STUFF

6 Waltons have more money than bottom 30% of Americans. Ironic that those 30% shop at Walmart. Almost 1 in 2 Americans are poor or low income. Think that could be the problem in a consumer economy?

Semprius - US solar startup - developing solar cells as small as a dot from a pen. Using gallium-arsenide and concentrating lenses. Need for expensive thermal management equipment eliminated. Siemens recently took 16% stake. NREL validated >41% efficiency.

OOIL - oil from algae - entered joint venture with Alternate Energy Systems to develop biorefineries for DOD biofuel programs. Prelim funding of $4.5M for feasibility studies.

AMRC bought 2 businesses from Energy and Power Solutions, expanding its energy efficiency and automated demand response services.

FERC regulators blocking Duke-Progress merger to become largest US utility. "Haven't done enough to protect competition in Carolinas."

ZIP buying majority stake in Barcelona-based car-sharing comp.

Hawaii Pacific Solar outfitting 15 public schools on Kauai with solar PV at no cost. But will get paid for the power produced. Should be ~$30M over next 20 years.

Freefall of solar PV costs causing rethink of solar thermal plants in Calif. Could benefit ratepayers.

Sharp's Memphis solar panel plant plans to add another 30 employees to 500 now, citing strong demand.

Siotec - French semiconductor maker - to locate new solar factory in S Cal. 450 jobs. 18-month build. Will produce 200MW/yr of concentrated solar PV generators. They get 30% efficiency.

5Mw solar install at AZ Western College switched on. Will provide 100% of college's daytime el need. Suntech panels.

Repubs in Congress trying to clock back the new lighting efficiency standards. G, isn't that great leadership? Let's keep wasting energy and money when there's new tech not to. Let them be stupid. Somebody has to be, I guess.

Brazil wants $10.6B from Chevron for the oil spill.

Wind project offshore Delaware getting ditched.

EOS Energy - zinc-air fuel cell startup - raised $1.8M of $20M round. Claims "not typical zinc-air". Zinc ~$2/kg, world reserves ~1.9B tons, 30M tons produced/yr. EOS initial focus on grid storage.

China wants hundreds of millions of new smart meters. But they have to be cheap, rugged and built in China (mostly). Singapore-based Semitech announced their chips are being deployed inside Chinese meters.

Ethanol Boosting Systems (Cambridge, Mass), has E85 engine that delivers diesel efficiency with 30% better mileage than typical gas engine. Runs on port-injected fuel during cruise.

Construction begins 1Q12 on Columbia's 1st sugarbeet ethanol plant. 300K liters/day capac. Columbia sugarbeets sugar levels 5% higher than Europe, US.

And that's the come and the go, pards.