ConsumerPowerline Wins $17 Million in Series A Financing

New York, NY, based ConsumerPowerline, a leading strategic energy asset management firm, announced the completion of its $17 million Series A Preferred Financing. The round was led by Expansion Capital Partners, LLC, a leading Clean Technology venture capital firm, with co-investors Bessemer Venture Partners, as well as Schneider Electric Ventures, the New York City Investment Fund and Vantania Holdings, advised by Consensus Business Group. Diana Propper, partner at Expansion Capital Partners, and Justin Label, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, will join ConsumerPowerline’s board of directors. The placement was facilitated by America’s Growth Capital. ConsumerPowerline will use the funds to expand Demand Response, smart metering technologies, permanent energy efficiency solutions and other products and services designed to pay end-users for the efficiencies that they offer to the national, regional and local energy markets. ConsumerPowerline’s President Mike Gordon said, “The significant investment provided by Expansion Capital Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners, along with our other value-add investors, will allow ConsumerPowerline to grow our team, enhance our products and services and expand our national presence. With this venture funding, ConsumerPowerline will be able to bring attractive and lucrative efficiency products and services to a much wider range of customers.”

HydroPoint Scores Funding from Citi Alternative Investments

Petaluma, CA, based HydroPoint Data Systems, Inc., provider of WeatherTRAK® smart water management systems, announced that it received a material investment from Sustainable Development Investments (SDI), a unit of Citi Alternative Investments, a division of Citi. This infusion of capital accelerates expansion of HydroPoint's sales and services capabilities and deployment of WeatherTRAK smart water management systems to property owners and public sector leaders who are planning economically sustainable green initiatives. As part of Citi's investment, Gisele S. Everett, a director at SDI, will join HydroPoint's board of directors. Citi's investment is in addition to HydroPoint's series C round funded earlier this year by RockPort Capital Partners, Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, Firelake Strategic Technology Fund, Monitor Ventures and Shea Ventures.

Canadian Solar Appoints New Directors and CFO

Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: CSIQ), a Canadian based solar products company with manufacturing operations in China, announced that it has increased the size of its board of directors from five to six and that Michael G. Potter and Yan Zhuang have been appointed directors of the Company. Coincident with their appointment, Arthur Chien has resigned as a director and been appointed to the newly created position of Vice President, Finance of the Company. Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CSI, announced the appointments. Mr. Potter, 41 years old, has worked in finance, controlling and audit positions with a variety of multinational companies for over 20 years. He is currently Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of NeoPhotonics Corporation, a leading provider of photonic integrated circuit-based modules, components and subsystems for use in optical communications networks with extensive operations in Shenzhen, China. Mr. Zhuang, 44 years old, has worked in corporate branding, sales and marketing positions with, or provided consulting services to, a variety of multinational companies for over 15 years. He is currently Senior Vice President Business Operations and Marketing, Asia Region, of Hands-on Mobile Ltd., a global media and entertainment company with Asian operations in China, Korea and India. Mr. Chien, 46 years old, became a director of CSI in December 2005. Until recently, he was managing director of Beijing Yinke Investment Consulting Co. Ltd., a company which provides financial consulting services and manages its own investment projects.

Solazyme Selected for National Institute of Standards and Technology Award

South San Francisco, CA, based Solazyme, a bioscience company pioneering biofuels and health/wellness products from microalgae, has received a $2 million Advanced Technology Program Award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop a biopetroleum derived from marine microorganisms. Under the program, Solazyme will accelerate development of a renewable, domestically produced light sweet crude oil, or biopetroleum, which is fully compatible with the vast existing petroleum industry infrastructure that refines, distributes, and markets petroleum products for transportation, heating, power generation and petrochemical applications. Development of the biopetroleum technology requires efficient industrial scale bioproduction of pure, long-chain hydrocarbons. The ATP award will advance the achievement of major technical milestones toward commercialization of biopetroleum. www.solazyme.com

First Solar Adds Two New Members to Its Board of Directors

Phoenix, AZ, based First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq:FSLR), a manufacturer of thin film solar modules, announced the appointment to its board of directors of Craig Kennedy, president of the German Marshall Fund, and Jose H. Villarreal, partner with the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Mr. Craig Kennedy has been president of the German Marshall Fund since 1995. The German Marshall Fund focuses its activities on bridging U.S.-European differences on foreign policy, economics, immigration and the environment. Mr. Jose H. Villarreal is a partner with the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, and practices primarily in the domestic policy area. "We are pleased to welcome Craig Kennedy and Jose H. Villarreal to our board," said Mike Ahearn, chairman of First Solar.

New CFO for Akeena Solar

Los Gatos, CA, based Akeena Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKNS), a leading designer and installer of solar power systems, announced that Gary R. Effren has accepted an offer to become the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Effren, 51, had served as the Vice President/Finance of Knight-Ridder, Inc., a Fortune 500 media company, since January 2005. Prior to that, Mr. Effren served as Senior Vice President/Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Knight-Ridder from 2001 to 2004, and as Vice President/Controller of Knight-Ridder from 1995 to 2001. Akeena disclosed that the new CFO will have an initial salary equivalent to $250,000 per year, and will be eligible to participate in the Company’s bonus program (with target bonus of 50% of salary, dependent on Company performance), and health and other benefits programs. The Company’s Board of Directors approved the grant to Mr. Effren of a stock option to purchase 350,000 shares of common stock, vesting over three years in accordance with the Company’s 2006 Incentive Stock Plan and standard forms of agreement. The option exercise price is $6.30, which was the closing market price on the date of grant.

