MEMC to Buy SunEdison

Silicon wafer maker MEMC (NYSE: WFR) plans to buy SunEdison for $200 million in cash and stock, MEMC said Thursday.

The acquisition would push St. Peters, Mo.-based MEMC into a new territory of developing solar power projects. SunEdison has been an early player in the business and snagged high-profiled customers such as Duke Energy and Walmart.

SunEdison's customers typically buy electricity from projects owned and operated by SunEdison.

Beltsville, Md.-based SunEdison has completed about 300 solar power projects, totaling about 80 megawatts in generation capacities, in the United States, Europe and Canada.

SunEdison will get to keep its name and operate as a subsidiary of MEMC.

The companies expect to complete the acquisition by the end of this year.

SunEdison has carried out layoffs over the past year as the solar market's growth has slowed thanks to the recession and a dramatic cut in government incentives in Spain.

Some of its former executives have gone on to start a solar panel manufacturing business, Sunworks Solar, in San Francisco.

A Month Later, A123 Systems Still Rising

If you were wondering if the stock of battery maker A123 Systems would hold up after its successful IPO last month, the answer is good.

The stock closed at $23.89 today. The company went public on September 23 for $13.50 a share. (A123 initially was going to sell its stock in the $8 and $9 range but upped it a couple of times right before the IPO.

On the first day of trading on Sept. 24, it rose to $20.18. 

The company specializes in lithium-ion batteries for power tools and cars. It has contracts with BAE Systems and Chrysler. But timing helped too. The stock market has been rising and everyone has been antsy for an IPO. Even though the company has never made a profit and has lost $146 million since it began in 2001, investors flocked to it. Revenues have been climbing.

It wanted to go public last year but pulled the IPO amid the financial turmoil.

Plastic From Tobacco

Metabolix, the bioplastic company working with agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, has conducted experiments that could lead to a new life for the stinking weed.

The company has devised a strain of tobacco that will metabolically generate polyhydroxyalkanoate biobased polymers, or PHA to his friends. Conceivably, this could lead to tobacco farmers growing the plant to harvest plants for plastic rather than cigarettes. The test crop was grown on 0.8 acres and the best plants contained 3 percent to 5 percent PHA. The company started working with tobacco because it's a hearty plant native to the U.S. that can grow in fairly dense arrangements.

Metabolix makes the Mirel line of bioplastics. Later this year it plans to open a production facility to mass manufacture the stuff. PHA costs more than conventional fossil fuel based plastics but is comparable in terms of performance. The price, if all goes well, will also decline over time.

The company will participate in a trial in a Dutch hospital with Pharmafilter. Pharmafilter wants to recycle pretty much everything – the water, the solid waste, etc. – that comes out of a health care facility. Metabolix will provide the plastic for the bedpans and cutlery.

Colorado, the Best Place to Get Tesla for ‘Cheap’

Have you heard about a deal to get as much as 38 percent off on a Tesla Motor's Roadster?

Apparently, the offer is real. If you live in Colorado.

The state is offering a tax break that could allow you to own a $109,000 Roadster for $67,800, according to GreenCarReport.com.

"The measure gives Colorado residents a credit on their 2009 income tax for up to 85 percent of the difference between the price of certain alternative-fueled vehicles and the price of an equivalent vehicle running on liquid fuel," the website said.

That means the tax credit for a Roadster, a sporty two-seater, is about $42,083.

Granted, the incentive doesn't make the Roadster an affordable car for average households. So Tesla isn't likely to see a huge jump in orders from Colorado.

The San Carlos, Calif.-based automaker is due to launch a cheaper model priced starting at $57,400 (without any incentives) in late 2011. The company hopes to attract a broader base of customers with the four-door sedan, the Model S. 

Lithium Flame? GM Holds Contest to Name Colors of Volt

Wii Power Cord Grey.

Half-Eaten Hot Dog Pink.

The Sweet Green Icing Flowing Down.

Palin Brown.

Clearly, I'm not going to win this contest, but you might. General Motors has launched a contest to for names for colors for the Chevy Volt. The three finalists will be flown to Los Angeles in December. Winners get to drive a pre-production Volt.

"We want to invite consumers into the development process of the Chevy Volt and give people an opportunity to be part of our program," said Maria Rohrer, director, global Volt and global marketing operations at Chevrolet. "We're looking for a color name that captures the innovation and spirit of the Volt."

Apply by Nov. 4. Entrants can submit their color name at www.chevroletvoltage.com.

CIGS Efficiency Rises Again

Ascent Solar Technologies, which makes copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells, says it has boosted the efficiency on its commercial solar cells and modules once again.

Back in November, it's champion solar cell – the best of a manufactured bunch – exhibited around an 11 percent efficiency and the best modules came with a 9.5 percent efficiency, according to Farhad Mogahadam, CEO, in an interview. In March, the company could produce modules on its 1.5 megawatt pilot production line with an efficiency of a little more than 9.5 percent.

Now, the company says that the efficiency on its champion cells has risen to 14 percent and the efficiency for modules have risen to 11.7 percent. The distribution of efficiency on modules runs from 10.5 percent to 11.7 percent, he said. The theoretical maximum for a CIGS solar cell is around 29 percent. the National Renewable Energy Labs has made a cell that can convert nearly 20 percent of the light that strikes it into electricity.

That's a pretty substantial improvement in a short time. It also gives some hope to the CIGS industry. In the past year, skepticism has grown about CIGS: Many manufacturers delayed products and the glut of supply in crystalline silicon has made thin film solar panels less attractive. But higher efficiencies and the lower costs that thin films can provide make thin films still viable.

Ascent employs an evaporation process to deposit the active materials onto a plastic substrate. Evaporation is the oldest and most extensively tested deposition process. (Other deposition processes include sputtering, printing and electroplating.) Most CIGS makers, though, have started out by putting their solar cells on glass. Utilizing plastic cuts material and shipping costs.

The materials are deposited onto the plastic in a chamber at 450 degrees Celsius, but Mogahadam says Ascent can raise the temperature to 550 degrees without harming the substrate.

The Littleton, Colo.-based company's just-inaugurated pilot line can produce 1.5 megawatts of panels per year. Ascent Solar is outfitting a 30-megawatt factory in Thornton, which is north of Denver, and it expects to start production there during the first quarter of 2010.