QUICK NEWS, January 17: IRISH WIND BUILDER GETS BIG BACKING; RECYCLING PV TO BE BIG BIZ; VC BACKING BACKS OFF SMART GRID

IRISH WIND BUILDER GETS BIG BACKING
Mainstream raises €40 million funding
James Quilter, 16 January 2012 (Windpower Monthly)

"Developer Mainstream Renewable Power has secured EUR 40 million funding to help it expand internationally...

"...[T]he money came from ‘Irish high-net-worth individuals and institutions’ and described it as one of Ireland's largest fundraisings of the last year...[It] will be used to develop projects in South Africa, Chile, Germany and the UK."

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[Eddie O’Connor, CEO, Mainstream Renewables:] "[In 2011] we won 238MW of wind and solar contracts in South Africa; we procured wind turbines for our first wind farms in Chile and Ireland which we plan to build this year and we successfully sold the first two projects in our massive offshore UK wind zone in what was the largest deal of its kind last year."

"Mainstream pipeline projects…[are the] 34.5MW Negrete Cuel development in central Chile…Preferred bidder status for the Jeffreys Bay 138MW wind farm located in the Eastern Cape, South Africa…A consortium member of the 8GW Hornsea North Sea offshore project."


RECYCLING PV TO BE BIG BIZ
PV Recycling Market Predicted To Grow Dramatically Over Next Decades
16 January 2012 (Solar Industry)

"The global solar PV market has witnessed tremendous growth over the past decade, with cumulative installed capacity growing from 1,459 MW in 2000 to 40,758 MW in 2010…a compound annual growth rate of 40%... mainly came from increased installation activity in countries such as Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, France, the U.S. and Japan.

"…[T]here is a growing need for processing PV waste in the coming years…The waste generated by end-of-life modules in 2025 is expected to be approximately 24,855 tons. This waste is expected to further increase to 1,161,173 tons by 2035."

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"Crystalline modules will account for the majority of solar PV waste generated during this period, rising from 19,475 tons of waste generated in 2025, to 1,098,282 tons by 2035. Against this backdrop, PV recycling will become an emerging market during these 15 years…For every watt of PV module treated in the recycling unit, $0.58 in recycled value is expected to be generated in 2025. With a 100% collection rate, 278 MW of end-of-life modules are expected to be recycled in 2025.

"…[I]t is expected that the end-of-life modules will increase to 17,000 MW by 2035, while the per-watt recycled product value of these modules is expected to reach $1.21. The major factors driving this trend are the rising annual installation trends… the expected increase in recycling rates of module materials…[and] market price variations…"


VC BACKING BACKS OFF SMART GRID
…Venture Capital Funding in Smart Grid Drops by Half in 2011; $4.6 Billion in Smart Grid M&A Activity in 30 Transactions
(Mercom Capital Group)

"…[A]nnual and fourth quarter merger and acquisition (M&A) and funding activity for the smart grid sector for 2011…[showed VC] funding in smart grid was ‘anemic at best in 2011.’ …[T]he number of VC investors increased to 92 from 87 in 2010, pointing to continued investor interest but lower risk appetite…

"VC funding in 2011 brought in $377 million in 50 deals (24 disclosed) compared to $769 million in 51 deals in 2010 (27 disclosed). The average VC funding round dropped by 50 percent in 2011 to $7.5 million compared to almost $15 million in 2010. Early rounds of funding (Seed, Series A & B) accounted for 22 of the 50 deals."

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"Top VC deals in 2011 were iControl Networks, a broadband home management company ($51.6 million), SmartSynch, a Smart Grid company that uses cellular networks for utility smart grid projects ($25.7 million), Silver Spring Networks, a provider of utility networking equipment for smart grid deployment ($24 million), Gridpoint, an energy management solutions provider ($23.6 million), and JouleX, a provider of energy management systems for data centers and distributed office environments, ($17 million).

"Top venture capital investors in 2011 were GE with six deals, Emerald Technology Ventures with five deals and Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers with five deals. The same investors were also the top three in 2010, however, with double the amount of deals each last year. Other top investors were Foundation Capital, Intel Capital and Rockport Capital with four deals each…"