Aspire Week in Review - Week Ended August 29, 2008

UN Environment Program: Reforming Energy Subsidies: Opportunities to Contribute to the Climate Change Agenda

Aspire Week in Review - Week Ended August 29, 2008

This week, heading into the Democratic National Committee, Robert F. Kennedy wrote a commentary in support of Obama's energy plan commenting that,

"A sophisticated, well-crafted energy policy designed to de-carbonize America is the centerpiece of Sen. Barack Obama's domestic economic package," and that"Obama understands, as John McCain does not, that an intelligent energy policy is also the natural fulcrum for U.S. foreign policy and national security."

Abroad, Japan's Ministry of Economy and Industry said it intends to spend 433 billion yen ($4 billion) on measures to reduce emissions. It will spend as much as 23.8 billion yen on subsidies and tax breaks for residential solar installations and businesses to increase output of renewable energy.

And Nigeria's Head of its Special Climate Change Unit, Dr. Victor Fodeke said that the country has set a target of moving 20% of the country to off-grid renewable energy sources by 2012.

This week Florida Power & Light asked state regulators to consider nuclear power as another form of renewable energy. Sure, and clean coal technologies are clean. At present, existing Florida statues definition of renewable energy includes ethanol, biodiesel, biomass, biogas, hydrogen fuel cells, ocean energy, hydrogen, solar, hydro, wind and geothermal.  FPL says it can achieve the states standard for 20% of green energy if nuclear power were considered green. FPL already owns and operates five nuclear power plants in Florida.

To be fair, nuclear energy is a key component of Japan's plan to cut emissions, and of the 433 billion yen noted above, it has proposed a budget of 9.1 billion for the development of reactors next year.

This morning Belgian authorities issued a safety alert after a leak of radioactive material from a research institute near Charleroi, warning people living in the area not to consume locally grown fruit, vegetables or dairy products as a precaution.

Biofuels and Biomass

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said this week that the backlash against ethanol production may be easing because consumers are realizing the fuel's value and are becoming more critical of arguments that propose it is to blame for higher food prices. He acknowledged that ethanol production is a factor in higher food prices, but that it is not a driving factor. Rather, energy and increased global consumption are the key drivers.

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) said it is collaborating with Deere & Company and Monsanto Company on research to explore technologies and processes to turn crop residues into feed and bioenergy products.

Cosan (NYSE: CZZ) said this week that it has created a new company with a U.S. group to buy farmland in Brazil. The new company is called Radar.

Lignol Energy Corporation received approval from the DOE to locate a cellulosic ethanol demo plant in Grand Junction, Colorado. The facility will be designed to process hard and soft woods, and agricultural residues including straw and corn stover.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car announced this week that leading biofuels researcher Dr. Richard Sayre has been named the Director of its Institute for Renewable Fuels. The Institute is focused on developing "third generation" biofuels" using feedstocks like algae. Enterprise, National and Alamo also operate the world's largest fleet of FlexFuel vehicles.

The Austin City Council approved a $2.3 billion, 20-year PPA between Austin Energy and Nacogdoches Power LLC, which is building a biomass plant in East Texas. The agreement calls for the purchase of 100MW of biomass-generated power annually at $115 million. Part of the $2.3 billion will provide for the construction and management of the plant.

Georgia Power has asked Georgia Public Service Commission for approval to convert its 155MW coal-fired units to use wood. The nameplate capacity for the converted wood biomass-powered unit would be 59MW lower than the existing capacity, but as a biomass-powered unit, the facility would produce more electricity than it does as a coal-fired unit because it would operate continuously and be part of the company's base load.

The Taiwanese press reported this morning that Taiwan Sugar Corporation, Vedan Enterprise Corp. and Taiwan Cellular Ethanol Corp. have plans to set up bio-ethanol plants. Taiwan currently has a mandate that gasoline sold by 2011 will have 3% bio-ethanol. Taiwan Cellular will invest NT$3 billion (about US $95.23 million) to set up two plants, each with annual production of 43,000 kiloliters. It intends to initial use baked goods as feedstock and then later switch to sugarcane scrap to reduce costs. Taiwan Sugar is also budgeting NT$3 billion into a plant with capacity to produce 100,000 to 120,000 kiloliters of sugar-cane based ethanol per year. Vedan expects to set up a joint bio-ethanol plant with CPC Corporation with annual capacity of 60,000 kiloliters.

