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VOD Debuts UK’s SME Market – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:51:22 +0000

Vodafone (VOD) UK has reportedly launched a converged fixed-mobile service (called "Vodafone One Net") yesterday for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the UK, helping them to more effectively manage their corporate communications. This follows the company’s successful launch of Vodafone One in June 2009 that offers bundled voice, data and fixed-line services for large businesses.

Vodafone One Net, which was previously launched in Italy and Czech Republic, marks Vodafone UK’s entry in the lucrative communications market for SMEs in the UK, representing an approximate £8 billion market opportunity.

The new combined service offers a single number for mobile and landline services, one voicemail number for all messages and one contract through a single service provider. Users can seamlessly switch between landline phones and their mobiles while in a call and will have the flexibility of paying a flat call rate per subscription for all calls. Vodafone One Net thus provides businesses the privilege to concentrate more on their customers rather than spending time on managing their communications.

For businesses with multiple office locations, the company will offer effective call management through a virtual switchboard which will route the calls to different locations via the most effective channels. Vodafone UK has plans to eventually incorporate Microsoft's (MSFT) Office Communications Services (such as email and messaging) in its latest offering. Vodafone One Net will allow small and medium businesses greater cost control with up to 20% savings on the total communication bill.

Vodafone UK has also extended its collaboration with BT Group (BT) which will enable it to provide fixed-line services to the SME market in the UK as a part of the Vodafone One Net offering. Under the five year managed service agreement, BT will offer IP-enabled fixed-line voice and broadband services to Vodafone UK. This will enable Vodafone to expand its service portfolio in UK without any huge investment to build its own fixed-line network.

Vodafone has a strong presence in the enterprise wireless market in the UK. The company is the second-largest player in the UK wireless market with roughly 24.7% share. However, its presence in the enterprise fixed-line services market has been lackluster to date.

Vodafone One Net enables the company to become a full-service provider for businesses in the UK, offering integrated mobile and fixed services. This will take Vodafone UK a step ahead in its bid to lead the domestic unified communications market for SMEs.
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DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 8/26/09, SGP, MRO, SCHL, BONU, INCB, PSPM

Dr. Stock Pick — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:31:25 +0000

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! Wednesday August 26, 2009 ************************************************************** Schering-Plough Corporation, (NYSE: SGP), today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has validated (accepted for review) the company’s Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for a fixed-dose combination of mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate for the maintenance treatment of asthma in patients 12 years of [...]

Dot VN, Inc. (DTVI.OB) Names Director of Communications and Business Development Louisa T. Huynh

QualityStocks — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:28:07 +0000

Dot VN, Inc., a provider of Internet and telecommunication services and the exclusive online global domain name registrar for the country of Vietnam, recently announced that the company has hired Louisa T. Huynh as the director of communications and business development. In this role, Ms. Huynh manages public relations, develops marketing strategies and directs all [...]

Zain’s Drive 2011 model an attempt to lean out

Jason G. Wulterkens — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:30:23 +0000

Telecom Zain Nigeria announced last week that it would adopt a “lean strategy” as part of a “realignment of its business model” in line with that of its parent company, Zain Group, which has invested roughly $12bn in Africa since 2005 (including $4bn alone in Nigeria since 2006) and is implementing a new “Drive 2011″ [...]

GTX Corp (GTXO.OB) Receives Positive Analysis from Vista Partners

QualityStocks — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:14:37 +0000

Vista Partners, one of the fastest growing independent equity research firms in the U.S., has been following GTX Corp (GTXO.OB) since mid-2008. Vista’s analysis team consists of seasoned professionals with backgrounds in corporate communications, investment banking, and finance. Vista published a thorough analysis of GTX in November 2008 and has recently published its latest findings [...]

Energy Efficiency is Low Hanging Fruit in Credit Challenged Economy – We Like: PEFF.OB and ERII

Small Cap Pulse — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:05:01 +0000

