STUFF

PWER rated a buy by Auriga. $14 target. Solar inverter leader. Real, growing cash flow.

JASO to expand capacity 30%, build facil in US.

Engine makers suing to block E15 fuel.

Sen. Rockefeller postponed push for vote on his bill to enact 2 yr timeout on EPA ability to reg GHG's. Regs to take effect Jan 2. Repubs want to take over the issue for political gain. Cap & trade used to be a Repub idea to deal with acid rain, now dubbed enviro and econ success 15 yrs later (approved in '90 as amendment to Clean Air Act). SO2 pollution down 64%. Saved est. $120B public health costs (those who can't pay). 40x program costs. Est. 20-50k lives saved/yr. Well, we all die of something. But if we can postpone and make life better in quality along the way...

House passed 5-yr extension of Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. $500M (woo), but no money appropriated. G, they couldn't find any money.

57% of Americans know what fracking is. Surprising. Encouraging. Maybe we're not so much more stupider than Chinese. Those concerned with ground water from fracking - 57% Repubs, 74% independents, 86% Dems. What does that tell you. Congress exempted fracking from Safe Drinking Water Act in '05. When did you know that. And when did you know it. O, it's now been on 60 Minutes and a CSI. Duh.

D.C. Appeals Court rejected petro groups' challenge to EPA biodiesel blending requirements. Supposed to blend twice as much this yr as '09.

LA docks providing 1MW solar power for docked cruise ships instead of diesel. A cruise ship's C footprint 3x a 747.

GM is recycling oil-soaked Gulf booms into Volt parts. Plastic resins 25% boom material, 25% recycled tires, the rest recycled plastics and polymers.

Calif PUC adopted Renewable Auction Mechanism - RAM - to require investor-owned utils to buy clean E from 1.5 to 20MW size.

Molycorp to make rare earth magnets with Hitachi. Joint venture to focus on NdFeB. Talk of recycling materials from old appliances, getting rare earths from U and developing motors that don't need rare earths. World rare earths demand ~55k tons/yr. China dropped exports in '09 from 50k tons to 30. A 2.5MW wind turb has ~45lbs of magnets, rare earths ~1/3 of that. EV's have ~10lbs of rare earth in 'm. Moly's Mountain Pass mine has over avg. grade of 8% rare earths. 2nd richest in world. One of largest deposits in world. 2% at least needed for profit. Mine's been there 58 yrs. Chevron bought it w/ Unocal purchase in '05. Spun it out in '08 for $80M.

DOE accepting aps for $74M for fuel cell research.

EPA announced a 2-yr plan to set clean air standards for power plants and refineries. (Maybe why ADES rocketed up? Um, before the announcement. O well, that's how we do business. It happens.) Power plants account for over 2.3B tons CO2/yr. Largest industry source. Refineries over 200M CO2/Methane. Addresses New York v. EPA and American Petro Institute v. EPA, both pending in D.C.'s US Appeals Court. Follows Supreme Court decision Mass. v. EPA that Clean Air Act covers C pollution from cars. Standards to be issued in '12. You think Repubs will try to make this a battle? Where do their contributions come from?

DOE gave final approval to largest clean power loan guarantee (other than nuke). $1.45B for solar therm project in AZ by Abengoa Solar (Spanish comp). Over 70% of components to be made in US. Traditional trough tech tho they use power towers in Spain.

Spectrawatt, Intel's '08 solar spinoff, to lay off 100, close NYC suburban plant. Blames harsh Euro winters for drop in demand.

GE's 40W-equivalent LEDs now at Lowe's for $35.

So, here we are near the end of another year. May your cheers be merry and fine. Let's celebrate what we celebrate. For me, it's the conception of our Lord Jesus. I hope you don't stop coming here because of that. But let's just celebrate what we like to celebrate so we can just get along, A? Hope you have a very merry one.

However, I may be back here tomorrow. Biz goes on. Hope you might visit too.