QUICK NEWS, 8-16: FOR SALE – WIND MAKER; $$$HALF A BIL; THIN FILM TO 2020; SOLAR ON HOLD; WORLD’S BIGGEST TIDAL ENERGY GENERATOR

FOR SALE – WIND MAKER; $HALF A BIL
Suzlon may sell RE power pie for $500 million
Vivek Sinha, 16 August 2010 (Economic Times of India)

"Private equity fund TPG Capital and a US-based global energy fund are in separate talks with loss-making Suzlon to acquire up to 25% stake in its German wind energy subsidiary, REpower Systems, for $500 million…

"…Suzlon owns 90.7% in REpower and the funds from the stake sale could be used by the Indian wind-turbine maker to pare its total debt…If the company sells around 12% stake of REpower, it could generate cash of around $250 million…"

Both Suzlon and REpower are major players. (click to enlarge)

"REpower, listed on Frankfurt stock exchange, is bearing the brunt of economic uncertainty in Europe, with customers postponing projects…For the quarter ended June 30, the company recorded revenues of e 213.1 million, down 29% over the year-ago period, with net profit of just e 1.8 million.

"The German wind energy firm has a market cap of a little over e 1 billion, or around $1.2 billion, which means Suzlon is negotiating to sell stake at a significant premium. Suzlon had acquired a majority stake in REpower after a bidding war with Areva in a deal that valued the German company at around $1.6 billion…[This will dilute its holdings]…"

click to enlarge

"With environment concerns making them prized assets, alternative energy firms, particularly those related to clean energy, are on the radar of several global investment firms…Suzlon, [India’s] largest and one of the world’s top five wind-turbine makers, has reported losses in four of the past five quarters…[It] is susceptible to forex fluctuations, as a large part of its consolidated revenues comes from outside India, especially Europe that is yet to come out of the economic downturn…

"The move to pare stake in REpower and raise fresh funds for the group comes even as Suzlon has been looking to build synergies with the German arm…This is the second time that Suzlon is trying to reduce its holding in an international subsidiary…Last November, it sold 35% stake in [Belgian gearbox technology firm Hansen Transmissions International] for $361 million that brought down its stake to 26%…"


THIN FILM TO 2020
Thin-film PV cell market will grow 24% annually to 2020
August 6, 2010 (Display+)

"…[According to] GBI Research's new report, "Thin-Film Photovoltaic (PV) Cells Market Analysis to 2020 - CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium di-Selenide) to Emerge as the Major Technology by 2020," …[t]he global thin film photovoltaic (PV) market, despite of caution in the overall PV industry, is expected to experience an overwhelming growth in coming years. Thin film production market share in the global solar PV market grew from a mere 2.8% in 2001 to 25% in 2009, thus dictating a growing share in the future.

"GBI Research estimates that thin film solar PV…is set to increase its share to ~38% by 2020. Expectations are that, in the long-term, thin film solar PV technology would surpass the dominating conventional solar PV technology, thus enabling the long sought-after grid parity objective."

The GBI findings could be overly optimistic if costs remain high. (click to enlarge)

"The major thin film producing countries, Japan, China, and the US are announcing aggressive support for renewable energy expansion through incentives and regulations...[T]hin film module production is projected to grow at the rate of 24% between 2009 and 2020, to reach 22,214 MW production by 2020.

"With over 160 companies producing thin-film solar cells and modules worldwide, the market includes a number of big players with many years of experience and expanding production capacities. CIGS technology [with a reportedly faster and cheaper manufacturing process that does not compromise efficiency] is gaining more popularity than other thin-film technologies due to its higher efficiency and reduced manufacturing costs…"


SOLAR ON HOLD
New Mexico solar firm suspends 1 production line
August 6, 2010 (AP via Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

"Schott Solar is suspending one of its two concentrated solar power production lines in Albuquerque.

"Schott says the suspension [said to be due to slow growth in the North American market and a slowdown in the Spanish market] will mean laying off about 30 temporary agency employees…Schott had 370 employees in Albuquerque before the announced layoffs."

The subtext to this story could be that the U.S. won't pass policy supporting solar power plant growth and big money in Europe is backing solar power plants in North Africa and new trans-Mediterranean transmission so Schott is going where the action is. (click to enlarge)

"Schott produces photovoltaic panels and thermal receivers at its 200,000-square-foot Albuquerque plant, its flagship facility in North America.

"The concentrated solar power modules or thermal receivers are used in large-scale solar power plant trough systems…Schott's production of photovoltaic modules is not affected…Mainz, Germany-based Schott AG opened the Albuquerque plant last year."


WORLD’S BIGGEST TIDAL ENERGY GENERATOR
Largest tidal power device unveiled
12 August 2010 (BBC News)

"…Atlantis Resources unveiled its AK-1000 [thought to be the largest tidal energy turbine in the world]… ahead of it being shipped to a European Marine Energy Centre test site off Eday, Orkney…

"The device [designed to survive in a harsh marine environment]stands 22.5m (73ft) tall and weighs 130 tonnes…It has two sets of blades to harness ebb and flood tides and could provide electricity for about 1,000 homes."

click thru for the complete presentation

"…[Crown Estate-selected marine industry developers are presently focused on] making the Pentland Firth [one of the harshest environments on the planet]a huge success in terms of generating electricity from renewable energy devices…

"The AK-1000's two sets of blades have also been designed to move slowly [at six to eight revolutions per minute] underwater and Atlantis said they would not pose a threat to sea life…"

click thru for the complete presentation

"Atlantis, which has bases in London and Singapore, has been leading a plan to use tidal energy to power a computer data centre in the far north of Scotland…[and remains] committed to the project…[of powering the data center] by tidal energy rather than [with] electricity supplied to the National Grid.

"…Two years of planning have gone into the data facility and tidal scheme…The Crown Estate leased 10 sites on the seabed around Orkney and the Pentland Firth to seven companies."