Bucking the current trend of layoffs and hiring freezes, Vestas Wind Systems plans to hire 3,000 workers in the US. To Vestas, the US represents a potential goldmine in the form of a large, growing marketplace. However, CEO Ditlev Engel advised Marketwatch that difficulty obtaining investors in the US could push Vestas into expanding elsewhere instead:
… Read the restWhile he’s not planning to walk away from U.S. expansion plans yet, Engel said Vestas may be forced to
American Superconductor Corporation just announced that it will work with the Department of Energy to see if a 10-MW superconductor wind turbine would be economically feasible. Under the terms of the 12 month Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, AMSC will analyze the costs of developing a 10-MW superconductor wind turbine based on the same technology the company has previously deployed in ship propulsion motors and generators for the Navy. Then, the National Wind Technology … Read the rest
American Electric Power Company has entered in to agreements with 2 separate wind farms to buy a total of 250 MW of wind energy. The company has signed 3 separate 20 year agreements with 2 different wind farms. In one agreement, the company’s AEP Ohio subsidiary will buy 100.5 MW of wind power from BP Wind Energy’s Benton County, IN farm. In the second agreement, the Indiana Michigan Power subsidiary will buy 50 MW, also … Read the rest
ITC Holdings Corp, an independent electricity transmission company based in Michigan, wants to build a grid of transmission lines to carry wind-generated electricity to homes across the Midwestern region of the country. The proposed project, which the company is calling the "Green Power Express," would consist of 3,000 miles of 756,000-volt transmission lines and would serve up to 3.6 million homes.
ITC Holdings just filed for incentives to help cover the cost of the project … Read the rest
Yowza! In an environment where most companies are shedding 10 – 20% of their workforce, Aerovironment (AVAV) which remains one of my favorite green companies is looking to hire 100 employees for its Efficient Energy Systems division which manufacturers EV charging systems and rooftop wind turbines. This is exciting news because its Energy division only makes up 15% of revenues for the the company. It currently gets the bulk of its revenue from unmanned surveillance … Read the rest
Vestas Wind Systems (VWSYF) is the largest wind energy company in the world so its earnings reports provide a good barometer of the state of the sector. The Danish company posted big revenue and earnings growth in 2008, but as always the market places the most importance on the future. The company didn’t disappoint there either, maintaining estimates for this year but did acknowledge that job cuts aren’t out of the question if the global … Read the rest
Zoltek Companies (ZOLT), the maker of carbon components for wind turbines reported an awful quarter after the bell with just .02/share in earnings which badly missed analyst estimates of .13/share. Revenues declined by 4% from the year ago quarter to 38.6 million.
“This year our results were further affected by customer reaction to increasingly serious global economic uncertainties. Customers in the computer and automotive markets, along with one of our wind turbine customers, postponed or … Read the rest
Analysts are out with a few notes this morning – an initiation of coverage on American Superconductor (AMSC) with a BUY and a downgrade of Evergreen Solar (ESLR) to NEUTRAL.
According to StreetInsider.com, Piper Jaffray downgraded ESLR to Neutral for the following reasons:
– rapidly losing polysilicon cost advantage
– low visibility in financial impact of outsourcing production to Asia
– minimal balance sheet flexibility for pursuing expansion in Asia
Broadpoint AmTech Initiates Coverage … Read the rest
Capstone Turbine Corporation just announced the introduction of a long term green energy rental program. The company has already received 2 long-term rental orders for 20 C65’s, from distributors serving oil and gas companies.
From MarketWatch, here’s what two of Capstone’s top executives had to say about the program:
… Read the rest"This long-term rental program is designed to specifically target the Oil & Gas sector and Telecom companies that frequently deploy clean and reliable energy solutions
Bill Gates continues to get hammered by the OTTR. As a significant owner of the stock (he recently added more), he’s getting hit again today after Otter Tail (OTTR) missed estimates and guided lower for next year. The company reported 4Q EPS of .38/share which missed estimates of .45/share, a 17% drop over the year ago quarter and the 4th straight quarter of negative growth. The company also missed on revenues, reporting $334 million vs … Read the rest