Wind Energy | Green World Investor

Chinese Kangaroo Courts to be Tested in American Superconductor Wind IP Theft by Sinovel

7 Feb, 2012

Chinese Legal System is mostly a joke with the communist party running the world’s most populated country with an iron hand. The courts are mostly for show as dissidence against the Party is not tolerated and human rights are non-existent.Also most of the major companies are run under crony capital rules rather than free markets. Most of the rulings are done which favor the ruling party mandarins with little respect to whatever Communist Party laws are. IP Theft has been a big problem for overseas companies operating in China with Google existing the country sometime ago after it was hacked. With the world’s largest Internet companies having to run because of IP theft, smaller companies have no chance.Sinovel is the biggest wind company in the world right now because of Chinese government support and policies. It commands huge influence in the corridors of power as it is unlikely to have become this big without major government and bank support.

American Superconductor’s Tragic Story

American Superconductor (AMSC) which is one of the top rated wind stock in the US crashed by more than 40% as its largest customer AMSC is mainly a seller wind turbine core electrical components and full wind turbine electrical control systems (ECS).It has also made pilot sales of high capacity super conducting equipment to some customer like TresAmigas.Sinovel refused to take contracted shipments of wind turbine core electrical components and spare parts.The reason given was high inventory levels but the company failed to explain why Sinovel which is a multi billion dollar company has refused to pay AMSC for certain contracted shipments made in fiscal year 2010.Note $56 million in payments related to Fiscal 2010 quarters have been not paid to AMSC ( which would have been recognized as revenue).None of this was disclosed till now leading to a class action shareholder lawsuit against the company.It is quite perplexing why your largest customer will not pay you for past shipments and then cancel shipments as well.Is it because of some acrimony or is just Sinovel using its massive size to squash a small supplier.

American Superconductor has filed 3 cases against the biggest wind energy company in the world Sinovel for stealing its software and not honouring its contracts. One of its employees was arrested for corporate espionage while passing secrets to Sinovel. Note Sinovel was the biggest customer for AMSC’s wind power systems and software before abrutply terminating its contract. This led to a meltdown of AMSC stock and business. Now AMSC is trying to get back $1.2 billion from Sinovel. Given the quality of the Chinese legal system this looks unlikely.

US wind energy company AMSC said Monday it had filed three civil lawsuits in Chinese courts against rival Sinovel Wind Group Co., which it accused of stealing industrial secrets.

“AMSC is seeking to recover more than $1.2 billion for contracted shipments and damages from Sinovel in these cases, which stem from Sinovel’s contractual breaches in March 2011 and AMSC’s discovery of intellectual property theft by Sinovel employees in June 2011,” the company said in a statement.

AMSC said it believed the former employee illegally used source code to develop for Sinovel a software modification to circumvent the encryption and remove technical protection measures for the technology.

The US company said that because Chinese equipment is being used in wind turbines containing its wind turbine control software, “we believe that our copyrighted software is being infringed.”

Another Brutal Year for Solar and Wind Stocks in Offing Despite Growing Demand

1 Feb, 2012

Solar Energy,Wind Energy

Solar and Wind Stocks have been massacred in 2011 mainly due to the following reasons

1) Chinese oversupply which is outcome of its massive industrial overcapacity and investment. This has decimated wind and solar companies in the West while also leading to margins and profits collapsing

China’s rise in solar manufacturing has been nothing short of spectacular.From less than 5% of world marketshare it has gone to more than 50% in the current quarter.Some of its companies like Trina and Yingli are the lowest cost producers of solar modules in the world today.The Europeans like Solarworld and Q-Cells which were dominant until 2 years ago have been swept aside with Q-Cells bleeding red ink . Even in wind energy , China’s growth over the last 2-3 years has been awesome with more than 100% CAGR . It has helped in growing wind turbine manufacturers through domestic content requirements.Now that these companies have sufficient technology and are able to leverage their low cost advantages , China has removed the restrictions in Jan 2010 to attack other markets. Vestas the leading European turbine manufacturer like the solar makers has fallen into the red. The only way for these companies to survive is to move their manufacturing to Asia . Ultimately the technology will also follow ( Applied Materials has also move its R&D to Shanghai). Just like the semi and electronics industry,Europe will start looking like a marginal player in the global alternative energy industry. Despite strong domestic demand and policy support , the European industry has been outsmarted and outplayed by the Chinese

2) Commoditazation of Technology and Erosion of Entry Barriers

3) Massive and Irrational Subsidies by Asian countries to support Green Industry

Despite both Wind and Solar capacity growing strongly in 2011 the stocks have been punished.

