Electricity
May 3, 2011
Coal M&A is picking up at a feverish pace as the demand and price of coal shoot through the roof.Note Coal is the cheapest fossil fuel and powers most of the world's power plants despite its disadvantages.The abundance and cheapness of coal has managed to hide its deleterious effects.Indian and Chinese companies are gobbling up coal mines and companies globally as they rush to secure raw material for the growing thermal power plant capacity.The Adani Group is one of the leading Indian private power companies setting up gigawatts of new thermal power plant capacity.Mundhra Port the Adani Flagship has been buying up coal plants,ports and building power plants to vertically integrate itself in the whole coal supply chain.It recently bought the Australian Linnc Energy's Gaililee coal project for USD 2.7 billion.It has followed it up by buying Abbot Point Coal Terminal from the Queensland state of Australia for 1.8 billion Australian dollars.
May 2, 2011
Indian government seems not to have learned much from the Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown which has thrown millions of Japanese lives out of gear and caused massive disruption to the economy.The Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant to be built by NPCIL using Areva's experimental nuclear reactors has got the federal government's environmental clearance.Note the protests against the plant had got a political color with local opposition parties getting involved.A number of villagers have already been killed by police firing and further protests are expected.Note India's activist environment minister Jairam Ramesh has proven to be selectively biased towards large industrial projects in Congress ruled states.After appearing to be hero stopping the Niyamgiri project from Vedanta,Ramesh has given the go ahead to politically favored projects.Not a surprise given the endemic corruption present in the ruling coalition which has given birth to a number of corruption scams and scandals.Like everything,even a project of this criticality has acquired a political cover with everyone sounding their party positions without worrying about the possibility of a nuclear meltdown in India.
May 2, 2011
Arch Coal is the 3rd largest Coal Company in the USA. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company sold approximately 126.1 million tons of coal and operated 19 active mines at 11 mining complexes located in the United States. On October 1, 2009, the Company acquired Rio Tinto’s Jacobs Ranch mine with 345 million tons of coal reserves and integrated it into the Black Thunder mine.International Coal on the other hand is a small producer with a market cap of $2.2 billion previously which has managed a nearly 50% premium.Market Cap of $2.2 Billion is a producer of coal in Northern and Central Appalachia .As of December 31, 2009, the Company operated a total of 11 surface and 11 underground coal mines located in Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Illinois.The Company’s mines in Central Appalachia produced 10.1 million tons of coal in 2009, and the mines in Northern Appalachia produced 3.9 million tons of coal in 2009.
May 2, 2011
Solar Panels have grown exponentially in the last few years driven by declining costs and growing energy prices.The advent of the low cost manufacturers of silicon solar panels from China,falling raw material polysilicon costs,subsidies from governements fighting climate change have all contributed to the more than 150% increase in world solar demand in 2010.Solar Panels are not only being used on roofs and giant rooftop ground plants,but also are being integrated in buildings known as BIPV applications.Solar Panels are also available in flexible forms which can be used in backpacks and other innovative ways.Now there is another niche for solar panels that is growing.Note most of these companies are using the Concentrated Photovoltaic Technology (CPV).The traditional CPV suffers from heating problems as high concentration of sun power leads to high temperature.Building the CPV systems on water will help them solve their problems according to these companies.
May 1, 2011
NTPC,India's largest power generating utility with around 35 GW of electricity capacity is set to enter renewable energy in a big way as it has singed 500 MW of PPAs with state distribution companies for supplying green energy.Note India's electricity regulator CERC has mandated a 6% Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) in 2011 which will increase by 1% each year to 15% by 2020.A number of states have fallen behind in meeting their RPO and would need to either generate or buy Green Energy to meet the CERC targets for renewable energy.NTPC which is predominantly a thermal power utility has been planning to set up wind and solar power plants but nothing has been done till now.However after signing these PPA with the Madhya Pradesh,Orissa and Karnataka government,the renewable energy projects should get accelerated.