January 22, 2009 - Obamarsquo;s inauguration this week signals a change in the level of support that the alternative energy and clean tech sectors will get in Washington, and other world leaders know it. This week at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabu UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change chairman Rajendra Pachauri said he expects the U.S. position on climate change at Decemberrsquo;s meeting in Copenhagen will be critical and will set the tone. Bush never took a lead role. That being said, attention to climate change issues has never been greater on a global scale because countries, all facing economic erosion on an unprecedented level, are all moving to a strategy which effectively kills two birds with one stone: infrastructure investment and investment in green technologies as a primary catalyst for stimulating their own economies. Obamarsquo;s $800 billion fiscal stimulus package is no different. nbsp; The United Nations said that the upside (if there is any) to the current global crisis is that world governments are increasing their environmental initiatives including renewable energy and energy efficiency. Just last week South Korea and Japan announced their own respective ldquo;Green New Deals.rdquo; There has never been more support on a global governmental level for alternative energy and clean technology. So why have solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative energy and clean tech stocks been so battered? The 3, 5, 10 and 20-year forecasts for alternative energy remain pretty bullish, and continue to get more so, implying that there is a long-term growth trend which will be a common theme to alternative energy and clean tech stocks for the foreseeable future. Yet growth has been almost totally priced out of these stocks lately. To be sure, there are near-term headwinds that each of these sectors face. Biofuels run up against a wall of challenges created by feedstocks. Issues of sustainability, food vs. fuel, and rising prices have all but crushed the U.S. ethanol industry. More promising are next generation biofuels, cellulosic technologies which promise to be immune from many of the challenges that the first generation faced, but carry some of their own ndash; like ability to scale. Brazil seems to be the only legitimate model, helped tremendously by its climate and geography. Because of that, it is a difficult model to replicate on scale. Solar stocks have been battered, trading at fractions on a PEG basis and low-single digits against earnings, EBITDA and sales. No one questions that growth for solar for the foreseeable future will be dramatic. Though Wall Street is presently piling on with criticism and concerns in the near term about oversupply in the polysilicon and module chains which will lead to margin compression, as well as concerns about the current economic environment creating credit constraints and delays for projects. Wind and geothermal companies face the same headwinds in the near term, relating to economic conditions and a typically higher level of capital expenditure required to get these projects off the ground. Interestingly, valuations in wind and geothermal havenrsquo;t compressed to the level that solar stocks have. One of the areas that we think should be more immune to economic headwinds is energy efficiency. While solar, wind and geothermal will all be critical contributors to making the U.S. more energy independent, less carbon intensive and in the longer-term, more energy efficient, technologies exist today which can dramatically reduce energy consumption, costs, and carbon footprints while reducing dependence on fossil fuels. And most importantly, they carry the cap ex requirements on the front end to be implemented and donrsquo;t depend as much on government subsidies to validate return on investment, or incentivize it, at best. Energy efficiency is the lowest hanging fruit, we think, to dramatically improving energy efficiency. Through creating better building efficiency (buildings are responsible for about 70% of U.S. energy consumption), utilizing more efficient motors (electric motors represent more than 50% of all electrical energy consumed in the U.S.) and lower-energy lighting there is potential to cut billions of oil per day-equivalent of consumption. A recent study from McKinsey and Company states that nearly 40% of the countryrsquo;s emissions-reduction potential by 2030 is from improving energy efficiency. President Obamarsquo;s stated goal is to improve energy efficiency by 50% over that period. His $800 billion stimulus plan includes more than $21 billion on energy efficiency programs with $7 billion earmarked for grants to state and local government for energy efficiency programs. That we need energy efficiency programs on a national and global scale is generally not controversial. However, as with concerns about demand for renewable energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal, it can also be said about energy efficiency that the economics need to be compelling. Achieving these economic objectives to maximize energy efficiency and minimize energy waste requires less cap ex, and the ROI is faster. A few companies that we think are well-positioned as ldquo;pure playrdquo; energy efficiency companies are Power Efficiency (OTCBB:PEFF) and Energy Recovery (Nasdaq:ERII). Power Efficiency designs, develops, markets and sells Motor Efficiency Controllers (ldquo;MECSrdquo;) under its E-Save Technologyreg; brand and on an OEM basis. Products sect;nbsp; Three Phase MECS are developed for sale into the industrial and commercial markets. Commercial Launch in Summer, 2008 sect;nbsp; Single Phase MECS are developed for sale into the residential appliance markets. Commercial Launch in Fall, 2008. We mentioned above that more than 50% of all electrical energy consumed in the U.S. is used by electric motors. The energy costs of running motors is typically many times greater than its initial purchase price. At a rate of $0.04/kWh, a typical 20-horsepower continuously running motor uses almost $6,000 in electricity each year, about 6x its purchase price. Power Efficiency is launching motor efficiency controllers into the industrial/commercial markets (three phase product) and residential appliance markets (single phase product). Estimates for the market opportunities here are $392 million (global three phase market) and $615 million (global single phase market). It has established OEM and channel partnerships with leading international firms like KONE, OTIS Elevator, ThyssenKrupp, Barrick Gold, Mitsubishi Electric and Berry Plastics, amongst others with installations for its three-phase product in Caesarrsquo;s Palace, the Denver International Airport, Macyrsquo;s, JFK International Airport and the Smithsonian, amongst others. And it has demonstrated energy savings of up to 40% for industrial applications and internal rates of return up to about 70% on its products. The company estimates that in the U.S. alone, the impact of its E-Save Technology on the manufacturing industry could produce up to $1.7 billion in cost savings, a reduction in 21 billion kWh, and a reduction in CO2 emissions bynbsp; 16 million tons. It recently launched its single phase motor efficiency controller for the massive residential appliances market, and entered into a partnership with IXYS (Nasdaq:IXYS) a semi-component firm to sell its product to IXYSrsquo; more than 3,000 customers worldwide that include major appliance manufacturers. We noted above the estimated global market opportunity here is about $615 million and think Power Efficiency is well-positioned to begin establishing sales in this market in 2009. Energy Recovery (Nasdaq:ERII) develops energy recovery technology that is utilized in the water desalination industry. Products middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; PX Pressure Exchanger optimizes the energy intensive sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) process which is about 98% energy efficient and reduces energy consumption by about 60% compared to conventional processes. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) projects that by 2025, 33% of the worldrsquo;s population will live in countries with water scarcity. SWRO is a process which has grown at a rate of about 55% annually since 2002. nbsp;It is installed in more than 300 desalination plants worldwide and its technology is leveraged by more than 60 OEMs including GE, Veolia, Acciona and Doosan. Management estimates that its technology in the field has resulted in reduction of about 300MW relative to comparable plants with no energy recovery devices. At a rate of $0.08 per kWh-hour, the deployment of PX devices in plants in the field would result in annual electricity cost savings of about $210 million, and a reduction in CO2 of about 1.5 million tons per year. Our Take We remain bullish an solar, wind and geothermal, and less so ndash; near term ndash; on biofuels (except in Brazil), and think the sector poised to best navigate the economic headwinds is energy efficiency. Costs to achieving energy efficiency goals are lower for implementing these technologies and the rate of return is faster. We think Power Efficiency and Energy Recovery are both well positioned in this respect, for near and long-term growth. Important Disclosure: The SCPEditor is LONG PEFF.OB and has no position in ERII. The information provided here and in the comments are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance. The SCPEditor is the managing partner of Aspire Clean Tech Communications which is LONG PEFF.OB, and is on a monthly retainer of $6,500 to provide PEFF with corporate communications and strategic advisory services. Aspire has also received 40,000 shares of PEFFrsquo;s restricted common stock to provide these services. For any additional information about Power Efficiency, Aspire, or Small Cap Pulse, please contact Todd M. Pitcher at 760-798-4938. pa href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?a=EZV2d6"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?i=EZV2d6" border="0"/img/a/p

What do JFK, Ballagio and Otis Elevator have in common?