2012 has a good chance to be another bad year for these stocks because

a) Wind Power in China has reached a plateau installing almost 50% of the global wind turbine installations

China Wind Power Market has become the biggest in the world with more than 18 GW of capacity installed in one single year, Note China has managed to double its capacity each year since 2005 and at the end of 2010 Wind Capacity totalled 44 GW which makes China the biggest Wind Power country in the world overtaking the USA.China has now got 7 of the Top 15 Global Wind Turbine Manufacturers and 2 of the Top 3 WTG Companies.China’s Massive Demand for Energy has made power plants mushroom in the country where more than 70% of the electricity is met by Coal.Wind Energy still forms only a small part of the power mix at less than 7% of the total power capacity and serves only a fraction of the Kwh of electricity given the lower load factor of Wind Power.Note Wind Power has grown in China as its Advantages as a Clean Source of Energy far outweigh its Cons.However the rapid demand growth has made a top inevitable as a country can only install that many megawatts in a year.

The 2 Biggest Signs of Trouble for the Chinese Wind Power Industry have been seen in the last couple of days.

1) Sinovel has canceled shipments of Electrical Control Systems (ECS) for its Wind Turbines from American Superconductor due to high inventory levels and refused past payments as well.With the biggest Manufacturer of Wind Turbines reporting inventory problems,the situation of the rest can’t be that good

2) The Chinese National Energy Bureau was considering tighter procedures that would include requiring local governments to get the written approval before going ahead with wind projects with installed capacity of less than 50 MW.Earlier it used to be more than 50 MW

3) Hundreds of Wind Turbines have not been connected to the Power Grid due to lack of capacity or transmission lines.China emphasises on investment without factoring in returns is one cause of these orphan wind turbines.

b) Solar Energy Growth may slowdown as well after a blistering 35% growth in 2011 as European countries slow / kill subsidies under the Debt Crisis.

c) Industries have too many players many of which are small and uncompetitive. Though a lot of solar companies have become bankrupt, there still exist too many.

Now a new wave of bankruptcies are on the way with Q-Cells likely facing a credit event as it needs to roll over convertibles which come due in February. Note Q-Cells has fallen a long way from being the biggest solar cell company in 2008. Miasole and Nanosolar were Private Equity backed CIGs darlings that were supposed to become the biggest thing following Firsst Solar . Now Nanosolar faceds executive exits while Miasole has fired large number of its workforce failing to find a big parent to support it. Note the smaller companies like Ascent Solar have found backers in Asia . Solar Technologies are seeing Darwin Survival of the Fittest with crystalline silicon solar panel technology beating out thin film solar and solar thermal technologies

APPENDIX

Wind Energy Stocks

1) Vestas – Vestas the largest Wind Turbine Company in the World has been facing one setback after another.The Danish Company which used to be a Green Investor Favorite till a couple of years can’t seem to find a buyer these days.Stiff competition from China,Slowdown in Wind Energy Farms in the West and now Wind Blade Problems have formed a perfect storm for this company.

2) General Electric (USA) - General Electric is looking to Invest Heavily in the new Age Green Industry like other Industrial Giants like Siemens,ABB etc.General Electric or GE as it is popularly known is one of the biggest players in the Green Industry globally.It generated $18 billion in Ecomagination revenues in 2009 with $1.5 Billion in Investment.General Electric like other industrial conglomerates like Siemens,Areva and others are in fact low risk plays in the Green Investing sector.GE is strong across most of the Green Sectors today particularly in the area of Smart Grid and Energy Efficiency.GE has a 40-50% marketshare of the US market which is the 2nd largest in the world.Due to its vertical integration,it has one of the highest margins in the industry and remains a formidable player with its acquisition Enron’s Wind Turbine arm proving to be a masterstroke.

