Solarfun Appoints New Board Member

SHANGHAI--Solarfun Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (“Solarfun”) (NASDAQ: SOLF), a vertically-integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots and photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules based in China, announced the appointment of Dr. Philip Comberg as an independent member of the Board of Directors. The Chairman of Solarfun, Yonghua Lu, commented, “We are pleased to have Dr. Comberg join our Board of Directors. We believe his extensive experience in investments and corporate finance, and also in China-focused corporate law and corporate governance will be beneficial to our company. We are grateful to our shareholder, Good Energies, which provided invaluable assistance in helping the company identify and recruit such a high quality candidate to our Board." Dr. Philip Comberg is a founding partner of Alcosa Capital GmbH & Co KG, a Frankfurt based special situations investment firm that was founded in 2003. Alcosa Capital focuses on control investments in companies and Dr. Comberg has specialized in investments and turnarounds in the logistics, financial services and wholesale industries. Link. Chart.

VeraSun Energy Names Danny Herron President

Brookings, S.D., - VeraSun Energy Corporation (NYSE: VSE), one of the nation’s largest ethanol producers, announced the appointment of Chief Financial Officer Danny Herron to the additional post of president, effective Jan. 1, 2008. The appointment was unanimously approved by the company’s board of directors. Herron replaces Don Endres, who will remain as the company’s CEO. Link. Chart.

Pacific Ethanol Announces Appointment of Larry D. Layne to Its Board

Sacramento, CA, -- Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ GM: PEIX), the largest West Coast-based marketer and producer of ethanol, announced the appointment of Larry D. Layne to its board of directors. Mr. Layne is the retired Vice Chairman of Sanwa Bank in California. His 37-year tenure at Sanwa Bank and its predecessor, Lloyd"s Bank California, included heading the Commercial Banking Group and serving as Chairman of the Board of The Eureka Funds, a family of investment funds with total assets of $900 million. Link. Chart.

APX Announces Investment Deal with Goldman Sachs

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--APX, Inc., a leading infrastructure provider for environmental and cap-and-trade markets, is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement in which Goldman Sachs will become a new investor in the company. The consummation of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions. Link.

JA Solar Promotes Dr. Qingtang Jiang to Acting CTO

HEBEI, China, -- JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. ("JA Solar," "the Company") (Nasdaq:JASO) appointed Dr. Qingtang Jiang as acting CTO in addition to his current responsibility as Vice President, Operations. Dr. Jiang will be responsible for the Company's technology strategy and roadmap as well as leading technology development. Dr. Jiang has more than 15 years technology management experience. Prior to joining JA Solar, Dr. Jiang was Vice President of Technology at Huahong NEC Semiconductor Corporation. He has a Ph.D. Degree in physics. Link. Chart.

Rentech Announces Appointment of Ron Sega to Its Board

LOS ANGELES--Rentech, Inc. (AMEX:RTK) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Ronald M. Sega, Ph.D. to the Company's Board of Directors effective immediately. Dr. Sega currently serves as Vice President for Applied Research with the Colorado State University Research Foundation. He also serves as the Woodward Professor of Systems Engineering at Colorado State University's College of Engineering. In addition, he serves as Special Assistant to the University's Vice President for Research. Link. Chart.

Imperium Renewables Announces CEO Transition

SEATTLE -- Imperium Renewables announced the transition of Martin Tobias from his roles as CEO of the company and chairman of its Board of Directors. Imperium’s Board has appointed founder and current president John Plaza as interim CEO and current director Nancy Floyd as chairman. Link.

Range Fuels Appoints Rick Winsor President and Chief Operating Officer

PALO ALTO, Calif. & BROOMFIELD, Colo.--Range Fuels, Inc., a company focused on green energy and the production of cellulosic ethanol, announced that Rick Winsor has joined the company as president and chief operating officer. Winsor brings to Range Fuels a 35-year proven track record building and operating billions of dollars of energy infrastructure projects. At Range Fuels, Winsor will assume responsibility for the company’s efforts to develop cellulosic ethanol plants in the US and around the world, reporting to CEO, Mitch Mandich. Link.

5N Plus Inc. Completes $62 Million Initial Public Offering

Montréal, Québec – 5N Plus Inc. (TSX: VNP) today completed its previously announced initial public offering and secondary offering of 20,671,801 common shares at a price of $3.00 per share, for total proceeds of $62 million. The Company’s common shares commenced trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “VNP”. At closing, 5N Plus issued 10,000,000 common shares from treasury, for gross proceeds to the Company of $30 million. The net proceeds from the treasury offering will be used by 5N Plus primarily to: (i) fund the construction of its new 40,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany, intended to increase the Company’s annual cadmium telluride production capacity; (ii) fund various capital expenditures at its Montreal facility; and (iii) repay the Company’s bank loan and a portion of its long-term debt. The balance of the net proceeds from the treasury offering will be used by 5N Plus for general corporate purposes and working capital. Link.