May 1, 2011
Note Big Oil and Gas has been slowly been retrenching form the solar energy industry despite initial leadership.Shell which was one of the biggest solar players has become almost non-existent while BP has shut down a number of solar factories outsourcing production to China.Other Oil and Gas companies like Exxon,Valero,Chevron and others have concentrated their energies on related green sectors like algae based biofuels rather than on solar and wind energy.So the move by Total comes as a surprise as it acquires one of the top 15 solar panel companies in the world.Sunpower is being acquired at a cheap price considering its world beating solar cell technology and its massive systems business which has gigawatts of solar projects under development.Note Sunpower makes the highest efficiency solar panels on a commercial scale and recently tied up with AUO.It is the 2nd biggest solar plant installer in the US and has a massive presence in the commercial and government sector.Total said it looked at over 200 companies before buying Sunpower.Note M&A has been strong in the Solar Thermal Industry and has now started picking up in the Solar PV Industry as well.With solar company valuations at a historic low,it makes sense for the larger chemical and energy companies to pick up good companies on the cheap.
April 25, 2011
China has recently put increased scrutiny and control over the mining,smelting and export of important minerals like tungsten and rare earth oxides.Note mining in China often takes place illegaly without any regard to environment in quest for a quick buck.Japan which is the largest importer of rare earth oxides from China gets most of its demand met through illegal mining.However China has cracked down on this practise as it regards these minerals like tungsten,iron,rare earth,antimony and molybdenum as important for national goals.China has severely curtailed the exports of rare earth exports leading to a sharp rise in rare earth prices and stocks of rare earth companies.This has sparked concern in developed countries and blocks like EU,Japan and USA which has taken the case to the WTO.
April 25, 2011
Wind Power in India is the 5th biggest wind energy market in the world with more than 2 Gw of wind capacity being installed in the country.However Wind Energy Companies in India are seeing increasing competition from the entry of low cost Chinese Wind Turbine manufacturers Shanghai Electric and Dongfang.Chinese Wind Companies have seen astronomical growth in the last 5 years to occupy 7 of the top 15 global positions in the top wind companies in the world from zero.On the other hand India has only Suzlon in that list. Wind Turbines in India which are not as sophisticated and advanced in the western market with most turbines being of lower than 1 MW capacity.However with increasing focus on improving the LCOE and development of low wind locations,India Turbine producers are concentrating on introducing higher capacity 2.5 MW turbines and advanced technology like "direct drive" wind turbines.
April 25, 2011
India is a massively energy deficient country with official figures citing around 15% of peak electricity demand deficit due to lack of power generation and distribution.The […]
April 22, 2011
Mining Industry in India is an important economic sector which contributes significantly to the economy of India. India's minerals range from both metallic and non-metallic types.The total working mines were 2,854 in 2007-08 with 569 mines belonged to coal and lignite, 676 mines to metallic minerals and 1,609 mines to non-metallic minerals.There were 755 mines in public sector and the remaining 2,099 mines in private sector.India is an important exporter of iron ore, titanium, manganese, bauxite, granite, and imports cobalt, mercury, graphite etc. India mineral resources of the country are surveyed by the Indian Ministry of Mines, which also regulates the manner in which these resources are used. The ministry oversees the various aspects of industrial mining in the country.Note Mining in India comes under both the ferderal and state supervision.
April 22, 2011
Offshore Wind Energy has been foretasted from around 3 GW to 75 GW by 2020 as countries in Europe,Asia and North America heavily support this industry.Onshore wind energy growth on the other hand is expected to slow down as 38 GW of Wind Capacity were installed in 2010 with Western Markets showing a sharp slowdown.Offshore Wind is seeing increasing growth as government heavily subsidize and support Offshore Wind Energy.Though the costs of offshore wind parks are much higher today,they will decrease as the installed offshore wind capacity increases from around 3 GW today to around 75 GW which is being foretasted globally by 2020.Note every industry sees costs declining with large capacity except the mature industries.For example Wind Energy has seen a 10% decline in costs for every 100% increase in installed capacity.Note offshore wind projects offer even more Wind Energy Advantages than normal Land Based Wind Farms.The only problem facing offshore wind power is high costs as the industry still is on the learning curve.However as companies gain experience and build capacity,the prices will be cut as costs come down and volumes increase.European Wind Companies are leading the pack as almost 80% of the current global capacity has been installed in Northern Europe.The opportunity is so large that South Korea shipbuilders like Samsung,Daewoo and Hyundai are investing heavily in this area.