Small Cap Pulse — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:10:00 +0000

nbsp;nbsp;January 15, 2009 - More than half of all electrical energy consumed in the United States is used by electric motors. So improving efficiency for electric motors is one of the most basic and fundamental ways that businesses, consumers and the government can save energy, reduce operating costs and improve productivity.There are multiple approaches to doing this: making more efficient motors is an obvious one. But in many cases, motor inefficiency is a consequence of the load which the motors are powering. Cases where motors have to have enough power to drive a load at full capacity but where the load is, in fact, often light. These are some of the most frequent cases of motor inefficiency.One company that that is addressing this market is Power Efficiency (OTCBB: PEFF ), which has developed technologies which result in up to 40% savings to client firms in the industrial markets and has established proof-of-concept installations in several high-profile environments including the Bellagio hotel, Columbus International Airport, JFK International Airport, Smithsonian Institute, Las Vegas Convention Center and the Denver International Airport through leading partners/clients including KONE, ThyssenKrupp Elevator, Otis Elevator, Barrick Gold and Berry Plastics.The initial market Power Efficiency focused on to prove out the energy savings it can produce was the escalator market. This is an ideal proof-of-concept, because escalator motors are designed for an optimal load - 2 people on each stair - but they rarely operate in this optimal capacity. Consequently, they waste a lot of energy. Power Efficiency's technology senses the loads and adjusts electricity required accordingly. The result is 20% to 40% in energy savings.The worldwide market for elevator and escalator services is expected to growth at 5.4% annually through 2011, surpassing $57 billion and the market for escalators and moving walkways is expected to grow at 8.3% annually to $2.5 billion in 2011. (Source: Freedonia)Power Efficiency's goal is to become the industry standard for energy efficiency in this market. And it is making progress, having established client relationships with market leaders including Otis Elevator, ThyssenKrupp and KONE.Other markets that Power Efficiency is expanding into include granulators, cement mixers, and other large scale industrial applications. The potential for extending its technology into new industrial applications is pretty broad, so Power Efficiency's strategy is to establish OEM relationships and build a channel strategy so that it can leverage pre-existing sales forces. The appeal for companies to adopt its technology is fundamental: lower energy consumption, cost savings and longer product lifetimes.In the past year, Power Efficiency also developed a product based on its E-Savetrade; technology that can apply to the residential appliances market, targeting energy savings in washing and drying machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, etc. This market is massive, and is a major priority for the Department of Energy to support through its Energy Star program.In December, Power Efficiency announced a partnership with IXYS (Nasdaq:IXYS), a $300 million semiconductor component business with more than 2,000 clients, many of which, are appliances manufacturers. This sets the stage for Power Efficiency to leverage IXYS sales force and customer base to sell through into OEM engagements. The market opportunity here is impressive:There are about 9 million clothes washers shipped each year and 8 million clothes dryers shipped each year alone, in the U.S. At an ASP of $10 for its single phase product, the washer/dryer market alone is about a $170 million market, not to mention other applications for refrigeration and air conditioning.Power Efficiency 's stock trades lightly at about $0.16 to $0.20 per share, representing a current market cap of about $6.4 million. In 2008, the company was focused on transitioning its technology from an analog platform which was prohibitive in terms of cost and performance to scaling into full commercialization to a digital platform which works better, has more functionality and is cheaper to produce which is critical as the business looks to build OEM contracts.This year, we expect to see the business gain accelerate its industrial three-phase business and hit some key milestones for its single-phase residential appliance product. From an investment standpoint, the stock is compelling on multiple levels:middot; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Strong insider ownership with the company's operators having invested millions into the business;middot; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Validated technology with opportunity to scale business into escalator market with existing clients (KONE, ThyssenKrupp, Otis)middot; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Moving into other industrial markets (plastics, cement/rock/mining)middot; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Massive Blue-Sky with residential appliance product, which is initially validated through IXYS partnershipmiddot; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Secular trends have never been better: regulatory pressure to adopt energy efficiency standards; incentive for businesses in a challenging economy to reduce energy costs and equipment maintenance costs; interest for consumers to reduce energy expensesmiddot; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; E-Save Technology has been validated by several leading utilities for rebates including: Southern California Edison, Excel Energy, SDGamp;E, Sempra Energy, Los Angeles Department of Water amp; Power, Nevada Power, Sierra Pacific and Anaheim Public Utilities.If Power Efficiency 's E-Save Technology were implemented across the relevant sectors in applicable motors throughout the U.S. manufacturing industry, it has the potential to produce savings of $1.7 billion in the U.S. alone. Again, the stock is trading at a current market cap of $6 to $7 million. We think the company is poised to deliver on inflection points across its business which should serve as catalysts for significantly higher valuations.At Aspire, we were happy to begin working with Power Efficiency to make its story and value proposition more well known on Wall Street. We don't see many companies that have the developed technology, customer relationships and perceived market opportunity that are trading at levels which make the situation as timely as this one is, in our opinion. We will continue to report on the company's progress and welcome anyone interested in learning about the story to contact us direct for further discussion at 760-798-4938.Important Disclosure: The SCPEditor is the managing partner of Aspire Clean Tech Communications which is LONG PEFF.OB, and is on a monthly retainer of $6,500 to provide PEFF with corporate communications and strategic advisory services. Aspire has also received 40,000 shares of PEFF's restricted common stock to provide these services . The information and trades provided here and in the comments are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance.nbsp;nbsp; pa href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?a=hEKigN"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?i=hEKigN" border="0"/img/a/p

Power Efficiency (OTCBB:PEFF) Poised to Make Significant Contributon to Energy Efficiency Markets

Small Cap Pulse — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:32:01 +0000