Earnings

MGP Ingredients (Nasdaq: MGPI) reported 4 Q and FY2008 results. The company's net loss for the Q4 was $9.8 million, or $0.60 per share fully diluted, compared to net income of $1.6 million, or $0.10 per share last year. Total sales for the Q4 were $104.2 million, up 3% over last year, and for the year, the company lost $11.7 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, compared with income of $1.04 per diluted share the prior year. Total sales were $392 million. Management said it saw 'no relief' in its key input costs in the quarter, and that it also experienced higher energy costs.

Carbon Markets and Carbon Storage

The Worldwatch Institute said this week that carbon emissions into the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion worldwide in 2007 were 22% than in 2000. India accounted from 8% of this, while the U.S. accounted for 4%, and Europe accounted for 3%. China accounted for 57%. However, China's 18.3% share of total emissions stall lags the U.S. share of 19.5%. 

The Transport and Environment group said that French auto manufacturers are coming closest to hitting proposed EU targets for CO2 emissions, let by Peugeot-Citroen, which needs to reduce average new car emissions by 10% in the next five years. Renault needs to cut by 13%, Fiat needs to cut by 14%, Toyota, by 15%. The Japanese manufactures are lagging, with Nissan needing to cut by 22%, Mazda, by 24% and Suzuki, by 25%.

Sask Power has invited ten companies to submit a proposal for a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) demo project at the Boundary Dam.

RWE is building a large-scale power plant with integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), CO2 capture, transportation and storage (CCS) fuelled by local lignite resources, near Cologne. The cost of the 450MW plant, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2014, will be about €2 billion.

 
Energy Management

Power Integrations (Nasdaq: POWI) said its EcoSmart® technology has saved consumers and businesses around the world about $3 billion in energy bills, and has prevented an estimated 20 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants since its introduction in 1998. EcoSmart chips manage the flow of power through the power supply, increasing efficiency and reducing standby power waste by up to 95%.

Energy Storage

Ultralife Corporation (Nasdaq: ULBI) announced a $7 million order from the U.S. Air Force to produce, managed and support the Communication Switch Subsystem for its Battle Control System-Mobile program.

Valence Technology (Nasdaq: VLNC) said it is expanding its relationship with Oxygen SpA, of Italy. As part of a $2 million purchase order recently signed, it will supply lithium phosphate batter systems over the next four months to power Oxygen's all-electric Cargoscooter.

Active Power (Nasdaq: ACPW) said Caterpillar has ordered more than 21MW of critical backup power during the past three months, representing approximately a 200% increase over that period.

Ener1 (AMEX: HEV) said today that it will be able to cut the cost of batteries for HEV's by 50% after its lithium-ion technology amasses scale. CEO Charles Gassenheimer said today that assuming the price of oil stays at about $100 per barrel, a 50% decrease in battery costs would result in owners of hybrids breaking even on their investment in less than 2 years of ownership, as opposed to the current 8 year breakeven target.

The Linde Group has opened the world's first hydrogen filling station for fuel cell passenger ships in Hamburg. The Zemship filling station provides regular fill-ups of hydrogen gas for the 'zero-emission' ship on the Alster and the Elbe rivers.

Geothermal

Raser Technologies (NYSE: RZ) obtained seventeen new lease agreements covering about 32,700 acres of geothermal, surface and other rights in Central Utah. Raser's holdings in Utah are now over 150,000 acres.

U.S. Geothermal's (AMEX: HTM) management said its development is on track this week. The Unit 1 power plant at Raft River is currently generating between 9.5 and 10.5MW with a 99.9% operating availability over the past three months. Management plans to increase capacity output to 13MW. Drilling has begun at San Emidio, where a new power plant is planned to increase power production to 27MW. The current San Emidio plant is generating between 2.5 and 2.7MW.

Calpine (NYSE: CPN) said it has signed a three-year PPA, effective Jan. 1, 2009 with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to sell 500MW of electric power, generated from its Morgan Energy Center, in Decatur Alabama. The 800MW Morgan plant is a Combined Heat and Power (CHP), which produces energy with 60% greater overall fuel efficiency.

Hydropower

A $21.5 million hydroelectric plant was dedicated this week at the base of the Jordanelle Dame. The plant is a public-private partnership between the federal government and Heber Light and Power, and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.

Kuwait is loaning Cambodia $486 million to invest in irrigation systems and hydro-power on the Stueng Sen river.

