Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Recent Podcast with Christina Page, Yahoo!’s Director of Climate and Energy Strategy

Interview with Christina Page, Yahoo!’s Director of Climate and Energy Strategy

For those of you following Green efforts from Corporate leaders and what they are doing to make a difference- take a moment to listen to our recent Driving Green Podcast .

-This Podcast features an interview with Christina Page, Yahoo!’s (YHOO) Director of Climate and Energy Strategy discussing their mandate and progress on becoming "carbon neutral”.

Christina speaks passionately about their projects in India and Brazil equivalent to taking 35,000 cars off the road or turning off the lights on the Vegas strip for two months.
To listen to Christina discuss their projects in India and Brazil click here: http://investorideas.com/Podcasts/audio/102607.mp3

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

IBM PIONEERS PROCESS TO TURN WASTE INTO SOLAR ENERGY

IBM PIONEERS PROCESS TO TURN WASTE INTO SOLAR ENERGY

Helps reduce and repurpose estimated three million discarded silicon wafers yearly; Provides new supply to constrained solar energy manufacturers

BURLINGTON, VT – October 30, 2007 – IBM today announced an innovative new semiconductor wafer reclamation process pioneered at its Burlington, Vermont manufacturing facility. The new process uses a specialized pattern removal technique to repurpose scrap semiconductor wafers -- thin discs of silicon material used to imprint patterns that make finished semiconductor chips for computers, mobile phones, video games, and other consumer electronics -- to a form used to manufacture silicon-based solar panels. The new process was recently awarded the “2007 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award” from The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR).

Through this new reclamation process IBM is now able to more efficiently remove the intellectual property from the wafer surface, making these wafers available either for reuse in internal manufacturing calibration as "monitor wafers" or for sale to the solar cell industry, which must meet a growing demand for the same silicon material to produce photovoltaic cells for solar panels. IBM intends to provide details of the new process to the broader semiconductor manufacturing industry. It is currently in use the Burlington, VT facility and in the process of being implemented at IBM's East Fishkill, NY, semiconductor fabrication plant.

"One of the challenges facing the solar industry is a severe shortage of silicon, which threatens to stall its rapid growth,” said Charles Bai, chief financial officer of ReneSola, one of China's fastest growing solar energy companies. "This is why we have turned to reclaimed silicon materials sourced primarily from the semiconductor industry to supply the raw material our company needs to manufacture solar panels."

IBM and others in the industry use silicon wafers both as the starting material for manufacturing microelectronic products -- from cell phones to computers to consumer electronics -- and to monitor and control the myriad of steps in the manufacturing process. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, worldwide 250,000 wafers are started per day across the industry. IBM estimates that up to 3.3% of these started wafers are scrapped. In the course of the year, this amounts to approximately three million discarded wafers.* Because the wafers contain intellectual property, most can not be sent to outside vendors to reclaim so are crushed and sent to landfills, or melted down and resold.

“IBM’s commitment to environmental conservation spans its business, from the re-purposing of materials used in semiconductor manufacturing to enabling customers to manage, measure, and run the most power efficient datacenters on the planet,” said Mike Cadigan, general manager, IBM Semiconductor Solutions. “The engineering ingenuity that IBM has demonstrated in pioneering the wafer-to-solar panel program has generated countless other conservation initiatives in our manufacturing operations."

The new wafer reclamation process produces monitor wafers from scrap product wafers - generating an overall energy savings of up to 90% because repurposing scrap means that IBM no longer has to procure the usual volume of net new wafers to meet manufacturing needs. When monitors wafers reach end of life they are sold to the solar industry. Depending on how a specific solar cell manufacturer chooses to process a batch of reclaimed wafers - they could save between 30 - 90% of the energy that they would have needed if they'd used a new silicon material source. These estimated energy savings translate into an overall reduction of the carbon footprint -- the measure of the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product or service -- for both the Semiconductor and Solar industries.

The program resulted in reduced spending on monitor wafers and increased efficiency in IBM’s wafer reclaim program. For the IBM Burlington site, the annual savings in 2006 were more than half-a-million dollars. The projected ongoing annual savings for 2007 is nearly $1.5 million and the one-time savings for reclaiming stockpiled wafers is estimated to be more than $1.5 million. Located ten miles from Burlington in Essex Junction, Vermont, the campus employs some 5,600 people on 750 acres in more than 20 major buildings – with a primary focus on the development, manufacture and testing of semiconductors.