January 15, 2009 ndash; More than half of all electrical energy consumed in the United States is used by electric motors. So improving efficiency for electric motors is one of the most basic and fundamental ways that businesses, consumers and the government can save energy, reduce operating costs and improve productivity. There are multiple approaches to doing this: making more efficient motors is an obvious one. But in many cases, motor inefficiency is a consequence of the load which the motors are powering. Cases where motors have to have enough power to drive a load at full capacity but where the load is, in fact, often light. These are some of the most frequent cases of motor inefficiency. One company that that is addressing this market is Power Efficiency (OTCBB:PEFF), which has developed technologies which result in up to 40% savings to client firms in the industrial markets and has established proof-of-concept installations in several high-profile environments including the Bellagio hotel, Columbus International Airport, JFK International Airport, Smithsonian Institute, Las Vegas Convention Center and the Denver International Airport through leading partners/clients including KONE, ThyssenKrupp Elevator, Otis Elevator, Barrick Gold and Berry Plastics. The initial market Power Efficiency focused on to prove out the energy savings it can produce was the escalator market. This is an ideal proof-of-concept, because escalator motors are designed for an optimal load ndash; 2 people on each stair ndash; but they rarely operate in this optimal capacity. Consequently, they waste a lot of energy. Power Efficiencyrsquo;s technology senses the loads and adjusts electricity required accordingly. The result is 20% to 40% in energy savings. The worldwide market for elevator and escalator services is expected to growth at 5.4% annually through 2011, surpassing $57 billion and the market for escalators and moving walkways is expected to grow at 8.3% annually to $2.5 billion in 2011. (Source: Freedonia)nbsp;Power Efficiencyrsquo;s goal is to become the industry standard for energy efficiency in this market. And it is making progress, having established client relationships with market leaders including Otis Elevator, ThyssenKrupp and KONE. Other markets that Power Efficiency is expanding into include granulators, cement mixers, and other large scale industrial applications. The potential for extending its technology into new industrial applications is pretty broad, so Power Efficiencyrsquo;s strategy is to establish OEM relationships and build a channel strategy so that it can leverage pre-existing sales forces. The appeal for companies to adopt its technology is fundamental: lower energy consumption, cost savings and longer product lifetimes. In the past year, Power Efficiency also developed a product based on its E-Savetrade; technology that can apply to the residential appliances market, targeting energy savings in washing and drying machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, etc. This market is massive, and is a major priority for the Department of Energy to support through its Energy Star program. In December, Power Efficiency announced a partnership with IXYS (Nasdaq:IXYS), a $300 million semiconductor component business with more than 2,000 clients, many of which, are appliances manufacturers. This sets the stage for Power Efficiency to leverage IXYS sales force and customer base to sell through into OEM engagements. The market opportunity here is impressive:nbsp;nbsp; There are about 9 million clothes washers shipped each year and 8 million clothes dryers shipped each year alone, in the U.S. At an ASP of $10 for its single phase product, the washer/dryer market alone is about a $170 million market, not to mention other applications for refrigeration and air conditioning. Power Efficiencyrsquo;s stock trades lightly at about $0.16 to $0.20 per share, representing a current market cap of about $6.4 million. In 2008, the company was focused on transitioning its technology from an analog platform which was prohibitive in terms of cost and performance to scaling into full commercialization to a digital platform which works better, has more functionality and is cheaper to produce which is critical as the business looks to build OEM contracts. This year, we expect to see the business gain accelerate its industrial three-phase business and hit some key milestones for its single-phase residential appliance product. From an investment standpoint, the stock is compelling on multiple levels:nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Strong insider ownership with the companyrsquo;s operators having invested millions into the business; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Validated technology with opportunity to scale business into escalator market with existing clients (KONE, ThyssenKrupp, Otis) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Moving into other industrial markets (plastics, cement/rock/mining) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Massive Blue-Sky with residential appliance product, which is initially validated through IXYS partnership middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Secular trends have never been better: regulatory pressure to adopt energy efficiency standards; incentive for businesses in a challenging economy to reduce energy costs and equipment maintenance costs; interest for consumers to reduce energy expenses middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; E-Save Technology has been validated by several leading utilities for rebates including: Southern California Edison, Excel Energy, SDGamp;E, Sempra Energy, Los Angeles Department of Water amp; Power, Nevada Power, Sierra Pacific and Anaheim Public Utilities.nbsp;nbsp; If Power Efficiencyrsquo;s E-Save Technology were implemented across the relevant sectors in applicable motors throughout the U.S. manufacturing industry, it has the potential to produce savings of $1.7 billion in the U.S. alone. Again, the stock is trading at a current market cap of $6 to $7 million. We think the company is poised to deliver on inflection points across its business which should serve as catalysts for significantly higher valuations.nbsp;nbsp; At Aspire, we were happy to begin working with Power Efficiency to make its story and value proposition more well known on Wall Street. We donrsquo;t see many companies that have the developed technology, customer relationships and perceived market opportunity that are trading at levels which make the situation as timely as this one is, in our opinion. We will continue to report on the companyrsquo;s progress and welcome anyone interested in learning about the story to contact us direct for further discussion at 760-798-4938.nbsp;nbsp; Important Disclosure: The SCPEditor is the managing partner of Aspire Clean Tech Communications which is LONG PEFF.OB, and is on a monthly retainer of $6,500 to provide PEFF with corporate communications and strategic advisory services. Aspire has also received 40,000 shares of PEFFrsquo;s restricted common stock to provide these services . The information and trades provided here and in the comments are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to buy or sell any of these securities. Investing involves substantial risk and you should evaluate your own risk levels before you make any investment. Past results are not an indication of future performance. nbsp; pa href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?a=34vP1O"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?i=34vP1O" border="0"/img/a/p

December 19, 2008 IDC Report Companies Becoming Increasingly More Focused on Green IT Initiatives

Small Cap Pulse — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:37:00 +0000