Pentadyne Names New VPs of Sales, Marketing

Chatsworth, CA, based Pentadyne Power Corporation, a leading commercial manufacturer of clean energy storage systems using advanced composite flywheel technology, announced that it had named Johnny Gonzales and Keith Field to new vice-presidential positions. Gonzales was named Vice-President of Sales & Service; Field was appointed Vice-President of Marketing. Both Gonzales and Field were promoted from their current positions at Pentadyne as Directors of Sales and of Marketing, respectively. Pentadyne President & CEO Mark McGough noted that “These two individuals have contributed significantly to our growth this year, which we expect will more than double the size of the business. ” Gonzales is a 4-year veteran of Pentadyne and “a key person responsible for bookings growth at the company,” McGough said. Gonzales will remain directly responsible for existing accounts until those responsibilities are reassigned “as part of our aggressive buildup of the sales force for our next phase of growth,” he said. Gonzales has 30 years of experience within the power quality industry, working for both static UPS manufacturers and rotary/flywheel UPS manufacturers, including Hitec and SatCon. Among those companies, he has held positions in applications engineering, senior project management and sales management. Field was hired as Director of Marketing at Pentadyne in June of 2006. Field was formerly in a similar capacity at microturbine generator manufacturer Capstone Turbine. Prior to directing marketing and communications at Capstone, Field managed product marketing and communications at Clifford Electronics, now a division of consumer electronics manufacturer Directed Electronics.

JA Solar Appoints President and Chief Operating Officer

Hebei, China, based solar cell manufacturer JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) announced the appointment of Dr. Kang Sun as president and chief operating officer. The former chief operating officer, Mr. Zhilong Zhang, will assume the position of general manager of Shanghai JA Solar PV Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of JA Solar. Dr. Sun has been an independent director of JA Solar’s board since January 2007. He will continue to serve on the board but will no longer be designated as an independent director. Dr. Sun has held executive positions in the areas of business development, marketing and sales, technology management, operations and investments at both large global corporations, such as Applied Materials, AlliedSignal, Honeywell and Oce, as well as technology startups. Samuel Yang continues as the company's chief executive officer.

U.S. Department of Commerce Awards Metabolix $2 Million

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sep 27, 2007 -- Metabolix, Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX), a bioscience company focused on developing clean, sustainable solutions for plastics, fuels, and chemicals, announced today that it has received an Advanced Technology Program (ATP) award from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The $2 million award will be used by Metabolix to develop a commercially viable process for producing biobased chemicals from renewable agricultural products, rather than from fossil hydrocarbons such as oil or coal. Link.

Nanosolar Signs Contract for Solar America with U.S. Department of Energy

PALO ALTO, California - Nanosolar Inc., a global leader in solar power innovation, today announced it has been awarded a cost-shared, three-year cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the Solar America Initiative (SAI) in addition to receiving DOE SBIR Phase II and DOE NREL grants. Nanosolar will use the funds to deliver solar power product and system innovations to enable grid-parity commercial systems. Link.

VYCON Appoints Frank DeLattre as Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Los Angeles – VYCON, an innovator in the design and manufacture of green-tech, energy storage flywheel systems, announced that Frank DeLattre has joined VYCON as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, UPS & Power Quality Applications. Link. Chart.

UQM Technologies Appoints Jon Lutz Vice President of Technology and Promotes Ronald Burton to Senior Vice President of Operation

Frederick, CO, based UQM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (AMEX:UQM), a developer of alternative energy technologies, announced today that it has appointed Jon Lutz to the newly created position of Vice President of Technology with responsibility for the company’s engineering and research and development activities. The Company also promoted Ronald Burton to the position of Senior Vice President of Operations. Mr. Lutz will continue to report to Mr. Burton. Mr. Lutz began his career with the Company in 1993 and has served in a variety of increasingly responsible positions, most recently as Director of Engineering. Mr. Lutz holds a Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado. Mr. Burton joined the Company in 2004 as Vice President of Operations after serving as an executive for over fifteen years in the motor industry. Mr. Burton holds a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from Morehead University. UQM Technologies, Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of power dense, high efficiency electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers for the automotive, aerospace, medical, military and industrial markets. A major emphasis of the Company is developing products for the alternative energy technologies sector including propulsion systems for electric, hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell electric vehicles, under-the-hood power accessories and other vehicle auxiliaries and distributed power generation applications.

Akeena CFO Resigns

Los Gatos, CA, based Akeena Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: AKNS) disclosed that David “Lad” Wallace, the Chief Financial Officer of Akeena Solar, Inc. will resign from the Company effective September 30, 2007. Barry Cinnamon, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, President, Secretary and Treasurer, will also serve as Chief Financial Officer of the Company beginning on October 1, 2007, for the interim period following Mr. Wallace’s departure.

Big Money Methane

GreatPoint Energy Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of low-cost gasification technologies, has raised $100 million in Series C funding. Dow Chemical Co. and Citi Sustainable Development Investments led the funding and were joined by AES Corp., Suncor Energy and return backers Advanced Technology Ventures, DFJ, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Khosla Ventures.