The NPPR also recognized Burlington's water conservation and energy management programs with an honorable mention. As the largest membership organization in the United States devoted solely to Pollution Prevention (P2), the NPPR acts as a window on the P2 community.

IBM innovations in microelectronics and the company's groundbreaking system-on-a- chip designs have transformed the world of semiconductors. IBM breakthroughs include High-k, which enhances the transistor’s function while allowing it to be shrunk beyond today's limits, dual-core and multi-core microprocessors, copper on-chip wiring, silicon-on-insulator and silicon germanium transistors, strained silicon, and eFUSE, a technology that enables computer chips to automatically respond to changing conditions. The White House has awarded IBM the National Medal of Technology, the nation's highest technical honor, for 40 years of innovation in semiconductors.
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For further information about IBM Microelectronics, visit http://www.ibm.com/chips/
IBM VIRTUAL PRESS KIT: http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/22505.wss
Journalists: Broadcast-quality video, including a video news release and b-roll, is available to registered journalists at http://www.thenewsmarket.com/ibm Bloggers: Web-quality streaming video, including a video news release and b-roll, is available to registered bloggers at www.thenewsmarket.com/videocafe

PRESS CONTACT:
IBM
Bruce McConnel
914-766-4427
wmcconn@us.ibm.com

* The SIA calculates that worldwide 250,000 wafers are started per day. With a 3.3% scrap rate (based on IBM semiconductor manufacturing data) applied to all started wafers worldwide annually, IBM estimates that at least 3 million are scrapped per year. Actual scrap rates might vary based on operational efficiency and manufacturing expertise.

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Growing Global Water Crisis and Investment Opportunity

Investorideas.com “Investing in Water” Podcast with Bill Brennan; Update on the Performance of the New Kinetics Water Infrastructure Fund and Insight into the Global Water Industry

The Growing Global Water Crisis and Investment Opportunity; Perspectives and Insight into the U.S., China and Middle East’s Water Infrastructure Problems and Solutions

POINT ROBERTS, WA and DELTA, BC – October 26, 2007, Investorideas.com and its Water-stocks.com Podcast series “Investing in Water” present an in-depth interview with Mr. Bill Brennan, President & Managing Partner of Aqua Terra Asset Management and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Praetor Global Water Fund. Mr. Brennan discusses the performance of the Kinetics Water Infrastructure Fund and provides insight into the global water infrastructure crisis and investment opportunity.

According to Mr. Brennan the Kinetics Water Infrastructure Fund has done well compared to the overall market performance, relative to the Indices, since the July 2nd launch and is currently up 3%.

In the Podcast Mr. Brennan discusses water infrastructure spending in the next 20 years in the US, China and Middle East and provides insight into short tem and long-term investing opportunities. “ An investment of $1- $2 Trillion will be needed to fully modernize the global water systems within the next 20 years. In China alone, in the next 18 months we expect China to double its spending on water infrastructure.”

Some additional alarming comments from Mr. Brennan to take note of as both investors and consumers:
“ There is 1.5 million miles of pipe for drinking water and waste water that exists in the US and at least half if not more has passed its useful life.”
“ We expect water bills to go up by a factor of 5-10 times over the next 10 years just to meet the needs of the rebuilding of the water infrastructure in the United States. So that $50 water utility bill you are now paying could grow to $250 to $500 based on where you live geographically.”

On the upside to potential investors, he sees a great investment theme that is sustainable on a long-term basis. To sum it up- “ You can go without cable, survive without a land line coming into your home but if water does not come into your facility your property value goes to zero as it becomes uninhabitable” .

To listen to the Podcast discussing the Kinetics Water Infrastructure Fund and the global water industry, as well as other water Podcasts click here: http://www.investorideas.com/ws/

www.Water-Stocks.com, a portal within the InvestorIdeas.com content umbrella, offers investors research tools, news, Blogs, online conferences, Podcasts , interviews and a directory of public companies within the water sector .The water-stocks content hub has created a global marketplace and meeting place for investors, public companies, industry buyers and sellers of water technology, services and water assets.

Additionally, InvestorIdeas.com Newswire offers a service for water news and press release submissions at: http://investorideas.com/NewsUploader/.

InvestorIdeas.com is a leading global investor and industry research resource portal specialized in sector investing covering over thirty industry sectors and global markets including China, India, the Middle East and Australia.

InvestorIdeas.com Disclaimer: www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp
Our sites do not make recommendations, but offer information portals to research news, articles, stock lists and recent research. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. We attempt to research thoroughly, but we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of information presented. All information relating to featured companies is sourced from public documents and/ or the company and is not the opinion of our web sites. The site is compensated by featured companies, news submissions and online advertising.