IDC reported this week that companies are becoming increasingly focused on their Green IT initiatives. In its most recent survey amongst 1,500 C-level business and technology executives across 10 industrial countries:nbsp;middot; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Energy costs continue to be the most pressing factor driving green IT adoption, with 71% of respondents saying this is their highest priority;nbsp;middot; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Amongst U.S. respondents, 77% identified energy as the most important factor behind green adoption of their companies;nbsp;middot; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Amongst European respondents, 74% identified energy concerns as the number 1 driver of green initiatives.nbsp;The bottom line is that companies are focused on cost savings associated with reducing power consumption, which will continue to drive their plans to invest in energy efficiency.nbsp;The greatest potential for energy savings worldwide is with buildings, which consume 40% of global energy and are responsible for about the same percent of CO2 emissions. About half of the energy is for space and water heating while the rest is used for powering appliances and office equipment. Elevators alone can account for 10% of a buildings total energy consumption.nbsp;Companies like KONE and General Electric are building products for industrial and commercial sectors that use less energy, and programs are being developed at the state level and federal level here in the U.S. and by government bodies around the world to support energy efficiency efforts through legislation and economic incentives.nbsp;Power Efficiency (OTCBB: PEFF) is a "pure play" company that is focused on motor efficiency, developing motor controllers for usage in industrial and commercial appliance applications that reduce energy consumption by 20% to 40% on average.nbsp;Its customers include KONE, Mitsubishi Electric, Bloomingdales, Caesar's Palace, Borders, JKF International Airport, Otis Elevator, Macy's, ThyssenKrupp Elevator, Barrick Gold, Cemex, Berry Plastics and Westfield Group. Its E-Savetrade; technology has demonstrated the ability to reduce energy consumption to the industrial and commercial markets, and we expect that it will continue to build its presence here.nbsp;But a more significant opportunity for Power Efficiency is to demonstrate E-Save's viability in the appliance market, where its newly developed single phase technology can be embedded in washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, and other appliances, improving efficiency on tens of millions of appliances each year. In a typical building, without elevators, these appliances represent as much as 27% to 30% of total energy use. In residential homes, the number is greater.nbsp;The company's recent announcement with IXYS (Nasdaq: IXYS) is an important step to executing on the opportunity in the appliance market. IXYS is a Silicon Valley semi company with a diversified customer base of companies that build appliances, and a commitment of its own to improving power conversion efficiency. The partnership will set the stage for IXYS to sell and market Power Efficiency's single-phase controller to its customer base which is located throughout North America, Europe and Asia.How it works:nbsp;Lightly-loaded AC motors are very inefficient. E-Save technology reads the load and reduces the amount of power to the motor, and when the load increases, the amount of electricity is instantly increased. This enables the motor to always run at a constant speed (full RPM).nbsp;Power Efficiency's technology was installed at Caesar's Palace which resulted in 36% energy savings for the hotel's elevators, and provided it with a 60% internal rate of return on its investment. The U.S. elevator market alone is a $45 million opportunity for Power Efficiency, and it already works with the majors, including Otis, KONE and ThyssenKrupp.nbsp;Energy efficiency is rightly perceived as the most immediate way to deal with reducing carbon emissions and energy costs for businesses, and it implementing technologies to achieve it are significantly more cost and resource effective, that investments in developing alternative energy power which also have to be managed under technical challenges such as transmission.nbsp;The economics for Power Efficiency are compelling. E-Save typically offers a 3-year (or less) payback on investment, which is reduced significantly with utility rebates (approved by Southern California Edison, Xcel Energy, SDGamp;E, Nevada Power, Sierra Pacific and Anaheim Public Utilities).nbsp;And the economics for the manufacturing industry are compelling as well. Domestic manufacturers spend more than $33 billion on electricity each year, and motors consume more than 60% of that total. Power Efficiency's management estimates that it can save the U.S. manufacturing sector about $1.7 billion per year, with 21 billion kWh reduction, 14 million tons of CO2 reduction, equivalent to 2.65 million cars being taken off the road. This is significant.nbsp;The stock currently trades at about $0.14, or a market cap of about $5.6 million. We think that the stock price doesn't reflect Power Efficiency's market opportunity and validation in the marketplace. Our expectation for the business is to continue to develop traction through 2009 and establish a revenue run rate exiting 2009 closer to one times its current market cap. The opportunity, we think, is substantial. A 20% share of the estimated elevator market alone is $9 million. The appliance market opportunity dwarfs this number.nbsp;The risk to the story, in our opinion is on the execution side. The technology is clearly validated (see the company's list of customers on itsnbsp;website) on the industrial and commercial side. The IXYS relationship will accelerate the path to validation on the residential appliance side. So we think a reasonable way to value this stock would be to focus on the industrial/commercial business opportunity, which we think is currently about $12 to $15 million annual based on existing applications (which can scale significantly as well), and to discount the residential appliance opportunity until the company hits some milestones on that side of the business, which we expect to see in 2009.nbsp;At a $12 million market cap, which we think is reasonable, the implied stock price would be about $0.30. Over the long-term, if the company continues to scale both sides of its business, we think this should be just the beginning.nbsp;We are pleased to be working with Power Efficiency from a corporate communications advisory perspective (see disclosure below). The business is well-positioned, we think to capitalize on the attention that is rightly being paid to driving energy efficiency as a priority on a global basis. We expect to see the company's financial performance validate this opportunity. pa href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?a=o2pu9a"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?i=o2pu9a" border="0"/img/a/p

Interview With Power Efficiency’s (OTCBB:PEFF) Steve Strasser on the Energy Efficiency Markets

Small Cap Pulse — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:39:00 +0000