Yoram Bronicki Appointed President of Ormat Technologies

Reno, NV, based Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA), announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Yoram Bronicki, currently the Company's Chief Operating Officer, to the position of President, effective immediately. Mr. Bronicki will continue to serve as the Company's Chief Operating Officer in addition to his duties as President. Ms. Dita Bronicki, who is stepping down from the position of President, will continue to serve as the Company's Chief Executive Officer. Mr. L.Y. Bronicki continues as Chairman of the Board. Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a vertically-integrated company primarily engaged in the geothermal and recovered energy power business. The Company designs, develops, builds, owns and operates geothermal and recovered energy power plants using Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology. Additionally, the Company designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and recovered energy power units and other power generating equipment, and provides related services.

SunPower Corp Poised to Receive $24 Million Over Three Years

San Jose, CA, based SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR), a manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, today announced it has been awarded a cost-shared, three-year cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the "Grid-Competitive Residential and Commercial Fully Automated PV Systems Technology" Project. Under the cooperative agreement, SunPower is expected to receive $8,469,998 in federal funding through the completion of its first project budget period, which will be implemented through August 31, 2008. Upon successful completion of key project milestones and sustained execution of a viable business strategy, as much as $16,230,002 in additional funding will be made available for continued project implementation through June 30, 2010. The total potential funding from the DOE under the Solar American Initiative (SAI) is up to $24.7 million for this three-year project, subject to availability of funds appropriated by the U.S. Congress.

VeraSun Energy Names Mark Dickey Vice President and Assistant General Counsel

BROOKINGS, S.D., -- VeraSun Energy Corporation (NYSE: VSE), one of the nation's largest ethanol producers, today announced that Mark Dickey has joined the company as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel. All together, Dickey brings more than 20 years of legal experience, including 14 years in private practice. Link. Chart.

Thanks Ben!

The CGT Portfolio (please click the link shown on the upper right of the blog) has appreciated from approximately an $800 loss last Wednesday to about a $3200 gain this evening. I'm guessing that the Federal Reserve Bank's decision to lower the Federal Funds and the Discount Rate by half a point on Tuesday afternoon may have had a lot to do with the improved value. Please send your suggestions for adding or subtracting names and for a preferred publishing schedule for the CGT Portfolio. We plan to create a CGT index over time.

Last week...

New Management at Metabolix Joint Venture

Cambridge, MA, based Metabolix Inc. (NASDAQ: MBLX) announced that Telles™, its joint venture with Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) that produces Mirel™ bioplastics, has appointed four individuals to support technical operations, product marketing, and European sales of Mirel. Joining Telles are Frank J. Popola, Compounding Technology and Operations Manager; Holly Wilson-Jene, Director of Product Marketing; Sally Kline, Ph.D., Director of Technology; and Diether Hesse, Commercial Director Europe. Mirel is a new family of bioplastics made from corn that provides an alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics. Unlike conventional plastics, Mirel biodegrades in a variety of environments including soil, home compost, wetlands, rivers and oceans.

Frank J. Popola is a well-rounded plastics industry professional, bringing 25 years of experience in business, development, sales, operations, and technical management. Frank is responsible for developing the compounding infrastructure to support the supply of Mirel bioplastics to customers. Prior to joining Metabolix, he was Technology Manager at Century Extrusion and Manager of International and Indirect Sales at Century, Inc. Frank holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, N.J.

Holly Wilson-Jene has an extensive background in polymer sales and marketing. Holly is responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies, developing support tools for existing markets and identifying new markets for Mirel. She brings 20 years of experience in marketing and sales. Prior to joining Metabolix, she was Marketing Director at NOVA Chemicals in Moon Township, Pa. Holly holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass., and an MBA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Sally Kline, Ph.D., brings more than 20 years of experience in plastics technology research, development and commercialization. Sally is responsible for all product development, applications and formulations for new grades of Mirel. Prior to joining Metabolix, she spent more than five years at The PolyOne Corporation in Avon Lake, Ohio, serving as director of technology, engineering materials. Sally holds a Doctorate of Engineering in Macromolecular Science at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Diether Hesse is based in Switzerland and has a 15 year track record in Polymer Marketing and Sales. At Telles he is responsible for developing and managing the European/MEAF business for Mirel bioplastics. Prior to joining Telles, he spent 8 years with NOVA Chemicals where he held leadership roles in Marketing and Sales. Diether is a Graduate in Marketing and Economics from the Universities of Bochum, Germany and Le Mans, France.

Octillion Appoints Alastair Livesey As Director

Auburn Hills, MI, based Octillion Corp. (OTCBB:OCTL), which is developing a transparent window capable of generating electricity, has announced the appointment of Dr. Alastair K. Livesey to the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Livesey is currently a consultant in the renewable energy field and the former Executive Manager of New Business Development and Strategic Planning at Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD). During his tenure at ECD, Dr. Livesey conducted financial evaluations and prioritization of solar research and development projects, conducted strategic studies of photovoltaic manufacturing expansion options, designed budgetary controls for multiple $60 million-plus capital building projects, and participated in efforts to raise $350 million by public stock offering. Dr. Livesey also served as Director of Business Development and Architecture Design for the developmental Cognitive Computer program and as Director of the Hydrogen Energy Systems business unit during his six years with the company. He holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Physics (Amorphous Materials, Physics, Metallurgy, and Materials Science) from the Cavendish Laboratory of Physics at Cambridge University, an M.A. degree in Science, and a B.A. degree in Crystallography, Physics, Chemistry, and Math.