3) Gamesa (Spain) - Gamesa the Spanish Wind Turbine Producer and Wind Farm Operator has faced the worst year of its history in 2010.Like Vestas and Suzlon,2010 has been a cruel year for the Wind Industry in the Western Markets and the WTG Players dependent on those markets.Gamesa is one of the worst performing Wind Energy Stocks in 2010.Gamesa is looking to restructure its operations and concentrating on the offshore wind market by focusing on higher megawatt turbines.Gamesa is leading a massive Spanish Research Effort to develop a colossal 15 MW Turbine meant for the fast growing offshore wind sector.But this is a long term plan with 2020 set as the target for the complete development of this new Turbine.Meanwhile Gamesa has become the target of takeover speculation by one of the bigger Chinese Wind Turbine players like Sinovel,Goldwind etc.Gamesa has seen its revenue fall by 28% and profits by 71% with Operating Margins of 4-5%.Things don’t look too good for 2011 either though Orders have started ticking up

4) Suzlon Energy is the biggest Indian Wind Energy Company by far with 4-5 Gigawatts of WTG Capacity per year.However Suzlon has languished in red ink since the beginning of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.The company started by Tulsi Tanti in 1995 was a shining example of Asian CleanTech with a 10% global marketshare and ranking amongst the top 5 Wind Turbine Makers .Suzlon buoyed by its success had bought controlling equity stakes in Turbine Gears producer Hansen Transmission and European Wind Turbine producer Repower.Suzlon seems to be recovering with increase in orders particularly at its German subsidiary RePower,however a huge debt burden poses problems.

5) Siemens – The largest Green Company in the world,Siemens has a strong presence in the Wind Turbine Segment.The company is strong in Europe and is now expanding to emerging markets like Asia.Given its huge technological strengths in electrical equipment,power transmission and large project construction,Siemens is looking for a dominant role in the growing offshore wind market as well.

6) Goldwind - The Wind Energy Market in China has witnessed the growth of almost 90 companies with little differentiation competing fiercely on prices.This has led to low to zero margins for most of these companies.Goldwind has managed to rise above the competition by becoming the single largest Chinese player and looks to takeover the No.1 position in the world in the next few years.By taking bold risks and with the support of the government,Goldwind has become a threat to the established Wind Turbine Order

7) Sinovel – The 2nd largest Chinese Wind Power Company managed to do a successful IPO in Hong Kong last year despite long delays.The company is looking to expand in the foreign markets particularly the US market and has gotten a local management to help it penetrate the newer market.

Dongfang Electric - Dongfang Electric Corporation,China’s largest power equipment producer is also the 3rd biggest Wind Turbine Producer in China as well .The company has managed to grow impressively like the rest of the Chinese and is looking to expand in foreign markets as well.Recently bagged a 276 MW $203 million WTG supply contract with Abhijeet Group.

9) Ming Yang Power- Ming Yang is the only significant non-state owned Chinese Wind Energy Company with a 2009 marketshare of around 4%.The Company has a very short history installing its first Wind Turbine just 2 years ago and has seen an exponential growth riding on the incredible Wind Industry Growth in China.

10) Mitsubishi Heavy Industries , the massive Japanese Conglomerate is looking to overseas market for growing its Wind Energy Division.Mitsubishi like other Japanese companies are looking towards Green Industry for growth.Japan already possesses solid strengths in this area with its traditional focus on resource efficiency.While companies like Panansonic and Toyota looks towards Electric Vehicles and Batteries,Sharp and Kyocera towards Wind Energy,Mitsubishi is focusing its energy on the Wind Sector.

11) Enercon – Enercon is a privately listed German company which has almost 22 GW of Wind Turbine Installations in the world.Enercon was the first company to build a gearless Wind Turbine which is one of the biggest innovation in the Wind Energy Industry in recent times.

12) Nordex - Nordex is another German company in the Wind Turbine Industry which was the first one to build a 1 MW Turbine.The company has not managed to grow fast as the other German companies like Enercon,RePower and Siemens.

13) United Technologies Corporation (UTC) - This US Giant Technology Conglomerate is still a small player in the World Wind Power Market.However it has increased its footprint by acquiring struggling independent US Wind Power company Clipper.