Alt Energy and Clean Tech Markets 2008 Year in Review and Looking Forward to 2009 Interview with Steve Strasser of Power Efficiency, December 10, 2008Steve Strasser is Chairman and CEO of Power Efficiency (OTCBB:PEFF), a technology company focused on developing energy efficiency solutions for electronic motors for industrial and appliance applications. Aspire: What surprised you about the renewable energy/clean tech markets in 2008? Were there any significant developments (political, technological, consumer-driven and/or industry-driven) that occurred which you werenrsquo;t anticipating? Please briefly explain.nbsp;nbsp; Strasser: I was surprised by the renewal of the tax credits. In addition, there we have a new administration and leadership in Congress that will make a greater effort to promote this industry, and energy efficiency in particular.nbsp;nbsp; What I am seeing with energy efficiency is that people and businesses have always been very interested in energy efficiency but the problem from an economic standpoint for businesses, as new technologies are evolving and being introduced to the markets, is that they werenrsquo;t providing a strict 2-year payback. But in the past year, I have seen companies increasing focused on the marketing and branding virtues of alternative energy and energy efficiency. The are making more of their investment decisions for energy efficiency technologies factoring in this marketing and branding element, which is making it a bit less critical that the technology offers a strict 2-year payback. The rate-of-return still needs to be compelling though. It is just that the issue of payback is relaxing a bit as energy efficiency becomes more of a corporate strategy.nbsp;nbsp; For example, go to KONErsquo;s website. It is focused more than ever on being perceived energy efficient. We are seeing this more and more.nbsp;nbsp; Finally, we are seeing the utilities getting more interested in energy efficiency for industrial and not just residential.nbsp;nbsp; Aspire: Why do you think energy efficiency has taken a back seat on Wall Street, and in terms of government investment to new power generation as a solution to global warming?nbsp;nbsp; Strasser: This is an interesting question. So many people have been swept away by the solar and wind opportunities, which have shown really strong growth. These technologies show tremendous promise and will certainly be a huge impact over the long-term to our energy consumption. nbsp;But there also remain substantial technical and cost related challenges which they need to overcome before we see them adopted on a mass scale. Transmission is a huge and costly issue while neither wind nor solar are base load energy sources, which cause further imbalances to the grid. Utilities, which are increasing mandated to use a percentage of renewable energy as a result of portfolio standards, are forced to make huge investments into upgrading transmission capabilities. What we are seeing, is that more attention is being paid to the notion of energy efficiency, where these technologies have less cap expense up front, and also provide more of an immediate impact. nbsp;That being said, a key issue that energy efficiency is getting less attention on Wall Street, I think, is that there are very few lsquo;pure playrsquo; energy efficiency companies. Energy efficiency and progress in technologies that are more energy efficient, and create energy efficiency to the consumer, are often folded into the portfolios of larger controls companies. But we have seen an uptick in sales of energy efficient motors, for example, from companies that havenrsquo;t publicized it because it is only part of a larger offering for them. Power Efficiency is one of the few pure play technology companies, in addition to lighting companies. But I think this will change in the next year, and more companies will come to the forefront which are specifically developing solutions to create more energy efficiency in the residential, commercial, industrial and transportation sectors. nbsp;In addition, there are currently only 4 states which allow energy efficiency to be a credit against a renewable energy portfolio (Nevada is one of them). I think this will change, and will encourage more concentration on energy efficiency.nbsp;nbsp; Aspire: Which areas to you see the best opportunity to reduce energy consumption in the U.S., and what technologies have you seen developed that are most effectively handling that load?nbsp;nbsp; Strasser: I think that energy efficiency and demand response are the way to have an immediate impact. And there needs to be smart meters - real-time metering.nbsp;nbsp; Aspire: Obama has said that energy efficiency is the ldquo;cheapest, quickest, fastest way to meet our energy demand and to tackle climate issues.rdquo;nbsp; What do you think the Obama administration can do in his first few months in office to make energy efficiency a centerpiece of his energy policy?nbsp;nbsp; Strasser: They should add mechanisms to encourage energy efficiency. The manufacturer needs an incentive to make more energy efficient equipment, in the form of tax credits and incentives. Also, in cases where the benefit is for many years, there needs to be an economic framework that helps to finance the energy efficiency component for consumers and purchasers. There can be loans for this type of purpose. The difference here is that if someone continues to use less energy, this cash-flow is real. Also you are decreasing carbon emissions and you will also create jobs. Government incentives are long term. nbsp;Taking a long term view ndash; the government should incent and amortize investment in energy efficient technologies over time. One of the things we are trying to do is to talk with members of Congress and tell them to look at energy efficiency the same way they are looking at solar and impact, and it is cheaper, with an immediate impact.nbsp;nbsp; Aspire: What are you seeing on the state level, in terms of energy efficiency legislative support?nbsp;nbsp; Strasser: The most important thing is to equate energy efficiency with renewable portfolios on a dollar for dollar basis. There should be a law mandating a minimal percent for the utility. Utilities should finance the efficiency products, and there should be an equal rate of return on energy efficiency as there would be in a power plant. You will save a huge amount of transmission and shave a lot of peak.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Aspire: What opportunities exist in the stimulus package for energy efficiency?nbsp;nbsp; Strasser: If they do the things I mentioned ndash; for example, the guy selling the granulator can make his equipment efficient or not. His customer will want it, but if it too much of a hassle or his customer wontrsquo; pay for it, it wonrsquo;t happen. You need to provide the manufacturer with incentives to build it. nbsp;An interesting point about energy efficiency, is that there isnrsquo;t any specific representative to congress like there is with solar, wind and geothermal (SEIA, AWEA and GEA). Companies selling energy efficiency products are typically already well established and profitable ndash; the others are all startups and their industries need to rely on lobby and advocacy in a much stronger way than companies developing energy efficient products. But there needs to some education and buy-in at the government level for technologies which result in even 5% greater efficiency should be supported. Just consider the electric motor market. On a case by case basis, 5% greater efficiency for an electric motor might not be enough of an economic incentive for someone to invest in it. But think about 5% energy savings over all of the electric motors in the market, and a 5% reduction of energy across the board. This would make a huge impact on the grid and on carbon emissions. But it wonrsquo;t happen on an individual basis, and you need to have a framework to mandate and support it. nbsp;One of the things energy efficiency does is that it doesnrsquo;t force utilities to go through all of this transmission business. And energy efficiency only has positive environmental impact. We are talking with Senator Reid. There is going to be a number of energy bills ndash; we are really working on convincing them that energy efficiency is a big deal. We have also been talking with representatives on the Ways and Means Committee.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; About Aspire Clean Tech Communications, Inc. Based in San Diego, California, Aspire is a professional services and corporate communications firm focused solely on the clean tech and alternative energy industry. Aspire is the publisher of the Aspire Week in Review, and operates the website, www.smallcappulse.com, which also dedicated to commentary and analysis of the clean tech and alternative energy industry. nbsp; For more information about Aspire, please contact Todd M. Pitcher at 760-798-4938. The foregoing compilation relates to Power Efficiency Corporation and contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to Power Efficiency or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Power Efficiencyrsquo;s actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied by these forward-looking statements. For more detailed information the reader is referred to Power Efficiencyrsquo;s Form 10KSB, 10QSB and other related documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This does not constitute an offer to buy or sell securities by the Company and is meant purely for informational purposes. Aspire Clean Tech Communications, Inc. (Aspire) its affiliates, officers, directors, subsidiaries and agents have been compensated by the Company for the creation of this document. Aspire receives $6,500 per month on a 1 year contract with a three month termination clause. Aspire has also been compensated 40,000 shares of restricted common stock of Power Efficiency. nbsp;In preparing this information, Aspire has relied upon information received from the Company, which, although believed to be reliable, cannot be guaranteed. This information is not an endorsement of the Company by Aspire. Aspire is not responsible for any claims made by the Company. You should independently investigate and fully understand all risks before investing. One of Aspire's officers, Todd M. Pitcher, is an affiliate of Small Cap Pulse, which is cmopensated $500 per month to provide marketing services for Power Efficiency on behalf of Aspire. . pa href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?a=yN990L"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?i=yN990L" border="0"/img/a/p

Interview with Premier Powerâ€™s (OTCBB:PPRW) Dean Marks – On Key Issues in Solar Industry

Small Cap Pulse — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:50:01 +0000

