this electric sports car, called Karma, was one of the largest cleantech fundraisers in the first quarter of 2009. In spite of the recession, venture capitalists keep raising their bets on cleantech, according to the latest quarterly tallies the Cleantech Group consultancy released Wednesday. Investors in the first quarter of 2010 plunked down a total of $1.9 billion on a record 180 cleantech companies in North America, Europe, China and India, according to the group.

That's up 29% from the fourth quarter and 83% from the first quarter of last year. But investments are still down nearly 27% from the third quarter of 2008, the last quarter before the recession, when they reached a record $2.6 billion. Meanwhile, the number of deals in the latest quarter reached the highest ever, topping the 165 deals in the fourth quarter.

"The first three months of 2010 representing the strongest start to a year we have ever recorded," says Sheeraz Haji, Cleantech Group president, in a statement.

Overall, the announcement Wednesday spells good news for the cleantech industry. Not only have venture-capital investments grown, but big corporations also showed a strong appetite for greentech deals and investments in startups. Royal Dutch Shell, General Motors and Valero Energy (VLO) invested in biomass and wind projects. All together, direct corporate investments announced in the first quarter reached $2.7 billion, a 140% increase from the fourth quarter.

Cleantech venture capital grew in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the previous quarter, but falls short of the investment peak in the third quarter of 2008.

Transportation Accelerates

In venture capital, transportation technologies led the cleantech recovery, overtaking solar investments. The biggest drivers included a whopping $350 million fundraising by Better Place, which is creating a network of electric-vehicle battery charging and changing stations, and a $140 million round for electric sports-car startup Fisker Automotive. Those deals helped the transportation sector gather a total of $704 million in venture investment, by far the largest for any individual cleantech sector.

Energy-storage investments, which aren't included in the transportation totals, also grew in the first quarter, more than doubling to $110 million from $42 million in the fourth quarter. Aside from getting a boost from the transportation sector, investments in energy-storage technologies, such as batteries, are being driven by a belief that storage is a critical component to bringing more renewables online, Haji tells DailyFinance.

Solar investments, the second-largest cleantech investment category, remained fairly flat. Solar companies brought in $322 million in the first quarter, which represents growth from about $200 million in the fourth quarter, but a drop from $451 million in the third quarter. The large amounts of capital some of the technologies require kept solar investment near its recent lows, Haji says.

Solar Stays Low, Smart Grid Plunges

"There's a lot of disappointment in how much capital it's taken to get some of these technologies to scale," he says. "For some of these big bets, like BrightSource and a lot of other leaders [working to develop large solar projects], it's taken a whole lot of time to get to market because of land use - there's a big fight over the Mojave desert - and other issues." Investor enthusiasm for solar has also been dampened by the regulatory environment in Europe, Haji adds. Germany, the largest solar market, is getting ready to reduce its solar incentives and other markets are not expected to be able to pick up the slack.

If high capital requirements are a problem for solar, why are investors jumping on transportation? After all, many transportation technologies also require large amounts of capital. But transportation has a stronger pull with consumers and corporations, Haji says.

"People are watching exactly where Nissan's lease price is at," he says, referring to the company's pricing of its Leaf electric car this week. "There's anticipation that there's a market there, whereas in solar there are very different market dynamics." In other words, transportation is just cooler. Of course, that doesn't mean it might not eventually see overinvestment, and then a pullback, just like the solar sector did.

Meanwhile, energy-efficiency and smart-grid investments, which grew in the fourth quarter, saw declines in the first quarter. Energy-efficiency companies, which enable consumers to use less energy, raised $217, down 38% from more than $350 million in the fourth quarter, and smart-grid fundings plunged even more dramatically -- nearly 80% -- to just above $50 million in the first quarter from more than $250 million in the fourth.

