Alteration Earth Share Discussion Threads

[regandharry5] 24/10/2022 10:58

Looks like 30p is coming.

[energyi] 03/7/2009 03:42

Summary

Times are tough for ethanol producers. They are in the same boat right now as refiners - enduring very poor margins. This is what the economics roughly look like at $5 per bushel of corn and $8/MMBTU of natural gas. To produce 1 gallon of ethanol today requires:

$1.85 of corn
$0.33 of energy
$0.14 of enzymes, yeast, etc.
$0.23 of labor, maintenance, and various miscellaneous expenses
There is a DDGS credit per gallon of ethanol of $0.55. Thus, the total cost to produce a gallon of ethanol today is $1.85 + $0.33 + $0.14 + $0.23 - $0.55, or exactly $2/gallon of ethanol. For reference, the February contract for ethanol in the Midwest as of this writing is $2.15. And $2/gallon is merely cost of production. It doesn't take into account any return on investment.

/see:

[don muang] 09/7/2007 15:02

Brazil's ethanol industry is cutting out the dirty habits that contribute to global warming and environmental degradation. But it's not just a noble effort - it makes good financial sense, too.

[don muang] 25/5/2007 20:06

Britain could be on the verge of missing a huge opportunity to export clean coal technology around the world, energy analysts said yesterday.

[girwin] 22/5/2007 15:24

Anyone got any thoughts on TMO Renewables and the ex-coo's new co Emmanol, both seemingly doing ethanol from cellulosic/straw/silage etc?

[energyi] 16/5/2007 05:38

Vol. 2 No. 19. 14 May 2007
Last week CEO Rupert Murdoch of News Corp launched its Global Energy Initiative. The entertainment company (FOX, Sky News, The Times, The Sun) with annual revenues of US$28bn intends to be carbon neutral across all of its businesses by 2010.

The corporation plans to reduce energy consumption, utilize renewable energy and offset emissions. The media group is not a large CO2 producer compared to other industries, but what is of much greater significance is Mr Murdoch's change in view on climate change. Until recently, Mr Murdoch admitted that he was "somewhat wary of the warming debate" but now believes that "climate change poses clear and catastrophic threats" and it is the corporation's responsibility to take the lead on the issue. We believe the corporation's decision will have a great impact on public sentiment around the world, as the corporation is now intend to "revolutionise" the climate change message by increasing news and media coverage of climate change issues.

In France, newly elected President Sarkozy urged Washington to show leadership against global warming. He stated that the US "has the duty to not create obstacles in the struggle against global warming" and that "should take the lead in this battle because what is at stake is all of humanity." Building on his comments he stated that "France will make this battle it's first battle." We welcome his stance on climate change and believe France will now become more active in climate change initiatives.

[shoggoth] 10/5/2007 04:00

ASX:DYE capitalised at about A$87M.
Good possibility of a growth market. The company itself seems to be growing its (albeit small) revenues quickly.

My concern is in the news release, that they had to announce the fact that they were able to secure the ruthenium. If it is in short supply, perhaps their margins will be squeezed?

Now who produces ruthenium?

[energyi] 10/5/2007 02:45

Dyesol secures its largest order ever for materials needed to commercialise DSC



Leading dye solar cell materials manufacturer Dyesol Limited (ASX: DYE) has secured one of the world's largest orders for supply of ruthenium dye, a chemical central to the manufacture of DSC products from G24 Innovations Ltd (G24i), a UK company preparing to launch commercial DSC materials on a large scale.



While the value of the single order for several kilograms of ruthenium dyes is commercial-in-confidence, the directors of Dyesol believe it is sufficiently large to be considered material to Dyesol's business.



Most importantly Dyesol believes securing this order has significant and very positive implications for the future of the company.



G24i is a UK based company with a very impressive high powered management team and board, and significant international connections and financial backing, that has built the world's first commercial capacity roll to roll production facility at Cardiff, Wales.



Ruthenium dye is one of the three critical chemical components required for the manufacture of DSC products, and is a material that Dyesol is recognised around the world for being able to manufacture with the highest degree of quality control and with reliable performance characteristics.



Dyesol Managing Director, Mrs Sylvia Tulloch, believes that this order could be the start of a very important long term relationship for Dyesol.



"Obviously with the plans that G24i have to manufacture multi-megawatt volumes of DSC we are very happy to be a supplier to their first commercial scale material purchases," Mrs Tulloch said. "We are also very committed to the success of their products, so Dyesol will be providing all possible technical assistance to the team at the Welsh facility to ensure that their flexible cell products meet their expectations."



Following a recent visit to G24i, Dr Gavin Tulloch, Head of International Business Strategy said "We believe the G24i team have the skills and the capability to successfully launch DSC products, and Dyesol is looking forward to sharing the scale-up challenges ahead, both technical and commercial. At Dyesol we believe that this significant order for the highly specialised materials we manufacture represents the beginning of the commercialisation of 3rd generation photovoltaics, a historical event that we are well positioned to enjoy."