SAN DIEGO, September 26, 2008 - - Small Cap Pulse, an independent provider of financial news, analysis and content for the alternative energy and China markets, today announced an interview with leading downstream solar company Premier Power Renewable Energy (OTCBB:PPRW) CEO, Dean Marks, to discuss his views on several key issues on the current environment for the downstream solar market, and how Premier is positioned to benefit. SCP: What is your perspective on key legislation (Prop 7) which will be up for vote in November, whether it is good or bad for the downstream solar segment in general, and specifically, how it impacts Premier’s business outlook? Dean R. Marks: I oppose Proposition 7 because it redefines eligible solar projects in a way that excludes solar projects that are less than 30 MW from participating in the Renewable Portfolio Standards program (RPS) The plain reading of Proposition 7 is that only those projects which fall within the definition of a solar and clean energy plant (those that are 30 MW or more) are counted toward the RPS procurement requirements. The state could face major penalties if these standards are not met. So as more states roll out RPS programs, our plan is to replicate our successful business model in all of the other 48 states. SCP: How about the extension of the tax credits? In an environment where the extension is not renewed, how will Premier’s business be impacted? Dean R. Marks: As for the future of the ITC: We are on the cusp of a national energy “revolution” – there is little doubt that with the New Year we will not see the most extensive ITC we have had in the history of the solar industry being put forth by either candidate. We are diversified – so bottom line - with or without the ITC we have a growing business. So over the years we have become effective at adapting to the here one day gone the next credits and rebates. This is why we are profitable while others struggle with this market. We have developed strategies that allow us to succeed with or without the ITC, we are diversified in Europe which have Feed in Tariffs and Residential in the US that do not depend on the ITC. SCP: Much of Wall Street has been soured on the downstream solar segment due to issues of cap ex, and lower margins, as well as the fact that so many companies have struggled to achieve profitability. This is an important differentiator for Premier, I think, in that you are profitable and are now looking for ways to expand margins and drop more to the bottom line. Can you elaborate on how you will pursue this effort? Dean R. Marks: There is no doubt being profitable is tough in this market, but many of the so called market leaders have staffed up and rolled out offices without having the business in place...we take a different philosophy - we meet demand and we have a deliberate and systematic approach to entering new markets - we don’t take the field of dreams approach -i.e. "Build an office and they will come". We are not the low bidder – our engineering skills and design expertise secures jobs with margins. As for expanding margins we are starting to see new revenue streams open up. We will look to acquire products and services with added margin and we will use our growth and cash to help reduce cost. SCP: Where are your target markets, from both a geographical and vertical perspective, and how do you plan to grow them? Dean Marks: Now that we have two firsts 1.2 mw thin film and large scale bi-directional trackers under our belt we see a whole series of new markets opening up. However, our target markets are unique to us and a competitive advantage - so I don’t want to give too much detail. Suffice to say they are across the spectrum of installations. We believe that part of being stable and profitable is to have a diversified mix of business and we have skills and experience that makes us more qualified then others in certain commercial and fast growing markets where there are fewer competitors. Yet at our core we still have a lot of experience on the residential side and there are some exciting value adds we are expecting to bring to that consumer group. SCP: There are concerns about future growth in Spain’s markets due to recent legislative moves. How much exposure does Premier have to that dynamic, and how are you reacting? Dean Marks: In Spain we focus on roof mount installations and not as much on the Solar Farms. So competition is slim. We have installed the first roof mount installation in Pamplona and in Madrid we just completed a ¾ megawatt project for Otis Elevators. Solar Farming in Spain is getting tougher. But we don’t do solar farming per se. we do roof top installations. The Spanish incentives were written to incentives business to replace their energy use with renewables. We do just that and as a result we have not yet scratched the surface of the Spanish market. SCP: What, in your opinion, are the three most competitive advantages that Premier has in the marketplace today? Where are the largest risks, and how will you mitigate them? First, we are diversified across all market segments – we do residential, large and small scale commercial, Industrial and agricultural. Our competitors focus more on smaller residential. Akeena and Real Goods has not done over 750 kw. We just recently completed one of the first thin film installation over 1.2 megawatt in the nation. We have a number of firsts in the industry. Second, we are diversified geographically – our sales are exploding in Europe Third, we are profitable and have been for the past three years. And we are dedicated to owning our customer and installing, upgrading, managing and expanding their systems - we provide excellence that sets us apart. We always hear from our potential customers that solar sounds too good to be true. We have to tell them that it is all true. No moving parts it just sits there and create green clean electricity, added value to the property, life expectancy of over 30 years, low maintenance and best of all it spins your electric meter backwards. Currently the most challenging issues are keeping up with demand and we mitigate this by managing our in-house integration crews properly and keeping well established relationships with our manufacturers, like GE, Sharp and Sunpower. Small Cap Pulse Small Cap Pulse is a San Diego-based financial content and media provider focused on the alternative energy and clean tech markets. For more information about Small Cap Pulse, go to http://www.smallcappulse.com. Disclosure Note: The SCPEditor, Todd Pitcher, is a principal of Aspire Clean Tech Communications, Inc., a corporate communications firm that has been engaged by Premier Power.The foregoing compilation relates to Premier Power Renewable Energy (OTCBB:PPRW) and contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to Premier or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Premier’s actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied by these forward-looking statements. For more detailed information the reader is referred to Premier’s 10K, 10Q, 8K and other related documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This does not constitute an offer to buy or sell securities by the Company and is meant purely for informational purposes. Aspire Clean Tech Communications, Inc. (Aspire) its affiliates, officers, directors, subsidiaries and agents have been compensated by the Company for the creation of this document. Aspire receives $7,500 per month, and 30,000 shares of Premier’s common stock on a 1 year contract. In preparing this information, Aspire has relied upon information received from the Company, which, although believed to be reliable, cannot be guaranteed. This information is not an endorsement of the Company by Aspire. Aspire is not responsible for any claims made by the Company. You should independently investigate and fully understand all risks before investing. Contact: Todd M. Pitcher Phone: 760-798-4938

Interview with Premier Power’s (OTCBB:PPRW) Dean Marks – On Key Issues in Solar Industry

Small Cap Pulse — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:50:00 +0000