Haji says he expects those sectors to pick up again. "Energy efficiency investments are proving to be faster to bring to market, are usually based on proven technologies, are less capital intensive, are net negative in carbon emissions and have virtually no land or water impact," he says. "Smart-grid investment, while down in a significant way [in the first quarter], is being driven by increased awareness of the fragility of today's power-distribution infrastructure," as well as interest from IT industry to expand into the power market.

Finding the Exits

One of the biggest questions in the recovery has been about IPOs: When are the exits coming? Because venture capitalists need public offerings and acquisitions in order to make money on their investments, the slow IPO market has had a big impact. Venture capitalists have had to reserve more money than they expected while waiting for their portfolio companies to exit.

It looked like IPOs were on the rebound last quarter, particularly in China, but that seems to have stopped short. IPOs fell to $1.5 billion in 13 offerings, down from $2.9 billion in 18 offerings in the fourth quarter. China accounted for most of those, with eight offerings, But three Chinese companies -- Jinko Solar, Trony Solar and Daqo New Energy Corp. -- recently backed out of their planned IPOs, citing weak market conditions.

Even though cleantech IPOs fell, they've actually made up a slightly larger portion of the overall IPO market so far this year, accounting for about 5% of the dollars raised and 7% of the number of deals, compared to just under 5% and over 2% last year, according to the Cleantech Group.

And in North America, exits are finally looking up. IPOs on the continent grew to $589 million from $280.8 million, while acquisitions grew to $8.7 billion from $2.6 billion. Still, those numbers are lower than some had predicted after the successful public offering of battery company A123Systems (AONE) in September, which sparked a flurry of companies registering to go public at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. So far, the increased filings haven't translated into the increased IPOs many had expected, according to the Cleantech Group.

Mark Jensen, a managing partner for Deloitte's U.S. venture-capital services group, says he expects to see IPOs come back this year. "It used to be awful. It's not awful any more," he says. "Companies are maturing nicely and getting ready to go public, and I think we're going to see an active IPO market throughout this year. Is it going to be like 2001? Absolutely not, but we will have a nice steady flow of IPOs this year." Once the first successful IPOs happen, others will follow, he adds.

Industry Still Holding Its Breath

But if that's the case, what's the holdup? After all, A123Systems already opened the door last year. Well, the overall market's still bouncing around, although it's smoothed out from the 200 and 300 point fluctuations of a couple of months ago, and companies want to be sure their shares perform well after their first day of trading, Jensen says. "The market's better, but like everyone else, we're holding our collective breath that we're going to get back on the road to solid recovery."

It's hard to predict how a new stock will do if the market's unstable, Jensen says, and cleantech companies have more to prove than other industries. "If you're going to live up to performance expectations as an industry, you're going to have to outperform," Jensen says. "If I come out with a cleantech stock with some added risk and it's really just performing as well as other stocks, it's not going to be a good harbinger of the industry -- it's going to have to outperform the market."

Raising the stakes even higher is the fact that cleantech stocks underperformed, compared to the Standard & Poor's 500, in the first quarter. The Cleantech Index (CTIUS) fell 2%, while the S&P 500 grew 4%, Haji says. That's a change from the fourth quarter, when cleantech stocks significantly outperformed the S&P 500.

And stock performance is going to be a strong factor in determining whether companies decide to go public, although individual companies' earnings will also play a big role, he says. "If more of these companies get profitable and have good quarters, their board of directors and executive teams will push them out," he says. "If they have soft [results], they will wait another quarter."

DailyFinance writer Alex Salkever contributed to this report.

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]]>carsgreenInvestingsolarJennifer KhoWed, 31 Mar 2010 19:15:00 ESTWind and Biofuel Revenues Grew in 2009, but Solar Dimmedhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/16/wind-and-biofuel-revenues-grew-in-2009-but-solars-profits-dimm/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/16/wind-and-biofuel-revenues-grew-in-2009-but-solars-profits-dimm/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/16/wind-and-biofuel-revenues-grew-in-2009-but-solars-profits-dimm/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

For most industries, 2009 will be remembered as one of the worst economic years in history. But it was a year in which the global clean-energy market -- including revenue from solar photovoltaics, wind power and biofuels - grew 11.4% to reach $139.1 billion, according to a report that research firm Clean Edge released Tuesday.