April 18, 2011
Offshore Wind Energy grew by more than 50% in 2010 and is expected to continue at above 50% growth rates over the next several years as the global installed offshore wind capacity multiples by more than 25 times over the next 10 years.The massive investments and government interest in offshore wind farms has attracted a number of companies to this sector.Top Wind Turbine Companies are leading the pack as it falls right in their domain of expertise as Wind Turbines form almost 50% of the cost of a offshore wind park.Other companies with expertise in related areas such as building foundations for the giant 5 MW and greater capacity offshore wind turbines and the logistics in transporting them also get involved.Shipbuilders from South Korea and Northrop Gruman are also getting in through JV and M&A.European Wind Companies are leading the pack as almost 80% of the current global capacity has been installed in Northern Europe.Also these companies possess a high level of expertise at building and designing wind turbines.Here is a list of the major offshore wind turbine companies.
April 18, 2011
Offshore Wind Energy has been forecasted from around 3 GW to 75 GW by 2020 as countries in Europe,Asia and North America heavily support this industry.Note onshore wind energy growth has slowed down as 38 GW of Wind Capacity were installed in 2010.Offshore Wind Energy is being subsidized as it has a number of advantages over onshore wind power despite its higher costs.The oppurtunity is so large that South Korea shipbuilders like Samsung,Daewoo and Hyundai are investing heavily in this area.Note Onshore Wind Energy also has many advantages which have overcome the drawbacks to become the biggest green industry.Offshore Wind Power is set to take up the growth baton fro Onshore Wind as Costs are expected to come down as the industry and technology matures and more Wind Turbine Companies gain experience in this area.Note USA has 4000 GW of Offshore Wind Capacity which is enough to meet the entire electricity need of the biggest power consumption country in the world.
April 18, 2011
Offshore Wind Parks which are clusters of giant offshore Wind Turbines built near the coast in the middle of the water have become the fastest growing segment of the Wind Power Industry.The list of of offshore wind farms are increasing as government heavily subsidize and support Offshore Wind Energy.Just like Electric Vehicles,offshore wind farms though not economic today will help immensely in the fight against Climate Change in the future.Though the costs of offshore wind parks are much higher today,they will decrease as the installed offshore wind capacity increases from around 3 GW today to around 100 GW which is being targeted globally.Note every industry sees costs declining with large capacity except the mature industries.For example a rule of thumb for solar power costs are that they decline by around 20% for every 100% increase in installed capacity.Offshore Wind Power today suffers from higher costs as the industry and the ancillary infrastructure is not well devloped.However as companies gain experience and build capacity,the prices will be cut as costs come down and volumes increase.So what is the cost of offshore wind power and what are the cost drivers of this industry.
April 18, 2011
Offshore Wind Farms are the fastest growing segments in the Wind Energy Industry area boosted by improvements in Wind Technology and subsidies by the government.Offshore Wind Energy is growing the fasted in the United Kingdom which is surprising considering the poor state of Green Energy there.Europeans are leading the way in offshore wind energy given their massive strengths in Wind Technology.However other major Wind Turbine Companies are also developing their capabilities by spending millions of dollars on offshore wind turbine R&D.Offshore Wind Farms have also come in for criticism because of their higher costs and the longer time to install them.Note offshore wind projects offer even more Wind Energy Advantages than normal Land Based Wind Farms.The only problem facing offshore wind power is high costs as the industry still is on the learning curve with only 1.5% of the world's total installed wind capacity coming from offshore wind farms.
April 17, 2011
Silicon for Solar Cells that are used to make the normal crystalline solar panels is known as Polysilicon.This is a highly purified form of the Silicon Metal that is mined.Note Polysilicon is made through chemical processes which help in purifying the raw silicon and removing the impurities.The Silicon that is used to make Silicon Cells is also used to make semiconductor wafers which is the raw material for the Electronic Industry.Solar Cells require slightly lower purity of 6N compared to the higher 9N required by the Semiconductor Industry.Once Polysilicon is produced it has to be made into flat wafers which require further industrial processes like pouring the metal in crucible to make ingots and then cutting the ingots by wiresaws to make solar wafers.The solar wafers are then converted into solar cells by processes like diffusion,etching etc.