Solar

BCC Research released a report this week that says the market for thin films was worth $1.1 billion in 2007, and expected to increase to $1.4 billion in 2008 and to $3.9 billion by 2013, for a compounded growth rate of 23.5%. The PV segment is the largest share of the market, with $916.4 million in 2007, expected to increase to $1.2 billion in 2008 and to more than $3.3 billion in 2013. Concentrating solar power applications are expect to see the most dramatic growth of any segment, with revenues in 2007 at $14.7 million in 2007, expected to reach $23.4 million in 2008, and $93 million in 2013.

LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) revised FY 2009 revenue guidance to a range of $2.8 and $3 billion, and said it expects to ship between 1.45GW and 1.55GW of shipments for next year. Wafer capacity at the end of 2009 has been revised upwards from 1.6GW to 2.2GW, and to reach 3.2GW by the end of 2010. LDK has revised capacity expansion forecasts multiple times this year, each time up from previous guidance.

ET Solar said it is working with Wattner Group to supply and install 50MW worth of solar projects in Southern Europe over the next five years. The contract is worth about €200 million.

Renewable Energy Corp.  ASA (REC.OL) has selected Becancour, Quebec as the site for a new silicon material manufacturing plant, and has signed a 20-year accord with Hydro Quebec for power to the facility. The facility is expected to require an investment of more than $1.2 billion.

Solarfun (Nasdaq SOLF) said it will supply a subsidiary of Q-Cells (QCE.DE) with a minimum of 100MW of PV modules through 2011.  In addition, it announced new production targets for 2009, with plans to add an additional 100MW dedicated to the supply deal with Q-Cells. Total capacity is now expected to reach 580MW.

Suntech (NYSE: STP) signed a supply agreement with GCL Silicon Technology Holdings, wherein GCL will supply it with 9,420MT of polysilicon and 1.1GW of silicon wafers from 2008 to 2012.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp (6503.T) revised its MW solar production targets with cell capacity plans from 500MW in 2013 to 600MW by 2012. This will require a 50 billion yen investment. It is increasing annual production capacity to 220MW by October 2008.

DC Chemical (010060.KS) secured an 813.3 billion won ($748.6 million) polysilicon order from Suntech which begins in 2010 and goes through 2016. It also announced it has won a 199.1 billion won ($183.6 million) order to supply polysilicon to Japan's Space Energy Corp. This is also a six year contract which starts in 2010. Earlier this week, it announced two polysilicon contracts with Motech (6244.TWO) worth about $167 million.

Satcon (Nasdaq: SATC) said this week it will deliver 20MW of its 500kW PowerGate Plus™ grid-tie commercial PV inverters as part of an agreement with European utility Energy 21. The inverters enable utility scale projects to maximize power production and increase overall efficiency. Amtech (Nasdaq: ASYS) said its subsidiary, Tempress Systems, has received a $7.5 million order for its diffusion processing systems from a customer in Asia.

Rofin-Sinar Technologies (Nasdaq: RSTI) is teaming up with Manz Automation AG to develop a new machine concept for the production of thin-film solar modules. The proposed new type of manufacturing process would combine laser edge ablation and laser cutting of thin-film solar modules. New machines are expected to be ready within 12 months.

Veeco Instruments (Nasdaq: VECO) introduced its FastFlex™ line of Web Coating Systems for manufacturing CIGS solar cells. The FastFlex line is reported by the company to reduce TCO due to high quantity of deposition zones in a compact footprint.

Downstream

·    Safeway has installed a 45kW solar power system at its 55,000 square foot store in Novato, California. SolarCraft Services provided the system.

·         South Coast Solar has been selected after a national RFP as the solar power consultant for Brad Pitt's Make It Right housing project in New Orleans.

Earnings

Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq: ENER) reported Q2 net income of $9.9 million, or $0.24 per share, compared to a loss of 13.1 million, or $0.33 per share last year. Revenue more than doubled to $82.4 million from $356 million last year. Expectations were for earnings of $0.16 per share on revenue of $77.5 million. Gross margins on solar product sales increased to 33.5% from 30.7% while its sales pipeline grew 50% to $1.8 billion

Wind

Wind-powered generation was 40.5 percent higher than it was in April 2007. Even with this significant increase, the contribution of wind-powered generation to the national total was only 1.5 percent in April 2008.

Source: EIA Monthly Data for April
Released August 25, 2008

BCC Research also released a report this week on the U.S. market for wind turbines, projecting the domestic market to be worth $60.9 billion by 2013. The report said that the 2007 market value was $7.9 billion, and it is expected to growth to $11.2 billion in 2008.