That doesn't mean clean-energy companies have made it out of the recession unscathed. Solar revenues decreased for the first time since Clean Edge began tracking the clean-energy industry a decade ago, falling 20% to $30.7 billion from $38.5 billion in 2008. The decline came in spite of worldwide installations that jumped to nearly 6 gigawatts in 2009 from more than 4 gigawatts in 2008, according to Clean Edge. (Solarbuzz, another research firm, counted 6.43 gigawatts last year and 5.95 gigawatts in 2008.)

The reason for the drop in revenues is plunging prices. Increased solar-manufacturing capacity, combined with the economic downturn and a Spanish market that shrank from an estimated 1.2 gigawatts in 2008 to 500 megawatts in 2009 because of a smaller federal incentive program, have combined to push prices down significantly. The average installed cost for photovoltaic systems fell from $7 per peak watt, meaning the capacity to produce one watt of electricity under ideal conditions, in 2008 to slightly more than $5 per peak watt in 2009 - and as little as $3 per watt for some of the largest projects, according to the Clean Edge report.

Lower Prices Taking a Toll on Manufacturers

That's good news for new solar customers, as installations have reached their lowest prices yet. Californians, for example, can buy 1-kilowatt solar-power systems for as little as $7,000 in some areas, according to California Solar Initiative numbers. (If you live in the Golden State, you can calculate your estimated price at Solar California.)

But while lower prices will likely continue to lead to growth in solar installations, the news is less welcome for those solar companies that are struggling to make money. Many companies reported falling margins and income in 2009. German manufacturer Q-Cells, the world's largest solar-cell maker, saw a breathtaking 1.35 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in losses last year -- compared to an income 190.6 million euros in 2008 -- as sales fell by more than a third to 801 million euros.

A few companies have been able to reduce their costs, maintain healthy margins and gain market share during the downturn. One of the most obvious examples is thin-film solar star First Solar (FSLR), which posted a 41.5% gross margin and net income of $141.6 million, or $1.65 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2009. Those numbers represented a 12.4% decline in the gross margin, year over year, but a net income increase of 7%.

Clean Energy Is a Key Player in Nations' Economic Recovery Plans



Overall, Clean Edge sees signs of hope for the clean-tech sector, which it forecasts will soar to $325.9 billion by 2019 (see chart, above). One big sign has been huge government stimulus spending on clean energy around the world, especially in China, which has become the world's largest photovoltaic manufacturer and which could end up investing $440 billion to $660 billion in clean energy over the next 10 years, according to Clean Edge.

"Governments around the world continue to see clean energy as a key player in their economic recovery plans," report co-author Ron Pernick said during a conference call press conference Tuesday morning. "Many industry proponents say the conversation needs to shift away from climate toward energy and national security and economic competitiveness."

Also, while U.S. venture investment in energy technologies fell to $2.2 billion in 2009 from $3.2 billion in 2008, investments declined far less than in other sectors, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Indeed, the company found that energy technology became the largest venture category last year, making up 12.5% of venture investments, compared to 11.4% in 2008. Different groups, including the Cleantech Group, Greentech Media, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, have reported widely varying venture-capital figures for clean technology.

All together, clean energy has fared better than many other industries. "We weren't down as much as we might have imagined a year ago," Pernick said. But companies are still feeling the recession, and even though markets are starting to recover, the industry will face its share of challenges in the year ahead - not least of which is continuing price pressure. As Pernick put it, we're witnessing "the advent of the commoditization of cleantech."

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]]>clean energyFirst Solarsolarventure capitalwindJennifer KhoTue, 16 Mar 2010 16:57:00 ESTGoogle Opens Market for Enterprise Appshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/10/google-opens-market-for-enterprise-apps/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/10/google-opens-market-for-enterprise-apps/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/10/google-opens-market-for-enterprise-apps/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

In the flickering yellow-orange glow of fake campfires and under a dark blue canopy of branch-like shadows, Google (GOOG) announced a new product Tuesday evening that heats up its rivalry with Microsoft (MSFT) -- as well as the market for a new group of Internet-based enterprise-software startups.

