US Wind Energy Added More Capacity In 2009 Than Any Other Year

April 8, 2010

Iowa gets more of its electricity from wind power than any other state – 14%. Texas has greatest generating capacity and the largest farms.

Across the country, 85,000 people are employed in the wind energy industry, with 10 new manufacturing plants beginning operation last year.

Iowa gets more of its electricity from wind power than any other state - 14 percent. Texas has the most utility-scale farms.

These are the findings of the American Wind Energy Associations annual report on the industry, released Thursday. China is out muscling the United States and most other countries with its efforts to add wind generation and manufacturing capacity.

But the U.S. is not standing still. The study finds that the nation installed 10,000 MW of wind power in 2009, more than any other year. Sure, new project planning slowed during the year, but 36 states now have utility-scale farms and 14 have more than a GW of generating capacity.

Leading the wind turbine market is GE and the largest owner of wind farms is NextEra Energy Resources. Xcel Energy of Minnesota is the utility with the wind power feeding into its distribution gird.

According to the report, 10 manufacturing plants came into operation last year and 20 new ones were announced. Even the market for small, residential, turbines chugged along. It grew 15 percent, with 20 MW of capacity sold.

Obviously the industry has a tough battle ahead considering the gargantuan resources China is putting behind wind energy and that country’s cheap labor. The challenge is all the more daunting give the tight credit conditions that linger in North America.

But look to the bright side. At least credit is not as tight as with solar farms.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

China Top US In Green Product Awareness

April 2, 2010

Consumers in emerging countries, including China, are more environmentally conscious than those in developed Western nations, a surprise observation that runs contrary to common wisdom.

The finding was the key takeaway in a recent Accenture survey of eight countries, including Germany, France, the United States and India. In all, the willingness to favor green products was greater in less developed economies.

Researchers said the difference appeared to be the result of the greater exposure to pollution and environmental degradation. In developing nations, such as India and China, the immediacy of air and water pollution is leading shoppers to select products with a smaller environmental impact.

“Consumers in difference places have a different perception of the harm to the environment that pollution can cause,” says Kumu Puri, managing director of the consultant’s consumer technology practice. “The numbers are so disparate.”

Overall, 84 percent of consumers in emerging countries said they would be willing to pay a premium for green consumer electronics – televisions, computers and cell phones. Only 34 percent of consumers in mature economies were willing to pay extra for electronic gear that uses less power or is easily recycled.

The highest level of environmental concern was found in China. Ninety-eight percent of consumers were willing to pay a premium. India was second with 84 percent, followed by Malaysia.

Only 43 percent of consumers were willing to shell out extra in the United States and 42 percent in Germany. Almost half of Japanese consumers (49 percent) said they would dig deeper into their wallets.

Puri said the findings uncovered a fundamental difference in green attitudes. What’s more, the difference in China may be a sign of a trend gaining steam. They survey was conducted online, meaning that only the most affluent consumers were able to take part. The rest of the nation may be getting ready to follow suit.

Accenture surveyed 16,000 consumers last fall for the research.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

China To Be Largest Solar Market In Five Years

March 29, 2010

Over production, consolidation, falling prices. The $39 billion solar market is difficult place to navigate.

So when will business conditions find a more even keel? Probably not for a two or three years, according to a new assessments of the troubled industry.

Growth has strengthened after last year’s economic swoon, and prices should decline by about half of 2009’s 40 percent plunge. This should bolster profits at leading companies.

But vendors are not out of the woods. A major shift in demand is underway, eventually unseating Europe as the sales center of the business and lifting China into its place.

The new assessment from Lux Research finds several new unexpected markets are becoming hot places to do business. All have high subsidies: New Jersey, Ontario, the Czech Republic, and several of them suggest a shift in the industry’s center of gravity to East from West.

European markets did relatively well last despite the downturn. Sales should remain solid this year. But saturation and subsidy cuts (in Germany, France and Italy, in particular) will have an impact in 2011.

That’s when the U.S. and China will likely play more commanding roles. California should lead demand in the U.S., but New Jersey will be a bright spot, too, Lux says. New Jersey sales are about one-sixth of those in California.

The China juggernaut is being sparked by a massive increase in government spending and government investments in solar companies. By 2015, China will account for 36 percent of the market compared with Europe’s 34 percent and North America’s 21 percent, says Lux. The industry’s power structure will have changed

“China has decided that is wants to own…the clean-tech industries of tomorrow,” warns a letter 45 House Democrats sent Monday to the Democratic House leadership. “China is pumping $12.6 million every hour into its clean-tech ambitions.”

