QUICK NEWS, October 3: FURIOUS SOLAR ACTION; A-POWER CHINA WIND SUSPENDED FROM NASDAQ; SMALL WIND TO GET BETTER, CHEAPER

FURIOUS SOLAR ACTION
Almost $5B in DOE Loans: Antelope Valley, Desert Sunlight, CVSR Funded, Sold; Prologis Funded; $6 billion in loan guarantees completed in the last week of the 1705 program
Eric Wesoff, September 30, 2011 (Greentech Media)

"Almost $5 billion in DOE loan guarantees for immense solar projects were finalized on the last day of the program…The DOE completed a loan guarantee for the 550-megawatt (AC) Desert Sunlight Solar Farm and immediately sold the project to NextEra Energy…

"...The 230-megawatt Antelope Valley solar farm finalized its loan and was sold to Exelon…Project Amp was also finalized, receiving a partial guarantee for a $1.4 billion loan. This project will allow the installation of up to 752 megawatts of solar panels, close to doubling the amount of PV installed in the U.S. in 2010…"

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"The DOE also finalized a $1.237 billion loan guarantee to support the 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch Project in San Luis Obispo County, CA, sponsored by SunPower and just acquired by NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG). Construction of CVSR is in progress, and the first phase of the project looks to start generating power early in 2012…

"...Earlier in the week the DOE finalized a $337 million loan guarantee to Mesquite Solar 1, part of a 700-megawatt photovoltaic project as well as for the Crescent Dunes solar thermal project which includes thermal storage for $737 million…[T]here are seven more outstanding conditional commitments for solar projects…"


A-POWER CHINA WIND SUSPENDED FROM NASDAQ
Nasdaq supends A-Power listing
James Quilter, 28 September 2011 (Windpower Monthly)

"China-based A-Power Energy Systems has been suspended from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange…In response A-Power said its common shares would become eligible for trading on the OTC Pink Limited Information tier of OTC Markets Group.

"Nasdaq refused an A-Power request to appeal against the suspension…Nasdaq said it had halted trading in A-Power shares following the resignation of the company’s independent auditor MSCM LLP…The auditor said A-Power had not retained an independent forensic accounting team as it required."

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"…[T]he troubled company is being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates listed companies…

"In June, A-Power announced that Shenyang Power Group Company, of which it owns 19.5%, had subcontracted part of the controversial planned 615MW Spinning Star wind farm in Texas to China Machinery Engineering Corp…[They will] raise $260 million in debt financing in China for Spinning Star."


SMALL WIND TO GET BETTER, CHEAPER
Small Wind Power; Demand Drivers and Barriers, Technology Issues, Competitive Landscape, and Global Market Forecasts
Dexter Gauntlett and Peter Asmus, 3Q 2011 (Pike Research)

"Power generation from small wind turbines is an increasingly important part of the broader market for renewable distributed energy generation. Small wind power provides cost-effective electricity on a highly localized level, both in remote settings as well as in conjunction with power from the utility grid. Growth in the industry is being driven by increased awareness of small wind technologies as an alternative source of electric power, the desire for community ownership of power generation, and the recognition that investment in small wind turbines can be an enduring source of economic development for the locales in which they are deployed."

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"Despite their benefits, small wind turbines have not enjoyed the same level of innovation when it comes to unique financing and business models, particularly when compared with distributed solar energy. This is largely because small wind turbines are currently more efficient than solar photovoltaic systems and, therefore, more economical from a levelized cost of energy perspective. In a region with adequate wind resources, the payback for a small wind system can be 5-10 years and does not require creative financing, like solar often does. Business models that are gaining traction in the small wind sector include leasing programs and utility or third-party ownership, and as the technology develops further, Pike Research anticipates that the price of turbines will continue to fall…"