For More Information Contact:

Dawn Van Zant 800-665-0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com


Web Site: www.InvestorIdeas.com

Source: Water-Stocks.com, Investorideas.com

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

RenewableEnergyStocks.com Updates its Directory of Renewable Energy and Green Stocks

RenewableEnergyStocks.com Updates its Directory of Renewable Energy and Green Stocks

Global Investor Interest in Renewable Energy Expands List to Include Stocks listed on TSX, OTC, NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, ASX, AIM Exchanges

POINT ROBERTS, WA and DELTA, BC –October 10, 2007 - www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com, a leading global investor and industry portal for the renewable energy sector within Investorideas.com, has updated its directory of publicly traded stocks in the sector. Renewableenergysstocks.com was one of the first online investor resources providing in-depth information on renewable energy and the public companies in the sector.

The directory features stocks listed on the TSX, OTC, NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, ASX, AIM markets and other leading exchanges reflecting the global participation and growth in renewable energy and green stocks.

The renewable energy portal provides a valuable resource for investors and alternative energy public companies and industry participants. RenewableEnergyStocks.com® features industry and stock news, exclusive articles and financial columnists, audio interviews and Podcasts, investor conferences, Blogs, and a directory of stocks in the sector.

The RenewableEnergyStocks.com portal currently features a directory with info and links on Alternative Energy Funds, Biogas and Ethanol Stocks, Energy Efficiency Stocks, Flywheel Stocks, Fuel Cell Stocks, Geothermal Stocks, Hydrogen Production, Micro Turbine Stocks, Solar Stocks, Green Transportation, Wind Power and Wind Energy Stocks.

About Our Green Investor Portals:
www.RenewableEnergyStocks.com®, www.FuelCellCarNews.com®, www.EnvironmentStocks.com and www.GreentechInvestor.com are global investor and industry research portals in the renewable energy and Greentech sectors within InvestorIdeas.com. RenewableEnergyStocks.com provides a variety of renewable and clean energy content including the Clean Energy News Blog, Renewable Energy Blog, Driving Green Podcast articles by solar expert, J. Peter Lynch, and a regular ‘green’ column: ‘The New Power Fund,’ by Samuel F. Jones, President of All Season Financial Advisors.
To hear the Driving Green Podcast visit: http://www.investorideas.com/dg/


Green Ads: Companies in the sector can share their green philosophy and gain brand awareness with Green Ads. The Green Ads target the growing number of ethical and green investors as well as consumers, and create instant visual identification as a green company!

Additionally, the InvestorIdeas.com Newswire is a service for renewable energy and cleantech news and press release submissions at: /NewsUploader/ as well as research and article submissions .News is distributed by RSS feeds to multiple financial news and industry sites.

About InvestorIdeas.com

InvestorIdeas.com is a leading global investor and industry research resource portal specialized in sector investing covering over thirty industry sectors and global markets including China, India, Middle East and Australia. Renewableenergystocks.com is a registered Trade Mark of Investorideas.com.

Disclaimer: Our sites do not make recommendations, but offer information portals to research news, articles, stock lists and recent research. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. We attempt to research thoroughly, but we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of information presented. All Information relating to featured companies is sourced from public documents and/ or the company and is not the opinion of our web sites. This site is currently compensated by featured companies, news submissions and online advertising. www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp

For more information or companies that would like to be added to directory contact:

Dawn Van Zant
Phone: 800.665.0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com

Source: RenewableEnergyStocks.com®

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Green stocks: great day in the market for renewable energy investors

For investors going green- there was a lot of green to take off the table for some of the stocks in the sector .

Take a look at the performance and volume today of a few stocks of note:

Westport Innovations (WPT:TSX) was last at $2.67 up .26 on 240,932 a 10.79% gain on the day .

AKEENA SOLAR INC (NasdaqCM:AKNS) was last at $8.80 up.28

JER ENVIROTECH INTERNATIONAL CO (CDNX:JER.V) was last at .68, up .04

ZAP (OTC BB:ZAAP.OB) traded at $1.03 to close up .03

CLEAN ENERGY FUELS (NasdaqGM:CLNE) was up .25 trading over $16 , now well over the IPO price

Well known solar stock - SUNPOWER CORPORATION (NasdaqGM:SPWR) was also up closing up .38

For our complete list of green stocks - visit our renewable energy stocks directory at
http://www.investorideas.com/Companies/RenewableEnergy/Stock_List.asp