SAN DIEGO, September 26, 2008 - - Small Cap Pulse, an independent provider of financial news, analysis and content for the alternative energy and China markets, today announced an interview with leading downstream solar company Premier Power Renewable Energy (OTCBB:PPRW) CEO, Dean Marks, to discuss his views on several key issues on the current environment for the downstream solar market, and how Premier is positioned to benefit. SCP: What is your perspective on key legislation (Prop 7) which will be up for vote in November, whether it is good or bad for the downstream solar segment in general, and specifically, how it impacts Premier’s business outlook? Dean Marks: I oppose Proposition 7 because it changes the definition of eligible solar projects (known as eligible renewable energy resources) in a way that excludes solar projects that are less than 30 MW from participating in the RPS program. The plain reading of Proposition 7 is that only those projects which fall within the definition of a solar and clean energy plant (those that are 30 MW or more) are counted toward the RPS procurement requirements. As more states roll out RPS programs, our plan is to replicate our successful business model in all of the other 48 states. SCP: How about the extension of the tax credits? In an environment where the extension is not renewed, how will Premier’s business be impacted? Dean Marks: As for the future of the ITC: We are on the cusp of a nation energy “revolution” – there is little doubt that with the New Year we will not see the most extensive ITC we have had in the history of the solar industry being put forth by either candidate. We are diversified – so bottom line - with or without the ITC we have a growing business. So over the years we have become effective at adapting to the here one day gone the next credits and rebates. This is why we are profitable while others struggle with this market. We have developed strategies that allow us to succeed with or without the ITC, we are diversified in Europe which have Feed in Tariffs and Residential in the US that do not depend on the ITC. SCP: Much of Wall Street has been soured on the downstream solar segment due to issues of cap ex, and lower margins, as well as the fact that so many companies have struggled to achieve profitability. This is an important differentiator for Premier, I think, in that you are profitable and are now looking for ways to expand margins and drop more to the bottom line. Can you elaborate on how you will pursue this effort? Dean Marks: There is no doubt being profitable is tough in this market, but many of the so called market leaders have staffed up and rolled out offices without having the business in place...we take a different philosophy - we meet demand and we have a deliberate and systematic approach to entering new markets - we don’t take the field of dreams approach -i.e. "Build an office and they will come". We are not the low bidder – our engineering skills and design expertise secures jobs with margins. As for expanding margins we are starting to see new revenue streams open up. We will look to acquire products and services with added margin and we will use our growth and cash to help reduce cost. SCP: Where are your target markets, from both a geographical and vertical perspective, and how do you plan to grow them? Dean Marks: Now that we have two firsts 1.2 mw thin film and large scale bi-directional trackers under our belt we see a whole series of new markets opening up. However, our target markets are unique to us and a competitive advantage - so I don’t want to give too much detail. Suffice to say they are across the spectrum of installations. We believe that part of being stable and profitable is to have a diversified mix of business and we have skills and experience that makes us more qualified then others in certain commercial and fast growing markets where there are fewer competitors. Yet at our core we still have a lot of experience on the residential side and there are some exciting value adds we are expecting to bring to that consumer group. SCP: There are concerns about future growth in Spain’s markets due to recent legislative moves. How much exposure does Premier have to that dynamic, and how are you reacting? Dean Marks: In Spain we focus on roof mount installations and not as much on the Solar Farms. So competition is slim. We have installed the first roof mount installation in Pamplona and in Madrid we just completed a ¾ megawatt project for Otis Elevators. Solar Farming in Spain is getting tougher. But we don’t do solar farming per se. we do roof top installations. The Spanish incentives were written to incentives business to replace their energy use with renewables. We do just that and as a result we have not yet scratched the surface of the Spanish market. SCP: What, in your opinion, are the three most competitive advantages that Premier has in the marketplace today? Where are the largest risks, and how will you mitigate them? First, we are diversified across all market segments – we do residential, large and small scale commercial, Industrial and agricultural. Our competitors focus more on smaller residential. Akeena and Real Goods has not done over 750 kw. We just recently completed one of the first thin film installation over 1.2 megawatt in the nation. We have a number of firsts in the industry. Second, we are diversified geographically – our sales are exploding in Europe Third, we are profitable and have been for the past three years. And we are dedicated to owning our customer and installing, upgrading, managing and expanding their systems - we provide excellence that sets us apart. We always hear from our potential customers that solar sounds too good to be true. We have to tell them that it is all true. No moving parts it just sits there and create green clean electricity, added value to the property, life expectancy of over 30 years, low maintenance and best of all it spins your electric meter backwards. Currently the most challenging issues are keeping up with demand and we mitigate this by managing our in-house integration crews properly and keeping well established relationships with our manufacturers, like GE, Sharp and Sunpower. Small Cap Pulse Small Cap Pulse is a San Diego-based financial content and media provider focused on the alternative energy and clean tech markets. For more information about Small Cap Pulse, go to http://www.smallcappulse.com. Disclosure Note: The SCPEditor, Todd Pitcher, is a principal of Aspire Clean Tech Communications, Inc., a corporate communications firm that has been engaged by Premier Power.The foregoing compilation relates to Premier Power Renewable Energy (OTCBB:PPRW) and contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to Premier or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Premier’s actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied by these forward-looking statements. For more detailed information the reader is referred to Premier’s 10K, 10Q, 8K and other related documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This does not constitute an offer to buy or sell securities by the Company and is meant purely for informational purposes. Aspire Clean Tech Communications, Inc. (Aspire) its affiliates, officers, directors, subsidiaries and agents have been compensated by the Company for the creation of this document. Aspire receives $7,500 per month, and 30,000 shares of Premier’s common stock on a 1 year contract. In preparing this information, Aspire has relied upon information received from the Company, which, although believed to be reliable, cannot be guaranteed. This information is not an endorsement of the Company by Aspire. Aspire is not responsible for any claims made by the Company. You should independently investigate and fully understand all risks before investing. Contact: Todd M. PitcherPhone: 760-798-4938

The Future of Investor Relations: An Interview with Maureen Wolff-Reid

Zack Miller — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:50:34 +0000

We recently had a chance to interview Maureen Wolff-Reid (bio at the end of the article), a pioneer in the investor relations and corporate communications industry. She is a past chairman of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) and President and Partner of Sharon Merrill Associates in Boston. This post originally appeared on New Rules [...]