April 17, 2011
A lot of confusion exists about solar cells efficiency about which technology results in how much efficiency and the difference between solar cells and the solar panels efficiency.Note the biggest differentiator of a solar cell besides its cost is its efficiency.Not only do different materials give different efficiencies,even different companies have conversion efficiencies which differ for the same technology.Silicon Solar Cell Efficiency also depends on the purity of the solar wafer which is used as raw material to print solar cells besides whether it is monocrystalline or multicrystalline solar cells.With most of the low lying fruit already gathered in respect to lowering cost of the silicon solar cells,most of the big Chinese solar companies are concentrating their efforts in improving the efficiency in order to cut down costs in the cutthroat solar industry where the stars of yesterday are fighting to stay alive (Energy Conversion Devices,Evergreen Solar).This rising tide of the solar industry in 2010 has not been able to revive the fortune of some companies though European companies have made enough to fight another day.Solar Cells Efficiencies also differ in the champion cells tested in labs like NREL and on commercial lines.But here is a general range of efficiency of different types of solar cells made from different technologies
Solar Cell Efficiency Improvement is the best way to reduce the costs of solar power and reach grid parity in most places in the world.Solar Cell Efficiencies have improved continuously and with a number of companies and startups investing billions of dollars in research,it will keep improving.However cost considerations are an important factor as well and the technology which balances the two will win the solar energy race
April 17, 2011
America currently has a massive number number of startups in the clean energy industry and a lot of them in the fastest growing green industry that is the solar sector.However like startups in all industries a lot of them will fail,some will sell themselves to others like Heliovolt,Ausra while a few will make it really big making a fortune through IPOs for their PE investors and owners.One or two will make fortunes for those who invest early as well like First Solar.Note First Solar despite numerous ups and downs is still up more than 450% from its IPO price five years ago.It won't be the last either.So despite the strong competition in the solar industry where numerous companies and technologies are jostling in the more than $70 billion global market,one or two of the smart ones will become huge winners like Intel or Microsoft.So which are the solar startups which are showing the most promise.Four of them are currently leading the pack while a few others have got a reasonable chance of success as well though they need to prove more like Stion and Miasole.Some of the more hyped ones like Solyndra have gone on a slimming down mode and might make a comeback though it will be tough.There are some others in stealth mode which may become big also.But here is the list of the Four Best Solar Startups in the Solar Electronics,Solar Panels and Solar Thermal Sectors.
April 16, 2011
Solar Water Heaters are one of the most successful solar products which have managed to proliferate without government subsidies needed for other solar products like solar panels etc.Note Solar Power in India is taking off with the government promoting its through the JNNSM subsidy policy.The payback period for solar heaters is quite short and it substitutes the need for electricity needed to run power guzzling water heaters in residential and commercial establishments.The other reasons for the success of solar water heaters is that they are relatively easy to build and install making them quite popular.China has the largest number of solar water heaters installed in the world and other countries are not far behind.India too has seen a rapid growth in the use of solar water heaters with roofs around India marked with solar water heaters.Note the government of India through MNRE also subsidizes the buying of solar water heaters making them even more popular.Solar Water Heaters of different qualities,capacities and prices are available in the Indian market.Solar Installers are responsible for doing the whole turnkey installation of solar water heaters,piping system and maintenance.
April 15, 2011
eSolar is a US based Solar Thermal Technology Startup which has managed to raise $182 million from top VCs and investors and managed to win contracts to build solar power plants using its properietary Power Tower Technology in the US,China and India.Note like Brightsource Energy,eSolar is one of the most promising CSP startups which has managed to get funding and contracts,it now needs to execute to deliver on its potential.
Solar is using the Power Tower Technology same as Brightsource Technology which differs from the parabolic trough mainstream CSP Technology.Note Parabolic Trough Technology is used by most of the established Spanish players like Abengoa.It is also the Technology used in the 392 MW largest solar thermal plant in the US built in the 1980s by Luz.In this technology thousands of heliostats (mirrors) reflect the solar light onto a "Power Tower" where water or salt is heated up.This heat energy is then transferred into Electrical Energy through standard Steam Turbines and Generators used in Gas,Nuclear and Thermal Power Plants.