G24i and Dyesol share the presence of the inventor of DSC, Professor Michael Graetzel, on their respective advisory boards, and Dyesol has provided samples of materials previously to the technical team at G24i.





Background Information for Media Release


Information on G24i visit: www.G24i.com



Information on Dyesol: Mrs Sylvia Tulloch (Managing Director Dyesol) 02 6299 1250



The Technology – DYE SOLAR CELLS

DSC technology can best be described as 'artificial photosynthesis' using an electrolyte, a layer of titania (a pigment used in white paints and tooth paste) and ruthenium dye sandwiched between glass. Light striking the dye excites electrons which are absorbed by the titania to become an electric current many times stronger than that found in natural photosynthesis in plants. Compared to conventional silicon based photovoltaic technology, Dyesol's technology has lower cost and embodied energy in manufacture, it produces electricity more efficiently even in low light conditions and can be directly incorporated into buildings by replacing conventional glass panels rather than taking up roof or extra land area.



The Company – DYESOL Limited

Dyesol is located in Queanbeyan NSW (near Canberra) and in August 2005 was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX Code 'DYE"). Dyesol manufactures and supplies a range of Dye Solar Cell products comprising equipment, chemicals, materials, components and related services to researchers and manufacturers of DSC. The Company is playing a key role in taking this third generation solar technology out of the laboratory and into the community.

[energyi] 30/4/2007 15:19

Vol. 2 No. 17. 30 April 2007
Last Week Governor Schwarzenegger announced that California intends to sue the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) if it does not act in the near future on the State's request for permission to regulate automobile emissions. The State believes there have been unreasonable delays in its request, which would allow the State to enforce its law that would require automakers to reduce emissions by 25% from cars and light trucks and 18% from sport utility vehicles starting with the 2009 model year. The EPA has been slow on acting on the State's request because it maintained that the agency did not have the authority to regulate the gases that contribute to global warming.

This changed earlier this month when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the EPA does in fact have the authority to regulated carbon dioxide emissions like other pollutants. The EPA refused to say when it would issue a decision, but stated it will act "expeditiously." If the EPA accepts the request this would result in significant reduction in CO2 emissions from the automobile industry as 10 other States have adopted California's standard. We believe the actions of these States could result in a uniform Federal nationwide policy.

[energyi] 27/4/2007 06:12

"California can become the world's biggest PV market within a few years".

article:

[energyi] 27/4/2007 04:57

Alt-Energy: favorites of H, of M and of J = =

Big Picture : Oil (USO), and Oil stocks (XLE), verus Clean Energy Stocks (PBW)
Oil (USO), 2277207
..
Oil stocks (XLE) , 127182
..
Clean Energy Stocks (PBW) , 1943664
..
Oil Service Holders (OIH) , 464889
..
Peabody Coal (BTU) , 692815
..

(J. likes)
Dyesol (DYE.au) , 2050949
..

(H - solar)
Akeena Solar (AKNS) , 2403006
..
Ascent Solar (ASTI) , 2392889
..
Carmanah Technologies (CMH.v) , 738440
..
Energy Conversion Devices (ENER), 1784
..
Solar Empower,
(still private??)
Solon AG (XE:747119) , 1318461
..

(H- other)
Altra Inc (AIMC), 2546173
..
Axeon Holdings (DE:A0HGL1) ,
..
Axion Power,
(private?)
Camco International (CAO.L) , 2302783
..
China Clean Energy,
(private)
Clean Diesel Technologies (CDT.L) , 969424
..
Conergy AG (DE:604002) , 609244
..
Earth Biofuels (EBOFE) , 2155462
..
Enerteck (ETCK) , 1603184
..
Enro AG (DE:549282) , 950512
..
Flora Ecopower (DE:A0HHE3) , 2562074
..
Freepower,
(private?)
ITM Power (ITM.L) , 1756975
..
Maxwell Technologies (MXWL) , 3032
..
Novera Energy (NVE.L) , 2016236
..
Nordex AG (XE:A0D655) , 1953632
..
Nova Biosource Fuels (NVBF) , 2453145
..
Odyne Corporation (ODYN) , 2448390
..
Ormat Technologies (ORA) , 1855405
..
Petrotec AG (DE:PET111) , 2448306
..
Phoenix Sonnenstrom (DE:A0BVU9) , 1868307
..
Proton Power Systems (PPS.L) , 2452632
..
Renesola (SOLA.L) , 2391553
..
Romag (ROM.L) , 1565492
..
Sabien Technology (SBT.L) , 2566142
..
Satcon Technologies (SATC) / also Germany ,
..
Tersus Energy (TER.L)
..
ZBB Energy (AU:ZBB) , 1914687
..