The AP reported this week that GreenHunter Wind Company and Duke Energy are planning to buy 585MW of transmission capacity on a power line that is being planned in eastern Wyoming. The $350 million Wyoming-Colorado Intertie is being pursued by a partnership between the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, Western Area Power Administration and Trans-Elect Development Co., and will have 850MW of carrying capacity.

A section of the line will run within 15 miles of GreenHunter Wind Energy's previously announced Wheatland Wind project, which has the potential for up to 600 MW in wind generation capacity. GreenHunter Wind Energy will own 65% of the project and the Southern Ute Growth Fund, a significant shareholder of GreenHunter Energy, will own the remaining 35%.

Iberdrola Renewables opened another wind farm in Poland with an installed power of 69MW. The Karscino farm has 46 1.5MW turbines made by Furhländer. And Electrabel, in association with Jan De Nul, have submitted two separate concession requests to the Electricity and Gas Regulatory Commission to build two wind farms (Blue4Power I and Blue4Power II) in the North Sea. The first project, Blue4Power I, is expected to be the biggest offshore wind farm in Belgium. If the concessions are granted, the first wind turbines will be commissioned in 2012.

CEZ Group has purchased the Fantanele and Cogealac wind farms in Romania, which will have a total capacity of 600MW. The total investment CEZ will make into the project is expected to reach €1.1 billion. The project will become operational in stages, initially at 347.5MW comprised of 139 GE 2.5xl turbines.

CNN reported this week that Vestas Wind System A/S (VWS.DE) is budgeting $100 million over the next two years to raise awareness in the U.S. of wind potential, with a "Vestas, No. 1 in Modern Energy" campaign. Vattenfall signed an agreement with Vestas for delivery of wind turbines with a capacity of 100MW. Its goal is to increase the share of renewable energy by 10TWh in the next ten years, with wind representing 8TWh, which would be about 1,500 wind turbines.

Peru's Iberoperuana Inversiones SAC is developing a $240 million, 240MW wind farm along its northern coast.

White Pines Wind Farm LLC, a subsidiary of BP (NYSE: BP) said it wants to install 20 to 28 large wind turbines in Michigan. The proposed wind farm would produce 70MW of energy.

BooneWatch

A Boone Pickens ad was rebuffed this week by NBC, CNBC and MSNBC for apparently making unsubstantiated claims in the advertising and for being "controversial." According to the network, Boone's ad didn't establish to its satisfaction that there "is a reasonable basis for the claim that we are not doing a thing here." The ad says that Iran is re-engineering domestic cars to run on natural gas so it can sell more oil abroad at high rates, and that "we're  not going a thing" in the U.S. to cut consumption. After his attorney wrote letters to the networks, they reconsidered. 

What is ironic is that the networks seem to have found a critical eye when it comes to determining that credibility matters, but they seem to accept on face value claims that McCain's VP elect is an energy expert.

M&A & Financing

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced that 639 individuals and businesses in 43 states have been selected to receive $35 million in grants and loan guarantees for renewable energy systems or to improve energy efficiency in business and farming operations. Of the $35 million, $27.5 million are grants, and $7.4 million are guaranteed loans.

Private Equity Hub reported that CMEA Ventures is considering the launch of a $500 million fund targeting growth-stage cleantech opportunities.

Covanta (NYSE: CVA) is purchasing two biomass energy facilities from co-owners Ridgewood Maine LLC and Indeck Energy Services, Inc, which will add 49MW gross, to its renewable energy portfolio. Covanta is acquiring the facilities for $87 million net of cash acquired. The transaction will be funded from either cash on hand or through an existing revolving loan facility - and the closing is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

China BAK Battery (Nasdaq: CBAK) filed an 8-K this week announcing it has entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement to sell a total of 4,102564 shares of common stock for $16 million. The shares are priced at $3.90 a share, a discount to the then trading price of $4.16. The purchasers will also receive warrants, which are exercisable for 60 days after the initial issuance, to purchase 4,102,564 shares at an exercise price of $3.90. Brean Murray, Carret & Co. is acting as the Placement Agent on the transaction.

MIOX raised $19 million in a Series C round of funding, led by DCM, and joined by Sierra Ventures and Flywheel Ventures.

Solazyme has raised $45.4 million in a Series C round, which includes about $6.4 million in convertible securities. Braemar Energy Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, as well as the Roda Group and Harris and Harris Group participated.

