Wind Energy
Articles related to Wind Energy
September 29, 2010
General Electric being Smart in its Chinese Expansion
General Electric is looking to Invest Heavily in the new Age Green Industry like other Industrial Giants like Siemens,ABB etc.Having a Local Partner is a Huge Advantage since almost the whole of the Chinese Wind Industry is controlled by Chinese SOEs who favor local companies over foreign ones.EU and Japan have protested against discrimination over their domestic firms but not to much avail.GE is trying to circumvent the Discrimination Problem by giving a majority stake of 51% to Harbin Electric Machinery (HEC).However the Going will not be Easy for GE which is a Global Wind Market Leader because Competition is intensifying in the Chinese Market.Ming Yang Wind Power is looking to expand six fold to take advantage of the Growth in Chinese Wind Energy.Other Companies are doing the same.
September 28, 2010
MingYang is the first Chinese Wind Energy Company to list its shares in the American Stock Exchange.There are a number of Chinese Solar Companies like Renesola,Trina Solar,Suntech etc which are traded in the USA but no Wind Energy Plays.In fact the number of Wind Companies trading on US Exchanges is almost non-existent.Clipper and Broadwind are hardly big players in the global market and provide little direct exposure to Wind Energy for US investors.MingYang is issuing 25 million ADS at a range of $14-16 share diluting around 20% of the company and giving it a market cap of roughly around $1750 million.The proceeds will be used in capacity expansion and R&D mostly.MingYang is the only significant non-state owned Chinese Wind Energy Company with a 2009 marketshare of around 4%.The Company has a very short history installing its first Wind Turbine just 2 years ago and has seen an exponential growth riding on the incredible Wind Industry Growth in China.Here are the advantages and disadvantages of the Company.
September 27, 2010
Tamil Nadu is one of India's most prosperous and industrially advanced states located at its southernmost extreme.The state has shown remarkable progress in the field on Wind Energy utilizing almost 80% of its Wind Power Potential with 40% of India's total Wind Installations.With the right mix of policies,Tamil Nadu has also become the hub of Wind Energy Manufacturing with Global Heavyweights like Suzlon,Gamesa,Vestas all building plants in the State.A number of new players like Sterling Infotech and Lietner have also started manufacturing Wind Turbines in Tamil Nadu due to favorable networking effects.The state is also generates the 3rd largest amount of biomass energy with around 340 MW installed.Here are the reasons why Tamil Nadu has become the Biggest Renewable Energy State in India.
1) Tax Holidays and Subsidies - The government has given attractive subsidies to attract Wind Power Developers to the state.Rs 3.39 ( 8c/Kwh) is the tariff given to Wind Energy besides another 1c/Kwh received from the Federal Government as Generation Based Incentive (GBI).The projects in the state easily make 25-30% returns on their investment attracting a whole host of private industry developers.The Industry also gets a 10 year tax holiday,custom duty exemptions and accelerated depreciation boosting the returns even further.A 20 year PPA at fixed prices helps in building investor confidence .
September 25, 2010
Bulgaria has also now decided to cap Renewable Energy Growth with around 12.5 GW of Green Energy applications lying in the backlog.Poorly designed and implemented subsidies are the root cause for such booms and busts.Poor Governance mechanisms are behind these Green Disasters.Bulgaria is the poorest European Union Country and can ill afford higher electricity prices.The government is targeting a 16% RE target by 2020 for which it wants to fix targets for different Green Energy Sources.The power grid operator has already warned of blackouts in case even half of the 12 GW Renewable Energy applications are actually constructed.Solar and Wind Energy have been incentivized with high FITs with global heavyweights like Siemens and Suzlon rushing in to build wind farms.
September 24, 2010
Offshore Wind Energy is starting to receive a huge amount of investment and attention both in Europe and Asia.Onshore wind installations facing the problems of visual impact,saturation of good windy geological locations and problems of low frequency noise.However Offshore Wind Farms face no such problems since they are located in high wind locations offshore far away from the general population.The largest Wind Farm got installed in the UK with Swedish Utility Vattenfal starting a 300 MW + Farm off the cost of Thanet.UK is at the vanguard of the Offshore Wind Energy Revolution with the largest amount of installations at 1340 MW.The Government has given out a number of approvals to another 30-40 GW of Wind Farms to a number of private players.This will not only substantially raise the Renewable Energy generated from UK but will also result in a huge number of Green Jobs and Investment.Already a number of Oil and Gas offshore companies are converting themselves to Green Ones to take advantage of the Offshore Wind Boom.The Wind Farms are being developed by big utilities like Dong,E.ON,EDP and RWE.