Octillion Corp. is a technology incubator focused on the identification, acquisition, development and eventual commercialization of emerging solar energy and solar-related technologies. Among its current research and development activities is the development of a patent-pending technology that could adapt existing home and office glass windows into ones capable of generating electricity from solar energy without losing significant transparency or requiring major changes in manufacturing infrastructure.

Amyris Biotechnologies Announces $70 Million Funding Round

Emeryville, CA, based Amyris Biotechnologies, an innovator in the development of renewable hydrocarbon biofuels, announced that it closed the first tranche of its $70 million Series B funding. Duff Ackerman & Goodrich Ventures (DAG Ventures) led the financing and was joined by existing Series A investors, including Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and TPG Ventures. The Series B funding will be used to further the development and scale up of its technology for the production of three transportation biofuels: bio-gasoline, bio-diesel, and bio-jet, and to support business initiatives to enable Amyris to bring its biofuels to market as early as 2010. "Amyris has not only a break-through technology but a clearly defined strategy to commercialize a promising slate of next-generation biofuels that could have a profound impact on the transportation market," said R. Thomas Goodrich at DAG Ventures. "Amyris is designing better biofuels from designer bugs" said John Doerr, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "This is a big deal because Amyris' cost competitive biofuels will work with existing engines without compromising performance and will have a lower carbon footprint. This financing will help Amyris scale with speed." Amyris expects to close the second tranche of its Series B financing by the end of 2007.

Lime Energy Appoints Dave Laybourn as New Director of Sales and Marketing

Elk Grove Village, IL, based Lime Energy Co. (OTC Bulletin Board: LMEC) announced that Dave Laybourn joined the company as Director of Sales and Marketing. In this new position, Dave Laybourn has responsibility for overseeing a national sales platform across all products and services including working directly with utilities in order to maximize return from efficiency rebate opportunities and demand side management (DSM) programs. Prior to joining Lime Energy, Mr. Laybourn enjoyed an eleven year career with Rain Bird Landscape Drip, a global leading manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services. In his most recent role, Mr. Laybourn served as New Product Development Manager and was responsible for increasing sales across Company drip irrigation product lines. Lime Energy is one of the nation's leading energy efficiency technology and engineering companies.

Evergreen Solar Breaks Ground on New Manufacturing Facility in Massachusetts

Marlboro, MA, based Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR), a manufacturer of solar power products has broken ground for its new $165 million facility in Devens, Massachusetts. The new manufacturing plant will increase Evergreen Solar’s production capacity in Massachusetts by 75 megawatts and double its employee base in the state to more than 600. Evergreen currently operates its prototype production and manufacturing facility in Marlboro, Massachusetts. Evergreen Solar, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets solar power products using proprietary, low-cost manufacturing technologies. The Company’s patented crystalline silicon technology, known as String Ribbon, uses significantly less silicon than conventional approaches.

Octillion Appoints Thomas Gladwin As Director

Auburn Hills, MI, based Octillion Corp. (OTCBB:OCTL) announced the appointment of Professor Thomas N. Gladwin, PhD, MBA, to the Company’s Board of Directors. Professor Gladwin is the Max McGraw Professor of Sustainable Enterprise and Co-Director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at The University of Michigan, jointly appointed in the University’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the School of Natural Resources and Environment. He co-directs the University’s “Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility Research & Transformation” [SMART] Project, and also serves as a Core Faculty Member in the HRH The Prince of Wales's Business & the Environment Programme, directing its Senior Executives’ Seminars in the U.S. Dr. Gladwin holds both an MBA (with distinction) and a Ph.D. in International Business & Natural Resource Policy from the University of Michigan, and has published extensively—more than 140 publications and eight books—on corporate strategy, environmental sustainability, and economic globalization. He is the recipient of 30 foundation and academic awards for research on ecologically and socially sustainable commerce, including major awards from the National Science Foundation and the Energy Foundation. In 2003 he received the “Faculty Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement” from the World Resources Institute and the Aspen Institute. Octillion Corp. is a technology incubator focused on the identification, acquisition, development and eventual commercialization of emerging solar energy and solar related technologies.

Pentadyne Power Scores $14 Million in Funding

Chatsworth, CA, based Pentadyne Power Corporation, a leading commercial manufacturer of clean energy storage systems using advanced composite flywheel technology, announced that Loudwater Investment Partners have led a $14 million capital round to finance further company growth and product development. Loudwater invests in late stage private growth companies and has offices in London and San Francisco. Approximately half of their investments are in US technology companies. Edward Forwood, Managing Director of Loudwater, said, “Pentadyne has developed the most efficient flywheel energy storage technology with immediate application in UPS and other markets. We are confident that this will soon result in market leadership.”

Basin Water Completes Acquisition of Mobile Process Technology, Co

Rancho Cucamonga, CA, based Basin Water Inc. (NASDAQ:BWTR) announced that on September 14, 2007, it completed the acquisition of Mobile Process Technology, Co. (MPT), a provider of technology and services to the water treatment and industrial process markets. Under terms of the agreement, Basin Water has purchased the stock of MPT for approximately $11.8 million, with approximately 40% of the total paid out in Basin Water shares and the remainder in cash. MPT, with 24 employees and headquartered in Memphis, TN, is forecast to have annual sales of approximately $6 million for 2007. The companies' management state that the combination is expected to be complementary. Basin Water employs water treatment technologies including its own proprietary, scalable ion-exchange wellhead treatment system, for a broad range of clients.

