Oil & Alt Energy Redux
Charles Morand Last week, I conducted an analysis showing the lack of evidence supporting claims that oil and alt energy returns are strongly correlated (claims that sometimes come from outfits as reputable as Bank of America Merrill Lynch). I don't want to belabor this topic but I thought I would post the results of another, similar analysis I conducted following comments I received on how to improve the first one. In a nutshell, the comments suggested I do the following: 1) Look at daily correlations or even smaller periods, as "common knowledge" market...
Wind Turbine Art
My sister, who is a linocut artist, just finished some wind turbine prints for me. One is below, you can check out the others at facebook.com/SarahKonradArt
Rulings Boost China Wind, Solar In US
Doug Young In a quirk of timing, 2 completely unrelated rulings are boosting the outlook for Chinese new energy firms from the wind and solar sectors in their complex relationship with the US. The 2 cases are quite different, but each reflects the wariness Washington feels towards these Chinese firms due to their government ties. In the bigger of the 2 cases, a World Trade Organization panel has ruled that US anti-dumping tariffs against Chinese solar panel makers violate WTO rules. In the second case, a US judge’s ruling has given a boost to a...
Wind and Heat Pumps: A Winning Combination
This article has been cross-posted on The Oil Drum. Last month, I brought you some nice maps showing when and where good wind resources are found in the US. Now I've found something better: a visual comparison of electrical load with wind farm production, published by the Western Area Power Administration in 2006. The study compared electricity production from five wind farms in Northern Colorado, Southwestern Nebraska, and Central Wyoming in 2004, 2005, and the start of 2006, compared with electricity consumption in the same area over the same time period. Comparison of Wind Production to...
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...
Alaskan Electric Cooperative Expands Wind Turbine Fleet
Distributed Energy Systems Corp (DESC) has been awarded a contract to install and commission three additional NorthWind 100® wind turbines for Anchorage-based Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC). The contract brings the total number of turbines AVEC has purchased from Northern Power to 10, representing what is believed to be the largest investment in wind turbines made in Alaska in a single year. The Northern Power Products division will also supply and install wind turbine Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems for the villages of Toksook Bay and Kasigluk. These systems will leverage Northern Power's SmartView® software, which...
Trading Alert: EarthFirst Canada (ERFTF.PK or EF.TO)
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article on the upcoming Clean Power Call in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC). In a nutshell, the Clean Power Call consists of an auction conducted by the government-owned integrated power company to award long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) to private wind developers. This is the model that has dominated in Canadian wind power so far. The notable thing about this model is that the PPA facilitates access to financing significantly for successful bidders, since the counterparty is a proxy of a credit-worthy government. EarthFirst Canada (EF) (ERFTF.PK or EF.TO)...
Spain aims to triple wind power
The Spanish government will increase the country’s wind-power target for 2010 to 20,000 megawatts, up 54 percent from the existing target of 13,000 MW, a government source said on Tuesday. Spain ranks third in the world behind Germany and the United States with an installed wind power capacity of 6,200 MW, and the new goal aims to reduce Spain’s dependency on imported fuel.
Western Wind to Sell Company, Avoid Proxy Battle
Tom Konrad CFA Western Wind and the Toronto Hedge Funds Last October, Western Wind Energy (TSXV:WND, OTC:WNDEF) received an unsolicited takeover bid of $2.50 a share from Algonquin Power (TSX:AQN, OTC:AQUNF) to buy the company. Before the bid, the stock had been trading in the $1.20-$1.25 range, but President and CEO Jeff Ciachurski felt that it did not fully value the company’s projects and assets, including approximately $1 per share of US tax assets which the Canadian company Algonquin would not be able to use. Large shareholders at the time were in favor of the sale, including at least one shareholder...
Big California wind farm wrestles with bird deaths
California's push to add more renewable electricity to the state's power grid is pressuring wind power developers to reduce the number of birds killed each year at one of the biggest wind farms in the United States. Wind companies like FPL Group Inc (FPL) , wildlife groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are trying to agree on ways to lower the risk for birds flying into big spinning turbine blades at the 584-megawatt Altamont Pass wind center in rolling hills about 50 miles east of San Francisco.
Investors Expect Rapid Growth At Pattern Energy Group
Tom Konrad CFA Pattern Energy's Gulf Wind Farm in Armstrong, Texas Disclosure: Long BEP. Pattern Energy Group (NASD:PEGI, TSX:PEG) completed a very successful Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq and Toronto stock exchanges on September 27th. Not only did the shares price at $22, near the top of the expected range, but the underwriters exercised their full over allotment option to purchase 2.4 million shares in addition to the initial 16 million offered. Total proceeds from the offering were $404.8 million. Most of the proceeds went to Pattern Energy Group, LP (PEGLP) in consideration for a...
Offshore Wind Blows Into The US: Seven Stocks To Catch The Breeze
Tom Konrad CFA The Growth of Offshore Wind Offshore wind has finally gotten a toe hold in the United States. The United States' first offshore wind farm, the 30 megawatt (MW) Block Island Wind Farm, is under construction. A new project, the South Fork Wind Farm will be three times the size of Block Island (90 MW), is set to be approved by the Long Island Power Authority. This project will be located 30 miles East of Montauk, NY and Southeast of Block Island in a wind energy area designated by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy...
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.
China Plans Aggressive Renewables Deployment But Falling Incentives
Doug Young Lofty targets contained in a new report show that China intends to push ahead with ambitious plans to build up its renewable energy sector. But perhaps the most interesting thing about this new report is word that Beijing finally intends to sharply reduce the inflated state-set fees now paid for solar and wind-produced power, in one of the sharpest indicators that it expects the industry to stop depending on government support and become commercially viable on its own. Such state support through a wide array of measures, which also include export credits and low-interest loans,...
Eneti: The New Offshore Wind Installation Leader
By Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
With its purchase of Seajacks, Eneti (NYSE:NETI) has become the world’s largest owner of offshore wind installation vessels. The two articles were shared with my followers on Patreon as the news came out.
Valuing the Eneti/Seajacks Combination (First published August 5th)
Eneti (NETI) just announced it is buying offshore wind turbine installation firm Seajacks. The purchase will be with a combination of shares, cash, and assumed debt: 8.13 million shares, $299 million of assumed net debt, $74 million of newly-issued redeemable notes, and $12 million of cash. Current Eneti shareholders will own 58% of the combined firm.
After...
Eneti and Brookfield Renewable Earnings
By Tom Konrad, Ph.D. CFA
Here are a couple earnings notes I shared last week with my Patreon followers.
Eneti, Inc. (NETI) - formerly Scorpio Bulkers (SALT)
Eneti completed its name and ticker change on February 8th. New ticker is NETI (formerly Scorpio Bulkers (SALT), which I recently wrote about here.
Highlights from February 2nd earnings report:
37 of the 47 vessels owned at the 3rd quarter have been sold or have completed sale agreements.
Net asset value is $23.94/share. Since most assets are cash or vessels held for sale, this number is basically accurate.
The stock is still a good buy...