The Google Apps Marketplace, launched at a semiannual Google Campfire One event in Mountain View, California, will allow developers to sell software applications to the more than 2 million businesses already using Google Apps such as Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar and Google Sites.

The idea is that developer partners will be able to create apps however they want, access data from other apps - for example, add events to Google Calendar or tap into users' contact lists - with users' permission and integrate their apps into the Google Apps control bar and navigation bar. Meanwhile, businesses that use Google Apps will get access to far more of the applications that are then integrated into the same Google Apps interface and that all work together.

The move takes Google deeper into the Internet-based, or "cloud-based," enterprise market, where it already competes with Microsoft's cloud-computing enterprise services and Microsoft Office. It also makes it easier for new startups to target the enterprise market, which industry insiders say could lead to an explosion of new companies and products.




Startups Sign Up

Among the 50 partners that already signed up by Tuesday evening launch are:

  • Box.net: Founded in 2005, this company has developed a content management app that can share all kinds of files, including Google Docs, images, Adobe Illustrator files and more, in Web-based work spaces, as well as control access to the files and assign related tasks. Box.net, which has raised $17.1 million from investors such as Draper Fisher Jurvetson and US Venture Partners, boasts more than 3 million users so far.
  • Skytap: Founded in 2006, this Seattle-based startup gives its customers Web access to business software that's normally stored on a local computer or server, such as Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange and SAP's ERP (enterprise resource planning) software. Skytap claims its virtual servers offer its more than 100 customers 50 to 70 percent savings in infrastructure costs, and also enables customers to run Lotus Notes and other business apps inside of Google Sites.
  • Atlassian: This 7-year-old Sydney-based company has signed up its 2-year-old software development suite, called JIRA Studio, which integrates a set of software development tools, including source tracking, source code search and code review, as well as Google Apps and Microsoft Office, into one interface. Atlassian already provides tools to more than 17,000 developers, and Michael Knighten, director of hosted services at the company, says it made sense to partner with Google because software developers are early adopters of Google Apps.
  • SlideRocket: Founded in 2007, this San Francisco-based company has developed a presentation app meant to compete with PowerPoint. The app, which launched in 2008, enables users to include data from various Web sources, including Google spreadsheets and contacts, and allows multiple users to make changes to the slides at the same time. Just like with Google Docs, no matter how many people are viewing the presentation, the changes will show up on all of them at the same time, eliminating version-control issues, claims CEO Chuck Dietrich. If someone changes a logo in the asset library, that change will occur in every slide in which the logo appears, he added. The software also provides statistics about slide viewership and more interactivity, so that slides might be presented in a different order - or slides might be skipped -- depending on viewer interests. The company already has more than 1,300 customers, including South by Southwest, which starts this week.

More Enterprise-App Startups On The Way

Many customers want email and scheduling applications, and the ability to offer customers already-successful Google apps like Email and Calendar, instead of developing those apps themselves, means startups can get products out faster, Raghavan says. "Email is not something we need to do," he adds.

As Manav Monga, founder of task management app Manymoon, put it: "You want to concentrate on what you're good at and leave the rest to Google."

The marketplace also gives startups a distribution channel to small and mid-sized businesses that might be harder to find and target on their own, and that already are using cloud-based computing, Raghavan says.

Of course, by lowering the barriers to entry, the move will also heat up competition for companies already on the market. "Google's made it very easy, so you're going to see a ton of people taking advantage of that," Tencza says.

Upping the Ante Against Microsoft

Expanding the apps available to businesses also could make it much more viable for Google to compete with Microsoft, experts say. "Google Apps has done really well with Email and Calendar, but it hasn't yet been able to say, 'Throw out your servers; you can do it all with Google Apps,' until now," says Jen Grant, vice president of marketing for Box.net. "This makes [Google] hugely competitive with Microsoft."

