QUICK NEWS, 7-15: SENATE TO GO FOR UTILITY CAP; NEW COALITION FOR OFFSHORE WIND; FOR NEW ENERGY INVESTORS; VC NEW ENERGY SPENDING UP

SENATE TO GO FOR UTILITY CAP
Reid warms to July climate vote
Darren Samuelsohn (w/Coral Davenport and Kendra Marr), July 13, 2010 (Politico)

"Senate Democratic leaders are set to roll the dice this month on a comprehensive energy and climate bill, including a cap on greenhouse gases from power plants, even though they don’t yet have the 60 votes…Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) confirmed… he would gamble on the high-stakes legislation …[in] a full Senate debate as early as the week of July 26.

"Reid confirmed the bill will have four parts: an oil spill response; a clean-energy and job-creation title based on work done in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; a tax package from the Senate Finance Committee; and a section that deals with greenhouse gas emissions from the electric utility industry…"

Senator Bingaman has just released details of his utility-only caps. (click to enlarge)

"Proposals for tackling emissions from power plants are emerging from several Senate offices…Reid insisted that the proposal he will introduce in about 10 days should not be called a cap-and-trade plan or even a cap on emissions…Besides vocal opposition from nearly all Senate Republicans, he faces concerns from liberal Democrats that the legislation is too weak and strong skepticism from moderate Democrats who would rather stay away from any type of mandatory carbon limits…

"Environmental groups, though, welcomed Reid’s decision to pencil in plans for the floor debate and insisted they’re prepared to weather attacks from their opponents…"

This picture of Senator Reid came after he shepherded the 2007 energy bill to passage. Democrats are hoping experience counts. (click to enlarge)

"Democrats are making their push without any clear sense of how industry will respond to their plans…[and] the Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for most investor-owned power companies…[still is] without any clear picture of where Reid would take the climate debate…Support from the power companies is critical for the climate legislation to pass…[and that] could be possible, given the industry’s experience in a cap-and-trade system for acid rain, which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush as part of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments…

"Reid and the Democrats can be sure they won’t have support from all Republicans…Anticipating the GOP attacks, Lieberman told reporters that the push toward the 60 votes would require more effort from President Barack Obama and his top advisers…Obama administration officials are already in the middle of the fight…"


NEW COALITION FOR OFFSHORE WIND
AWEA Announces New Offshore Wind Coalition; Initiative demonstrates growing interest in offshore wind energy
July 14, 2010 (American Wind Energy Association)

"The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)…[announced] the formation of the Offshore Wind Development Coalition (OffshoreWindDC), which will focus on advocacy and education efforts to promote offshore wind energy. The new coalition, which will be based in Washington, DC, will be headed up by Jim Lanard, formerly Managing Director for Deepwater Wind."

[Denise Bode, CEO, AWEA:] “The creation of this coalition demonstrates the growing interest in offshore wind energy in the U.S…Offshore wind provides a great opportunity…thanks to the strong and steady winds that blow off our shores and proximity to electricity demand centers, particularly along the Eastern Seaboard. Offshore wind energy is proven in Europe, and will soon be hard at work here in America, powering our economy, protecting our environment, and creating jobs.”

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"The U.S. has vast offshore wind resources, particularly off the Eastern seaboard and in the Great Lakes. Offshore wind projects totaling more than 5,000 megawatts (MW) have been proposed and are in the planning or development stages in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that of the 300,000 MW of wind power that could generate 20% of U.S. electricity by 2030, 50,000 MW would likely be offshore.

"…OffshoreWindDC will both expand and sharpen the focus of the [rapidly maturing offshore wind industry’s] efforts already underway through AWEA. For example, AWEA is currently working to secure long-term tax policy for offshore wind and shorten the permitting timeline for projects. The effort will involve AWEA, offshore wind developers, and other stakeholders in states such as Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio."

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"Founding members and contributors to the Offshore Wind Development Coalition, in addition to AWEA, include Apex Wind, Cape Wind, Deepwater Wind, Fishermen’s Energy, NRG Bluewater Wind, OffshoreMW, and Seawind Renewable."

[Jim Lanard, President, OffshoreWindDC:] “We are delighted to join with AWEA to advocate for policies that will support the development of this well-established technology. Our joint efforts will lead to job creation, significant economic development opportunities and environmental and energy security for our country.”