April 15, 2011
Suniva is the only crystalline solar Solar Companies in the US which has been able to survive and thrive in recent times.Sunpower too has resurrected itself through strategic JVs and acquisitions.The main reason for the decline of the US solar companies has been the severe competition from the low cost Chinese Solar Industry.This has made companies like Energy Conversion Devices and Evergreen Solar shut down US factories and look towards Mexico and China to build low cost factories.However Suniva has managed to face all these competitive threats quite successfully and is looking to expand capacity in the US by building a 400 MW factory.The company even refused a DOE Loan Guarantee saying that the terms were too onerous.The company has manged to raise more then $130 million in equity and has won contracts to supply high efficiency solar cells to the Asian companies which is a first.Suniva differentiates itself through its technology which allows the production of high efficiency monocrystalline solar cells at lower cost.Note Sunpower makes the highest efficiency cells in the world in the range of 22-24% but its cost structure is too high.Suniva is looking to challenge the Taiwanese Cell Producers by marrying higher efficiency with lower cost.
April 15, 2011
Renewable Energy Investments surpassed investments in Fossil Fuel Electricity investments in Europe and USA in 2010 as developed countries focused on alternative energy as a solution to the problem of Global Warming and higher Fossil Fuel Costs.While Wind and Solar Energy are currently the dominant forms in different types of Renewable Energy,others like Tidal and Wave Energy are also seeing a lot of investment in R&D.The major advantage of Renewable Energy is that it does not emit GHG which is the leading cause of Climate Change.While this is the biggest Need for Renewable Energy other needs are equally if not more important.Here are the most important needs of Renewable Energy
April 15, 2011
Areva the French Nuclear Giant which is known more for producing equipment for nuclear power plants is been awarded federal funding by the Australian Government to build a solar coal hybrid plant in Queensland.The 44 MW Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Plant will be built near a 750 Thermal Power Station.This will be the second solar coal hybrid plant in the world when its gets finished in 2013.Note Areva has huge plans in the Solar Thermal Technology Industry after buying startup Ausra sometimes ago.The company which is an expert in power plant equipment technology such as boilers,turbines will use its expertise to build a CSP plant adding to the power output of the Kogan Creek Thermal Station.Note the cost mentioned implies around $2.4/watt which does not seem expensive.The CSP Coal Hybrid will not require storage which will help in reducing the costs of the power plant.Note a number of Fossil Fuel Solar Hybrid Plants are being planned around the world.Almost all of these power plants use CSP Technology instead of the PV Technology.Its a valuable niche for Solar Thermal Companies to explore as they face huge competition from Solar PV which is drastically reducing its costs to reach retail electricity price equality.
April 15, 2011
Spain has started cracking down on Solar Power Plants which are making huge profits through illegal Feed in Tariffs which they should not get.Note Spain had seen a massive boom in solar installations in 2008 due to unusually large ROI driven by high Feed in Tariffs.FIT are electricity rates which are higher than wholesale electricity rates paid to renewable energy power plants in order to make them competitive with cheaper fossil fuel power plants.Seeing a huge increase in the subsidy burden Spain has pretty much killed the solar market in 2009,however the problems of Fiscal Deficit has made Spain reconsider the tariffs being given to even older solar power plants.After a lot of controversy,Spain changed the FIT rules in the middle of the game through a retroactive FIT Law drawing howls of protest from solar investors like pension funds which have sued the government
April 14, 2011
Solar Power is the only form of Energy whose costs are continuously declining compared to other forms of Energy.This is one of the biggest advantages of Solar Power over other renewable and non-renewable forms of energy.Solar Energy costs have declined by over 50% in the last 2-3 years even as Coal,Oil,Gas and other Energy costs have gone up.While Wind Energy costs have declined in the last year the overall trend is increasing as the costs of copper and steel go up.This is one of the main reasons why solar energy demand has gone up by 150% in 2010.With solar costs going down by another 10% each year over the next few years,expect Solar Energy to grow at a further fast rate in the future as well after growing at 50% CAGR over the last decade.Here are some of the advantages of Solar Energy over other non-renewable energy forms
April 14, 2011
First Solar Thin Film Leader and the largest solar company by value has decided to shift focus towards the commercial segment between 10-30 KW in size..The company was promoted by Wal-Mart promoters and has seen remarkable growth in the last few.This US based company uses Cadmium Tellurium (Cd-Te) Technology and is the lowest cost panel producer in the world today if you don’t include any penalty for low efficiency.Note First Solar derives most of its revenues from large utility solar power plants where the lower costs of its Cadmium Tellerium Solar Panels compensates for the Lower Efficiency of its Solar Panels.It does not get too many sales to the commercial and residential market where its lower efficiency panels lose out as they require much larger space to generate the same amount of power. First Solar Panels don't sell well in applications where space is a constraint.Note Sunpower which is the highest efficiency commercial c-Si solar module producer wins out in applications with space constraint.