In the meantime, though, a shakeup is on the way. Supply and demand will come back into balance, but not before weaker companies fail and production lines are mothballed. This process could take two to three years.

And it is already underway On Monday, panel producer SunPower announced it had completed its acquisition of European Sun farm developer SunRay. More deals will follow.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

China Leading US In Green Energy

February 17, 2010

Last year, 92 billion was spent building solar parks, wind farms and biofuels plants. China, not the United States, was the leader.

China increased its spending on wind farms 27 percent last year. Spending in the Americas fell 25 percent.

China by itself spent $21.8 billion on new wind facilities, a 27 percent jump from 2008. Spending in the Americas fell 25 percent.

The world’s most populous nation also nearly doubled its out lays on solar parks to $1.9 billion. Globally, financing for solar plants was down 5 percent.

A similar trend guided venture capital investing. Clean-tech investing in the U.S. came to $2.6 billion last year, while investing overseas added up to $3 billion. The U.S. spending was off 50 percent as the recession froze financial decision-making. Investments abroad were off by one-third.

While U.S. investors slowly get back on their feet and uninformed Republicans question the science behind global warming, the moneymen in China are spending at a smart pace.

It will likely give that nation an advantage in the years to come.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Venture Capital Investing Holds Up Better In US Than Abroad

July 23, 2009

Venture capital flowed more freely in the United States than abroad during the second quarter, suggesting that the entrepreneurial motor of the U.S. economy remains somewhat more intact.

Chinese venture capitalists spend only $282 million, down 80 percent from last year

Chinese startups received only $282 million, down 80 percent from last year

In teh U.S., venture capitalists invested $5.27 billion in startups during the three-month period, 37 percent less than a year earlier, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. VCs in Europe, China, Israel, Canada and India watched as their investments plummeted 63 percent to $1.46 billion.

The total overseas was even less than in the troubled first quarter, when a financial meltdown froze business around the world.

Europe held up better than other international regions, but investments in information technology and clean-tech suffered (as they did in the U.S.).

In China, VCs funded only 33 deals and spent $282 million, an 80 percent drop from the second quarter of 2008. Healthcare investing proved a relative bright spot in the country (as it also was in the U.S.).

Israeli startups received 67 percent less than a year ago and Indian companies took in only  66 percent of what they did last year.

“Investors are finding it more challenging to maintain their stakes in current investments,” says Jessica Canning, director of global research at VentureSource.

They also aren’t eager to pour money into new companies. With the industry retrenching globally, now may actually be a good time to offer cash to seedling companies. Oh, and advantage U.S.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

US Loses More Ground In Global Broadband Race

May 29, 2009

The United States is the world’s largest broadband market.

But the country lost considerable ground last year in the average broadband speeds its residents receive.

And the despite its affluence, the U.S. remains far from the top of the list of developed countries in the number of broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants. With 26.7 broadband users per 100 residents, the U.S. is 15th and trails many Western European nations along with Korea and Canada. Denmark leads the world with 37.2 subscribers per 100 people.

The survey is interesting fodder for the debate that has sprung up over President Obama’s planned broadband spending initiative. With some of the leading nations having received government support, the analysis from the European based Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development points to their advantage.

The U.S. remains the world’s largest broadband market with 80 million subscribers, or 30 percent of those in the developed countries the OECD surveys.

But in 2007, it was 13th in the world in terms of the speeds its commercial providers offer users. Last year it slipped to 19th.

The average download speed available in the U.S. is 9.6 Mbps, or almost a tenth of what is offered in Japan, where the average speed is 92.8 Mbps. Korea, which like Japan uses a lot of optical fiber, provides an average speed of 80.8 Mbps, and countries such as France (51 Mbps), Finland (19.2 Mbps) and Netherlands (18.1 Mbps) also best the states.

The U.S. didn’t lose ground last year in broadband per capita. But that points to an interesting observation that should influence government policy makers as they allocate money to extend broadband into rural areas.

Perhaps some of the money should be used lifts speeds in communities that already have broadband since that is where the nation continues to lose ground.

