Not all charities are created equally; at least, not all of them spend equally. The ways in which a charity spends its donors? dollars have been coming under increasing scrutiny in the past few years, as wave upon wave of scandals has rocked... Read more
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There's been a lot of media-driven furor this year around the issue of humongous corporations weaseling their way out of paying taxes, with GE taking a brunt of the public assault. While with each passing month we hear of some new offender, one... Read more
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Solar power energy startup SolarReserve is now the second major solar power company to secure a high-profile investment and move forward on a large solar power plant.
The company uses a huge array of mirrors to focus heat on a point on a large tower. The heat from the focused sunlight is used to boil water, creating steam that moves conventional turbines to generate electricity. It’s an alternative to traditional solar power projects that use large arrays of photovoltaic cells to capture sunlight and convert it to electricity.�The idea is reminiscent of the�Archimedes Death Ray, an oft-used trope in popular culture.
SolarReserve was able to secure a $737 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy.�A loan guarantee helps companies attract buyers and investors for new renewable energy projects. Basically, it means the government will foot the bill if the project does not take off or is unable to get some kind of return for the investors. It?s one of the ways the U.S. government is promoting renewable energy sources.
The new project will be built around 220 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nev., and will generate 110 megawatts of power. The mirrors heat molten salt to around 1,050 degrees�Fahrenheit, which then heats up water that powers a traditional steam turbine. The salt takes a while to cool down, so the solar power tower is able to continue producing heat and electricity into the evening even after the sun has set.
BrightSource, the other major solar power tower developer, filed to go public Friday to raise up to $250 million. Search giant Google also invested $168 million in the company’s massive Ivanpah solar power tower plant. One of the largest risk factors cited was whether the company could effectively wash and clean those mirrors every two weeks. The company lists the mirror cleaning technology as ?largely unproven,? and said it may perform well below expectations.
While solar power towers are largely unproven sources of renewable energy, there are a few proof-of-concept projects. Two solar power towers deployed in California already show that the technology worked. The two towers generated 38,000 megawatt hours of electricity while they were active between 1982 and 1988. The average home in the U.S. uses around 920 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month. There are also a few active solar power towers in Spain, which generate around 50 megawatts.
Companies: BrightSource, Google, Solarreserve
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New Dish Network CEO Joe Clayton isn’t planning to sit still. After being named CEO on Monday, Clayton says Dish will continue with its somewhat unusual acquisition strategy as it pieces together a “new video model” to combat Netflix and cable/satellite competitors, the AP reports.
If this were any other company, I’d already have a headache from rolling my eyes. But after purchasing the ailing Blockbuster Video in April for $228 million, Dish is definitely in a position to combat Netflix — and perhaps even deliver something new entirely.
The company also recently purchased Hughes Communications for $2.1 billion, a satellite ISP, and DBSD North America for $1 billion, a satellite operator with some valuable wireless spectrum. Those purchases were made under the direction of previous Dish CEO Charlie Ergen, who has unsurprisingly garnered an eccentric reputation. Ergen will focus on Dish’s strategic direction as the company’s chairman.
Dish announced yesterday that new subscribers will get three months of Blockbuster’s disc rental service for free. But Clayton also admitted of the company’s strategy, “I don’t have it all figured out yet.”
Ergen two weeks ago likened the company’s acquisition strategy to an episode of Seinfeld, “where you didn’t know exactly where that show was going but it seemed to all come together in that last couple of minutes.” That’s not exactly heartening for Dish investors, but it sure does make reporting on the company fun.
Clayton reiterated that Dish aims to challenge Netflix in the realm of streaming video: “If I were them, I’d be watching what’s going on,” he said. “I’d stay tuned. Because no one’s going to have a monopoly on this, and I’m sure it’s not just our company that’s looking at trying to take a small piece of the pie from Netflix.”
Companies: Blockbuster Video, Dish Network, Netflix
People: Charlie Ergen, Joe Clayton
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