Solar Energy Stocks

Solar Cells Stocks

JA Solar (JASO) ( The Biggest Solar Cell Producer in the World)

Gintech (3514.TW) ( Biggest Solar Cell Supplier in Taiwan)

Motech (6244.TW) ( Solar Cell Supplier in Taiwan with wafer and poly production as well)

E-Ton (3452.TW) ( Survival is in question)

Q-Cells (QCE.DE) The largest solar producer of cells in 2008 faced a horrendous 2009 running losses of as high as Euro 1 billion)

Neo Solar (3576.TW)(Has been one of the fastest growing solar companies)

Del Solar ( Small Solar Cell Supplier)

IndoSolar ( Small Solar Cell Supplier in India)

Emcore (EMKR) ( Small Specialist suppliers of High Efficiency Multijunction Cells)

Solar Panels Stocks

Suntech (STP) ( The biggest Chinese solar panel producer in the world)

Trina Solar (TSL) ( The most valued Chinese solar panel supplier)

Yingli Green Energy (YGE) ( Top 3 Chinese solar panel supplier)

Jinko Solar (JKS)

Canadian Solar (CSIQ) (Despite Canadian in the name is one of the biggest Chinese solar panel suppliers)

Sunpower Corporation (SPWRA)( Makes the Most Efficiency Solar Panels,bought by French Giant Total)

Hanwha Solar One (HSOL) ( Earlier known as Solarfun,bought by South Korean Conglomerate Hanwha)

Sharp ( Biggest Japanese Solar Compan)

Sanyo Panasonic( Sanyo plans to invest more than 70% of its total investment over the next 3 years in its renewable energy and energy storage segment)

Kyocera(Kyocera is Japan’s second largest solar panel producing company)

Mitsubishi( Mistubishi is another old time Japanese solar company which has a low profile solar module and system business)

LG (It is selling solar modules in the South Korean and European markets and has 240 MW capacity)

Samsung ( The company makes silicon solar cells and panels,will start making poly with MEMC)

Hyundai ( The first South Korean company to move int solar panel production)

Solarworld (SWV.DE)- Solarworld is the Biggest German producer of solar panels,the company is one of the few to still have operations in Europe and USA)

Bosch (Automotive company,made expensive acquisitions,now moving production to Malaysia)

Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy (Listed in China,integrated producer of solar panels)

AUO ( AUO has a JV with SunPower’s to build 1.4 gigawatt third solar cell fabrication facility in Malaysia)

China Sunenergy(CSUN) (A Small China Solar Energy Cell and Panel Supplier)

Arise Technologies (Canadian small suppliers of solar panels)

BP (Outsources production of solar panels,sells under brandname )

GE View

General Electric Co. expects increased competition and a reduction in subsidies by cash-strapped governments to lead to more companies exiting the wind and solar power businesses, but the industrial behemoth still sees growing long-term demand.”There’s going to be a lot of casualties in the wind and solar businesses, there already are in solar,” John Krenicki, who leads GE’s energy division, told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

Wind Industry Oversupply , Sinovel Profits to Halve in 2012

Sinovel Wind Group Co., China’s biggest wind-turbine maker, expects its 2011 earnings to fall by more than 50 percent as heightened competition at home and abroad dragged down prices.

Rivalry within the market depressed prices, trimming revenue and profit margins, the Beijing-based company said yesterday in a statement. “Cyclical fluctuations” in the world economy also delayed some projects, curbing income, it said.

“It’s difficult for these guys to drive costs down at the same pace as revenue, so margins are getting squeezed,” Aaron Chew, an analyst with Maxim Group LLC in New York, said by telephone. Sinovel may still fare better than European counterparts such as Vestas because of lower labor expenses and more advantageous government subsidies in China, he said.

Lower Support

Vestas has cut sales forecasts twice since October after Asian competitors grabbed market share and U.S. and European governments reined in support for renewable power to curb budget deficits.

A tighter government approval process for projects in China has intensified competition further, spurring domestic companies to study expansion elsewhere. “We do not expect growth in wind installations in China in 2012 to 2014,” so growth abroad would allow the main Chinese players to boost sales, McLoughlin said.

Indian Renewable Energy Stocks – Bubble Bursting or Investor Panic

26 Jan, 2012

Energy,Orient Green Power,Renewable Energy,Solar Energy,Suzlon,Wind Energy

Quick quiz. What is common to Suzlon, Moser Baer, Indo Solar, Websol Energy systems and Orient Green Power? All these stocks had successful runs on the stock market and hyped as the next game changers in wind energy, semi conductors, solar power and hydel/geo thermal power. Valuations were more on growth stories than through an hard nosed DCF spreadsheet. But now, they trade at record lows(like other stocks but what is different is the pressing fundamental concerns in each case). Is this a bubble finally bursting, or are investors panicking?

