Turning Potato Peels To Power
by Debra Fiakas CFA The series on waste-to-energy continues with Blue Sphere, Inc. (BLSP: OTC/QB), a relatively new entrant to the biogas power generation market. Blue Sphere is focused on converting principally food waste to power using anaerobic digestion technology. In May 2014, Blue Sphere started construction on a bio-digester and power generation facility near Charlotte, North Carolina, that will turn potato peelings and apple cores into 5.2 megawatts of power. Duke Energy (DUK: NYSE) has been lined up to buy the power when the plant goes operational sometime before the end of 2015. Management expects to...
The Pros Pick Two (Correction:Four) Offbeat Cleantech Stocks for 2014
Tom Konrad CFA Green 2014 image via BigStock Among the dozen stocks picked by my panel of professional green money managers for 2014, most followed three themes: Solar stocks, IT stocks, and income stocks. Two didn’t, and they are included here. This Cash-Rich Water Company Could Produce a Big Dividend The first is a Japanese water utility, picked by Rafael Coven, the Managing Director at the Cleantech Group, and manager of the Cleantech index (^CTIUS) which underlies the Powershares Cleantech ETF (NYSE:PZD.) Coven likes...
Utility Expects Growth From Green Consulting
by Debra Fiakas CFA Middlesex Water Company (MSEX: Nasdaq) has been providing the good people of New Jersey and Delaware with water services for a long time. Its longevity in the marketplace is probably one of the reasons, Middlesex can claim a string of successive revenue and earnings increases. The company achieved a net profit of $16.4 million on $115 million in total sales in the most recently reported twelve months. More importantly, Middlesex turned 27.7% of those sales into operating cash flow, an achievement that helps support the company’s investment plans and dividend. Like any other water...
Plasma Arcs For Pig Waste
This week MagneGas (MNGA: NASDAQ) announced new work completed toward plans to enter the commercial pork sector with a proprietary manure processing and disposal solution. Management held a meeting with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss MagneGas technology to treat agriculture waste and the state’s required environmental permit protocols. MagneGas aims to sell to pig farmers equipment based on its innovations.
The company wants to help pig farmers address environmental problems cause by manure accumulation with its proprietary waste sterilization process. Handling pig waste using conventional methods can be costly, but failure to...
Fiberight: A Deep-Dive Into Trash To Find Cash
by Jim Lane. Biofuels Digest
This week Fiberight secured $70 million for a municipal solid waste center that should be in operation by this May. The high-tech facility will convert 180,000 tons of trash each year from more than 100 Maine towns into biofuel at a 144,000-square-foot steel frame facility that began construction last July.
We visually profile the technology and company in our Multi-Slide Guide here.
The underlying facility is what’s known as a Dirty MRF, or materials recovery facility. That’s where the receiving happens and the sortation begins — and the process of recovering value back from the waste stream begins.
The bottom line...
The X Factor in Covanta’s Capital Budget
Debra Fiakas, CFA The Waste Hierarchy, with energy from waste highlighted In the last post “Covanta on a Mission to Up-cycle Municipal Waste," I noted that even a group of experts advising Covanta Holding (CVA: NYSE), has some concerns about the wisdom of channeling municipal waste through mass burn facilities like those of Covanta. Recycling and reuse are considered even higher uses for municipal waste that result in net lower toxic emissions and net higher energy savings or energy generation. For example, a report published by...
$3 Billion For Cleantech & Alt Energy
Charles Morand The DOE made public earlier today the amount of money that will awarded to clean power projects in lieu of the usual tax breaks: $3 billion. This will allow project proponents to receive a direct cash grant now instead of a Production Tax Credit or an Investment Tax Credit later on. The guidance document notes the following: "Section 1603 of the Act’s tax title, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act, appropriates funds for payments to persons who place in service specified energy property during 2009 or 2010 or after 2010 if construction began...
Global Resource Corporation: Needed Technology; Unanswered Questions About Management
On July 3, The Energy Blog told us about a process of turning old tires back into valuable oil and gasses. Given the problems of Peak Oil and plastic waste which can mimic almost anything in the environment, I was intrigued, and I had the feeling that other watchers of the alternative energy space would be, too. After a quick review to make sure that the technology was based on sound science (I believe it is, although that is no guarantee that it can be commercialized), and a search for information about their governance policies and a board list...