Calgon Carbon Corporation (NYSE: CCC) filed an 8-K this week announcing it has completed exchanges with prior holds of 5% Senior Convertible Notes due 2036, issuing an aggregate 7,289,215 of common stock in exchange for $37,175,000 in aggregate principal of Notes.

EverQ GmbH is planning an IPO with a goal of raising $736 million for expansion to production capacity of 600MW by 2012. The sale is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2009.

Nanosolar secured $300 million in funding from AES, the Carlyle Group, EDF, and Energy Capital Partners, through Riverstone Holdings, EDF Renewables and AES Solar. Also investing in the oversubscribed deal were Lone Pine Capital, the Skoll Foundation,Pierre Omidyar's fund, GLG Partners, Beck Energy and Grazia Equity. 

AVA Solar has raised $104 million in a second round of funding led by DCM, Technology Partners, GLG Partners, Bohemian Companies LLC, and Invus LP. The proceeds will enable AVA Solar to complete its 200MW CdTe thin film plant in Colorado.

HydroGen (Nasdaq: HYDG) entered into a Loan and Security Agreement with Samsung C&T Corporation and Kaufmann Fund, each to loan $1 million to HydroGen in two equal installments. The second tranche will be released on the achievement of certain milestones.

DOE Watch

The DOE announced the availability of up to $7 million to accelerate the development of clean technologies from its national laboratories.

The DOE's Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, Katharin Fredriksen, Australia's Ambassador to Iceland and Iceland's Ministry of Industry Energy and Tourism signed a charter committing the three countries to aggressively develop and promote geothermal technologies.

Politics and Energy

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) hosted SUNFEST 2008 during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, with a keynote address by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  SEIA President Rhone Resch addressed the DNCC Energy and Climate Change Symposium on Tuesday.

McCain's Voting Record

Since July 31, 1996, John McCain's voting record on energy legislation includes 15 no votes, which include the 15 most recent pieces of legislation including Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Funding, Housing Bill with Energy Tax Credit Extensions (twice), Alternative Energy Tax Incentives, Increasing Taxes on Profits, Rescinding Certain Tax Deductions and Increasing Tax Incentives for Alternative Energy Programs for Oil Companies, Carbon Emissions Cap and Trade Plan, Energy Tax Credits Amendment, Amendment on Certain Energy-Related Programs, Including Development of Oil Share and Offshore Natural Gas, Amendment on Certain Energy-Rated Programs, Including the Development of Oil and Natural Gas in Coastal Areas Not Covered by a Moratorium, Energy Act of 2007 (twice), Alternative Energy Subsidies, Preventing Petroleum Export Organizations (NOPEC Act of 2007), Offshore Drilling in Virginia, and Clean Energy Achievement Criteria.

He has voted Yes on 9 pieces of legislation including the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, ANWR Revenues Amendment, Alaska Judicial Review Amendment, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling Amendment, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Amendment, Reduction of Foreign Oil Dependence Amendment, Nuclear Waste Disposal Bill, Yucca Mountain Alternative Sites amendment and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996.

He has voted no on 9 pieces of legislation including the LIHEAP Funding Amendment, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Amendment, Energy Policy Act of 2005 (twice), Reduction in Dependence on Foreign Oil, Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Amendment, Environmental Effects Caused by Ethanol Amendment, Energy Omnibus bill and Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE) Act of 2001.

Today, McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate on the Presidential ticket. Palin is a staunch advocate for drilling in the Alaskan reserves - a position that to this point, McCain hasn't fully committed to, but it seems clear enough which direction he is heading.

Obama's Voting Record on Energy

Since March 15, 2005, Obama's voting record on energy legislation includes 9 no votes, which include the 7 most recent pieces of legislation including the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Funding, Housing Bill with Energy Tax Credit Extensions (twice), Alternative Energy Tax Incentives, Increasing Taxes on Profits, Rescinding Certain Tax Deductions, and Increasing Tax incentives for Alternative Energy Programs for Oil Companies, Carbon Emissions Cap and Trade Plan and Energy Tax Credits Amendment. His other no votes include the Energy Act of 2007 and Offshore Oil Drilling in Virginia.

He has voted Yes on 13 pieces of legislation including Amendment on Certain Energy Related Programs, Including Development of Oil and Natural Gas in Coastal Areas Not Covered by a Moratorium (but he voted No the same day on the same bill for a separate amendment to it concerning the development of oil shale and offshore natural gas), Energy Act of 2007, Alternative Energy Subsidies, Preventing Petroleum Export Organizations (NOPEC Act of 2007), Clean Energy Achievement Criteria, LIHEAP Funding Amendment, Alaska Judicial Review Amendment, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Amendment, Energy Policy Act of 2005 (twice), Reduction in Dependence on Foreign Oil, Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Amendment and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling Amendment.