Suzlon cherishes an ambitious vision of being the technology leader in the wind sector, and among the top three wind companies in all the key markets of the world. It expects that by 2015, total worldwide installation of wind energy would cross 442 GW which is almost 2.3 times of the current installation. This will cover about 7.5% of the global electricity supply by then, as opposed to just 4% now. But the solar bubble collapse in Spain, France and Germany(where subsidies were almost withdrawn) has put concerns on the very business model of solar(preferential feed in tariffs at peak hours(morning/noon)), as mentioned by First Solar in its 10K filing. So with gradual withdrawal of subsidies to wind energy generators, will Suzlon be able to regain pricing power for its equipment? Even in India, the most recent round of wind energy purchase tenders, saw bidders discount the CERC approved tariffs of Rs 17.91 by nearly 30%-35%, indicating that new players are willing to slash prices to gain market share. This would impact supplier pricing as well.
Moser Baer, Indo Solar and Websol Energy systems, wanted to capitalize on the boom in demand for solar photovoltaic cells. Indo Solar wanted to take benefit of the 25% capital subsidy scheme for project capex over Rs 1,000 crores( as per the Special Incentive Package scheme announced by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India). But the global over supply(especially from China) backed by costs increases in key raw materials, led to EBITDA margin compressions, and short of domestic protectionism, I do not see a bright future for these stocks. While they are all trying vertical integration, entering into adjacent industries etc, the core business model is facing challenges due to global supply scenario, and price driven market.
Orient Green Power is a slightly different proposition though. In 1H’12(Sep11 half year) alone, it added 80MW of wind energy, and had 300MW generation capacity(250MW wind+50MW biomass) in operation. However, with 250MW capacity wholly in Tamil Nadu and that State Electricity Board being in financial distress, investors seem to have discounted the stock which trades at P/BV of 0.5, despite its aggressive growth plans to reach 550MW capacity by Jun’12! At market cap of Rs 610 crores(with debt of Rs 190crores), the company had an EV of Rs 800 crores(assuming the Rs 170 crores of cash offset the current liabilities of Rs 195 crores, as the loans and advances of Rs 808 crores would presumably not be liquid), which would imply an EV of Rs 2.67 crores/MW, nearly half the estimated Rs 5.3cr/MW replacement cost of that capacity.

So have the factors affecting thermal power stocks(bankruptcy like status of SEBs, increased fuel costs, project execution delays) rubbed off disproportionately on these stocks as investors blindly herd together to sell power stocks? Or is it that the favourable economics may change? For export oriented equipment manufacturers like Suzon, the subsidy withdrawal story may play out, but for domestic generators, the national solar mission and other such plans would seem to give a secure price floor and assured market to sell the generated power. These stocks are worth tracking though, as a hedge against the general power sector decline.

The paragraphs below features previous GWI takes on the above Green Stocks and is not part of Anand’s article

You can read about the GWI List of Green Companies in India

Previous GWI take on whether Suzlon is a falling Knife

Suzlon History

Suzlon,the Indian Wind Turbine making company has languished in red ink since the beginning of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.The company started by Tulsi Tanti in 1995 was a shining example of Asian CleanTech with a 10% global marketshare and ranking amongst the top 5 Wind Turbine Makers .Suzlon buoyed by its success had bought controlling equity stakes in Turbine Gears producer Hansen Transmission and European Wind Turbine producer Repower.Suzlon wanted to leverage Repower’s technological expertise to enhance its own product offering.Like other Indian companies with global ambitions like Hindalco,Tata Steel and Tata Motors,it took on a lot of debt to buy these companies at the peak of the global economic cycle.The GFC resulted in a twin whammy for Suzlon.On one hand its end markets collapsed as project financing disappeared and on the other hand its huge debt burden became unsustainable.The company has failed to recover from the GFC as competition in the Wind Turbine industry has increased with the rise of Chinese players like Sinovel,Goldwind and A-Power.With the 2 biggest markets of USA and China dominated by domestic players,Suzlon has become a shadow of its former self.While other Indian companies have recovered strongly with the Global Economy,Suzlon continues to lose huge amounts of money.Its recent 2Q10 results were quite bad resulting in the share shedding 6% to Rs 50.This is almost 90% below its peak price in the heady days of 2008 .So is Suzlon a Fallen Angel which could turnaround to become a multibagger or a Falling Knife luring investors into further losses.Here are the pros and cons of the argument.

