STUFF

TOP STUFF

DOE awarding $28M of grants to 7 project developers to help kickstart offshore wind industry. Each recipient would get $4M to complete engineering, design, permitting of projects in 6 states - ME, NJ, VA, OH, TX, OR. 3 would then be selected to get up to $47M over 4 yrs, subject to Congress OK, to help in construction, installs. Goal of online by '17.

Britain gave go-ahead for exploratory fracking for shale gas.

China allocating another $1.1B in subsidies to solar sector. Also considering raising target for solar to 40Gw by '15. Near doubles target just raised in Sept.

Court dismissed coal plant developer's challenge to proposed EPA rule.

Deutsche Bank HQ raided in CO2 probe. 5 arrested.

OTHER STUFF

Solar City (SCTY) raised $92M in IPO. Opened today @ $9.20, hit $12.70, lately back under $12.

ACME Bikaner Solar Power won bid to build 25Mw solar plant in India state of Odisha. $37M.

Panasonic started solar panel production at Malay plant. 300Mw/yr capacity. Will also make wafers, solar cells. Will increase module production to 900Mw. $538M plant.

HelioVolt (TX), thin film solar panel maker, got another $12.2M VC funding to expand production, develop new products.

Ft Collins, Colo population has grown 13.5% since '05, but emissions down 14.7%. Experts from Russia, India, Denmark, UK and Japan have visited to find out how.

Subsid of Alliant Energy (Wisc) turned on near 100Mw wind farm in Iowa. ~$235M. Continues to seek buyer for power, meantime will sell to MISO market.

EC awarding eStorage consortium EUR13M grant to better integrate wind power into grid. Cornerstone of project will be upgrading EDF's fixed-speed pumped storage hydro plant to variable speed. That would provide 70Mw of additional nighttime steady power that will allow integration of several hundred Mw of intermittent clean power.

Sweep-twist (curved) blade designs for wind turbines could yield up to 20% reduction in fatigue loads, 12% increase in captured energy. Developing @ DOE's Wind Energy Research Program at Sandia Labs, collab with Knight & Carver Wind Grp (Cal) and NSE Composites (Wash).

Scotrenewables Tidal Power got $12.3M from VC investors to test 2Mw turbine. They will also use govt grant earlier received. They have OK to develop 30Mw project off Orkney Islands, Scotland.

Utility repaired cracks in SC nuke plant.

Fermentalg (France) successfully tested 3rd gen biodiesel production from microalgae in standard engine without modifications.

97% of UK's canola, 84% of its wheat, all its sugarbeet meet EU's sustainability criteria. Crops that don't could be priced at discount after April 1.

India oil marketing comps preparing to float global tender for up to 1.1M liters of ethanol to comply with country's E5 mandate.

Gazprom may beat Exxon this year in earnings, may post $37.9B. In '11, Gaz spent $53B on capital expenditures, beating Petro China's $46B and Exxon's $36.8B.

NG prices back down around $3.40. Mild wx in NEast.