FuelCell Energy Appoints New Director to Its Board

DANBURY, Conn., -- FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of high efficiency, ultra-clean power plants for commercial, industrial, municipal and utility customers, announced the appointment of Christof von Branconi, 47, EVP and COO of Tognum AG's Onsite Energy Systems & Components Division, to its Board of Directors. Mr. von Branconi joins FuelCell Energy's Board as Mr. Michael Bode, CEO of CFC Solutions GmbH (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tognum Group), retires from the Board after 14 years of service. Link. Chart.

Optimal Technologies Names Winston Hickox to Board of Directors

RALEIGH, NC -- Optimal Technologies International Inc. announced that Winston Hickox, an industry veteran with unparalleled experience in environmental policy and regulation, has joined its Board of Directors. As a clean technology and environmental policy expert, Winston Hickox was chosen to join Optimal based on his clear understanding of the environmental impact of power generation and his commitment to making power production more efficient in order to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Link.

Pacific Ethanol Appoints Joseph Hansen As Chief Financial Officer

Sacramento, CA —Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ GM: PEIX), the largest West Coast-based marketer and producer of ethanol, announced the appointment of Joseph Hansen as Chief Financial Officer, effective January 2, 2008. Link. Chart.

First Solar Hires John Gaffney as Executive Vice President and General Counsel

PHOENIX, -- First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq:FSLR) announced today that John Gaffney will join the company as its Executive Vice President and General Counsel, effective January 15, 2008. Mr. Gaffney will lead First Solar's legal, corporate development, government affairs, and corporate communications activities and will report to Mike Ahearn, Chief Executive Officer of First Solar. Mr. Gaffney, a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, has been a key advisor to First Solar, including having represented First Solar in its initial public offering. Link. Chart.

Rothwell, Wolf Elected To Codexis Board

Redwood City, CA - Codexis, Inc., a leading developer of clean technology manufacturing processes, today announced two new directors have been named to the company’s Board of Directors. Joining the Board are Bill Rothwell, Ph.D., Vice President of Innovation and Chemicals Technology, Shell Global Solutions, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc and Dennis Wolf, Executive Vice President and CFO, MySQL, a leading open source database company. Link.

PowerSecure International Appoints New Chief Financial Officer

WAKE FOREST, N.C.-- PowerSecure International, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWR) is a leading provider of energy management and conservation solutions to utilities and their commercial, institutional, and industrial customers. Sidney Hinton, president and chief executive officer of PowerSecure International, Inc., announced that Chris Hutter has been appointed the company's chief financial officer. He replaces Gary Zuiderveen, who has been named to the new position of vice president of financial reporting and will continue to serve as the company's controller and principal accounting officer. Hutter, whose appointment was effective yesterday, can be reached at the company's Wake Forest headquarters at 919-453-1760. Link. Chart.

OPX Raises $3.6M in Venture Funding and Appoints Robert Chess Chairman and CEO

BOULDER, Colo. -- OPX Biotechnologies, Inc., a new company dedicated to enabling economically viable biofuels and biorefined chemicals, announced that it has secured $3.6 million in venture funding led by MDV -- Mohr Davidow Ventures (Menlo Park, Calif.). OPX also appointed Robert B. Chess as Chairman and CEO and established its board of directors. Link.

Hoku Scientific Announces Progress on Financing Polysilicon Plant

KAPOLEI, HI -- Hoku Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOKU) announced that it has signed a non-binding term sheet with Merrill Lynch for Hoku Materials, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, to borrow approximately up to $185 million for the construction, procurement and start-up of its planned polysilicon production plant in Pocatello, Idaho. The closing of the loan and the availability of the funds to Hoku Materials is subject to several conditions, including the completion by Merrill Lynch of its due diligence, the negotiation and execution of definitive loan and collateral documents, and the receipt of third-party consents. In addition, prior to receiving any of the loan proceeds, Hoku Scientific will be required to provide Hoku Materials with approximately $35 million in cash for use in the construction of the planned polysilicon plant. To meet this and other capital requirements, Hoku Scientific will be required to secure additional financing. Link. Chart.

Solazyme Names New Vice President of Process Development and Manufacturing

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Solazyme, a synthetic biology company pioneering the sustainable production of biofuels, industrial oleochemicals, and health/wellness ingredients from marine microbes, announced that it has named Jurgen Dominik to the position of vice president of process development and manufacturing. Link.