= = = = =
LINKS:
The Solar Thread/ SUN :

[energyi] 16/4/2007 07:11

Rising Ethanol production & its impact upon Corn prices - Huge !

Video interview on Victor Adair's program, with Rich Feltes:

[energyi] 23/3/2007 08:22

China Agri-Industries prices IPO at the top -
...The biofuel producer pulls off Hong Kong's largest IPO this year as tumbling
... the company has stakes in three of the four existing fuel ethanol plants in
= = =

China Agri-Industries prices Hong Kong IPO at top-end 3.72 hkd - source
03.14.07, 11:47 PM ET

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - China Agri-Industries Holdings (606.HK) has priced its Hong Kong IPO at 3.72 hkd, the top end of an indicative price range of 3.1-3.72 hkd, due to strong oversubscription, according to a market source. Based on the offer price, the company is expected to raise 3.20 bln hkd.

The retail tranche of China Agri-Industries Holdings' (606.HK) IPO has now been more than 1,000 times oversubscribed, the source said.

A clawback mechanism has been applied and the total number of shares offered to retail investors has now been increased to 430.5 mln shares, representing 50 pct of the total number of shares offered, the source added.

Listing of shares on the main board will start on March 21.

Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) Asia has previously been appointed as sole global coordinator and sponsor of the IPO, as well as the deal's joint bookrunner, along with BOCI Asia Ltd

@:

[energyi] 20/3/2007 08:03

March 17, 2007
Ethanol made from plant cellulose, which has no agricultural value, could play a key role in reducing the demand for corn and curbing the US' appetite for foreign crude oil.

"I would be surprised if it took more than six or seven years for this technology to be commercially viable, with current subsidies and price structures," said Alex Farrell professor of Energy and Resources at UC Berkeley.

Ethanol produced from plant cellulose has the same chemical properties as ethanol made from corn or sugar cane, but it can be produced from a variety of non-edible materials like cereal straw, sawdust and switchgrass.

In the US, corn is the dominant feedstock used to make ethanol. With a mushrooming in the number of corn-fed ethanol plants, the price of the cereal has risen sharply over the last few months.

This has led small players like BlueFire Ethanol Inc and Broin Cos. joining forces with big companies like DuPont Co, Waste Management Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, in a bid to develop the technology required to make cellulosic ethanol a viable option.

Energy experts say that cellulosic ethanol could help stem the spiraling demand for corn and free more land for agricultural and other uses.

"If we really want to be energy independent, we are going to have to make more ethanol; and if we are going to make more ethanol in that large a quantity, we've got to find something in addition to corn," said Ron Lamberty, director of market development at the American Coalition for Ethanol, a trade group.

"And that's the thing: It's not an instead of; it's an in addition to," he said.

@:

[energyi] 20/3/2007 07:03

(from a GEI thread):

I see two interesting trends:
+ gasoline prices are beginning to rise again, as we head towards the summer driving season
+ ethanol stocks have sold off, and look like they are trying to bottom on low volume

Many of the Ethanol stocks trade in the US, and many have traded options
- so you can play them with limited risk in-the-money calls

- - -

Sym. : Company========= Price. x ShsOS : Mkt.Cap. : PE-fwd/ BkVal. , Pr/Rv, PEGr
AVR. : Aventine Renew.. $15.26 x 41.78 : $637.6mn : 13.5f / $ 7.28 , 0.39 , 0.80
GPRE : Green Plain Ren. $21.22 x 6.004 : $127.4mn : 5.89f / $14.31 , N/A- , N/A-
MGPI : MGP Ingredients. $18.16 x 16.45 : $298.8mn : 12.5f / $ 8.93 , 0.89 , 1.07
PEIX : Pacific Ethanol. $15.21 x 40.28 : $612.7mn : 20.6f / $ 7.41 , 2.70 , 2.66
VSE. : Verasun Energy.. $17.34 x 75.55 : $1,310mn : 15.4f / $ 6.42 , 2.27 , 1.43
XNL. : Xethanol Corp... $ 2.42 x xxx.x : $66.34mn : N/A - / $ 1.92 , 6.27 , N/A-

Funnily enough, (excluding the midget, XNL), they all seem to be trading at just over 2x Book.


When I started to examine this sector, noticed the sharp falls. I expected the stocks to be dirt cheap. That is not the case apparently. The PE ratios look reasonable on average. But it obvious that the stocks were well ahead of themselves at their peaks last year.

What looks cheapest to me on the quick statistical screen are:

+ GPRE: Green Plain Ren.: thanks to its low multiple (5.9) to expected future earnings

+ MGPI : MGP Ingredients : thanks to the low mktcap to sales, and low PEG ratio

+ VSE..: Verasun Energy.. : the biggest (in MktCap), but of some attraction on its 1.43 PEG ratio

Having said this, i dont know much about the assumptions underlying those stats /

@:

[energyi] 20/3/2007 05:09

Cheap relative strong Gaso.?