H2Gen Innovations Appoints VP of Sales and Marketing

H2Gen Innovations announced today the appointment of Ken Grieshaber as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. He was previously Global Director of Combustion Industries at Linde – BOC. Mr. Grieshaber had a twenty-three year career at BOC, during which he held a number of marketing and management positions. Prior to serving as Global Director Combustion Industries, Mr. Grieshaber had been a General Manager commercializing new technologies and Director of the Metals Market Sector for the Americas. He has a BS degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Lehigh University, and a MS in Management from Purdue University. H2Gen Innovations, of Alexandria, VA, is a privately held company that designs, manufactures and markets low-cost on-site hydrogen generators and gas purification plants.

EnerNOC Acquires MDEnergy

Boston based EnerNOC, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENOC) announced today that it has acquired MDEnergy, LLC (MDE), a leading energy procurement service provider, for approximately $7.9 million pursuant to the terms of a definitive acquisition agreement. The transaction consideration is composed of approximately 40% in cash and 60% in EnerNOC common stock. Additional cash payments will be paid by EnerNOC in the first quarter of 2008 based upon MDE’s performance through the end of calendar year 2007. EnerNOC applies energy market intelligence as well as an online reverse auction technology platform, now called EnerNOC ExchangeTM, to help commercial, institutional, and industrial customers make more informed commodity purchasing decisions. EnerNOC Exchange provides customers in restructured energy markets a process and feature-rich purchasing platform to drive deeper energy savings and support sustainable business initiatives. It also provides energy suppliers an additional market within which to compete for business in real-time. MDE currently serves more than 400 companies and institutions, including many national accounts in the real estate, lodging, health care, manufacturing, and food services industries, and has saved its customers millions of dollars in electricity and natural gas supply costs.

GridPoint Raises Funds

GridPoint, based in Washington, DC, is in the process of raising more than $32 million in a fourth round of funding. GridPoint's platform provides utilities with an intelligent network of distributed energy conservation and generation resources that controls load, stores energy and produces power. The investors in this round are said to include Goldman Sachs, Altira Group and Standard Renewable Energy Group. Two other young companies that focus on energy efficiency, EnerNoc and Comverge, have recently had successful IPO's...

Talk About Clean Green Tech...

SiCortex has introduced the first supercomputer powered by bicycles. Please see link. I know the post is not about management teams, but I think it's a really neat idea that epitomizes CGT and, besides, I love bicycles...

Ultralife Batteries to Acquire Innovative Solutions Consulting, Inc. for $3 Million

Newark, NY, based Ultralife Batteries, Inc. (NASDAQ: ULBI) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Innovative Solutions Consulting, Inc. (ISC), an engineering and technical services company located in Hollywood, Maryland, for approximately $3 million, subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of September. ISC is an engineering and technical services firm specializing in the design, integration, and fielding of mobile, modular, and fixed-site communication and electronic systems. The company's systems clients include: the U.S. military, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, National Security Agency, Office of Naval Research and such prime contractors as BAE Systems and Titan Systems. Products in development include ISC's recently introduced Rapid Response Vehicle, which is designed to provide critical communications to support emergency management, surveillance and disaster relief situations. In 2006, ISC generated approximately $4 million in revenue. Under the terms of the agreement, the purchase price will consist of $1 million in cash and an earn-out totaling up to $2 million to be paid over three years based on exceeding certain agreed-upon annual sales measures. The company plans to finance the transaction with operating cash and available credit. Management anticipates that the transaction will be accretive in 2008.

Wind Blades In Arkansas

LM Glasfiber of Lunderskov, Denmark, announced that it will build a new U.S.-based wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in Little Rock, Ark. The plant is scheduled to come online in the first quarter of 2008 and will employ more than 1,000 people within five years, says the company.
LM Glasfiber has a three-year supply agreement with turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems.

PowerSecure Secures Credit Facility

PowerSecure International, Inc. of Wake Forest, NC, which provides energy technology products, services, and data management systems to industrial and commercial users, and suppliers of natural gas and electricity in the United States and internationally, has secured a $25 million credit facility from Citibank. The Company recently changed its name from Metretek Technologies. The funds will be used to refinance and expand an earlier credit facility with another bank and to finance growth.

Tioga Energy Hires VP of Project Management

Tioga Energy, Inc., a renewable energy services provider of commercial-grade solar power for
organizations and industry, announced today that it has hired industry veteran Michael Jolley as Vice President of Project Management. As former Project Manager at Chevron Energy Solutions, Jolley was responsible for over $40 million of facility improvement projects for Chevron Energy Solutions, where he led the management of multiple projects focused on energy and capital conservation. Prior to Chevron, Jolley was an Energy Services Engineer for the K-12 school market in Central California where he managed energy retrofit programs for several school districts. Past experience as Group Operations Manager at Siemens Building Technologies rounded out his expertise in cost effective energy based facilities projects totaling $15 million in self-funding throughout his tenure at Siemens. Jolley has a BS in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in Power Distribution and Control Systems and is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers.

Clean Green Tech Stocks Portfolio

We put together a list of many CGT companies where we could find a stock quote. Currently, the list has 105 companies. We assumed a $1000 investment in each name for a starting portfolio value of $105,000. As of the stock markets close on Thursday evening, our portfolio was down about eight hundred dollars. We plan to post the CGT stock portfolio and its performance on a weekly basis, unless readers would like to see it more often...