Orient Green Power IPO Analysis

Orient Green Power Ltd (OGPL) is India’s Largest Green Utility and is one of the areas that is a good way to invest in India’s Green Energy Sector.The company is owned by the Shriram Group and a couple of PE Players will issue around Rs 900 crores (~$180mm) which will result in a market cap of $450mm.OGPL is a relatively new company setting up and acquiring most of its 200 MW capacity in the last year which comprised of 152 MW of Wind Energy and the rest is Biomass Energy.The company plans to increase this capacity 4 fold to around 1000 MW in the next couple of years with Power Plants in India,Europe and Sri Lanka.The centerpiece of this expansion will be a 300 MW Wind Energy Plant in Tamil Nadu for which $10 million has been already been spent.The company’s past profits and cash flow have been negative which is not exactly a concern given that most of the capacity was set up in the last year or so.I like the company’s growth plans and the sector in which it operates.India suffers from a huge power deficit and Renewable Energy is being heavily promoted through Government Subsides and Renewable Energy Mandates by the CERC.Trading of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) should start in a year or so giving additional revenue streams to Green Energy Producers.Here are the pros and cons of the issue

(The author Anandh Sundar is from the IIM Ahmedabad 2010-12 batch, and a ranker in CA/CS/CWA exams. He blogs at http://financeandcapitalmarkets.blogspot.com/, and http://specialsituationsindia.blogspot.com/ and has a keen interest in investing)

Indian Wind Energy Developers to focus on Electricity Production than Accounting Gimmicks with Depreciation Removal in new Tax Code

18 Jan, 2012

Energy,Wind Energy

Subsidies of different kinds are given to the Renewable Energy Industry around the world . These incentives or subsidies which they are better known as are in the form of

a) Capital Subsidies

b) Feed in Tariffs

c) Tax Breaks in form of Accelerated Depreciation

d) Renewable Energy Certificates

e) Carbon Credits.

Wind Power in India has been wildly successful and is the 5th biggest in the world because of substantial incentives from the government. One of them has been accelerated depreciation which has made hundreds of companies and rich individuals buy small wind farms. This helps them offset their tax liabilities providing a substantial 2 digit returns. However the big drawback in this from of green subsidy is that it does not incentivize the production of wind energy. Once the wind farm is set up, the incentive to produce lots of electricity is not there unlike the case of Feed in Tariff where your returns are solely based on the electricity generatino.

India is coming up with a new Direct Tax Code in April 2012 which will substantially overhaul the current tax system in the country. In this the accelerated depreciation given to wind power turbines in India will be done away with. This might lead to a dip in the wind power production addition in the country. However in the Long Term its a plus as it would force Indian Wind Energy Developers to focus more on Electricity Production than Accounting Gimmicks

Wind Energy Companies in India that will be Affected

1) Suzlon Energy – Suzlon Energy is the biggest Wind Energy Company by far with 4-5 Gigawatts of WTG Capacity per year.Its subsidiaries Hansen Transmission and RePower are also big players in the Wind Energy in Europe.The Company has seen its revenues and profits take a huge hit in recent times but has been recovering slowly.

2) RRB Energy – The company has a long history and manufactures Wind Turbines at its plants in Tamil Nadu.The Company has a capacity of 300 MW which it is expanding to 700 MW.The Company makes only 2 models with power rating of 600 Kw and 1.8 MW.Merill Lynch has made a small investment in this company.

3) NEPC India – This company was one of the wind energy heavyweights and a stock market darling earlier.However It no longer remains an active player in the Indian market .Heavy Debt and Bad Management drove to this company to the ground despite being a pioneer in the Indian Wind Power Market.

4) Auro Mira Energy – The company is more of a Green Utility rather than a full fledged WEG manufacturer.It has made plans to manufacture Wind Turbines in the future.It has attracted funds from Baring and IFC to push forward its Green Plans.Auro Mira Energy is a Tamil Nadu based Green Utility backed by a clutch of PE investors like IFC etc.It has 2 biomass plants of 7.5 MW and 10 MW and plans to build around 100 MW of hydro and biomass capacity over the next 2-3 years.

