Pennsylvania Wind Farms Continue to Have Positive Environmental and Economic Impact
FPL Group Inc (FPL) wind farms continue to help meet the growing need for pollution-free electricity in Pennsylvania while providing new economic opportunities for local communities and the state. FPL Energy's five Pennsylvania wind farms, with a capacity of 129 megawatts, are capable of generating electricity for nearly 37,000 homes. In 2004, the wind farms offset generation emissions totaling about 192,000 tons of carbon dioxide; nearly 1,400 tons of sulfur dioxide and more than 300 tons of nitrogen oxide.
Wind Works Power Corp
A Bet on Wind Industry Growth Tom Konrad, CFA Wind Works Power Corporation (WWPW.OB) presents investors in publicly traded wind power stocks a new type of opportunity with the potential for high reward, and a complementary risk profile to existing plays. In the past, I've lamented the dearth of choice in publicly traded wind power stocks on North American markets, but both the number and types of opportunities are growing, allowing investors to diversify risk or to make more narrowly focused bets on how they expect the sector to evolve. I classify wind stocks into three types: Wind...
Why Geographic Diversification Smooths Wind Power
Tom Konrad CFA Canadian weather data shows the variability-smoothing potential of a robust continental electric grid. Intelligent skepticism is valuable to me as an investor when it makes me question my assumptions. When I'm wrong, it makes me find out sooner (and hopefully get out of a bad trade sooner, or never get into it.) When I'm right, I emerge with my thesis tested, which leads to the confidence needed to stick to a trade when the stock market voting machine moves against me in the short term, before it comes around in the longer term. ...
Offshore Wind A Big Part Of Why GE Wants Alstom
Who's the Energy Alpha Dog? GE or Siemens? By Jeff Siegel General Electric (NYSE:GE) wants to acquire one of the largest companies in France, and it could get what it wants if Germany doesn't get in the way. Alstom SA (AOMFF), the target of GE's desires, is a French energy and transportation company with a market value of approximately $11.5 billion. It deals in hydroelectric and nuclear power, environmental control systems, wind turbines and battery storage, as well as trains and rail infrastructure. It's a huge company, and GE could spend as much as $13 billion to...
Universal Communication Systems, Inc. Subsidiary AirWater Corporation Announces the Development of an Exclusive New...
Universal Communication Systems Inc (UCSY) announced that the company has developed a new, exclusive energy application utilizing "wind power" technology for energy co-generation for use with AirWater machines.
Op-Ed: Vote Against Vestas’ Proposed Board
Vestas' (VWDRY.PK) Board of Directors intend to grant management share options at a strike price one-third BELOW book value. The Board of Directors is rewarding management for its mismanagement and past profit warnings. This will not help restore investor confidence. Given Vestas' valuation, it is time for shareholders to stand up for their interests: Investors should vote against all nominees for Vestas Board of Directors at the AGM on March 29th. The strike price of Vestas' share option scheme is only the latest in a series of decisions disregarding shareholder interests. Vestas needs to change! Vestas needs a...
FPL Energy Announces Plans for New Wind Farm in Texas
FPL Group Inc (FPL) announced it will build, own and operate a new wind farm in Texas, the Callahan Divide Wind Energy Center, to be located in Taylor County, Texas. The 114-megawatt Callahan Divide Wind Energy Center will be comprised of 76 1.5-megawatt wind turbines spread over a 6,000 acre site approximately 12 miles southwest of Abilene. Construction is expected to begin in the next few weeks and be completed no later than the first quarter 2005.
Improved Wind Energy Tax Credit Extension Passes with Fiscal Cliff Deal
Renewable Energy World Editors Offshore Wind Farm photo via Bigstock. On January 1, 2013, Congress passed legislation that included the long-sought extension of wind energy tax credits in a bill to avert the "fiscal cliff" that now moves to President Obama for his expected signature. The extension of the production tax credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is expected to save up to 37,000 jobs and create far more over time, and to revive business at nearly 500 manufacturing facilities across the country....