Nice double bottoms on the Ratios to Gaso:
PEIX-to-Gaso

PEIX-to-Gaso

PEIX-to-Gaso

[energyi] 20/3/2007 02:37

Ethanol producer China Agri-industries Holdings raised hk$3.2billion
after pricing its shares at hk$3.72, teh top end of an indicated price
range for teh retail portion of its Hong Kong IPO, which was 607 times
oversubscribed.

The stcok will start trading tomorrow

[energyi] 20/3/2007 02:32

They were over-hyped and over-owned.
then CORN prices started rising... as oil started to fall

They have been knocked down, and are getting interesting again.

The Wall Street brokers love putting their clienst into "hot" stocks,
and teh clients then watch with horror as the prices fall.
Foolish sheep deserve the sheering they get-long-life stupidity !
Though I would like to help peopel overcome it

[energyi] 22/2/2007 02:41

[b]Alternative energy goes after investor dollars[/b]
Executives tell big investors the cost of producing power in the sector is dropping.
By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer ... February 21 2007:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Executives from some of the world's leading alternative energy companies argued their case to big investors Wednesday, outlining why money thrown into the red-hot sector will pay off.

Much of the rationale centered around costs, which leaders of renewable energy firms contend are dropping at a breakneck clip.

"We need to make sure solar is becoming cost effective compared to other energy sources," Erik Thorsen, president of the Norwegian solar firm Renewable Energy Corporation told the crowd at Piper Jaffray's second annual conference on investor opportunities in alternative energy.

Thorsen said the company planned to cut silicon costs by 70 percent by 2010 by using less silicon in solar energy devices, combined with higher efficiency solar cells.

Silicon costs have been a major hurdle to developing solar power, as the price of the material, which is also used in computer chips, has soared in recent years due to skyrocketing demand.

California-based Applied Materials (Charts), which makes semiconductor production equipment and recently moved into making equipment for manufacturing solar power cells, also outlined strategies to reduce production costs.

Applied Materials presented a solar panel design four times larger than current panels, basically something the size of a large garage door.

The company said the design would save up to four times on costs associated with framing and connecting a solar set-up.

Sunpower Corporation (Charts), also based in California, said it was looking at shaving 30 percent off installation costs, partly by designing solar panels that take the place of normal construction materials, like roofing tiles.

Sunpower's executive, Tom Werner, also pointed to the massive potential of the electricity market, which he said was valued at over $1 trillion annually, and that the company is poised to take an ever larger share of that pie with each corresponding drop in solar's price.

"The upside opportunity here is fantastic," said Werner.

While there may be tremendous opportunity in investing in alternative energy companies, investors should always understand that the companies are often new and small, and can therefore be very volatile.

Take ethanol darling Verasun (Charts), which debuted last summer at over $30 a share, quickly lost half it's value, rose to near $30 again, and now trades at $15.

Among larger companies at Wednesday's conference, DuPont (Charts) outlined its emerging bio program, saying it is nearly ready to introduce a plant-based material that can replace petroleum-based plastics in things like carpet fiber, molded parts and packaging.

John Ranieri, general manager of the company's bio-based materials division, said DuPont is also big in developing organisms that create ethanol or butanol, that later of which he said could be more promising than ethanol for certain fuels because it has a higher energy yield.

In response to a question about when cellulosic ethanol might be cost effective, Ranieri said that "by 2010 we'll be looking at commercial possibilities."

Piper Jaffray, a Minneapolis based investment bank, organized the conference to bring together what a spokeswoman said were top companies and the bank's clients, which include mutual funds, hedge funds, and other institutional investors.

Other publicly traded companies presenting at the conference included MEMC Electronic Materials, Energy Conversion Devices, First Solar, Metabolix, Nova Biosource Fuels, The Andersons, Beacon power Corporation, Akeena Solar, Canadian Solar, Fuel Cell Energy, Active Power, Ormat Technologies, EMCORE Corporation, Medis Technologies, Suntech Power Holdings, Evergreen Solar, Active power, Altair Nanotechnologies, Ultralife Batteries, SatCon Technology Corporation, Power Integrations, Power-One, Spire Corporation and American Superconductor Corporation.

@:

[praipus] 25/1/2007 16:12

Energyi - is there any particular reason why Ethanol stock values are so low considering Bush's recent State of the Union speach and commitment to the technology ?

[don muang] 04/1/2007 08:06

The world is likely to experience the warmest year on record in 2007, the UK's Met Office has forecast.

[don muang] 03/1/2007 18:34

Power station drops palm oil idea ...