5) Regen Powertech - It is a small scale WTG Supplier like RRB Energy which recently set up a small 300 MW manufacturing facility in Tada,Andhra Pradesh recently.The company licenses technology from Vensys to manufacture 1.5 MW gear-less Wind Turbines.The company has managed to supply both big and small wind farms over the last 2 years.The company is supported by the PE arm of Future Group.

6) WinWind – The company is not exactly a domestic company rather one with a Finnish Origin.It is owned by the Abu Dhabi Masdar ,Siva Group and the government of Finland.It has recently established a 1000 MW capacity in Venga,Tamil Nadu and also has a 500 MW plant in Finland as well.The company plans to producer 3 MW Turbines at its Indian plant as well.

7) Pioneer Wincon – The company is a JV between the Pioneer Group and Wincon of Denmark.It makes small 250 KW Turbines and is a bit player with 30 years of operations in India.The Company remains a small static player in the Wind Energy Market of India.

Chiranjeevi Wind Energy – A Small bit player like Pioneer Wincon which engages mostly in the sale of small 250 KW Wind Turbines.Like Pioneer Wincon it has sold a number of these Turbines to small companies mainly in the Southern Part of India.

9) Lietnar Shriram Limited - The company is a 50:50 JV betwen the Shriram Group of India and Lietnar of Italy.The company makes gearless turbines of 1.5 MW capacity and has supplied to small farms in Maharashtra.The company has a major inhouse customer in the form of Orient Green Power which is building a 300 MW farm in Tamil Nadu using Lietnar Shriram Wind Turbines.

10) Kenersys - The company is part of the Baba Kalyani Group which is a major forgings manufacturer in India.It was bought over in 2007,when the Kalyani Group and PE firm First Reserve bought over the German company RSB Consult.The Company mainly makes 2 and 2.5 MW turbines and has production facilities both in India and Germany.It has wind design capabilities between 1-3.6 MW and with a powerful parent, it could become a success in the future.Amongst the newer wind energy companies like Lietnar,RRB Energy,Regen and WinWind,it looks like the one with most potential

Source – http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-17/india-may-end-tax-break-for-wind-farms-this-year-official-says.html

Goldwind Wins 13 Wind Contracts in America as Chinese Extend Global Leadership, More Trouble for Vestas, GE

16 Jan, 2012

China,Goldwind,Wind Energy

Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology Co (Goldwind) is the 2nd biggest Chinese wind turbine producer and amongst the top 5 wind turbine companies in the world. Goldwind stock has been punished alongwith other Chinese wind turbine stocks as a fierce price war in the Chinese market has led to nosediving margins and revenues. There is massive overcapacity in the Chinese wind market as there are around 100 odd producers of wind turbines with 7 out of the 15 top global wind turbine makers. Chinese Government policies have been changed to weed out the smaller inefficient wind turbine makers, however the competition still remains quite high just like the Solar Panel Industry.

Other global heavywieghts like Vestas, Gamesa ,Suzlon are facing bankruptcy concerns as the 20-30% cheaper Chinese wind turbines take a big toll. Goldwind has been trying to expand internationally by doing an IPO to raise funds and has invested heavily in the North American market like USA which is the second largest wind market in the world. Its investments has paid off as it has managed to bag 13 wind farm projects and get marquee customers like Enel Green Power. The prospect of western wind turbine producers remains bleak given the Chinese expansion in Europe and USA.

Chinese Wind Energy Dominance

The Chinese have not only captured most of the top rankings of the biggest solar panel producers in the world,they have extended their lead into Wind Energy as well.7 of the top 15 positions in Global Wind Turbine Producers are Chinese according to a new ranking.Sinovel and Goldwind have become the No.2 and No.4 rankers in the world with more than 10% global marketshare each.Dongfang is the other top Chinese wind power company with a 7% marketshare.United Power is at 10.Other top Chinese wind energy companies are Mingyang,Sewind and XEMC China.