Covanta: Comfort In An Ample Dividend
by Debra Fiakas CFA In late August 2015, volatility turned its frightening countenance on the U.S. equity market. The volatility measure for the S&P 500 Index (VIX) spiked to a peak of 53.29 during trading on August 24th. While things have calmed down since, volatility remains well above the 20.00 level where many investors consider it too precarious to take new equity positions. At time like these it makes sense to seek the warm comfort of an ample dividend. Those regular cash rewards can make it worthwhile waiting for stock prices to calm down. Within...
Plastic Bottle-neck
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
In September 2019, the California State Assembly sent out legislation that sets a 10% recycled plastic mandate by 2021 and increases the hurdle rate to 50% by 2030. The law covers plastic bottles that are already covered under the state’s container redemption program. Companies will need to use plastic bottles made from recycled plastic such that at least a minimum percentage of the plastic used meets the mandate.
Environmentalists and even consumers might be celebrating the new law, but the plastic recycling industry could be less than jubilant. The recycling news feed is peppered with headlines that reveal some fraying...
Advanced biofuels pioneer Terrabon files for chapter 7 bankruptcy: One-off or trend?
Jim Lane Closely-watched green gasoline producer collapses as Waste Management (WM) declines next financing round. What does it mean for companies like Fulcrum Bioenergy, Enerkem, Agilyx, Agnion, Renmatix, Genomatica, and InEnTec? The Digest looks at the inside story. In Texas, Terrabon filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection; the company’s operations will cease and a trustee will be tasked with liquidating the company’s assets for the benefit of creditors. The complete Chapter 7 announcement is here. In a statement, Terrabon’s leadership said that company could not obtain additional corporate funding to finish developing and engineering its...
The Light On Blue Sphere’s Horizon
by Debra Fiakas CFA The stakes were high at the beginning of its fiscal year 2015, as Blue Sphere, Inc. (BLSP: OTC/QB), a developer of waste-to-energy projects, was facing deadlines to fulfill its contractual commitments to the sellers of its two ‘front burner’ waste-to-energy projects in North Carolina and Rhode Island. In the four intervening months it appears Blue Sphere has won all bets. Blue Sphere had purchased a biogas project from original owner Orbit Energy and had received an equipment financing commitment from Caterpillar. Unfortunately, an equity financing source withdrew its interest as...
RDX: Waste Water-to-Energy
by Debra Fiakas CFA Last week RDX Technologies, Inc. (RGDEF: OTCQX or RDX: TSXV) announced an agreement to supply renewable diesel to the Tyson Farms’ Temperanceville Facility in Virginia. The Energy Division of RDX sells three grades of methyl ester fuels that can be used in boilers and small generators. RDX did not disclose the value or size of the Tyson Farms contract. However, the contract apparently is for one year with a second year option. RDX operates renewable fuel plants in Missouri and California. Waste streams are aggregated at the two plants by truck and processed...
Global Resource Corporation and Mobilestream Oil
This is the text of an email I received from a reader of my article on Global Resource Corporation (GBRC.PK). He has reason to suspect that things are much worse than just the weak governance issues I uncovered. I have been posting on Investors Hub as a result of family members being stung for a substantial purchase of Mobilestream Oil (MSRM.pk), now being converted to Global Resource stock. A poster gave me the link to your interesting article about Global and your problems contact Jeff Andrews. I am trying to contact Mr...
Covanta’s Q1: Ten Clean Energy Stocks For 2019
by Tom Konrad Ph.D., CFA
Covanta Holding Corp. (NYSE:CVA)
12/31/18 Price: $13.42. Annual Dividend: $1.00. Expected 2019 dividend: $1.00. Low Target: $13. High Target: $25.
3/26/19 Price: $17.86. YTD Dividend: $0.25. YTD Yield: 1.9% YTD Appreciation: 33.1% YTD Total Return: 34.9%
Leading waste-to-energy operator Covanta's stock has been the second best performing holding in my 10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2019 model portfolio. While in many ways the company is similar to the clean energy Yieldcos that dominate the model portfolio, it is different in that it develops its own projects, while most Yieldcos depend on a sponsor to develop projects which...
N-Viro: Sludge Into Fuel
by Debra Fiakas CFA After ethanol producers figured out that pricey feedstock could rapidly erode profits, the renewable energy industry began casting about for alternative feedstock. What is cheaper than ‘free?’ Waste of all kinds - sewage, mixed municipal trash, animal manure, food and agriculture waste, wood pulp, exhaust gases, steam - can be virtually free. Sometimes waste generators are even willing to pay a fee to anyone willing to accept their nasty stuff. N-Viro International (NVIC: OTC/PK) is one of those renewable fuel producers with its arms wide open. The company has lengthy experience in treating...