New Board Member at BioFuel Energy

BioFuel Energy Corp., a Denver based development stage company currently engaged in the construction of two 115 million gallons per year ethanol plants in the Midwestern corn belt, has announced the appointment of Elizabeth Kilcullen Blake to its Board. Ms. Blake currently serves as Senior Vice President -- Advocacy, Government Affairs & General Counsel of Habitat For Humanity International Inc. a non-profit organization that through local partnerships seeks to build affordable housing for families in need in 93 countries around the world.

In her corporate career, Ms. Blake served as Vice President and Chief of Staff at Cinergy Corp and subsequently as Vice President and General Counsel of GE Power Systems, then General Electric's largest industrial business. Thereafter, she served as Senior Vice President of Trizec Properties, a publicly traded real estate investment trust and later as Executive Vice President of US Airways. Ms. Blake was a Partner of the firm of Frost & Jacobs prior to joining Cinergy and had begun her career at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Ms. Blake served on the Board of Patina Oil & Gas Corporation from 1998 through its sale to Noble Energy in 2005. In addition, she served as Chair of the Ohio Board of Regents from 1990 to 1999. She received her JD from Columbia University School of Law as a Harlon Fiske Stone Scholar and her BA with honors from Smith College. Ms. Blake is the Company's second independent director and will serve on the Board's Audit Committee.

PowerGenix Gets VP of Quality

PowerGenix, a San Diego based high tech company and leading developer of high-rate discharge, sealed rechargeable Nickel-Zinc batteries, announced the addition of Stanley Tang as Vice President of Quality. The hiring of Mr. Tang signals a shift for the maturing battery producer from research to production. "Mr. Tang''s knowledge, experience and expertise in the specific product segments PowerGenix is targeting will allow him to lead the development of the necessary processes, procedures, and tools to ensure consistent delivery of high quality products," stated Dan Squiller, Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Tang will reside at PowerGenix Research Center in Shenzhen, China and will work closely with the Company''s manufacturing and supply chain partners such as Hunan Corun Hi-Tech. With the addition of Mr. Tang, PowerGenix now brings a powerful production team to the fore to meet production and quality expectations of their most demanding customers. "This coupled with our proprietary technology and intellectual property portfolio, was the last piece that had to be put in place before entering mass production," summarized Mr. Squiller. Mr. Tang has a Masters degree in Enterprise Engineering Management from HKUST in Hong Kong and a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from Western New England College.

Plug Power Investor Relations Manager

Plug Power Inc., a Latham, NY, based developer of fuel-cells, has hired a manager of investor relations. The Company tapped Cathy Yudzevich, former manager of investor relations at nearby Philips MR, formerly Intermagnetics General Corp. She starts work at Plug Power this month.

SynapSense Corp. Hiring

Folsom startup SynapSense Corp. has closed $10 million in a Series B financing round, and plans to use the funds to ramp up operations and its sales, marketing and engineering forces while it continues to focus on helping companies operate more environmentally friendly data centers.
"That means hiring on all fronts," said chief executive officer Pete Van Deventer, a 10-year veteran of Intel Corp. Van Deventer founded the company in spring 2006 with Raju Pandey, a computer scientist at University of California Davis. The Company offers complete energy efficiency and carbon footprint instrumentation solutions and platforms for the world’s leading enterprises. From the data center to the fab and throughout the enterprise, SynapSense provides a breakthrough wireless instrumentation architecture offering flexibility and sustainability.

New VP of Sales at H2Gen Innovations

H2Gen Innovations of Alexandria, Virginia, which designs, manufactures and markets low-cost on-site hydrogen generators and gas purification plants, has announced the appointment of Mr. Ken Grieshaber as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Mr. Grieshaber was previously Global Director of Combustion Industries at Linde - BOC. Mr. Grieshaber had a twenty-three year career at BOC, during which he held a number of marketing and management positions. Prior to serving as Global Director Combustion Industries, Mr. Grieshaber had been a General Manager commercializing new technologies and Director of the Metals Market Sector for the Americas. Previous to joining BOC, Mr. Grieshaber had worked at Republic Steel for seven years in operations and quality control. Mr. Grieshaber has a BS degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Lehigh University, and a MS in Management from Purdue University.

Board Change and Investment at DESC

Distributed Energy Systems Corp. , which creates and delivers products and solutions for the decentralized energy marketplace, said today that on Friday, August 24, 2007, it completed the previously announced $15 million financing with an investment fund managed by Perseus, L.L.C., a merchant bank and private equity fund management company. Distributed Energy Systems also named two Perseus representatives to serve as directors in place of two senior company executives. As a result of the agreement on the new composition of the Board of Directors, John C. Fox, a senior managing director of Perseus, and Michael L. Miller, a Perseus managing director, have become directors of Distributed Energy Systems, effective immediately, taking the places of two company executives -- Ambrose L. Schwallie, chief executive officer; and Walter W. (Chip) Schroeder, president.