Goldwind IPO Story

China has massively increased its wind installations to become the world’s second biggest market in 2009 . It has also managed to cultivate its local home grown industry to join the ranks of top 10 world turbine makers. Foreign dominance of China’s wind market has completely disappeared as the share had declined to 5%. Now Chinese wind equipment makers are spreading their wings outside their overcrowded home market with APower planning a massive wind farm in Texas.Both Sinovel and Goldwind which are the two largest wind equipment producers are planning IPOs to raise more capital and increase their visibility. Goldwind which was planning a HK listing since January has got regulatory approval to raise $1.5 billion in Hong Kong making it one of the biggest green offerings in the world this year .

Chinese Green Companies Price Wars

Chinese Green Companies are being forced to look at overseas market for Profits as their Domestic Market is being ravaged by fierce price wars.Wind,Solar and even Smart Grid Companies in China compete mainly on price as technology is not the strong point for these companies.Lots of these small companies are promoted through provincial government bodies with massive capital and other subsidies.With excess capacity and little technology,there is little incentive for consolidation in the Green Industry with the attrition the only way out.Even the bigger players like Goldwind, Suntech and Jinpan are facing huge pressure from these low margin,low cost small companies in China.The fierce competition in the domestic market has forced these companies to look at foreign market to generate revenues and profits.While the solar companies have succeeded in this endeavor capturing a massive 50% global marketshare,Wind and Smart Grid companies are still struggling to expand outside their home market of China.

Wind Companies looking to Foreign Markets to Avoid Domestic Competition

Like Solar,China’s Wind Sector has seen a massive boom with China installing a huge 13 GW of Wind Capacity in 2009 which is 1/3rd of the global demand.The Wind Energy Market in China has witnessed the growth of almost 90 companies with little differentiation competing fiercely on prices.This has led to low to zero margins for most of these companies.Even bigger companies like Goldwind and Sinovel which rank amongst the top 10 global wind turbine suppliers are feeling the heat.The 2008 GFC only exacerbated this trend with even more price cuts.The wind farm operators in China like Longyuan,Huangeng have been the major beneficiaries of these price war

USA Wind Energy in 2012 Gets Flying Start with Three New Farms

11 Jan, 2012

USA,Wind Energy

USA Wind Energy in 2012 has got off to a flying start with the announcement of 3 new wind farms being announced. While BP and Sempra have announced 2 new wind farms with 560 MW capacity with $1 billion in investment ,a Spanish company will build a 189 MW wind farm . Note 2010 was not a great year for wind energy in the USA though 2011 was better . GE will be the Wind Turbine Company supplying turbines to the BP Wind Farms while Accionia wind turbines will be used by the Spanish company . Note there is a severe competition in the Wind Turbine space with the biggest wind company Vestas facing a possible bankruptcy or consolidation in the future. However wind farm developers are having a good time at the expense of the wind equipment companies as prices of wind turbines reach very low levels. Wind Energy is being installed despite Gas Prices touching new lows below $3 /mmbtu as Utilities look to meet the RPS mandates and possible carbon prices in the future.

Read about the Pros and Cons of Wind Power

Wind Energy in 2010 had ground to a halt in the US after a record 10,000 MW were installed in 2009. The ARRA grants in 2009 which gave a 30% cash grant for wind farm development plus the 2008 pushed out orders led to a path breaking 2009 for Wind Energy in the US . Almost 30% of the total installed capacity in the US was constructed in 2009 alone.Wind Energy accounts for roughly 50 GW of electricity capacity in the US or roughly 5% of the total 1000 GW capacity.

The Pennsylvania facility is a 141-megawatt wind farm being built by Renewable Energy Systems Ltd.’s U.S. unit that will use 88 1.6-megawatt wind turbines made by General Electric Co., BP and Sempra said. The facility has long-term contracts to sell the electricity to two electric cooperatives.The 419-megawatt Kansas wind farm will use 262 GE wind turbines and will be built by Blattner Energy, BP and Sempra said. The electricity generated will be sold to Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. and American Electric Power Co. unit Southwestern Electric Power Co. under long-term contracts.

NaturEner Wind Farm

The renewable energy company, a subsidiary of Spain-based NaturEner, expects Rim Rock to be operating by October. The power will be shipped on the western power grid, which includes several western states and Alberta and British Columbia in Canada.The wind farm, which would feature 126 Acciona wind turbines, is planned 20 miles northwest of Shelby near Kevin, or about 106 miles north of Great Falls.At 189 megawatts, the facility will produce enough energy to power more than 60,000 homes.

Page 2 of 24

← 1 2 3 4 5 6 →

...

Last