He has voted No on 4 pieces of legislation including the Amendment on Certain Energy-Related Programs, Including Development of Oil Shale and Offshore Natural gas, Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, ANWR Revenues Amendment and Environmental Effects Caused by Ethanol Amendment.

Source: Votesmart.org

The U.S. Commerce Department said this week that it is sending representatives from the government and 19 U.S. companies to China and India next month on a clean energy and environmental trade mission. Companies participating include GE Energy, Rockwell Automation, 3 Tier, Synergics Energy Services and Vista International - an interesting selection.

Legal

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board said this week that intends to sue the U.S. Maritime Administration, and agency of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation to clean up toxic pollution caused by the deterioration of about 50 obsolete federal vessels anchored in the Suisun Bay.

Upgrades and Downgrades

August 25 - China Sunergy (Nasdaq: CSUN) was upgraded to BUY at Jeffries & Co. from Hold with a price target raised from $12 to $15.

August 26 - Comverge (Nasdaq: COMV) was upgraded to BUY at Jeffries & Co..

August 28 - Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: SOLF) was reiterated a BUY with price target raised to $22 from $18 by Jefferies & Co

August 28 - Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENER) was rated BUY with price target $96 by Jefferies & Co. Its previous target back in March, was $35.

August 28 - Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ENER) was rated HOLD with price target $68 by Ardour Capital

August 28 - Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ENER) was rated OUTPERFORM with price target $86 by Credit Suisse

Aspire Clean Tech Sector Performance for the Week Ended August 29, and Year-to-Date

The biofuels segment was flat this week, as it continues to struggle against political and human rights related critics, while high feedstock costs depress margins. Year to date the segment is down 43%. Only Gushan (NYSE: GU) is in positive territory in our biofuels index.

Interestingly, the energy management segment yielded the same results as the biofuels this week. Comverge (Nasdaq: COMV) got a bump of 11%, helped out by an analyst upgrade, while the rest of the group closed lower. Year to date, only Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI) is in positive territory, up 9%.

The energy storage group closed down 3% on the week, led by Hydrogenics (Nasdaq: HYGS) which is down 9%. A handful of companies traded up 1% on the week. Year-to-date, the group is up 34%, buoyed by both Mechanical Technology (Nasdaq: MKTY), up 168% and Quantum Fuel Systems (Nasdaq: QTWW) which is up 220%.

The geothermal segment closed up 4% this week, getting helped by U.S. Geothermal (AMEX: HTM), which closed 16% higher on the heels of a corporate update. Year-to-date, the group is down 17% with only Calpine (NYSE: CPN) in positive territory, up 18%.

The upstream solar segment closed up 3% this week led by a 9% gain by Tokuyama (4043.T). Year-to-date, the group is down 24% with only DC Chemical (010060.KS) and PV Crystalox (PVCS.L) in positive territory.

The midstream segment closed up 1%, led by Yingli (NYSE: YGE) and LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), which is up more than 60% in August alone on a string of solid announcements. Year-to-date, the group is down 21%, with the majority of companies well into negative territory. Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq: ENER) is up 123%.

The downstream solar group continues to struggle, closing down 3% on the week, led by Open Energy (OEGY.OB) which was down 15%. Conergy (CGY.DE) closed up 10% on the week. Year to date, the group is down 40% with no companies in positive territory.

The solar equipment group was flat on the week, with Spire (Nasdaq: SPIR) gaining 11%. Year-to-date, the group is down 12%. Xantrex (XTX.TO) and Satcon (Nasdaq: SATC) were up 54% and 37% year-to-date.

The wind segment closed up 2% this week, led by Nordex (NDX1.F), up 8%. Year-to-date, the group is down 5%, led by Zoltec (Nasdaq: ZOLT), which is down 60%. On the other end of the spectrum, A-Power (Nasdaq: APWR) is up 60%.

About Aspire Clean Tech Communications, Inc.

Based in San Diego, Aspire Clean Tech Communications is dedicated to providing strategic consulting and communications services to businesses operating in the alternative energy and clean tech industries. Our commentary and outlook on the public markets and the alternative energy can be found on a daily basis at www.smallcappulse.com.

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