John C. Fox is a senior managing director of Perseus. Prior to joining Perseus in 2000, Mr. Fox was chief operating officer of Ontario Power Generation Inc. (formerly Ontario Hydro), where he was responsible for operations for one of the largest electric utilities in North America. He served as executive vice president of the Canyon Group, a Los Angeles-based marketing and management consultancy during 1992 and 1993. From 1981 to 1992, Mr. Fox held various management positions with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in San Francisco, California, including manager, energy efficiency services. During 1992, he served as the head of the Energy Efficiency Task Force, President Bush's Commission on Environmental Quality. Mr. Fox is a board member of NxtPhase T&D Corporation, Serveron Corporation, Puralube, Inc., and Soft Switching Technologies Corporation. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Alliance to Save Energy and Rocky Mountain Institute. Mr. Fox holds a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Toronto and an M.B.A. from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

Michael L. Miller is a managing director of Perseus. Prior to joining Perseus in 2005, Mr. Miller was the managing partner of Mill Consulting Group, an investment banking boutique specialized in assisting small and medium sized enterprises in the identification and execution of strategic capital formation and M&A transactions. He served as one of four partners at Swiss Life Private Equity Partners AG in Zurich, Switzerland during 2002 and 2003. Mr. Miller was vice president and group head of Principal Investments at Enron North America in Houston, Texas, where he focused on investments in new energy technologies. He founded and led UBS Capital GmbH, the Frankfurt-based private equity investment unit of the Union Bank of Switzerland Group in Germany. He started his career in the mergers and acquisitions department of Salomon Brothers, Inc. in New York City and Frankfurt, Germany. Mr. Miller is a member of the Board of Directors of Chroma Energy, Inc., Serveron Corporation, SEVA Energie AG, and Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County (TX) and is an advisor and mentor to the Energy Program of the Houston Technology Center. He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering, a B.A. in German, and an M.B.A. from Rice University.

Management Promotions at Nexant

Nexant, Inc. (www.nexant.com) announced today that Thierry Godart and Doug Welsh have joined its Software and Information Systems business unit as Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Vice President of Energy Market and Power System Services, respectively. The Company's products and services help clients solve critical strategic and operational challenges in the areas of electric power; retail and wholesale power markets; enterprise risk management; energy technology; energy management; chemicals and petrochemicals; and oil and gas. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

Dr. Godart has over 20 years of experience in engineering management, consultative selling, business development, and strategic marketing. He will be responsible for global business development, sales, and marketing of Nexant’s advanced software tools, systems, and related consulting services for the electric power industry. He joins the company from AREVA T&D Automation, where he was worldwide systems marketing director. Previously, Godart served as director of energy information systems and metering systems for ABB and he started his career at GE Power Systems as a consulting engineer. He holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering (power systems and computer sciences) from Georgia Institute of Technology and is a graduate of l’École Supérieure d’Électricité (France).

Mr. Welsh has 14 years of experience in the energy industry, and will be responsible for developing and managing consulting services for Nexant’s electricity market and transmission clients. He joins Nexant from GE’s Energy Consulting group where he was manager of software products responsible for production simulation, generation reliability, powerflow, and dynamic simulation applications. He also performed numerous economic analyses on power generation and natural gas opportunities. Prior to GE, he was a software product manager and analytical engineer for Power Technologies, Inc. Welsh holds an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Iowa State University.

“We are very excited to have both Thierry Godart and Doug Welsh join us at this time,” said Dr. Ongun Alsaç, Senior Vice President of Software and Information Systems. “Thierry’s extensive software marketing experience will greatly strengthen our sales efforts for our integrated system and market software products, including HEDGE®, i-HEDGETM, SCOPE®, COMET®, and PRYM®, while Doug will simultaneously be expanding our consulting services to electricity market participants and transmission system clients. As the leading developer of electric power software applications and related consulting services, we are confident that Thierry and Doug will make significant contributions to our continued growth and success.”

Wasatch Wind Names New CFO

Brett Woodard has been named vice president of finance and chief financial officer (CFO) of Wasatch Wind Inc., a Heber City, Utah-based wind power developer and manufacturer of tower and lifting systems for utility-scale wind turbines. Mr. Woodard joined Wasatch Wind in August, 2007 and has been instrumental in arranging finance for the company’s project development portfolio and securing capital to expand the companies product development and manufacturing. He has over 25 years experience in arranging international and domestic project finance for high technology infrastructure projects and has also served in senior finance and accounting functions in emerging telecommunications and biotechnology companies. Prior to joining Wasatch Wind, Mr. Woodard was the Head of Nokia Networks Customer Finance N. America. In that position he was lead in arranging project financing packages for major Nokia customers in the U.S. and Latin America. During that tenure he led the Nokia finance team in closing the first bank infrastructure financing in Argentina after the Peso devaluation. Prior to that he was employed by G.E. Capital serving as V.P. NTFC Capital in the Vendor Financial Services group. While in that position he led GECC’s efforts in closing a major participation in the Sprint PCS project finance package and also was involved in creating a profitable portfolio of infrastructure loans to start-up alternative access and wireless telecommunications companies. Immediately prior to joining Wasatch Wind Mr. Woodard served as Acting CFO at ESIN, a new telecommunications network operator in Upstate New York. He holds a B.S and MBA, Finance from the University of Utah, and has also had additional graduate education in the PhD Finance program at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.