Hither and Yon: Transmission and Biofuels
In the most recent two installments of Energy Tech Stocks' interview with me cover my views on transmission stocks, and biofuel stocks. Readers of AltEnergyStocks know that I am a big fan of electricity transmission, a theme I keep coming back to. You also know that I have a very ambivalent relationship with both ethanol and biodiesel. So I liked Bill's transmission article, but I just wasn't able to convey to him the subtleties of how I feel about biofuels. But he got one thing right: the owners of biofuel feedstock are likely going to be the biggest winners....
FPL Energy Begins Commercial Operation of Weatherford Wind Energy Center
FPL Group Inc (FPL) announced that it has begun commercial operation at its 106.5-megawatt (MW) Weatherford Wind Energy Center, located near Weatherford, Oklahoma, and plans to expand the project by 40.5 MW. This brings the total capacity of the Weatherford Wind Energy Center to 147 megawatts. Construction on the expansion will begin in the near future and is expected to be completed by year end.
The Grid Impacts of Net Metering
Net metering describes the requirement that an electric utility buy electricity from any of its customers that generate their own electricity (usually with some sort of renewable energy, such as solar or wind) at the same price that they sell it to the customer. That seems fair, doesn't it? The Utility Perspective It doesn't seem fair to the utility. Utilities do more than just generate and sell electricity to customers. They also are responsible for transmission (delivering the electricity) and reliability (making sure that the lights work when you flip the switch.) Taking just the reliability requirement, suppose that...
The Wind in Spain is Mostly in GAMESA
by Debra Fiakas CFA In the second week of November 2015, GAMESA Corporation (GTQ1: Berlin, GAM: Madrid, or GCTAF: OTC), Spain’s wind turbine manufacturer, reported double the net profit in the nine months ending September 2015, on revenue that was 30% higher than the same period last year. During the period GAMESA has received orders from customers in twenty-five different countries for wind turbines with generating capacity of 2,841 megawatts. Backlog at the end of September 2015 was 3,034 megawatts, representing a 43% increases over backlog a year ago. At a time when some companies are struggling amidst...
The Ontario Green Energy Act: What Can Alt Energy Legislations Do For Investors
Dedicated legislations have been at the core of some of the most impressive regional growth stories in alternative energy, most notably in Germany with the Renewable Energy Sources Act or in California with the various legislative solar initiatives. On Monday, the Canadian province of Ontario became the latest jurisdiction to join the fray as lawmakers introduced the Green Energy and Green Economy Act. Why should investors care? Because such legislations have been at the core of some of the most impressive regional growth stories in alternative energy. As a bit of a backgrounder on Ontario, there...
Google Buying Pattern Energy Wind Farm
By Jeff Siegel Google announced yesterday that it has ponied up $75 million for a wind farm in Carson County, TX. In it's lock box of wind farm assets, this is number 15 for the Internet giant. Patterson Energy Group (NASDAQ:PEGI), one of my top picks for 2014, is developing the project, which provides enough juice to power 56,000 homes. As I wrote last year, Pattern Energy Group is an independent power company that owns and operates eight wind power projects in Canada, the United States, and Chile. Total owned capacity...
Zoltek Rebuffs Offers, But Quinn Isn’t Going Away
Tom Konrad On March fifth, St. Louis, MO based carbon fiber manufacturer Zolek’s (NASD:ZOLT) shares jumped 14% to $10.52, having traded as high as $11.70 intraday when Quinpario Partners LLC and allied investors disclosed a 10.13% stake in the company. Jeffry Quinn wants to help Zoltek penetrate new markets and increase its global presence. Quinpario is an investment firm focused on the specialty chemicals and performance materials sectors, and also based in St. Louis. The firm was founded in 2012 by Jeffry N. Quinn and several senior executives from Solutia Inc,...
Alternative Energy Gets Real
BusinessWeek has written an article about the investment opportunities available int he Alternative Energy marketplace. Renewable energy is booming. The use of solar power has been growing by more than 30% a year and, except for a hiccup in 2004 when Congress delayed renewing a tax credit so has wind power. Ethanol is heading for record production levels. And there's no end in sight, given high oil and gas prices, an increasing number of government mandates and incentives, and the first real steps toward tackling global warming. Clean Edge Inc., a research and strategy consultant, predicts...