Top Stories
Tesla’s IPO: After-hours trading, big
winners, and what it means for green.—reliability medium.
"Tesla Motors' IPO trumped even the most bullish of expectations
today, selling 13.3 million shares for $226.1 million and earning a
valuation above $2.2 billion. Initially priced at $17 last night, the
company’s shares started trading this morning at $19, and hit $23.89 by
the time the market closed — an impressive 40.5 percent increase. It’s
since increased to $24 during after-hours trading. ... The question
cleantech observers are asking now is whether Tesla’s success will make
the public markets friendlier to green companies in general. But most
industry analysts say no." Analysts cite fascination with cars, linkups
with Toyota and Daimler as factors that boosted Tesla. See GreenBeat.
[Testosterone
appeal sells. Analysts pooh-pooh Tesla's triumph, saying such
enthusiasm probably won't carry over to other cleantech sectors. but
there may be underlying enthusiasm for EVs.]
Tesla IPO: What’s an Electric Car Maker
Worth?—reliability medium.
"Tesla's high valuation ratio relative to other auto companies
reflects an expectation that electric vehicles are a growth industry,
says Lux Research analyst Jacob Grose. 'It is an indication that the
investment community is betting that Tesla will grow much faster (and
its electric vehicles will sell much faster) than the average auto
company (standard gas-powered car) will over the next few years,' he
told us in an email today." "How much is a pure-play electric car maker
worth? Some of the world’s largest automakers have invested significant
sums into plug-in vehicle development efforts in recent years, but
Tesla Motors’ IPO this week gives us the first real glimpse of how the
market values an electric vehicle business. Here’s how Tesla — an early
mover in a growing field that includes Fisker Automotive, Coda
Automotive, Think and others — compares to some of the heavyweights
that are revving their engines for the electric vehicle market." Other
analyst's comments. Story at earth2tech.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Cisco Launches Smart Grid Assault, Home
Energy Gadget.—reliability medium.
"On Tuesday morning Cisco launched its all-out smart grid assault,
including a home energy management product, a hosted residential demand
response type service and upgrades to its building automation programs.
... Cisco will sell a 'Home Energy Controller,' which is a touchscreen
energy dashboard that it will offer to utilities for their residential
customers ... The device has both Zigbee and Wi-Fi wireless
communications enabled, and can connect with smart thermostats, smart
appliances, and the utility back office." Other new products, details.
See earth2tech.
Mitsubishi, Peugeot in electric commercial
vehicle tie-up.—reliability high.
"Mitsubishi Motors Corp and PSA Peugeot Citroen said on Wednesday they
have agreed to work together to develop electric vehicle powertrains,
initially focusing on light commercial vehicles. ... Mitsubishi Motors
said the deal was aimed at developing a commercial vehicle to be sold
by PSA." See Reuters.
Fireman's Fund Offers Insurance Discount to
Energy Star Buildings.—reliability high.
"Fireman's Fund Insurance Company is offering a 5 percent discount to
policyholders with Energy Star buildings in the latest expansion of the
firm's green insurance coverage. ... The new offerings include Green
Financial Incentive Coverage for policyholders who paid for green
improvements to their property with help from a tax incentive,
financial grant or a similar benefit -- but then suffered a loss to
that upgrade and are obligated to refund the incentive they received."
From Greener
World Media.
Retailers urge government to lead waste
crackdown.—reliability high.
"The Designing Out Waste Consortium, which has been organised by
environmental think-tank the Green Alliance and includes Asda, Boots,
Sainsbury's and Unilever, as well as Royal Mail, Valpak and Veolia, has
released a new report containing a series of recommendations designed
to reduce levels of waste. In particular, it calls on the government to
develop a standardised mechanism for measuring a product's
environmental impact and impose tough new life cycle-based
sustainability performance standards for products, potentially through
an expansion of the EU's Ecodesign Directive." See BusinessGreen.
Access report here. [Businesses hope
government will provide coordination so they don't each have to
undertake supply chain waste reduction initiatives separately. On the
other hand, any business which moves on its own might gain competitive
advantage (e.g. WalMart).]
Government and
Regulation
EU moves towards common electric car
standards.—reliability high.
"The European Commission and standardization groups -- the European
Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization and the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute -- signed a deal on defining how
the plug and socket system should look and work. ... Under the
agreement, the groups will develop the charging standard for the
27-nation bloc by mid-2011 while ensuring it is safe, interoperable
with all types of electric vehicles and energy-efficient." Story at Reuters.
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Dwarf Global Clean
Energy Assistance: New Analysis.—reliability medium.
"countries have their work cut out on shifting from fossil-fuel
subsidies to supporting clean energy. Bloomberg New Energy
Finance has developed this very helpful figure which shows that global
subsidies for fossil fuels dwarf those provided for clean energy. ...
Even when looking at clean energy subsidies in 2009 ..., clean energy
subsidies barely even show up on the
graph." Includes graph from Bloomberg report. More at NRDC
blogs. PDF of IEA slideshow here. [The graph in the
article is worth a look.]
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