Flow International Has New CEO

Flow International Corp. has appointed Charles "Charley" Brown to CEO, replacing retired CEO Stephen Light. Charles M. Brown (age 48) became the Chief Executive Officer of the Company on July 16, 2007, when he was also appointed to the Board. Mr. Light's term expires with the 2007 Annual Meeting. Previously, Mr. Brown was the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Pump, Pool and Spa Divisions at Pentair, Inc, a company with 2006 revenues of approximately $3.15 billion, from April 2005 through October 2006. From August 2003 to April 2005, Mr. Brown was the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Pentair Tools Group (which was acquired by Black & Decker Corporation in 2004). Prior to that, Mr. Brown was the President/General manager of Aqua Glass Corporation, a Masco Corporation company, from 1996 to August 2003. Mr. Brown received a B.A., Economics and Government, from Cornell University, and an M.B.A. from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Flow International Corporation is the world leader in the development and manufacture of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) waterjet technology, and a leading provider of robotics and assembly equipment. Flow provides technologically advanced, environmentally-sound solutions to the manufacturing and industrial cleaning markets

CGT Job Fair in Northern Colorado

More than 1,000 people -- all with dreams of someday working at the first Vestas Wind Systems wind blade manufacturing plant in the United States--showed up at a job fair in Loveland, Colorado. Vestas Blades America was on hand to answer questions about the new facility under construction in Windsor... The factory is scheduled to open in March 2008.
A manager for Vestas told the crowd that the very basic blue collar worker at the plant will earn between $30,000 and $35,000 per year and be eligible for full benefits the first day of the first full month they are employed. Those benefits include paid holidays and vacations as well as medical, dental, vision and life insurance for employees and their families -- all with premiums paid entirely by Vestas. The presentation discussing the vision, values and mission of the Denmark-based company that began in 1898 as a blacksmithing company. "We want to make wind on par worldwide with oil and gas," he said. "This is going to be a huge impact on northern Colorado whether you work at the plant or you don't. Failure is not an option. This is the culture of Vestas. We will instill that culture in this plant, and we will hold to those values."

Vestas Blades America will construct more than 400, 40-meter wind turbines a year at the 200,000 square-foot plant in Windsor. Four hundred turbines can supply 225,000 homes with electricity for a year. Vestas is the largest manufacturer of wind turbines in the world, employing more than 14,000 people, with a 1 percent employee turnover rate. The Windsor plant will employ more than 400 people at full production in January 2009.

Management Changes at Insituform Technologies

Insituform Technologies, Inc. has announced the resignation of President & CEO Tom Rooney and promotions for several members of Senior Management. The Company is a leading provider and a pioneer in trenchless technology; Insituform is able to respond to worldwide sewer, water and industrial pipeline rehabilitation needs with a long-term, less disruptive solution.

The Board accepted the resignation of President & CEO Thomas S. Rooney, Jr., effective immediately. The Board has begun a search for a successor to Rooney as CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates. While the search is conducted Alfred L. Woods, a Director since 1997 and Non-Executive Chairman of the Board since 2003, will serve as interim Chief Executive Officer. Woods also will continue as Chairman of the Board. Other than Rooney, the senior management team will remain in place.

Thomas E. Vossman, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since May, 2005, continues in that role. David F. Morris, the company's Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary has been promoted to the newly-created post of Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. Morris joined the company in January, 2005. He will retain the duties of general counsel and secretary in his new position. David A. Martin, the company's Vice President and Controller, has been promoted to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Martin, who joined Insituform in 1993, has served as the company's principal financial and accounting officer since January, 2006.

"The post of CFO has been vacant for 19 months. During that time, as we considered various candidates for the post, our Board also watched David Martin grow and perform in his role as principal financial and accounting officer, and today we are quite confident that he is the right person to serve as CFO on a permanent basis," Woods said.

"David Morris's role of Chief Administrative Officer is a new position for the company. He will oversee administrative functions including legal, human resources, purchasing, information technology, real estate and facilities, risk management and insurance," Woods said.

Tioga Energy Completes $14 Million A-Round

San Mateo, CA, – Tioga Energy, Inc., a renewable energy services provider granting access to clean, commercial-grade power for organizations and industry, has completed its initial funding round with participation from Nth Power, a leading venture capital company. The more than $4 million dollars contributed by that group brings the total amount of first-round funding raised by Tioga Energy to more than $14 million. Link.

Pall Corporation Board Elects Cheryl W. Grisé as New Director

East Hills, NY, based Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL) announced that its Board of Directors elected Cheryl W. Grisé to the Company's Board of Directors. The election accompanied the Board's vote to amend the Company’s bylaws to increase the number of Directors to twelve from eleven. Ms. Grisé, 55, was President, Utility Group, for Northeast Utilities (NYSE:NU) from 2001 until her retirement in June 2007, concluding a 27-year career at New England’s largest energy delivery system. As chief executive of Northeast Utility’s primary operating division, she had operating responsibility for electric and gas businesses which combined serve two million customers and generate revenue of $4.2 billion: The Connecticut Light and Power Company, Public Service Company of New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts Electric Company and Yankee Gas Company. Ms. Grisé received a B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a J.D. degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. She has also completed the Yale University School of Organization & Management’s Executive Management Program. Ms. Grisé currently serves on the Board of Directors of MetLife, Inc. and Dana Corporation. She also serves as Chair of the Board of the University of Connecticut Foundation and as a member of the Board of the Kingswood-Oxford School. Ms. Grisé is a member of the California State Bar Association. Pall Corporation is a global leader in the rapidly growing field of filtration, separation and purification.

Mission Statement

In this space, we plan to write about the key players in the Clean Green Tech industries, their whereabouts, their movements, their comings and their goings... We'll work with a list of all the companies known to be part of the Clean Green Tech (CGT) universe, and add to the groups as the industry evolves... We'll focus on the building of management teams in high growth environments... We'll also highlight financings, acquisitions and divestitures, since they add to the industry's dynamism, and contribute to the creation and mobility of new and different management teams... Here's some background on the blog's principal author... Link.