FOR NEW ENERGY INVESTORS
Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2010: Q2 Update; The dismal performance of renewable energy stocks so far this year is likely to lead to great buying opportunities in the rest of the year.
Tom Konrad, July 12, 2010 (Renewable Energy World)

"In the six months since I published my annual clean energy mini-portfolio, it has far outperformed my industry benchmark, the Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy Index (PBW). 2010 is the third year in a row that I've published a list of ten renewable and energy efficiency stocks that I expect to perform well…These stocks are intended for small investors wanting to put some money in the sector, but not satisfied with the performance or holdings of clean energy mutual funds or clean energy exchange traded funds (ETFs)…

"…[There are] two versions of the my Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2010 mini-portfolio…[In the diagram’s outer ring is a] portfolio of ten stocks, including three energy efficiency stocks, three electric grid stocks, three alternative transportation stocks, and one biomass/waste to energy stock. The inner ring denotes a simplified portfolio, which substitutes the Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (GRID) for the three electric grid stocks and the Powershares Global Progressive Transport ETF (PTRP) for the three alternative transportation stocks…"

chart from Konrad - click to enlarge

"Since December 27th…the Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy Index (PBW) has fallen 21.7%… trailing the broad market by less than 2%, while outperforming the industry benchmark by almost 16%…the ten stocks for 2010 [are -5.21%]…the four stocks plus two ETFs for 2010 [are -5.34%]…

"…[M]ost investors would have probably been happier if they had simply stayed out of the market, or hedged their market exposure so far this year, which is exactly what I've been urging readers to do…I saw some brief buying opportunities in clean energy at the end of May (I picked up a little Exide (XIDE) at $3.85 and US Geothermal (HTM) at $0.70) …[but] those opportunities were short-lived, and probably do not represent the market bottom for clean energy."

chart from Konrad - click to enlarge

"If the year continues to progress as I expect, the broad market will continue to decline, as will the clean energy sector…Buying opportunities in clean energy are likely to lead buying opportunities in the market as a whole, because the rapid decline of the whole clean energy sector over the last year is already producing great valuations…I personally am still maintaining an overall short position in the market, but expect to be buying clean energy stocks with a focus on profitable micro-cap companies opportunistically.

"Since these ten stocks have held up better than clean energy as a whole, we're liable to find fewer than average great buying opportunities… C&D Technologies (CHP), currently trading at $0.95 is the best value I see…Portec Rail Products (PRPX)…is the subject of a takeover bid from LB Foster (FSTR) [and could be a short-term gain opportunity]…At some point, I hope to be able to say it's time to buy this portfolio as a whole, but I think that time is not yet…Now is still a time to remain mostly in cash, while keeping an eye out for individual buying opportunities…"


VC NEW ENERGY SPENDING UP
Venture Capital Activity Update
Tom Burton and Steve Rafferty, July 1, 2010 (Mintz Levin/Clean Tech Quarterly)

"Clean tech venture capital financing continued its upward trend in the second quarter of 2010, with investments totaling over $2 billion worldwide for the second consecutive quarter…After the global financial crisis drove investment in the space down in 2009—$4.85 billion invested following a record $7.6 billion in 2008—venture capital appears to be flowing to clean tech companies at pre-crisis levels.

"…[V]enture capital investment data from the second quarter reveals important trends to watch…The first is that nearly a third of North American dollars were concentrated in three companies…Geographically, the lion’s share (67%) of North American investment was concentrated in California, followed well behind by Massachusetts at 8%."

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"…[T]here appears to be a resurgence of interest in the solar sector…[V]enture capitalists poured $811 million into the sector in the second quarter [after the first quarter’s $311 million]. Noteworthy deals…[were] BrightSource Energy’s $150 million Series D financing in May and Solyndra’s $175 million shortly before the quarter’s end.

"…[T]he case of Solyndra is also reflective of the continuation of a less welcome trend to watch in the second half of 2010: the uncertain state of the clean tech IPO market…Solyndra pulled its plans to go public in June…[O]nly two [companies] have followed through with their IPO plans…However, Tesla Motors’ successful $226 million initial public offering bucked the trend and we believe will be a harbinger…"

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"…[E]nergy efficiency proved to be the most popular sector for investment for the second consecutive quarter, with 31 funding rounds producing $147 million…[E]nergy efficiency remains an important sector to watch as investors seek less capital-intensive business models offering faster paths to profits. Funding for energy efficiency projects rose from $253 million in 39 deals in 2006 to $803 million in 93 deals in 2009. Expect this trend to continue into the second half of 2010 and beyond.

"The first half of 2010 appears to have marked the return to greener pastures for clean tech companies seeking venture capital investment (at least in California), while the much anticipated IPO market for clean tech is promising but still unclear."