September 23, 2010
Maharashtra is one of the most industrialized states in India but it lags behind other states in Renewable Energy.The recent mandate by the Central Electricity Regulator to increase the requirement of Renewable Energy to 6% of Electricity Produced found Maharashtra having a severe shortfall.Maharashtra has the largest power capacity in the country with around 21 GW but most of it is thermal based generation.Despite having the second largest Wind Power Capacity with 2 GW which is around 42% of the state's potential.However Maharashtra is still considerably short of the 6% Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) set by it.With CERC set to increase the Green Energy Target to 10% by 2015,Maharashtra needs not only to meet the shortfall but also to increase the share of Renewable Energy.
September 20, 2010
Orient Green Power Ltd (OGPL) is Indias Largest Green Utility and is one of the areas that is a good way to invest in India's Green Energy Sector.The company is owned by the Shriram Group and a couple of PE Players will issue around Rs 900 crores (~$180mm) which will result in a market cap of $450mm.OGPL is a relatively new company setting up and acquiring most of its 200 MW capacity in the last year which comprised of 152 MW of Wind Energy and the rest is Biomass Energy.The company plans to increase this capacity 4 fold to around 1000 MW in the next couple of years with Power Plants in India,Europe and Sri Lanka.The centrepiece of this expansion will be a 300 MW Wind Energy Plant in Tamil Nadu for which $10 million has been already been spent.The company's past profits and cash flow have been negative which is not exactly a concern given that most of the capacity was set up in the last year or so.I like the company's growth plans and the sector in which it operates.India suffers from a huge power deficit and Renewable Energy is being heavily promoted through Government Subsides and Renewable Energy Madates by the CERC.Trading of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) should start in a year or so giving additional revenue streams to Green Energy Producers.Here are the pros and cons of the issue
September 17, 2010
Finland is a Fossil Fuel Deficient country getting 30% of its power from Nuclear Energy and 28% from mostly Biomass and Hydro Energy.It is constructing more Nuclear Power to meet it future needs but a Recent Nuclear Plant has caused massive headache.Finland's Power Sector has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons.A Nuclear Plant being built on a Baltic Sea Island of Olkiluoto has entered the annals of Project Finance as one of the biggest Disasters.The main contractor Areva which is the worlds' leading nuclear equipment supplier has surprisingly totally messed up.The original plan of builing the 1600 MW nuclear reactor for 4 billion Euros has doubled to 8 billion Euros.There are reports of faulty concrete bases and steel containers.There is already a blame game between the constructing companies Areva,EDF,Siemens and the government.The time and cost delay has truly been of epic proportions.Areva which is a giant conglomerate has suffered losses on account of just this one project.
September 15, 2010
While Solar Energy is a new kid on the block,Wind Energy has been growing very strongly in the past Decade.Italy was rethinking its Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Scheme to remove price guarantees but at the last minute it changed its mind.Wind is being installed at a rate of 1 GW per year in the last few years.The Italian Mafia has latched onto this lucrative business muscling their way in.The Sicilian Mafia is said to own a large portion of the country Wind Farm Assets and the $1.9 Billion Seizure of assets from a high flying businessman is proof of this.43 Companies mainly operating in the Solar and Wind Segments were seized by the state in one of the biggest swoops against Organized Crime.Wind Turbines involve acquisition of land,local permits and subsidy grants which require a lot of organization and local clout.The Sicilian Mafia is uniquely place to control and organize the setting up of Wind Farms.With a government guaranteed return of Euro 18c/KwH,the Wind Subsidy in Italy is one of the highest in the world.Compare this to the Rest of the World where Wind Subsidies get around $0.10/KwH.Note Criminals have not only been involved in Italy,but there are also reports of nefarious activity in Renewable Energy in Bulgaria,Spain,Canary Islands etc.
September 14, 2010
20 GW of Capacity is expected to be built by 2010 end in China up from around 10 GW in 2009.Fierce Competition in the Wind Turbine Market has led to increasing distress for smaller players.Sinovel the biggest Wind Turbine maker which sold 3.5 GW in 2009 has been using price as a weapon to drive away competitors.These Companies are now trying to expand internationally.Korean Companies like Samsung,Hyundai are investing heavily in the Wind Sector and are on track to become formidable competitors in a few years.Suzlon's Chinese Dreams looks difficult to implement in reality.
September 14, 2010
Green Investing in India – Economically Backward Orissa remains backward in Renewable Energy as well
India's most industrialized and fast growing states like Gujarat,Tamil Nadu,Maharashtra have been the most aggressive in Green Energy as well.Gujarat has attracted huge interest in Solar Energy through strong support by the government.Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra account for almost 70% of India's 8-9 GW Wind Energy capacity.However economically backward states like Orissa,Bihar,Uttar Pradesh remain laggards in this respect as well.Orissa seems a classic case where the general economic lethargy extends to the Renewable Energy Sector as well.