Of course, the degree of competition will depend on whether Google can attract apps that business customers really want. Microsoft already has a huge enterprise-customer base, making it a tough competitor. If the apps ultimately developed on Google's platform aren't as good as Microsoft's business products -- or if it proves too difficult or time-consuming for customers to find and use the best apps -- Google may not gain market share.

The apps likely to do best in the Google marketplace will solve a user problem and eliminate clicks, says David Glazer, an engineering director at Google. Developers should think "what would I want to do in my inbox, in my calendar?" he says. "If you find a flow that starts with someone getting an email message and that requires 50 clicks, and if you can now make it a five-click flow, that makes someone's life better."

While the fastest-growing segment of Google enterprise customers has been Fortune 1,000 companies, he says, the first users of the marketplace are likely to be younger companies and colleges, which also ranked among the earliest adopters of Google Apps.

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]]>appscloud computingcloud-based computingemailenterprise softwareGoogleMicrosoftmicrosoft officeJennifer KhoWed, 10 Mar 2010 21:15:00 ESTIt's Show-Time for Bloom Energy's Supersecret Fuel Cellshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/24/its-show-time-for-bloom-energys-supersecret-fuel-cells/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/24/its-show-time-for-bloom-energys-supersecret-fuel-cells/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/24/its-show-time-for-bloom-energys-supersecret-fuel-cells/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The countdown has ended, and years of near-silence are coming to an end Wednesday as venture-backed Bloom Energy unveils its much-anticipated fuel cell at a big media event at eBay offices in San Jose, Calif.

Continue reading It's Show-Time for Bloom Energy's Supersecret Fuel Cells


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]]>alternative energyBloom Energyclean energyclean technologyCleantechfuel cellsJennifer KhoWed, 24 Feb 2010 10:10:00 ESTA Biofuel Station Coming to a Town Near Youhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/10/a-biofuel-station-coming-to-a-town-near-you/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/10/a-biofuel-station-coming-to-a-town-near-you/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/10/a-biofuel-station-coming-to-a-town-near-you/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Lines for dirty old gasoline could start getting a little shorter at Shell and ExxonMobil stations on the crunchy West Coast. Propel Fuels, a Sacramento, Calif.-based startup setting up a network of biofuel stations, said Wednesday it has raised $20 million to expand its network. The financing comes a week after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set a new renewable fuel standard, calling for 8.25% of the country's gasoline and diesel sales to be comprised of alternative fuels. The new mandate is likely to drive more biofuel investment in the future.

Continue reading A Biofuel Station Coming to a Town Near You


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]]>biodieselbiofuelsCaliforniaCanaccord AdamsCleantech GroupDTN Researchethanolflex fuelflex fuel vehiclefuelfuel standardsinfrastructure biofuelKhoObama Administrationpolicyrenewable fuel standardshellJennifer KhoWed, 10 Feb 2010 13:40:00 ESTStormy Skies Ahead for Thin-Film Solar Startupshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/05/stormy-skies-ahead-for-thin-film-solar-startups/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/05/stormy-skies-ahead-for-thin-film-solar-startups/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/02/05/stormy-skies-ahead-for-thin-film-solar-startups/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The success of thin-film solar champion First Solar Inc. (FSLR), which claims to have the lowest manufacturing costs -- and largest production volume -- in the industry, has spawned a whole herd of new thin-film solar startups. But many of these thin-film solar babies are unlikely to survive the next two years, Photon Consulting analyst Ryan Boas said at a solar conference in San Francisco this week.

Continue reading Stormy Skies Ahead for Thin-Film Solar Startups


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]]>Deutsche BankePod SolarFirst SolariSuppliKhoPhotonPhoton ConsultingRyan Boassolar powersolar startupsSolarStartupsthin-film solarventure capitalJennifer KhoFri, 05 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST