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Konica Minolta Invests $20 Million in Konarka

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:58:59 +0000

Lowell, Mass. – March 2, 2010 – Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Konarka Power Plastic, a material that converts light to energy, today announced the company has signed a comprehensive R&D collaboration and strategic investment agreement with Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. (Konica Minolta). The companies reached agreement to start full-scale collaboration in April in the joint development and distribution of organic thin-film photovoltaics. Under the agreement, Konica Minolta has invested $20 million in Konarka.

“Konica Minolta positions the organic thin-film photovoltaic business as one of the most promising in the environment and energy field, next to the organic light emitting diode (OLED) business, where our photographic film manufacturing technology is leading mass production,” commented Masatoshi Matsuzaki, CEO at Konica Minolta. “We are pleased to be collaborating with Konarka, the first and world leader to commercialize organic thin-film photovoltaics because of its state-of-the-art polymer technology and its mass production facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts.”

The companies will organize respective strengths in materials, optical and coating technologies as well as joint development, aiming to improve organic thin-film photovoltaic performance including higher conversion efficiency, longer life and lower manufacturing costs, to realize mass production of next-generation photovoltaics. Currently, Konarka’s roll-to-roll process simplifies manufacturing scale-up, has significantly lower capital and labor costs than previous generations of solar cells and can be produced using existing coating and printing equipment.

Upon successful results of the joint development milestones, the companies are expected to establish a joint venture company in Japan to produce organic thin-film photovoltaic panels. Konica Minolta will be Konarka’s lead Asian business partner headquartered in Japan.

“We are delighted that Konica Minolta recognizes the value of Konarka’s patent-protected thin film solar material that is lightweight and flexible, uniquely lending itself to a wide range of applications where traditional photovoltaics are not effective,” commented Howard Berke, executive chairman and co-founder of Konarka. “With our collaboration efforts, Konarka and Konica Minolta are well positioned to deliver efficient, next-generation photovoltaic panels to meet the growing demand for personal and commercial solar energy solutions around the world.”

Konarka is exhibiting with i Toppan Forms, its key product application partner, at PV Expo Japan 2010, through tomorrow in Tokyo, Japan.

About Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
Konica Minolta Group globally offers diverse products, services, and solutions in a wide range of fields. Our business domain is broad, including office equipment, optical devices, medical imaging, graphic imaging and measuring instruments. Its largest office equipment business sector consecutively offers advanced network document solutions, taking advantage of its strengths in high-speed, color and networking technologies.
To create new pillar businesses in the environment and energy field, Konica Minolta is actively developing unique and cutting-edge technologies on the basis of proprietary materials, optical, nano-fabrication and imaging technologies. OLED lighting is notable development activities underway with potential for use in various applications. Organic thin-film photovoltaic panel is also typical example of the promising business in the environment and energy field. For additional information, visit http://konicaminolta.com.

About Konarka Technologies, Inc.
Konarka develops and manufactures solar plastic films that convert light to energy – anywhere. As the leading developer of polymer-based, organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology that provides a source of renewable power in a variety of form factors, Konarka has a broad portfolio of patents, technology licenses and an accomplished technical, scientific and manufacturing team. Manufactured at low cost and low energy consumption, the company’s Konarka Power Plastic® technology is lightweight, flexible, scalable and adaptable for use in a variety of commercial, industrial, government and consumer applications. Konarka Technologies is headquartered in Lowell, Mass., U.S.A. and has a full scale production manufacturing facility in New Bedford, Mass. U.S.A., with European headquarters in Nurnberg, Germany, business development offices in Asia and a research and development facility in Austria. For additional information, visit http://www.konarka.com.

AMSC’s “Secret Sauce” Starts to Simmer

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:51:57 +0000

Market Heats Up for Disruption-Resistant Superconductors

By Joyce Pellino Crane

When electrical transmission cables and tree branches glisten in brilliant sunlight, drop your camera and run to the nearest hardware store for a generator.

I learned this hard lesson in December 2008 after an ice storm left downed wires, branches and debris throughout several counties northwest of Boston and across six other northeastern states, leaving one million without electricity, some for as long as two weeks. It will be a long time before I forget what it’s like to wrap holiday presents by a smoky fire with gloves on.

American Superconductor’s (AMSC: Nasdaq) wires run underground inside cable systems that are less susceptible to nature or terrorist attacks than the current technology. A high temperature superconductor has almost no resistance to the flow of electricity and is imbued with the capacity to transmit 150 times the power of copper wires. A key characteristic of AMSC’s superconductor technology is its ability to self-heal by automatically isolating dangerous power surges.

The feature allows a smart grid to survive attacks and natural disasters without impacting the rest of the chain.

Today’s aged and inadequate power grid is linked by copper and aluminum wires that will burn or melt if too much power is pushed through them. In August 2003, a cascading voltage collapse plunged 50 million North Americans into darkness. Eight US states, from Michigan to Massachusetts, as well as the Canadian province of Ontario, were without power, in some cases, for four days.

The blackout cost the US government as much as $10 billion. Canada suffered a net loss of 18.9 million work hours.
AMSC’s superconductor wires are composed of a crystalline compound of yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO). The company, based in Devens, Mass., uses proprietary techniques to whip up its “secret sauce,” according to Jason Fredette, AMSC director of corporate communications.

That technology is now being tested in Columbus, Ohio and Holbrook, NY, where a half-mile of superconductor cable in each location are sending electricity to households and businesses. In Holbrook, the Long Island Power Authority is feeding 574 megawatts of power to 300,000 homes with a 138,000 volt system. The Columbus pilot is bringing electricity to 8,600 residents and businesses through American Electric Power’s Bixby substation. Both programs are funded, in part, by the US Department of Energy.

“Now other electric utilities from the US and overseas are seeing that the superconductor cable system isn’t much different from the regular cable system,” Fredette said, “so that gives them the confidence to try it.”

Commercial applications of AMSC’s superconductor technology are just beginning.

AMSC and LS Cable, Ltd., a Korean manufacturer, recently agreed to co-market 10 kilometers of commercial superconductor cable in power grids over the next five years. LS will sell cable systems containing the wires to utility companies across the globe.

Last month, the Tres Amigas Project announced it will use AMSC’s superconducting technology to link the three major US power grids: the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection and the Texas Interconnection. The arrangement will give renewable energy companies the means to sell power through a superconductor pipeline for the first time.

Superconductor electricity pipelines, according to Fredette, are underground, easy to site and access, highly efficient and controllable, offer greater security and avoid complex cost allocation issues for interstate transmission of power in contrast to competing technologies.

Over the past 52 weeks share price rose from $8.22 to $37.58 each, according to Bloomberg.

Revenues are expected to climb to about $300 million by the end of the current fiscal year on March 31, according to Fredette, as compared to $183 million in fiscal 2008. Fiscal 2009 second quarter revenues jumped to $75 million from $40 million for same period a year earlier. Wind power is the company’s other core market.

“We’re still in the midst of a very rapid growth phase,” he said, “and we see that continuing for the foreseeable future.”

Joyce Pellino Crane writes at Wordtrope. She is a Boston Globe correspondent and a business technology analyst for Trender Research. Follow her on Twitter: joypellinocrane. She can be reached at joycepellinocrane-at-gmail dot com

DISCLOSURE: No position.

DISCLAIMER: Joyce is not a registered investment advisor. The information and trades provided here are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance. Please take the time to read the full disclaimer here.

Posted by Joyce Pellino Crane, February 27, 2010, 12:54 p.m. EST.

ENERNOC BROADENS SCOPE IN SMART GRID SECTOR

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:58:49 +0000

Demand Responder Eyes New Growth Areas as Key Market Prices Dip

by Joyce Pellino Crane

EnerNOC, Inc., announced its acquisition of Cogent Energy, Inc., on December 9, signaling a strategic move into the energy efficiency sector that is designed to help it capitalize on the Smart Grid’s growth potential.

But the company was launched in 2004 as one solution to the country’s burgeoning demand for energy, and has grown into a leader among a handful of competitors in the demand response market.

Boston-based EnerNOC (Nasdaq: ENOC) helps businesses and grid operators reduce electricity consumption when demand is peaking and capacity strained. The business model is designed to prevent regional blackouts and reduce the need to build more power plants.

Expectations for growth over the next few years are mixed and dependent on whether the company can successfully penetrate the energy efficiency and other ancillary markets, say some observers.

But so far, the company derives about 96 percent of its revenues from demand response customers. A demand response company, such as EnerNOC, uses technology to cut electricity usage among commercial, industrial, and institutional customers during periods–heat waves and frigid temperatures–when energy demand surges or supply falls suddenly. It can also be useful if changing weather conditions cause supply from wind or solar to fall suddenly. EnerNOC’s platform inserts a layer of technology between commercial businesses and grid operators to ensure that there is enough power supply for all consumers during peak demand.

The company has shown significant growth in the sector, but it’s uncertain whether EnerNOC can sustain the pattern on a long-term basis.

Ben Schuman, senior research analyst for Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Ore., said he foresees growth decelerating in EnerNOC’s largest demand response market after 2010.

“The growth in that market after 2010 is going to decelerate mainly because the capacity prices are declining,” he said.

Capacity is an industry term that refers to the energy resources needed to meet the industry’s highest electricity demand.

The country’s power grid is operated by seven regional transmission organizations and independent system operators. The largest market among them belongs to PJM Interconnection of Valley Forge, Penn., which sends electricity to utility companies in all or part of 13 states from Northern Illinois to the Atlantic Ocean, including Washington, D.C. PJM pays EnerNOC and other demand response providers to cut the use of electricity among an aggregated pool of customers. It also pays a monthly fee to keep demand responders like EnerNOC on standby for a cutback when peak demand requires it. The demand responders are then contractually obligated to ensure that electricity usage decreases.

EnerNOC procures capacity obligations through PJM-administered auctions that are three years in advance, giving a clear line of vision to a large portion of its future revenues.

Prices in much of the PJM market are slated to drop each year through June 2012 from the current price of $102 per megawatt day. By mid-2012, some PJM regions will see prices plunge to as low as $16.47 per megawatt day, while others with less capacity will command as much as $222.30.

But the pricing volatility could have an impact, say some industry observers.

Although EnerNOC is committed to managing 2,500 megawatts in PJM territory from 2012-13, the revenues it will derive from its largest customer are projected to be flat. In May, the company announced it had secured about $100 million in future revenues from PJM—roughly the same as reported for the third quarter of 2009, ending September 30. In contrast, noted Schuman, between 2008 and 2009, revenues from the PJM region had more than tripled.

“So what has been a growth market for them flattens out,” Schuman said. “…That isn’t to say there aren’t other markets that they can break into, but I think it will be more difficult for them to grow after 2010 than it was in the past.”

But Shawn Lockman, a senior associate at Ardour Capital Investments in New York, said the company will compensate for the price drop by building a megawatt profile over the next five years that makes up for the difference.

“As they start to advocate for megawatts nationally outside the PJM territory,” he said, “you’re going to see the impact of that price drop be more dissipated.”

Lockman is optimistic about the company’s ancillary services, including monitoring-based commissioning solutions, energy procurement, energy efficiency, and carbon management, “but demand response systems is going to be their base for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Lockman gave EnerNOC’s stock a buy rating in contrast to Schuman’s recommendation to hold.

“This company is strong and they’re well-managed and they have a lot of opportunity out there,” Lockman said. “We don’t see anything that would put a dent in that on a regulatory basis.”

In fact, a recent federal order gave demand response companies a big boost. In October, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission finalized regulations that strengthen the operation and improve the competitiveness of organized wholesale electric markets through the use of demand response. EnerNOC has leapt ahead of its competitor, Comverge, Inc., (Nasdaq: COMV) of East Hanover, NJ, according to Lockman, in the $5.2 billion US market. The privately-held CPower, Inc., of New York, NY, another competitor in the market, announced a $10.7 million round of financing in April.

EnerNOC’s initial price offering on May 18, 2007 closed at $31.13 per share. Five months later on October 18, share prices peaked at $50.50. Since then, the price has been volatile, dipping to as low as $4.80 on November 21, 2008, and closing on Monday at $28.55.

Third quarter revenues jumped 134 percent to $103 million from $44 million. Net income rose to $26.6 million from a loss of $3 million during the third quarter of 2008. Year-end revenues are projected to be between $187-9 million, according to Tim Weller, chief financial officer. EnerNOC lost $23.5 million in 2007, and $36.6 million in 2008. But today it has about $130 million in cash and marketable securities and about $4.5 million in long-term debt. It is on track to reach $250 million in projected revenues for 2010, said Weller.

“The Wall Street expectation was around $257 million,” said Schuman. “The company has done a good job of exceeding expectations for the past year.”

But warned Schuman, “growth will slow down unless they can do a really good job of penetrating other markets or some of their other services take off.”

The recent acquisition of Cogent Energy is a step in that direction. The company’s solutions will enable EnerNOC to service smaller facilities equipped with less sophisticated control systems, according to a company announcement. The acquisition significantly increases the size of EnerNOC’s application to perform detailed analysis on a business’ energy usage. Cogent gives EnerNOC “utility relationships and a customer footprint in California, and experienced head count resources in the area of energy consulting service,” Schuman wrote in a December 10 report. Cogent is expected to deliver about $5 million in revenues in 2010, he added.

Tim Healy, EnerNOC’s chairman and CEO, is determined to change how the world interacts with energy.

“We believe we’re ahead of the pack,” he said. “We envision a world in which energy management is as integral to energy accounting as every other operation.”

Joyce Pellino Crane writes at Wordtrope. She is a Boston Globe correspondent and a business technology analyst for Trender Research. Follow her on Twitter: JoyPellinoCrane. She can be reached at joyce pellino crane at gmail period com no spaces

DISCLOSURE: No position.

DISCLAIMER: Joyce is not a registered investment advisor. The information and trades provided here are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance. Please take the time to read the full disclaimer here.

Posted by Joyce Crane on February 25, 2010 | EnerNOC Broadens Scope in Smart Grid Sector