The US is 19th in the world in average broadband speeds, according to th OECD

The US is 19th in the world in average broadband speeds, according to the OECD

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Posted by Mark Boslet

European Clean Tech Investing Trumps The U.S. In The First Quarter

May 8, 2009
It is the first time since 2005 that European investments outgrow those in the US

It is the first time since 2005 that European investments outgrow those in the US

The venture-capital industry is in a trough, to put it politely. But not clean-tech investing in Europe, where VCs are apparently looking at the long-term horizon and not becoming overly fixated on today’s low oil prices.

Dow Jones VentureSource found that in the first quarter, energy and utility-industry startups in Europe raised $289 million, an increase of 82 percent. The total was helped in part by a large investment – $192 million – placed in NorSun of Oslo, Norway.

But even still, the rise came as venture-capital investing in Europe overall fell 35 percent, and around the world (not including the U.S.) tumbled 50 percent.

In the U.S., VC funding for energy and utility-industry companies fell 59 percent during the same three-month period. While it came to $457 million, more than what was spent in Europe, the number of deals plunged to 15 from 24 a year ago.

Renewal energy companies took it particular hard. Money going to them fell 73 percent.

The European clean-tech deal count also was down, to 10 from 18 a year ago. But it was the first time since 2005 that European energy-related spending outpaced spending in the U.S., said Jessica Canning, director of global research at VentureSource.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Korea Looks To Boost Broadband Speeds To 1 Gbps

February 2, 2009

Korean regulators are looking at extending that country’s lead in broadband by boosting connection speeds to 1 Gbps in 2012.

Korean broadband connections are already a world-leading 100 Mbps

Korean broadband connections are already a world-leading 100 Mbps

Already Korea has some of the world’s fastest broadband speeds with links of 100 Mbps, rivaling Japan and well ahead of the U.S., which has fallen behind many developed countries during the Bush Administration.

The Korean Communications Commission wants to increase wired connections while also improving wireless broadband speeds by a factor of 10 to 10 Mbps, according to a post on the GigaOM blog and a story in Korea’s JoongAng Daily. The government estimates the two initiatives will cost $24.6 billion over five years and create 120,000 new jobs.

Private telecom companies are expected to come up with the lion’s share of the build out with government paying only a small share.

Government planners claim the faster speeds will make high-definition television signals up to 16 times clearer and enable interactive TV services, such as e-commerce and home schooling.

The plan also calls for digital TV coverage to reach 96 percent of the country by 2012, up from 87 percent today.

More than 94 percent of Korean households presently have access to high-speed Internet connections.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

UK Threatens To Displace Japan As The Second Largest Gaming Market

February 2, 2009

Video games sales in 2008 rose 11 percent in the world’s three largest markets as strong growth in the United States and United Kingdom offset a slump in Japan.

The performance discrepancy was so great that sales in the U.K. (which are measured by units and which have doubled since 2003) last year overtook those in Japan for the first time, according to a Top Global Markets report. The report is put together by the NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain.

“Although (the U.K. is) still behind on revenue, the gap has narrowed considerably and it will be interesting to see how things develop during 2009,” said Dorian Bloch, business group director at GfK Chart-Track.

Game sales in the three combined markets rose to 410 million units, with 15 percent growth in the U.S., 26 percent growth in the U.K. and a decline of 13 percent in Japan.

Japan’s decline came as sales of Sony’s PlayStation 2 tumbled 46 percent. However, several key titles that could improve sales are coming in 2009, including Nintendo DS’ Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito and the console games Monster Hunter 3 and Final Fantasy XIII.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Finland Makes Big Push For Nationwide Broadband With The Government Paying A Third Of The Cost

November 28, 2008

The government of Finland said this week that it will pick up a third of the cost of bringing high-speed broadband to the country by 2015.

Finland wants households to have 100 Mbps connections

Finland wants households to have 100 Mbps connections

The decision comes as developed nations throughout the world put more resources behind connecting homes and businesses to fast online connections. And it contrasts to broadband initiatives in the U.S., where lack of policy support during the Bush Administration allowed the country to fall behind other leading nations in the speed and pricing of high-performance Internet links.

The Finish government said it would raise 66 million euros from a frequency auction to pay its share of the 200 million euro cost of the nation’s six-year plan.

The goal is to provide households with broadband speeds of more than 100 megabits a second.

A study by the transport and telecommunications ministry projects 95 percent of the country will be covered by 2015. By 2010, all Internet users are expected to receive at least 1 Mbps.

The government has to seek EU support for the program.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

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