April 14, 2011
Micro inverters in Solar Energy is a recent phenomenon which has started replacing solar string inverters in residential small solar installations in a small way in USA.Enphase Energy has been instrumental in making this niche technology popular which increases solar panel efficiency by 5-25% and has a number of other advantages over central inverter as well.This has made the major solar inverter companies sit up and even introduce microinverters even on their own.Though the Costs of the Solar System are increased as microinverters cost more per watt,however the reduce the lifecycle costs in small installations through increased reliability,life and productivity.As the Solar Industry has matured,focus has shifted more towards the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) from Solar Panels Electricty generation rather than just on the Solar Capital Investment costs.Solar Mic
April 14, 2011
Solar Microinverters typciall sell for 75-90c/watt which means that if all the solar installations in the world at around 18 GW were done using microinverters,then the size of the addressable market would be $12.5-16 billion,however a lot of the installations are larger than 1 MW in which micro inverters are not used.Also micro inverters are mainly sold in the US and Canada so the total size of the addressable market becomes more like 500 MW which is around $$375-450 million dollars.Enphase Energy the biggest microinverter manufacturer has sold around 500,000 prouducts which implies total lifetime revenues of around $40 million.According to IMS Research around 1 GW of microinverters would be installed in 2013 and the market size would be around $700 million.I think the market size will be greater given that other geographies have not been penetrated,the residential solar market is growing faster and more companies will lead to a bigger market
April 14, 2011
Solar Microinverters have opened an entire new category in the traditional Solar Inverter Industry threatening the business model of the incumbent companies which have seen spectacular growth in recent years.Solar Inverter Manufacturers have enjoyed enviable growth of more than 50% CAGR to become a $5 billion industry in 2010.However this industry faces competition from a host of new tiny competitors led by Enphase Energy who claim to reduce costs,increase reliability and add monitory plus flexibility as compared to String Inverters.The threat is the most in residential and commercial solar installations where the advantages of solar micro inverters are more pronounced than in utility applications.Solar EPC Companies in the USA have started adopting this new product though the growing size of the Solar Inverter Industry has managed to temporarily lower the thread.SMA Solar,the biggest solar inverter company in the world recently bought a couple of firms like OKE Services to increase its presence in distributed electronics for the solar panel industry.Here is a list of advantages and disadvantages of Central Inverters and Microinverters.
April 14, 2011
Enphase Energy is one of the most innovative solar startup companies that have come up in the USA especially without a billion dollar DOE Loan guarantee backing it up.Enphase Energy makes solar products that help in the production of solar energy from solar cells rather than being involved in the production of solar panels themselves.Enphase has created an entire new category of Solar Inverters - Micro-Inverters.The company which has private has plans to do a stock listing through an IPO though no date has been announced.Enphase not only does the mundane task of converting the DC Solar Energy into AC Electricity usable by household appliances,but also incorporate communication chips which allow the monitoring of the performance of the solar panels remotely through the Internet.Enphase Energy has also entered into the closely related "Energy Efficiency" Industry by selling Smart Thermostats which can remotely monitor and manage the temperature of a house.Enphase has sold around half a million microinverters till date and has recently tied up with Siemens to distribute its products to installers worldwide.