September 11, 2010
Siemens is one of the largest conglomerates in the world with a huge Green Division.This German Giant is present in almost all sectors of the upcoming […]
September 10, 2010
Vestas is trading at historical lows with these repeated bad news taking huge chunks from the stock.However like Suzlon,Vestas is more like a Falling Knife than a Fallen Angel.Despite a major new order of 400 MW,Vestas stock has fallen even more.Like Nokia in Mobiles and Sunpower in Solar Energy,the industry has totally changed for these industry leaders.The structural issues with the major incumbent Wind Turbine Makers are too dire for short term order wins to help them
September 7, 2010
Germany is planning to extend the life of the nuclear reactors that are supposed to close in 2022 by an average of 12 years.Note extension will […]
September 7, 2010
Polysilicon Demand has been skyrocketing in the recent years due to Exponential Growth of the Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells.This made Elkem decide on building a 5000 ton solar specific plant in Norway through a new cheaper process of refining Silicon called Metallurgical Silicon.However the 2008 GFC and poly Oversupply has made this process suspect as $400/kg poly prices went crashing down by 90%.Timminico,a Canadian Producer which was in the process of setting up a giant mg-Si plant has almost collapsed as orders for this less refined Polysilicon Form dried up.
September 6, 2010
Estonia is facing increasing burden of renewable energy subsidies with electricity tariffs rising for the general population.With prices expected to be up almost 10% due to […]
September 1, 2010
Wind Energy in the USA has hit an Air Pocket in 2010 with Low Prices for Gas and lack of a Federal Push for Green Energy.The end of 30% Cash Grants for Wind Investments by 2010 end may lead to a worse 2011,if the incentives are not extended by the Congress.Note Wind Energy is the cheapest form of Green Energy with prices of 8-10c/KwH and the second most prevalent form of Renewable Energy after Hydro Power.China has become the largest installer of Wind Energy in 2009 with 13 GW showing a 100% CAGR over the last 2-3 years.
August 27, 2010
Czech Republic came out with a Renewable Energy Framework which will finish off the Solar Sector in the country if passed in the current form.Czech despite […]
August 25, 2010
Korean Shipbuilders are facing the twin problems of increased competition from Chinese companies as well as a global glut in Ship Supply.They are looking to diversify away from the ship building industry into newer faster areas of growth.Wind Energy has been growing at above 20% CAGR over the last several years and makes a good area to invest in.Daewoo Shipping has bought a small firm in the USA DeWind to acquire Wind Turbine Technology while Hyundai has already made plans to open Wind Farms.With same skills required in Offshore Wind Farms and Shipbuilding,Daewoo Shipping has set a target of $800 million from Wind Energy by
August 20, 2010
the administration had done nothing.Instead of setting out a Renewable Energy Standard or a Feed in Tariff Policy,the President seems busier in giving speeches and photo-ops.The result has been that USA is lagging far behind Europe and China in the Green Energy area.Deutche Bank Asset Management which invests $6-7 billion out of its $700 Billion corpus in the Green Sector,has made a scathing attack on the lack of US Federal Support for Green Industry.The Bank said it would totally bypass US in making Green Investments and concentrate its energies on China and Europe.Solar Companies are already outsourcing Green Jobs to Mexico and China. US Companies are already recognizing China as a Leader in the Clean Technology Area .
August 17, 2010
The stock might offer some short term profits for high risk traders on a dead cat bounce,but it is definitely not a fundamental pick.Unless the company really makes significant progress on the revenue and orders front,it is not a buy in my book.
August 12, 2010
UN's CDM panel which decides on the eligibility of projects under this scheme has come under criticism for being too lenient in approving projects.It has been said that these projects sometimes lead to more emissions defeating the very purpose of this scheme.The Panel has become more discerning and has rejected around 50 Wind Projects in China because they were thought to be profitable even without these credits.
July 21, 2010
Google’s paltry $39mm investment in a Wind Farm was puzzling as it really seemed to meet no goals.The investment would not lead to any significant advancement […]
July 20, 2010
ABB, the European Giant which was formed by merger of Asea and Brown Boveri in 1989 is increasing its lead in the Smart Grid Industry.The company […]
July 18, 2010
Chinese Green Companies are being forced to look at overseas market for Profits as their Domestic Market is being ravaged by fierce price wars.Wind,Solar and even […]
July 17, 2010
India’s Western state of Gujarat is one of the most developed regions in the country and has shown tremendous economic growth over the past decade.The state […]
July 17, 2010
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries , the massive Japanese Conglomerate is looking to overseas market for growing its Wind Energy Division.Mitsubishi like other Japanese companies are looking towards […]
July 17, 2010
Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) are one of the popular subsidy measures used by government around the world to promote Green Energy.However the market pricing of these […]
July 14, 2010
General Electric or GE as it is popularly known is one of the biggest players in the Green Industry globally.It generated $18 billion in Ecomagination revenues […]
July 6, 2010
Spanish Government Facing a Tough Fiscal Situation;Plans Green Energy Subsidy Change The Spanish Government has been facing a tough budgetary situation due to sovereign debt problems […]